The computer has a core i5 processor, a 1600x900 screen with a nvidia graphics card and an integrated gpu on the processor. Since I prefer silence before playing games, I have shut off the discrete gpu.
I use a kingston ssd which reaches over 500 MB/s in the ubuntu disk test. Impressive is the least I can say. The computer boots really fast.
This computer has a wonderful feature I did not know of until i unpacked it: a small light on the top of the screen, lighting up the keyboard (controlled via a key combination)!
Update bios
I updated the bios to the latest revision after having install problems. Those problems were related to a faulty hard drive, which is now replaced (note to self: never buy stuff where firmware updates is a news issue). So the bios update may be unnecessary to install. Your mileage may vary.
Bios settings
- sata mode ahci
- boot to uefi only
- turn off discrete graphics
- turn off "os optimus detection"
- set boot order to cd before hard drive.
- enable boot screen diagnostics.
I made an overly complicated install as I only had the normal ubuntu install cd, not the alternate one. To get an adequate level of system encryption, I first installed normally, then live cd booted, created a new luks filesystem inside lvm, copied the install to the encrypted system, chrooted to it and built initramfs and modified fstab and crypttab. A bit tricky, but it works. I recommend using the alternate installer instead.
Fan
The fan is running all the time. I followed the instructions here with the small change that /etc/thinkfan.conf should contain
sensor /sys/devices/platform/coretemp.0/temp1_input
sensor /sys/devices/platform/coretemp.0/temp2_input
sensor /sys/devices/platform/coretemp.0/temp3_input
Works like a charm.
The rest
I have not noticed anything that does not work. The buttons I use work as they should (volume, screen brightness). The rest like speakers, usb, touchpad etc. works perfectly.
Left to do
enable trim on the ssd.
Links
debian on t420
