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Thinkpad Linux Optimization Guide (Incomplete)

Hello. In this guide, you will be informed about how to optimize your Thinkpad device while using Linux. If you are ready, let's begin!

Before Starting

  • This guide will be mainly about Thinkpad T490. My Thinkpad T490 has the specifications below:
    • Processor - Intel® Core™ i5-8265U (8) @ 1.6 GHz - 3.90 GHz
    • Graphics Card - Intel UHD Graphics 620 @ 1.1 GHz
    • RAM - 16 GB dual-channel
  • There will be undervolting and other hardware related software optimizations in the guide, which means you should not copy the same values on steps that you are warned! However, most of the steps should work the same on all Thinkpad (even non Thinkpad) devices.

Get Started

Distribution Suggestions

  • For the maximum stability
    • image MX Linux
    • image Linux Mint
    • image Zorin
  • For having the most up to date packages
    • image Arch Linux
    • image EndeavourOS
    • image CachyOS (good for gaming performance)
  • For the balance of stability and up to date packages
    • image Fedora

Increase Audio Quality

Laptop speakers sound worse on Linux. In order to enhance your speaker experience:

Increase Battery Life and Performance

Kernel Parameter

For systemd-boot

ls /boot/loader/entries/

Now find your kernel name. The name can differ according to the kernel and distribution you use. It can be arch.conf, linux.conf, linux-cachyos.conf etc.

  • After finding your kernel's configuration file:
sudo nano /boot/loader/entries/yourkernel.conf

Find the line that starts with Options and add these two to the end of the line:

mitigations=off rcutree.enable_rcu_lazy=1

Lastly, save the file and reboot your system.

For GRUB

sudo nano /etc/default/grub

Now find the line that starts with GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT and add these two to the end of the line:

mitigations=off rcutree.enable_rcu_lazy=1

Next, save the file and update GRUB configuration file according to your distribution:

  • image image For Debian/Ubuntu and Derivatives:
sudo update-grub
  • image For Arch Linux and Derivatives:
sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
  • image For Fedora and Derivatives:
sudo grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/grub.cfg

Note

  • The rcutree.enable_rcu_lazy=1 kernel parameter reduces power usage when your system is idle or lightly loaded. In exchange for power saving, it might reduce your performance but you probably will not feel the difference on performance at all.
  • The mitigations=off kernel parameter simply disables the patches applied for hardware-based security vulnerabilities, which increases performance on these processors:
  • intel Intel - 8th gen and older processors
  • image AMD - Zen 1, Zen+ and Zen 2 processors
  • So if you have a newer processor, you do not have to use this kernel parameter. Plus, it creates a huge security risk. Do not use this kernel parameter if you do not want to maximize performance on your old hardware.

Power Manager

  • I definitely suggest that you use TLP because it is more advanced than other power managers.
  • However, your system might already have another power manager installed, distributions nowadays use either power-profiles-daemon or tuned. Try removing each to make sure they are not installed.
  • Install tlp using your package manager.
sudo nano /etc/tlp.conf # make sure to uncheck each option mentioned below

TLP_ENABLE=1

DISK_IDLE_SECS_ON_AC=0
DISK_IDLE_SECS_ON_BAT=2

MAX_LOST_WORK_SECS_ON_AC=15
MAX_LOST_WORK_SECS_ON_BAT=60

CPU_DRIVER_OPMODE_ON_AC=active
CPU_DRIVER_OPMODE_ON_BAT=active

CPU_SCALING_GOVERNOR_ON_AC=performance
CPU_SCALING_GOVERNOR_ON_BAT=powersave

CPU_ENERGY_PERF_POLICY_ON_AC=performance
CPU_ENERGY_PERF_POLICY_ON_BAT=power

CPU_MIN_PERF_ON_AC=0
CPU_MAX_PERF_ON_AC=100
CPU_MIN_PERF_ON_BAT=0
CPU_MAX_PERF_ON_BAT=20

CPU_BOOST_ON_AC=1
CPU_BOOST_ON_BAT=0

CPU_HWP_DYN_BOOST_ON_AC=1
CPU_HWP_DYN_BOOST_ON_BAT=0

NMI_WATCHDOG=0

PLATFORM_PROFILE_ON_AC=performance
PLATFORM_PROFILE_ON_BAT=low-power

AHCI_RUNTIME_PM_ON_AC=on
AHCI_RUNTIME_PM_ON_BAT=auto

INTEL_GPU_MIN_FREQ_ON_AC=1100 # check the frequencies your Intel GPU supports before entering these values
INTEL_GPU_MIN_FREQ_ON_BAT=300
INTEL_GPU_MAX_FREQ_ON_AC=1100
INTEL_GPU_MAX_FREQ_ON_BAT=400
INTEL_GPU_BOOST_FREQ_ON_AC=1100
INTEL_GPU_BOOST_FREQ_ON_BAT=400

WIFI_PWR_ON_AC=off
WIFI_PWR_ON_BAT=on

WOL_DISABLE=Y

SOUND_POWER_SAVE_ON_AC=0
SOUND_POWER_SAVE_ON_BAT=1

PCIE_ASPM_ON_AC=performance
PCIE_ASPM_ON_BAT=powersupersave

RUNTIME_PM_ON_AC=on
RUNTIME_PM_ON_BAT=auto

START_CHARGE_THRESH_BAT0=85
STOP_CHARGE_THRESH_BAT0=90

Undervolting (Intel Only)

  • Undervolting makes your computer consume less power without reducing performance.
    • In fact, it might increase your performance if your computer intentionally reduces your performance due to overheating issue.
    • Since your computer consumes less power, it will naturally increase battery life. So, it is a win-win.
  • However, undervolting will not work on intel Intel 10th gen and later processors.
  • Install throttled making sure your system does not have thermald package installed.
sudo nano /etc/throttled.conf
  • These values are the stable values for Thinkpad T490. So please do not copy the same values as they might crash your system!!!
  • You can get help from AI for finding your own stable values. However, I can at least say that going beyond -60 for Intel GPUs are generally unstable.
[BATTERY]
Update_Rate_s: 60
PL1_Tdp_W: 8
PL1_Duration_s: 28
PL2_Tdp_W: 12
PL2_Duration_S: 5
Trip_Temp_C: 60
cTDP: 1
Disable_BDPROCHOT: False

[AC]
Update_Rate_s: 5
PL1_Tdp_W: 21
PL1_Duration_s: 28
PL2_Tdp_W: 25
PL2_Duration_S: 0.002
Trip_Temp_C: 95
HWP_Mode: False
cTDP: 2
Disable_BDPROCHOT: False

[UNDERVOLT.BATTERY]
CORE: -105
GPU: -60
CACHE: -105
UNCORE: -60
ANALOGIO: 0

[UNDERVOLT.AC]
CORE: -90
GPU: -60
CACHE: -90
UNCORE: -60
ANALOGIO: 0

Disabling NetworkManager-wait-online.service

Disabling NetworkManager-wait-online.service allows your system to load faster.

sudo systemctl disable NetworkManager-wait-online.service

Customization

Login Screen Customization

I suggest sddm-astronaut-theme for a better login screen.

  • There are multiple themes included in the project, there are also animated themes if you prefer.
  • Even if you use a desktop environment that does not use SDDM, the script will replace it with SDDM and it will work after a reboot.

image Terminal Customization

Fish is a sweet command line shell that predicts what you are going to type based on your previous terminal commands. Fastfetch is a system information tool that makes your terminal look better.

  • Install fish and fastfetch according to your package manager.
chsh -s /usr/bin/fish # you should reboot after running the command
  • If terminal tells you that the process has failed, try chsh -s /bin/fish instead.
  • Additionally, if you would like to see fastfetch every time you launch terminal, you should execute the commands below:
  function fish_greeting
  fastfetch
  end

funcsave fish_greeting

Lastly, if you would like to try, this is my custom fastfetch appearance: image

sudo mkdir ~/.config/fastfetch/ && sudo nano ~/.config/fastfetch/config.jsonc

{
  "$schema": "https://github.com/fastfetch-cli/fastfetch/raw/dev/doc/json_schema.json",
"logo": {
"type": "small",
"padding": {
        "top": 6,
        "left": 3
    },
"color": {
"1": "magenta",
"2": "magenta"
}
},
"modules": [
    // Title
    {
      "type": "title",
      "format": "{#1}╭───────────────────"
    },
    // System Information
    {
      "type": "custom",
      "format": "{#1}│ {#}>^^< System Information >^^<"
    },
{
      "type": "host",
      "key": "│ Computer Model",
      "keyColor": "magenta"
    },
    {
      "type": "os",
      "key": "│ Operating System",
      "keyColor": "magenta"
    },
    {
      "type": "kernel",
      "key": "│ Kernel",
      "keyColor": "magenta"
    },
{
      "type": "packages",
      "key": "│ Packages",
      "keyColor": "magenta"
    },
    {
      "type": "custom",
      "format": "{#1}│"
    },
    // Desktop
    {
      "type": "custom",
      "format": "{#1}│ {#}>^^< Desktop >^^<",
    },
    {
      "type": "de",
      "key": "│ Desktop Environment",
      "keyColor": "magenta"
    },
    {
      "type": "wm",
      "key": "│ Window Manager",
      "keyColor": "magenta"
    },
    {
      "type": "shell",
      "key": "│ Shell",
      "keyColor": "magenta"
    },
    {
      "type": "custom",
      "format": "{#1}│"
    },
    // Hardware Information
    {
      "type": "custom",
      "format": "{#1}│ {#}>^^< Hardware Information >^^<",
    },
    {
      "type": "cpu",
      "key": "│ Processor",
      "keyColor": "magenta"
    },
    {
      "type": "gpu",
      "key": "│ Graphics Card",
      "keyColor": "magenta"
    },
    {
      "type": "memory",
      "key": "│ Memory",
      "keyColor": "magenta"
    },
    {
      "type": "disk",
      "key": "│ Disk",
      "keyColor": "magenta"
    },
    {
      "type": "custom",
      "format": "{#1}│"
    },
    // Colors
    {
      "type": "colors",
      "key": "{#separator}│",
      "symbol": "circle"
    },
    // Footer
    {
      "type": "custom",
      "format": "{#1}╰───────────────────"
    }
  ]
}

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Thinkpad Linux Optimization Guide

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