Hey all. So about a couple days ago, i decided to take a big leap and finally move away from windows and over to linux. After much research, i chose zorin os. I decided to buy a used macbook for my studies since im in college right now and got one helluva steal: three Macbooks for like $200 from ebay. Two macbook pros and a macbook air. The main reason im making this post is because there are two things im wondering:
The first one being is what are some ways you guys fully optimize Zorin OS to ensure you have long battery life? The specs on the macbook pro are
CPU: Intel Core i7-4870HQ
For Graphics I have NVE7 (which i assume is nvidia) and Intel Iris Pro Graphics P5200 (HSW GT3)
I have 16 GB of ram and 500GB of storage.
The next thing is more so an issue i have when turning the machine on and off. When i turn it on or off, I noticed that the screen flashes what i can only describe as a tv static type of effect for like 2 seconds and then it disappears. any idea what that could be?
Hopefully you guys can be of assistance. Thanks!
Edit: Here's a picture of what I see when turning the macbook on and off. Like i said it only appears for like two seconds and then after that it disappears. Doesnt effect normal function or anything. Just something thats shows up
keep the Nvidia side off if you can. iris pro alone lasts longer. check nvidia settings / prime-select if the proprietary stack is installed, or just stay on the intel gpu
dim the panel, kill idle browser tabs. tlp helps if you want finer control
the 2 second static flash on power on/off is pretty common on older apple panels under linux. usually the backlight / panel power sequence during modeset. if it only lasts a couple seconds and then the desktop is fine, most people leave it. if it stays or gets worse, grab dmesg | grep -iE "drm|i915|nvidia" right after boot.
as far as keeping the nvidia side off how would i go about that? i tried checking the settings but didnt see anything. would this be something to do in the terminal?
on that 2014 mbp the nvidia side is usually the proprietary driver stack if you installed it.
from a terminal:
prime-select query
if that prints nvidia, flip it:
sudo prime-select intel
sudo reboot
if prime-select is missing, youre probably on nouveau/iris already and there isnt a separate toggle in Settings. then just leave Nvidia X Server Settings alone and stay on the intel adapter.
after reboot, glxinfo | grep "OpenGL renderer" should say Intel / Iris, not NVIDIA.
Ok i just tried to run the prime-select query and yeah the message i got back was this:
Command 'prime-select' not found, but can be installed with:
sudo apt install nvidia-prime
But after i just rebooted and ran the OPENGL renderer command i got the response of:
OpenGL Renderer string: NVE7
Should i install the nvidia-prime thing that was mentioned first and try your solution again?
edit: so i tried installing the nvidia-prime and then redoing what you said and yeah when i ran the OpenGL renderer command it yielded the same result:
OpenGL renderer string: NVE7
edit 2: ok i dont know what i did BUT now when i do prime-select query it says intel! I had to go searching through the forum and i ran a command i found:
lspci -k | grep -A 3 "VGA|3D"
after running that, i ran your command prime-select query and NOW it says intel. But when i run the opengl command it still gives me the same NVE7 message that i got before even after reboot.
You use the open source nouveau driver at the moment for your nvidia card. Take a look at Software&Updates (go to tab additional drivers there) if there is offered a proprietary nvidia driver for your nvidia card.
Which nvidia card do you have?
If you want to install the proprietary nvidia drivers you probably need to install an older kernel before.
But please post a screenshot of the additional drivers site first, then we see more.
So i went and took a look at Software and Updates. There are no additional drivers available.
As far as what nvidia graphics card i have, after looking up the name nve7, it is a codename for the nvidia gk107 gpu. thats the nvidia graphics card i have. hope this info helps.
edit 1: basically since i am trying to maximize battery life, I'd like to see if it is possible to disable the nvidia graphics card and only use the intel graphics.
edit 2: also because when doing simple tasks like browsing or anything else the macbook gets fairly hot. not uncomfortably hot but gets hot as if im doing something intensive.
It can help to install Zorin Lite instead of Zorin Core. I had a similar problem with the heat on my old Dell laptop with an old nvidia card, and I switched to Zorin 17 Lite which runs much better. But the support for Zorin 17 will end in June next year.
You could take a look at your BIOS if it is possible to disable the Nvidia card there.
I would test if your laptop runs better on Xorg than on Wayland. At loginscreen click on your username then a cog wheal appears at the bottom right corner. There you can switch between Xorg and Wayland.
I think @Forpli's advice might be the way forward as a short-term solution.
I did a search using Brave search engine via Mojeek, which always comes back with an A.I. answer. The one incorrect part in it states Pop!OS as the best as it contains nvidia drivers. Sadly, the Linux kernel, which is the part of GNU/Linux is like that other OS, requiring newer graphics capabilities. Anyway, there were some things I was not aware of given here:
" For an Intel-based Mac Pro from 2014 (likely a Mac Pro 6,1 or similar era hardware) with NVIDIA GK107 graphics, the best Linux distributions for stability and out-of-the-box compatibility are Linux Mint (specifically the Cinnamon or Xfce editions) and Pop!_OS .
Key Recommendations:
Linux Mint : Widely cited as the most reliable "just works" option for older Macs. It offers a stable base with minimal configuration required for basic functionality.
Pop!_OS : Highly recommended for machines with NVIDIA graphics because it provides pre-installed NVIDIA drivers and optimized power management, which is critical for preventing the overheating issues common with NVIDIA cards on Macs.
Fedora Workstation : A strong alternative for users who want newer kernels and hardware support, though it may require slightly more manual configuration for NVIDIA drivers compared to Pop!_OS.
Crucial Step to Prevent Overheating:
The NVIDIA GK107 chip is prone to overheating on Macs if the discrete GPU is not properly managed. Regardless of the distro you choose, you must implement hardware-level power management:
Install NVIDIA Drivers : Ensure proprietary drivers are installed, not the open-source nouveau drivers, which lack proper power management.
Use Bumblebee or Prime Offloading : If your Mac has hybrid graphics (Intel integrated + NVIDIA discrete), use Bumblebee or NVIDIA Prime to force the system to use the integrated Intel GPU for desktop tasks and only activate the NVIDIA card when necessary.
Consider nvidia-powerd : On newer kernels, the nvidia-powerd service can help manage GPU clocks and temperatures more effectively than older tools like Jupiter.
EFI Workaround : For some MacBook Pro models with similar NVIDIA chips, users have reported success using the apple_set_os.efi utility to unlock proper GPU switching and power management under Linux, though this is more commonly documented for MacBook Pros than Mac Pros.
Summary : Start with Pop!_OS for its built-in NVIDIA driver support and power management, or Linux Mint for maximum stability. Ensure you configure your system to prioritize the integrated Intel GPU for daily tasks to mitigate overheating.
So i tried running it with Xorg to see if it ran better and nah it still overheats. gonna try a couple more solutions that people give me before just installing zorin os lite cause that seems like the move. Also on Xorg my mouse clicks randomly just stopped working which was odd lol.
Okay, a GT 750m. I checked that and You would need an older Driver - a Driver that isn't available in the Zorin 18 Repo's. Would it be an Option for You to use Zorin 17 instead? It still gets Updates.
I can definitely try. I know someone else in the thread mentioned that its gonna stop receiving updates some time next year. with that being the case would that mean that I'd be forced to upgrade or would I still be fine to use it even after updates stop?
Not sure about wireless, is it working? That screenshot states the driver currently in use but the only other option is to not use it and might mean no wireless if you selected don't use this driver.
