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Linux on MacBook Pro : What about the autonomy ?
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Martin.
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PostPosted: Mon May 09, 2011 6:04 pm    Post subject: Linux on MacBook Pro : What about the autonomy ? Reply with quote

Hello everybody,

I am planning to buy a new laptop during the next months. As a student (I'm going to enter the university in a few months =)), I'll need a solid laptop. What matters too is the autonomy of the laptop. And, evidently, I would like to have a polyvalent and powerful machine.

For all those reasons, the Mac Book Pro appeared to me as the better choice : the autonomy is impressive, the laptop seems to be resistant, and is really powerful. But... I wont use Mac OS X. I mean, I maybe wont delete it, but I'll certainly not use it as my first OS : I couldn't live without Gentoo =)

But, before buying a laptop that is really expensive, I want to make sure that I won't be sadly surprised by Gentoo running on a Mac Book Pro. The only point that scares me is the autonomy : Is she as good as she is with Mac OS X ? I've had a really good autonomy with an EEEpc, and I'm pretty sure that it could be very nice on a Mac Book Pro too, but... I prefer asking =)

Are there some people running Gentoo (or any other distribution) as main system on a Mac Book Pro ? Can you please tell me if the autonomy is good, or every problem you could have had ?

To resume, I would like to know what the situation is : is it possible, and a good idea, to run Gentoo on a Mac
Book Pro ?


EDIT : "Autonomy" must be understood as the time the laptop can work without having its battery refilled.

I'm really sorry if a same subject already exists, but I haven't found any, recent-enough topic. And I'm sorry too for my english :lol:


Last edited by Martin. on Mon May 09, 2011 7:35 pm; edited 1 time in total
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DONAHUE
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PostPosted: Mon May 09, 2011 7:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

could you define in other words what you mean by autonomy with reference to a laptop? usually it means free, independent, or self governing and is used in discussing politics.
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Martin.
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PostPosted: Mon May 09, 2011 7:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Oh, sorry. I meant the power management. For how long you can work on the laptop without having to refill the battery. For sure it depends on what you do, but is it significantly (very) shorter with Gentoo ?
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XQYZ
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PostPosted: Mon May 09, 2011 8:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Martin. wrote:
Oh, sorry. I meant the power management. For how long you can work on the laptop without having to refill the battery. For sure it depends on what you do, but is it significantly (very) shorter with Gentoo ?


If you're compiling stuff (ie using the cpu at 100%) then it will surely drain the battery faster.
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Yamakuzure
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PostPosted: Wed May 11, 2011 11:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have a Dell Latitude E6410 and the battery lasts for about 6 hours if I do not use CPU intensive tasks. This is with KDE-4.6.3 compositing enabled and working on private projects with Code::Blocks as my main IDE. Would that be enough?
But I doubt that you can't plug in your AC Adapter at your university. It would be quite queer if they forbid charging student laptops.

Just forgot: could this help? http://en.gentoo-wiki.com/wiki/Apple_Macbook_Pro

Edit: Being from Switzerland you speak german perhaps? If it is so, this discussion here might be useful: http://www.macuser.de/forum/f18/macbook-linux-gentoo-306575/#post3498923
If not: In the linked post a user states, that they have Gentoo amd64 running perfectly on a MacBook Pro, and that there are a lot of configuration possibilities (e.g. in the kernel) to make use of special MacBook (Pro) features.

Edit 2 : List of articles: http://en.gentoo-wiki.com/w/index.php?title=Special%3ASearch&search=MacBook
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Martin.
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PostPosted: Thu May 12, 2011 6:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hello and thank you fit your replies !

Yamakuzure > Thanks for those links, but they all are about old versions of the MacBook pro. I haven't found yet anything about the actual MacBook pro. The only report I've heard was from a friend who told me that running Linux on the MacBook pro was really reducing the duration of the battery. But I also know that he probably just tried ubuntu, without trying anything to improve energy saving.

Thank you all, I'll continue to look for more informations !

Have a nice day =)
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Shining Arcanine
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PostPosted: Fri May 13, 2011 3:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Martin. wrote:
Hello and thank you fit your replies !

Yamakuzure > Thanks for those links, but they all are about old versions of the MacBook pro. I haven't found yet anything about the actual MacBook pro. The only report I've heard was from a friend who told me that running Linux on the MacBook pro was really reducing the duration of the battery. But I also know that he probably just tried ubuntu, without trying anything to improve energy saving.

Thank you all, I'll continue to look for more informations !

Have a nice day =)


The fact that no one has complained yet is probably good news. People aren't as keen on updating documentation when the old documentation works for the new hardware as they are when the old documentation is no longer useful.

Still, I am in a similiar position and I am considering an Apple system as well.
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Martin.
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PostPosted: Fri May 13, 2011 7:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes, you're probably right. And since the 13 inches model only has the Intel HD Graphics IGP, it's probably much easier to have a system fully working, and not too energy-dispendious (does this mean something ?).

Well, thank you for your help. I would have liked to listen to someone who owned a MacBook, but I think I shouldn't be scared of my future purchased.

And, if I had any problem I know where I can find help =)

Thank you, and have a nice day !
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PostPosted: Sun May 15, 2011 9:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

While doing my normal work, ie not compiling stuff, I usually get 5-6h under Gentoo and about 30min - 1h more under OS X. Letting the notebook idle saves even more power under OS X, so there the difference easily goes to ~2h.

MBP 13/e2011
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