Multiple stupid questions on linux.

[Chandrodoy]

I have a perpetually hot asus, Ryzen laptop, and was thinking of running ubuntu mate on it.

 

Does linux, being lighter than Windows,  help lower temps?

 

Is there a significant difference in perf. Between ubuntu mate and mint mate?

 

Do I get the precision trackpad features of windows  like gestures on linux? Especially the switch workspaces thing.

 

Will my fingerprint reader unlock work on it?

 

I am very new to the linux environment.

Kindly help.

 

[Electronics Wizardy]

Probably won't help it be any cooler. Normally linux doesn't have as good of power management on laptops, so it may use a bit more power.

 

Gestures depends on the model, try a life diskl

 

Why not try a live disk, it will show you what hardware works.

[Dutch_Master]

1 minute ago, Chandrodoy said:

Does linux, being lighter than Windows,  help lower temps?

Not really. Take note of its environment: is it on a table, is there a cloth underneath, do you in any way restrict airflow to the cooling system. If so, solve that first.

1 minute ago, Chandrodoy said:

Is there a significant difference in perf. Between ubuntu mate and mint mate?

Not really. Might differ in the margins, but for normal use it's hardly noticeable at the best of times.

 

1 minute ago, Chandrodoy said:

Do I get the precision trackpad features of windows  like gestures on linux? Especially the switch workspaces thing.

Will my fingerprint reader unlock work on it?

On modern Linux systems, features like this usually work, provided the kernel is recent enough (5.0 or newer)

 

[FFY00]

On 8/15/2020 at 7:05 PM, Chandrodoy said:

Does linux, being lighter than Windows,  help lower temps?

No, but it will, depending on your setup, have a lower overhead just for running the system.

 

On 8/15/2020 at 7:05 PM, Chandrodoy said:

Do I get the precision trackpad features of windows  like gestures on linux? Especially the switch workspaces thing.

It should be supported yes, you should have roughly the same experience if the gesture detection comes from the hardware itself.

 

On 8/15/2020 at 7:05 PM, Chandrodoy said:

Will my fingerprint reader unlock work on it?

Hardware support can be a bit hit or miss.

[Guest]

On 8/15/2020 at 1:05 PM, Chandrodoy said:

Does linux, being lighter than Windows,  help lower temps?

No.

 

On 8/15/2020 at 1:05 PM, Chandrodoy said:

Is there a significant difference in perf. Between ubuntu mate and mint mate?

No. There however may be a difference between say Manjaro and Ubuntu due to Manjaro using less services, dependencies, and having newer packages.

 

On 8/15/2020 at 1:05 PM, Chandrodoy said:

Do I get the precision trackpad features of windows  like gestures on linux? Especially the switch workspaces thing.

This depends on your Environment. KDE supports this and I believe GNOME does as well.

 

On 8/15/2020 at 1:05 PM, Chandrodoy said:

Will my fingerprint reader unlock work on it?

Probably not without some tweaking and additional packages in the terminal.

[Alexeygridnev1993]

On 8/15/2020 at 8:05 PM, Chandrodoy said:

Does linux, being lighter than Windows,  help lower temps?

You can install package "slimbookbattery" (do

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:slimbook/slimbook && sudo apt update && sudo apt install slimbookbattery

 in the terminal if you're on Ubuntu or Mint) and choose "energy saving" profile, that will help. Not sure how it compares in its efficiency with Windows power management settings, but the effects on heat output and battery life are real and significant. Otherwise, changing the thermal paste may end up being more effective than any software solution if the manufacturer put a bad one.