I've been toying with the idea of installing Linux Mint on my old gaming laptop, which currently runs Windows 10 and is mainly used for torrenting and watching movies. I had a great experience switching my Surface Pro 7 to Ubuntu, so I expected Mint to perform similarly on my laptop. However, after doing a live boot test, I was disappointed. The system was noticeably laggy, with slow menus, typing delays, and concerningly high temperatures, hitting around 90°C while just using VLC and Firefox. This performance is the complete opposite of what I experienced on my Surface Pro. I've noticed that other users with the same laptop brand mention that these machines are specifically designed for Windows and have unique drivers, making a switch to Linux problematic. Plus, the manufacturer won't support any Linux installations. Given that I'm not very familiar with Linux or my laptop's hardware, I'm hesitating to make the switch. There's also not a lot of help available online for my specific model, unlike the support I received from the r/SurfaceLinux community. I'm curious about your thoughts on this: Is it better to leave the laptop alone or is there a Linux distro or resource that could help me?
2 Answers
That temperature spike sounds unusual for just running basic apps. It could be related to BIOS settings or how the fans are controlled. I'd suggest checking your BIOS settings and consider reapplying thermal paste on the CPU for better heat management. Both my partner and I had excellent experiences with Linux; we even undervolted our CPUs to enhance battery life!
You might want to check out some resources, like the migration page for Linux newbies. It’s got some solid tips on switching. I’d also recommend avoiding third-party repos until you’re more comfortable. Just make sure to verify ISO checksums after downloading! It’s a good practice to keep your system safe.
Repasting? What does that involve?