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hardware:lenovo-g780 [2012/10/05 03:18] – more blabber added styblahardware:lenovo-g780 [2021/12/28 04:16] (current) – add more details about hardware stybla
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 Ehrm. I really hate to say this, but if you plan to have GNU/Linux on this laptop, then I think you should be better off.  Ehrm. I really hate to say this, but if you plan to have GNU/Linux on this laptop, then I think you should be better off. 
 Ok, that's a not really good start, is it? Sadly, I would rather pay $20-40USD more rather than to have AR8162, as an  Ok, that's a not really good start, is it? Sadly, I would rather pay $20-40USD more rather than to have AR8162, as an 
-Ethernet NIC, and BCM4313 for a WiFi. Because it seems to me like these two things do spoil otherwise great and snappy +Ethernet NIC, and BCM4313 for a WiFi. Because it seems to me like these two components do spoil otherwise great and snappy 
 configuration. configuration.
  
 I mean, Intel i5-3210M Ivy Bridge is quite good, 4GB RAM is enough and expandable, 1TB HDD is more than sufficient, battery  I mean, Intel i5-3210M Ivy Bridge is quite good, 4GB RAM is enough and expandable, 1TB HDD is more than sufficient, battery 
-time - I haven't tested that yet nor probably will, GT630M 2GB will be able to handle some games, so why oh why Lenovo,  +time - I haven't tested battery yet nor probably will, GT630M 2GB will be able to handle some games. So why, oh why, Lenovo  
-why have you spoiled the experience at connectivity front?+have you spoiled the experience at connectivity front?
  
-AR8162 is only 100Mbit/s NIC which is, for normal use and "standard" internet connection, and isn't enough, compared to  +AR8162 is only 100Mbit/s NIC which is good enough for normal use and "standard" internet connection, but it doesn't seem to  
-all Gbit/s NICs out there. It also doesn't have support in Linux kernel at the time of this writing.+be enough future-wise and compared to all Gbit/s NICs out there. It also doesn't have support in Linux kernel at the time of  
 +this writing.
 Broadcom's BCM4313 a/b/g/n is another pain. Despite it seems you have couple options how to make this card working,  Broadcom's BCM4313 a/b/g/n is another pain. Despite it seems you have couple options how to make this card working, 
-actually the only one half-worked for me. Sadly, it was Broadcom's proprietary(?) wl driver. And why half-worked? +actually the only one half-worked for me. Sadly, it was Broadcom's proprietary(?) //wl// driver. And why half-worked? 
-Why the pain? Because it works only in the US reg domain and the only available channels in 2.4GHz are 1-11 which is fine,  +Why the pain? Because it works only in the US reg domain and the only available channels in 2.4GHz are 1-11. This is fine  
-unless you live in EU, you have an access point sitting at channel 13 and you can't change the channel. Then you're out of  +as long as you don't live in EU and as long as you don't have an access point sitting at channel 13. And since you don't have  
-WiFi. Really, I would rather had an Intel WiFi and something else for Ethernet NIC.+Ethernet working you can't change WiFi channel and to get your WiFi connection going. 
 +Really, I would rather had an Intel WiFi and something else for Ethernet NIC.
  
-Yes, the above is kind of rant. I admit it. However, what I really don't understand is DVD drive. I'm sure drive itself is fine,  +Yes, the text above is kind of rant. I admit it. However, what I really don't understand is DVD drive. I'm sure drive itself is fine. 
-however the plastic cover is ruining it. And you have to really push it to get the doors closed. It is almost as they don't fit,  +However the plastic cover is ruining it. You have to really push it (with force) to get the doors closed. It is almost as they don't fit  
-or there is some (extra) locking mechanism. It that case, it is likely it's going to break some day.+or as there is some (extra) locking mechanism. It such case, it's likely it's going to break some day.
  
-Other than above, I find Lenovo G780 to be satisfying and I think it has great potential as desktop replacement. What else to say?  +Other than that, I find Lenovo G780 to be satisfying and I think it has great potential as a desktop replacement. What else to say?  
-LCD cover seems to be made from hard plastic and doesn't give in. +LCD cover seems to be made from sturdy plastic and doesn't give in. 
 Surroundings of keyboard are made from some kind of metal and have a nice and cooling effect. Keyboard seems to be ok as well,  Surroundings of keyboard are made from some kind of metal and have a nice and cooling effect. Keyboard seems to be ok as well, 
-although I can't get used to layout and would welcome bigger 'Enter' key rather than numeric keypad.  +although I can't get used to layout and bigger 'Enter' key would be more than welcome. Yes, I'd gladly sacrifice numeric keypad.  
-Normal size touchpad with two-finger scrolling, no trackpoint, 2xUSB 3.0, 2xUSB 2.0, HDMI, VGA and that's about it.+Normal size touchpad with two-finger scrolling, no trackpoint, 2xUSB 3.0, 2xUSB 2.0, webcam, HDMI, VGA and that's about it. 
 +Pretty much everything worked out-of-the-box in Ubuntu except networking. Even if I get over the networking, I can't get over DVD drive. 
 +I mean, **oh my**! 
 + 
 +Oh, and there is UEFI boot in the BIOS. I was very disappointed to see it and to be honest, I've violated my pledge not to buy any UEFI device.  
 +However, this UEFI thing does nothing so far. Perhaps it will one day, at one point, with newer BIOS? Who knows. I'm just letting you  
 +know. 
 + 
 +===== Running GNU/Linux ===== 
 + 
 +I've started with Slackware. However, since I was constantly failing at WiFi part, I've decided to move to Kubuntu(only to find out it's  
 +the same). Since almost everything worked, I can't give you too much advice what-where-how. But since it has nVidia GPU, you can either  
 +go with Nouveau or nV's proprietary driver. I'm rolling with Nouveau since I don't need OpenGL. Don't forget to build your  
 +kernel with support for switchable graphics(CONFIG_VGA_SWITCHEROO ?). As for sound card, Alsa or  
 +OSS(no, it is not deprecated). Touchpad is Synaptics(or so I guess), webcam is Lenovo's EasyCam and will require V4L. USB 3.0 is XHCI. 
 + 
 +==== Ethernet ==== 
 + 
 +I thinks I've used this [[http://askubuntu.com/questions/157223/12-04-does-not-detect-eth0atheros-ar8162|link]] to fix the issue with ethernet not  
 +being present. I found it rather sad this driver was not yet in kernel after a such long time. But well, it happens. Some information is  
 +[[http://www.linuxfoundation.org/collaborate/workgroups/networking/alx|here]] as well. 
 + 
 +In case of unavailability of the site, I'll copy paste information there: 
 + 
 +<code> 
 +tar -xvf compat-wireless-2012-02-28-p.tar 
 +cd compat-wireless-2012-02-28-p 
 +scripts/driver-select alx 
 +make 
 +make install 
 +modprobe alx 
 +</code> 
 + 
 + 
 +==== WiFi ==== 
 + 
 +WiFi works out of the box, but only for channels 1-11 and only with proprietary(?) drivers. I had no luck to get channels 12-14 operational  
 +nor I had luck with mainline drivers(not even WiFi scanning). 
 + 
 +Anyway, some information is [[https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Broadcom_wireless|at ArchLinux wiki]]. Less said about this hunk of crap, the better. In other words, I suggest not to bother with this and either get hold of a solid USB WiFi adapter(which is challenging on its own and depends on luck, but I was lucky) or replace it with some Intel WiFi adapter at additional cost(which, in my opinion, is worthy, because Intel WiFi cards just work in Linux). 
 + 
 +===== Hardware ===== 
 + 
 +  * CPU - Intel Core i5 3210M Ivy Bridge 
 +  * RAM - RAM 4GB(Up to 8GB of DDR3 1600/1333Mhz memory in 2 SODIMM slots, 2x4GB) 
 +  * LCD - 17.3" 1600x900 glossy 
 +  * GPU - NVIDIA GeForce GT630M 2GB + Intel HD Graphics 4000 
 +  * HDD - 1TB 5400 rpm(ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB 2.5" SATAII, but SATAIII is supported) 
 +  * DVD-RW 
 +  * WiFi(BMC4313) 
 +  * FastEthernet(AR8162) 
 +  * Bluetooth 
 +  * Webcam 1Mpx EasyCamera 
 +  * USB 3.0(2 ports) + USB 2.0(2 ports) 
 +  * HDMI 
 +  * 6 cell battery 
 +  * pre-installed FreeDOS 
 +  * [[https://www.lenovo.com/lt/lt/laptops/lenovo/g-series/g780/|official tech specs]] 
 +  * [[https://blogklink-pc.tech/en/how-to-disassemble-a-lenovo-g780-21b2-laptop-3/|how to disassemble]] 
 + 
 +<code> 
 +# lspci 
 +00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 3rd Gen Core processor DRAM Controller (rev 09) 
 +00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200 v2/3rd Gen Core processor PCI Express Root Port (rev 09) 
 +00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 3rd Gen Core processor Graphics Controller (rev 09) 
 +00:14.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family USB xHCI Host Controller (rev 04) 
 +00:16.0 Communication controller: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family MEI Controller #1 (rev 04) 
 +00:1a.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #2 (rev 04) 
 +00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family High Definition Audio Controller (rev 04) 
 +00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 1 (rev c4) 
 +00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 2 (rev c4) 
 +00:1d.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #1 (rev 04) 
 +00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation HM76 Express Chipset LPC Controller (rev 04) 
 +00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation 7 Series Chipset Family 6-port SATA Controller [AHCI mode] (rev 04) 
 +00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family SMBus Controller (rev 04) 
 +01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation GF108 [GeForce GT 630M] (rev a1) 
 +02:00.0 Ethernet controller: Atheros Communications Inc. AR8162 Fast Ethernet (rev 08) 
 +03:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4313 802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN Controller (rev 01) 
 +</code> 
 + 
 +<code> 
 +# lsusb 
 +Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub 
 +Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub 
 +Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub 
 +Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub 
 +Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub 
 +Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub 
 +Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0489:e032 Foxconn / Hon Hai  
 +Bus 001 Device 004: ID 0bda:0129 Realtek Semiconductor Corp.  
 +Bus 002 Device 003: ID 5986:0295 Acer, Inc  
 +</code> 
 + 
 +Part of ''/proc/cpuinfo'' follows, {{:hardware:lenovo-g780-cpuinfo.txt|complete output}}: 
 + 
 +<code> 
 +processor       : 0 
 +vendor_id       : GenuineIntel 
 +cpu family      : 6 
 +model           : 58 
 +model name      : Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3210M CPU @ 2.50GHz 
 +stepping        : 9 
 +microcode       : 0x12 
 +cpu MHz         : 1200.000 
 +cache size      : 3072 KB 
 +physical id     : 0 
 +siblings        : 4 
 +core id         : 0 
 +cpu cores       : 2 
 +apicid          : 0 
 +initial apicid  : 0 
 +fpu             : yes 
 +fpu_exception   : yes 
 +cpuid level     : 13 
 +wp              : yes 
 +flags           : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts  
 +acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx rdtscp lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good  
 +nopl xtopology nonstop_tsc aperfmperf pni pclmulqdq dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr  
 +pdcm pcid sse4_1 sse4_2 x2apic popcnt tsc_deadline_timer aes xsave avx f16c rdrand lahf_lm arat epb  
 +xsaveopt pln pts dtherm tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority ept vpid fsgsbase smep erms 
 +bogomips        : 4988.40 
 +clflush size    : 64 
 +cache_alignment : 64 
 +address sizes   : 36 bits physical, 48 bits virtual 
 +power management: 
 +</code> 
 + 
 +Output of # dmidecode ; is rather lengthy, but it's {{:hardware:lenovo-g780-dmidecode.txt|attached here}}.
hardware/lenovo-g780.1349425085.txt.gz · Last modified: by stybla