After asking around, I was told to try the Ubiquity Edgerouter 4, which is indeed a nice little router and comes with linux out of the box. The best thing is it's designed to give you full access so you can install your own linux software. Well done!

But, for some strange reason, the then wonderful people at ubiquity did not figure out that it was useful to plug a serial port adapter to monitor or connect to another device, or even to use/need external USB storage. It is of course linux, you can build your own kernel and modules, but doing it for another architecture requires cross compilers and a non trivial setup that would likely have taken me days to setup.

This is where Nils Andreas Svee (Lockhair) comes in, and as part of his CAKE project to improve networking on that device (requiring a new kernel), he built a full compiler suite for that kernel, and very nicely added USB serial modules to his build for me a few years back for the ER1.x firmware.

Fast forward a few years, and the original 1.10.11 was based on Debian 7 (Wheezy) which became totally obsolete. Getting updated packages for that ancient distro became difficult, so I figured I should upgrade to 2.x.
After doing so ( EdgeRouter ER-4/ER-6P/ER-12/ER-12P: Firmware v2.0.9-hotfix.7 31 Jul 2023 from https://ui.com/download/releases/firmware ), I of course realized it was a new kernel that needed new modules.

But then I realized that during that time Ubiquity turned evil and stopped releasing GPL required code, including the kernel, which in turn caused Lochnair to stop being able to maintain his project: https://community.ui.com/questions/CAKE-thread-gone/27de66b2-9ac2-4fcb-93f7-d02cd5785b4c

I had a glimmer of hope that the new binary kernels were close enough to the last officially released kernel source, and asked him if he could build the extra missing modules: https://github.com/Lochnair/kernel_e300/issues/2 . He super nicely agreed and they worked!

Thanks to him, I now have have a fully upgraded and featured linux route with usb-serial support and usb-storage support.

You can get the modules here:

usbcore: registered new interface driver pl2303
usbserial: USB Serial support registered for pl2303
pl2303 1-1.1:1.0: pl2303 converter detected
usb 1-1.1: pl2303 converter now attached to ttyUSB0
usbcore: registered new interface driver uas
usb 1-1.2: new high-speed USB device number 4 using xhci-hcd
usb 1-1.2: New USB device found, idVendor=0951, idProduct=1666
usb 1-1.2: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
usb 1-1.2: Product: DataTraveler 3.0
usb 1-1.2: Manufacturer: Kingston
usb 1-1.2: SerialNumber: 1C6F654E48EBB131D95D0ABB
usb-storage 1-1.2:1.0: USB Mass Storage device detected
scsi host0: usb-storage 1-1.2:1.0
scsi 0:0:0:0: Direct-Access     Kingston DataTraveler 3.0 PMAP PQ: 0 ANSI: 6
sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] 121110528 512-byte logical blocks: (62.0 GB/57.8 GiB)
sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Write Protect is off
sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Mode Sense: 45 00 00 00
sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Write cache: disabled, read cache: enabled, doesn't support DPO or FUA
 sda: sda1 sda2
sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Attached SCSI removable disk

If you use this, please make a donation to him for his good work:

1) Oh, I need to finish writing code to get the SAO badge holder to do something fun

2) Mmmh, why does this python global variable thing doessn't work in the function

3) Goes to re-learn python, with help from gemini and how python forks global variables by default in functions so what you write to them isn't saved at local scope (oh my, why did they do that?)

4) after more hacking, get a proper demo working:

5) publish code https://github.com/marcmerlin/2024-Supercon-8-Add-On-Badge/blob/main/README.md (actual code is here: https://github.com/marcmerlin/2024-Supercon-8-Add-On-Badge/blob/main/software/software/main.py )

6) Oh, I need to make a video demo of the SAO, but...

7) oh yeah, there was that hat on my desk I needed to add LEDs on for an upcoming party, start hacking on that

8) mmmh, the hat won't work long enough with a USB battery, start hacking on a lipo solution

9) ah, lipos work, but the front LED panels rated for 5V start failing around 3.5V, so I need to make a dual lipo solution, one for the neopixels and one for the RGB panels

10) test and measure the dual lipo solution and figure out it will last close to 12H, that's good. Ok, hat works mostly, post that https://www.instagram.com/p/DCYEl1jJd_-
11) Ah yes, the SAO video I was supposed to work on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7MSywf7js4

12) During that time, I get interesting distracting packages on my doorstep, like lovely flexible LED panels that will hopefully power my future outfit: https://rpi-rgb-led-matrix.discourse.group/t/rpi0-2w-speed-compared-to-rpi3a/913/2

13) While I'm testing them, also try some new rPi0 2w chips and microcontrollers to see if they can power my LED outfit with a smaller form factor (and yes they can): https://rpi-rgb-led-matrix.discourse.group/t/rpi0-2w-speed-compared-to-rpi3a/913 . In the interest of briefty, I'm going to skip the part that included migrating from raspbian to a new dietpi linux distro and port back all my custom changes on it :)

14) That said, I had a long-ish discussion and planning with the electrodragon folks in China on how to make a new 3 channel daughter board that is much smaller and would decrease the over footprint of all new picture frames like the one I built, and of course my LED outfit.

15) but wait, now I also find out there is a new beaglebone solution that does 6 channels output instead of 3? Ok, make a post about it: https://rpi-rgb-led-matrix.discourse.group/t/interesting-6-port-board-beaglebone-pocketcroller-v2/918/2

16) and file a couple of RFE bugs to look into it: https://github.com/hzeller/rpi-rgb-led-matrix/issues/1733 + https://github.com/FalconChristmas/fpp/issues/2054

17) Oh, I just found this old video on my laptop, why did I never post it? Ok, fix that: https://marc.merlins.org/perso/linux/post_2021-01-23_Linux_conf_au-2021-LED-Talk.html

18) Mmmh, so when I quickly posted those pictures from Neil deGrasse Tyson who just gave a talk, I got a reminder it was annoying for my blog system not to be able to link to videos directly without having to upload them to youtube.

19) Ok, learn about html5 video tag, hack my blog system to support videos, and push a new blog with my first video tag: https://marc.merlins.org/perso/outings/post_2024-11-14_Neil-deGrasse-Tyson-back-at-San-Jose-Center-for-Performing-Arts_-An-Astrophysicist-Goes-To-The-Movies_-the-Sequel.html

20) ok, but why did I have to rescue my video from my phone because the H265 recompressed version did not work in the blog? Ah, because of royalties on H265 being too high, most browsers refuse to add support for it: http://marc.merlins.org/perso/linux/post_2024-11-17_Vidrename-Script_-Clean-up-Normalize-Video-Filenames-and-Add-Codec-And-Container-Format-With-Mplayer.html

21) Ok, sure, but now I need to upgrade my vidcomp script to support VP9 and AV1: http://marc.merlins.org/perso/linux/post_2024-11-17_Vidcomp-Script_-recompress-videos-on-linux-with-mencoder-or-ffmpeg-to-div3_-div4_-div5_-xvid_-mpeg4_-h264_-h265_-VP9_-and-AV1.html

22) then I find an Email from a chinese engineer who is willing to talk to me about making better LED shoes. That's exciting, let me reply to him first

23) ok, now I can recompress my videos to VP9, which I benchmarked to somehow be faster to compress and still smaller file size than AV1 (not supposed to be the case, but that's what I'm getting). On the plus side, VP9 works with more browsers than AV1.

24) what as I doing again? (now days have passed). Oh yes, I was supposed to write a blog on hackaday supercon: http://marc.merlins.org/perso/electronics/post_2024-11-01_Pasadena-Hackaday-Supercon-2024.html

25) of course the ridiculous amount of time spent to allow these 2 videos in that post, is a bit hard to justify, but it's really solving a problem I've had for over 10 years, and never got to the top of the pile, because, well, you see what happens when I try to put something on top of the pile :)

26) and I was good, I didn't even play with the micropython rpi micro I received in the mail this week, or the electromage pixelblaze and I/O board, or more LED panels that somehow showed up at my doorstep :)

27) mmmh, and there are all those webcams I ordered and need to configure, but now it's clear I'm going to have to re-install my camera controller, shinobi, from scratch, and that's yet another rabithole...

28) in the meantime I have to finish my LED hat, and design my new shirt and pants for Dreamstate in 4 days... Wish me luck :)

I have to admit now that while I've been using debian since 1997 and I'm not super interested in switching again to ubuntu, especially when I already did once, and they honestly sucked and let me down enough that I went back to debian. But in this case, debian didn't support sound right this new laptop, especially sound input (microphone), and it took several days of work painstakenly diffing the latest ubuntu 23 that worked, and debian that did not. Eventually got debian to work though.

P73 (after it died) next to P17gen2

Intro

Note that as per the last page linked above, I do not recommend getting a P17 if you already have a P73. I found nothing really better in the P17gen2 despite it being 2 years newer. Quite disappointing.

Power

The page with workaround again, but it's very sad I still had to do this for P17 :(

If you want a laptop with a proper power system and 2x the battery life while being also faster, try the Dell XPS 9730 (see review)

Configs

/etc/pipewire/microphone.conf

# https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/PipeWire
context.objects = [
    { factory = adapter
        args = {
            factory.name           = api.alsa.pcm.source
            node.name              = "microphone"
            node.description       = "Lenovo P17 DMIC16kHz"
            media.class            = "Audio/Source"
# arecord -l
            api.alsa.path          = "hw:0,7"
        }
    }
]

/etc/modprobe.d/thinkpad..conf

alias char-major-10-170 thinkpad
alias /dev/thinkpad thinkpad
alias /dev/thinkpad/thinkpad thinkpad
alias /dev/thinkpad/smapi smapi
alias /dev/thinkpad/superio superio
alias /dev/thinkpad/rtcmosram rtcmosram

# See http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/How_to_get_special_keys_to_work
options thinkpad_acpi  hotkey=0xff8c7ffb experimental=1 fan_control=1

options thinkpad enable_smapi=1 enable_superio=1 enable_rtcmosram=1 enable_thinkpadpm=1
#http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Tp_smapi
options thinkpad_ec force_io=1
# Invert X and Y: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/HDAPS
options hdaps invert=1

options usbcore autosuspend=1

# http://www.mjmwired.net/kernel/Documentation/sound/alsa/HD-Audio-Models.txt
# http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1316634
options snd-hda-intel probe_mask=1 model=thinkpad

#options iwlwifi 11n_disable=2

# To prevent applications from using ALSA's OSS emulation and bypassing
# PulseAudio (thereby preventing other applications from playing sound),
# make sure the module snd_pcm_oss is not being loaded at boot
# https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/PulseAudio#ALSA
blacklist snd_pcm_oss
blacklist snd_mixer_oss

blacklist dvb_usb_rtl28xxu
#blacklist snd_hda_codec_hdmi

# slows down boot
blacklist mei_wdt

# irq 48: nobody cared (try booting with the "irqpoll" option)
# [<00000000c1127e5c>] tis_int_handler [tpm_tis_core]
blacklist tpm_tis_core

Sound

pipewire replaces pulseaudio https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/PipeWire
helvum is graphical interface, it's pretty but not sure it's useful
qpwgraph is the same as helvum
pulseaudio still needed to talk to it.

Check out the linux kernel config options in here if that helps.

sauron:~$ pactl info
Server String: /run/user/500/pulse/native
Library Protocol Version: 35
Server Protocol Version: 35
Is Local: yes
Client Index: 557
Tile Size: 65472
User Name: merlin
Host Name: sauron.svh.merlins.org
Server Name: PulseAudio (on PipeWire 0.3.65)
Server Version: 15.0.0
Default Sample Specification: float32le 2ch 48000Hz
Default Channel Map: front-left,front-right
Default Sink: alsa_output.pci-0000_00_1f.3-platform-skl_hda_dsp_generic.stereo-fallback
Default Source: alsa_output.pci-0000_00_1f.3-platform-skl_hda_dsp_generic.stereo-fallback.monitor
Cookie: 1ece:0308

sauron:/etc/modprobe.d# inxi -aA
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel Tiger Lake-H HD Audio vendor: Lenovo
    driver: sof-audio-pci-intel-tgl
    alternate: snd_hda_intel,snd_sof_pci_intel_tgl bus-ID: 00:1f.3
    chip-ID: 8086:43c8 class-ID: 0401
  Device-2: NVIDIA GA104 High Definition Audio vendor: Lenovo
    driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie: gen: 4 speed: 16 GT/s lanes: 16
    bus-ID: 01:00.1 chip-ID: 10de:228b class-ID: 0403
  API: ALSA v: k6.6.8-amd64-volpre-sysrq-20231218 status: kernel-api
    with: aoss type: oss-emulator tools: alsamixer,amixer
  Server-1: PipeWire v: 0.3.65 status: n/a (root, process) with:
    1: pipewire-pulse status: active 2: wireplumber status: active
    3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin 4: pw-jack type: plugin
    tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli,wpctl

======================
microphone not working
======================
https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/pipewire-pipewire-media-session-vs-wireplumber/20705
wireplumber is new and inevitable, it uses LUA and different config files

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/PipeWire
/usr/share/wireplumber/main.lua.d/50-alsa-config.lua
      -- ["api.alsa.use-acp"] = true,
=> yeah, this kind of works but prevents headphones from working later

default output is Tiger Lake HD Audio Controller
microphone is HD Autdio Controller DMIC 16Khz

Instead of fixing in wireplugger, fix in pipewire which was not super documented:

Tried again with /etc/pipewire/microphone.conf after ln -s /usr/share/pipewire /etc/pipewire
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
merlin:/etc/pipewire$ ls -l /etc/pipewire
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 19 Dec 25 03:37 /etc/pipewire -> /usr/share/pipewire
merlin:/etc/pipewire$ cat microphone.conf
# https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/PipeWire
context.objects = [
    { factory = adapter
        args = {
            factory.name           = api.alsa.pcm.source
            node.name              = "microphone"
            node.description       = "Lenovo P17 DMIC16kHz"
            media.class            = "Audio/Source"
# arecord -l
            api.alsa.path          = "hw:0,7"
        }
    }
]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

then restart:
killall pipewire pipewire-pulse
(which gets auto restarted)

changes
Audio
 |- Devices:
 |      44. GA104 High Definition Audio Controller [alsa]
 |      45. Tiger Lake-H HD Audio Controller    [alsa]
 |
 |- Sinks:
 |  *   54. Tiger Lake-H HD Audio Controller Stereo [vol: 0.71]
 |
 |- Sink endpoints:
 |
 |- Sources:
 |      55. Tiger Lake-H HD Audio Controller Stereo [vol: 0.61]

to
Audio
 |- Devices:
 |      45. Tiger Lake-H HD Audio Controller    [alsa:pcm]
 |      51. GA104 High Definition Audio Controller [alsa:pcm]
 |
 |- Sinks:
 |  *   33. Tiger Lake-H HD Audio Controller    [vol: 0.89]
 |      37. GA104 High Definition Audio Controller (HDMI 1) [vol: 1.00]
 |      38. GA104 High Definition Audio Controller (HDMI 3) [vol: 1.00]
 |      39. GA104 High Definition Audio Controller (HDMI 2) [vol: 1.00]
 |      40. GA104 High Definition Audio Controller (HDMI 0) [vol: 1.00]
 |     363. Tiger Lake-H HD Audio Controller (HDA Analog Deep Buffer (*)) [vol: 1.00]
 |     366. Tiger Lake-H HD Audio Controller (HDMI3 (*)) [vol: 1.00]
 |     377. Tiger Lake-H HD Audio Controller (HDMI2 (*)) [vol: 1.00]
 |     378. Tiger Lake-H HD Audio Controller (HDMI1 (*)) [vol: 1.00]
 |
 |- Sink endpoints:
 |
 |- Sources:
 |     364. Tiger Lake-H HD Audio Controller (DMIC16kHz (*)) [vol: 0.61]
 |     365. Tiger Lake-H HD Audio Controller (DMIC (*)) [vol: 1.00]
 |  *  411. Tiger Lake-H HD Audio Controller    [vol: 0.55]

ubuntu had this instead:
Audio  Chip: Realtek ALC287
 |- Devices:
 |      44. Tiger Lake-H HD Audio Controller    [alsa]
 |      45. GA104 High Definition Audio Controller [alsa]
 |
 |- Sinks:
 |      46. Tiger Lake-H HD Audio Controller HDMI / DisplayPort 3 Output [vol: 1.00]
 |      47. Tiger Lake-H HD Audio Controller HDMI / DisplayPort 2 Output [vol: 1.00]
 |      48. Tiger Lake-H HD Audio Controller HDMI / DisplayPort 1 Output [vol: 1.00]
 |  *   49. Tiger Lake-H HD Audio Controller Speaker + Headphones [vol: 0.40]
 |
 |- Sink endpoints:
 |
 |- Sources:
 |      50. Tiger Lake-H HD Audio Controller Headphones Stereo Microphone [vol: 1.00]
 |  *   51. Tiger Lake-H HD Audio Controller Digital Microphone [vol: 1.00]

sauron:~# lsmod | grep snd
snd_seq_dummy          12288  0
snd_hrtimer            12288  1
snd_hda_codec_hdmi     90112  1
snd_hda_codec_realtek   196608  1
snd_hda_codec_generic   110592  1 snd_hda_codec_realtek
snd_soc_dmic           12288  1
snd_sof_pci_intel_tgl    12288  2
snd_sof_intel_hda_common   208896  1 snd_sof_pci_intel_tgl
snd_sof_intel_hda      24576  1 snd_sof_intel_hda_common
snd_sof_pci            24576  2 snd_sof_intel_hda_common,snd_sof_pci_intel_tgl
snd_sof_xtensa_dsp     12288  1 snd_sof_intel_hda_common
snd_soc_hdac_hda       24576  1 snd_sof_intel_hda_common
snd_soc_acpi_intel_match    98304  2 snd_sof_intel_hda_common,snd_sof_pci_intel_tgl
snd_soc_acpi           16384  2 snd_soc_acpi_intel_match,snd_sof_intel_hda_common
snd_hda_intel          57344  0
soundwire_intel        69632  1 snd_sof_intel_hda_common
snd_sof_intel_hda_mlink    40960  2 soundwire_intel,snd_sof_intel_hda_common
snd_sof_probes         24576  0
snd_sof               352256  4 snd_sof_pci,snd_sof_intel_hda_common,snd_sof_probes,snd_sof_intel_hda
snd_sof_utils          16384  1 snd_sof
snd_intel_dspcfg       36864  3 snd_hda_intel,snd_sof,snd_sof_intel_hda_common
snd_intel_sdw_acpi     16384  2 snd_sof_intel_hda_common,snd_intel_dspcfg
snd_soc_skl_hda_dsp    24576  4
snd_soc_intel_hda_dsp_common    16384  1 snd_soc_skl_hda_dsp
snd_hda_codec         217088  8 snd_hda_codec_generic,snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec_realtek,
    snd_soc_intel_hda_dsp_common,snd_soc_hdac_hda,snd_sof_intel_hda,snd_soc_skl_hda_dsp
snd_hwdep              20480  1 snd_hda_codec
snd_soc_hdac_hdmi      45056  1 snd_soc_skl_hda_dsp
snd_hda_ext_core       40960  5 snd_sof_intel_hda_common,snd_soc_hdac_hdmi,snd_soc_hdac_hda,snd_sof_intel_
    hda_mlink,snd_sof_intel_hda
snd_hda_core          147456  11 snd_hda_codec_generic,snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_ext_core,
    snd_hda_codec,snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_soc_intel_hda_dsp_common,snd_sof_intel_hda_common,snd_soc_hdac_hdmi,
    snd_soc_hdac_hda,snd_sof_intel_hda
snd_soc_core          421888  8 soundwire_intel,snd_sof,snd_sof_intel_hda_common,snd_soc_hdac_hdmi,
    snd_soc_hdac_hda,snd_sof_probes,snd_soc_dmic,snd_soc_skl_hda_dsp
snd_compress           28672  2 snd_soc_core,snd_sof_probes
snd_pcm_dmaengine      16384  1 snd_soc_core
snd_pcm               192512  13 snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec,soundwire_intel,snd_sof,
    snd_sof_intel_hda_common,snd_soc_hdac_hdmi,snd_compress,snd_soc_core,snd_sof_utils,snd_hda_core,snd_pcm_dmaengine
snd_seq_midi           20480  0
snd_seq_midi_event     16384  1 snd_seq_midi
snd_seq               106496  9 snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_midi_event,snd_seq_dummy
snd_timer              53248  3 snd_seq,snd_hrtimer,snd_pcm
snd_rawmidi            53248  1 snd_seq_midi
snd_seq_device         16384  3 snd_seq,snd_seq_midi,snd_rawmidi
snd_ctl_led            24576  0
snd                   155648  26 snd_ctl_led,snd_hda_codec_generic,snd_seq,snd_seq_device,snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hwdep,
    snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec,snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_sof,snd_timer,snd_soc_hdac_hdmi,snd_compress,thinkpad_acpi,
    snd_soc_core,snd_pcm,snd_rawmidi
soundcore              16384  2 snd_ctl_led,snd
ledtrig_audio          12288  3 snd_ctl_led,snd_hda_codec_generic,thinkpad_acpi
ac97_bus               12288  1 snd_soc_core
sauron:~# dmesg | grep snd
[   30.162413] snd_hda_intel 0000:00:1f.3: vgaarb: pci_notify
[   30.162418] snd_hda_intel 0000:00:1f.3: runtime IRQ mapping not provided by arch
[   30.162422] snd_hda_intel 0000:00:1f.3: DSP detected with PCI class/subclass/prog-if info 0x040100
[   30.162441] snd_hda_intel 0000:00:1f.3: Digital mics found on Skylake+ platform, using SOF driver
[   30.162444] snd_hda_intel 0000:00:1f.3: vgaarb: pci_notify
[   30.838258] snd_hda_codec_realtek ehdaudio0D0: autoconfig for ALC287: line_outs=1 (0x14/0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0) type:speaker
[   30.853017] snd_hda_codec_realtek ehdaudio0D0:    speaker_outs=0 (0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0)
[   30.871445] snd_hda_codec_realtek ehdaudio0D0:    hp_outs=1 (0x21/0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0)
[   30.892281] snd_hda_codec_realtek ehdaudio0D0:    mono: mono_out=0x0
[   30.892292] snd_hda_codec_realtek ehdaudio0D0:    inputs:
[   30.892342] snd_hda_codec_realtek ehdaudio0D0:      Mic=0x19
[   30.969586] snd_hda_codec_realtek ehdaudio0D0: ASoC: sink widget AIF1TX overwritten
[   30.977231] snd_hda_codec_realtek ehdaudio0D0: ASoC: source widget AIF1RX overwritten
sauron:~# dmesg | grep firmware
[    2.855848] i915 0000:00:02.0: [drm] Finished loading DMC firmware i915/tgl_dmc_ver2_12.bin (v2.12)
[    2.881616] i915 0000:00:02.0: [drm] GT0: GuC firmware i915/tgl_guc_70.1.1.bin version 70.1.1
[    2.881621] i915 0000:00:02.0: [drm] GT0: HuC firmware i915/tgl_huc_7.9.3.bin version 7.9.3
[    3.942915] psmouse serio2: trackpoint: Elan TrackPoint firmware: 0x12, buttons: 3/3
[   29.602566] systemd[1]: systemd-pcrmachine.service - TPM2 PCR Machine ID Measurement was skipped because of an 
    unmet condition check (ConditionPathExists=/sys/firmware/efi/efivars/StubPcrKernelImage-4a67b082-0a4c-41cf-b6c7-440b29bb8c4f).
[   30.386592] iwlwifi 0000:09:00.0: loaded firmware version 83.e8f84e98.0 ty-a0-gf-a0-83.ucode op_mode iwlmvm
[  469.044883] i915 0000:00:02.0: [drm] GT0: GuC firmware i915/tgl_guc_70.1.1.bin version 70.1.1
[  469.044897] i915 0000:00:02.0: [drm] GT0: HuC firmware i915/tgl_huc_7.9.3.bin version 7.9.3
[  621.435387] iwlwifi 0000:09:00.0: loaded firmware version 83.e8f84e98.0 ty-a0-gf-a0-83.ucode op_mode iwlmvm
[ 3319.317148] Bluetooth: hci0: Minimum firmware build 1 week 10 2014
[ 3319.325256] Bluetooth: hci0: Found device firmware: intel/ibt-0041-0041.sfi
[ 3320.667073] Bluetooth: hci0: Waiting for firmware download to complete
[50195.773603] usb 3-7: device firmware changed
[74491.611751] Bluetooth: hci0: Minimum firmware build 1 week 10 2014
[74491.620036] Bluetooth: hci0: Found device firmware: intel/ibt-0041-0041.sfi
[74492.962244] Bluetooth: hci0: Waiting for firmware download to complete
[86582.232349] iwlwifi 0000:09:00.0: loaded firmware version 83.e8f84e98.0 ty-a0-gf-a0-83.ucode op_mode iwlmvm
[87048.949201] i915 0000:00:02.0: [drm] GT0: GuC firmware i915/tgl_guc_70.1.1.bin version 70.1.1
[87048.949215] i915 0000:00:02.0: [drm] GT0: HuC firmware i915/tgl_huc_7.9.3.bin version 7.9.3
[88544.085573] i915 0000:00:02.0: [drm] GT0: GuC firmware i915/tgl_guc_70.1.1.bin version 70.1.1
[88544.085590] i915 0000:00:02.0: [drm] GT0: HuC firmware i915/tgl_huc_7.9.3.bin version 7.9.3
[88711.577697] i915 0000:00:02.0: [drm] GT0: GuC firmware i915/tgl_guc_70.1.1.bin version 70.1.1
[88711.577711] i915 0000:00:02.0: [drm] GT0: HuC firmware i915/tgl_huc_7.9.3.bin version 7.9.3
[88712.922837] Bluetooth: hci0: Minimum firmware build 1 week 10 2014

Intro

I had a forced upgrade from P73 to P17gen2 after my P73 suddenly died, and honestly I wasn't really impressed with the P17gen2, it was still huge, was not faster CPU wise, and did not run any longer on batteries despite going from Intel gen9 to gen11 (lenovo has no newer CPUs for 17" and 4K). This is where I looked into other options and found the Dell XPS 9730 as pretty much the only up to date gen13 laptop with 4K and 17" LCD.

Have a look at this page on Thinkpad P70 vs P73 vs P17

XPS 9730 is definitely smaller and more pixels than the P17gen

smaller footprint and lighter, sadly also a shit keyboard :(

the text console is very small ;)

battery use is much better than lenovo

13th gen intol, 6 fast cores plus 8 low power cores

nice 3840x2400 native panel resolution

compared to lenovo, the laptop is not easy to open, but hopefully you only have to do it once to add/replace NVME M2 drives (M2 SATA is not supported)

The things I don't like about this laptop however:

Linux config files

Missing hardware ports

Hardware support

modprobe dell_laptop

merlin:~# lsmod | grep ^dell
dell_rbu               20480  0
dell_laptop            32768  0
dell_wmi               28672  1 dell_laptop
dell_smbios            32768  2 dell_wmi,dell_laptop
dell_wmi_sysman        53248  0
dell_wmi_descriptor    20480  2 dell_wmi,dell_smbios
dell_wmi_ddv           24576  0

Need this in kernel build:
Dell X86 Platform Specific Device Drivers

Dell X86 Platform Specific Device Drivers (X86_PLATFORM_DRIVERS_DELL) [N/y/?] (NEW) y
  Alienware Special feature control (ALIENWARE_WMI) [M/n/?] (NEW) m
  Dell Systems Management Base Driver (DCDBAS) [M/n/y/?] (NEW) m
  Dell Laptop Extras (DELL_LAPTOP) [M/n/?] (NEW) m
  BIOS update support for DELL systems via sysfs (DELL_RBU) [M/n/y/?] (NEW) m
  Dell Airplane Mode Switch driver (DELL_RBTN) [M/n/?] (NEW) m
  Dell SMBIOS driver (DELL_SMBIOS) [M/n/?] (NEW) m
    Dell SMBIOS driver WMI backend (DELL_SMBIOS_WMI) [Y/n/?] (NEW) m
  Dell Latitude freefall driver (ACPI SMO88XX) (DELL_SMO8800) [M/n/y/?] (NEW) y
  Dell WMI notifications (DELL_WMI) [M/n/?] (NEW) y
    Dell WMI Hardware Privacy Support (DELL_WMI_PRIVACY) [N/y/?] (NEW) y
  WMI Hotkeys for Dell All-In-One series (DELL_WMI_AIO) [M/n/?] (NEW) y
  Dell WMI sensors Support (DELL_WMI_DDV) [M/n/?] (NEW) m
  External LED on Dell Business Netbooks (DELL_WMI_LED) [M/n/?] (NEW) m
  Dell WMI-based Systems management driver (DELL_WMI_SYSMAN) [M/n/?] (NEW) m

Touchpad

https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-1026576-start-0.html <<< kernel modules for touchpad
Have a look for USB HID SUPPORT and turn on raw HID SUPPORT there.
merlin:~# lsmod | grep -i HID
hid_sensor_als         16384  0
hid_sensor_trigger     20480  2 hid_sensor_als
industrialio_triggered_buffer    12288  1 hid_sensor_trigger
industrialio          131072  4 industrialio_triggered_buffer,hid_sensor_trigger,kfifo_buf,hid_sensor_als
hid_sensor_iio_common    20480  2 hid_sensor_trigger,hid_sensor_als
intel_hid              32768  0
sparse_keymap          16384  2 intel_hid,dell_wmi
hid_multitouch         32768  0
usbhid                 69632  0
hid_sensor_custom      28672  0
hid_sensor_hub         28672  4 hid_sensor_trigger,hid_sensor_iio_common,hid_sensor_als,hid_sensor_custom
intel_ishtp_hid        28672  0
hid_generic            12288  0
usbcore               389120  5 xhci_hcd,usbhid,uvcvideo,btusb,xhci_pci
intel_ishtp            73728  2 intel_ishtp_hid,intel_ish_ipc
i2c_hid_acpi           12288  0
i2c_hid                36864  1 i2c_hid_acpi
hid                   167936  6 i2c_hid,usbhid,hid_multitouch,hid_sensor_hub,intel_ishtp_hid,hid_generic

screen touch works

touchpad:
merlin:~$ xinput
Unable to connect to X server
merlin:~$ DISPLAY=:0 xinput
| Virtual core pointer                          id=2    [master pointer  (3)]
|   | Virtual core XTEST pointer                id=4    [slave  pointer  (2)]
|   | ELAN2097:00 04F3:2A15                     id=10   [slave  pointer  (2)]
|   | VEN_06CB:00 06CB:CE7E Mouse               id=11   [slave  pointer  (2)]
|   | VEN_06CB:00 06CB:CE7E Touchpad            id=12   [slave  pointer  (2)]
|   | PS/2 Generic Mouse                        id=19   [slave  pointer  (2)]
| Virtual core keyboard                         id=3    [master keyboard (2)]
    | Virtual core XTEST keyboard               id=5    [slave  keyboard (3)]
    | Video Bus                                 id=6    [slave  keyboard (3)]
    | Video Bus                                 id=7    [slave  keyboard (3)]
    | Power Button                              id=8    [slave  keyboard (3)]
    | Sleep Button                              id=9    [slave  keyboard (3)]
    | sof-soundwire Headset Jack                id=13   [slave  keyboard (3)]
    | Intel HID events                          id=14   [slave  keyboard (3)]
    | Intel HID 5 button array                  id=15   [slave  keyboard (3)]
    | Dell Privacy Driver                       id=16   [slave  keyboard (3)]
    | Dell WMI hotkeys                          id=17   [slave  keyboard (3)]
    | AT Translated Set 2 keyboard              id=18   [slave  keyboard (3)]

Other touchpad notes, including upgrading your firmware if it's too old and setup an ACPI hotkey to turn the touchpad back on with Fn+F3 if it gets turned off by mistake

https://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-2392658.html
So, the two touchpads (you can get the id easily with dmesg | grep -i touchpad):
ELAN 04F3:311C <-- this is the one with issues
Synaptics 06CB:CE7E
=> I have the right one but if not lastest firmware fixes things:
https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=214597

https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000150104/precision-xps-ubuntu-general-touchpad-mouse-issue-fix

Added a hotkey to re-enablet touchpad if it gets turned off by mistake by syndaemon
merlin:/etc/acpi# grep .  touchpad-local.sh  events/dell-f*
touchpad-local.sh:#!/bin/bash
touchpad-local.sh:su - merlin -c "DISPLAY=:0 synclient TouchpadOff=0"
events/dell-f4-cdplay-sleep-local:event=button/volumeup VOLUP 00000080 00000000
events/dell-f4-cdplay-sleep-local:action=/etc/acpi/touchpad-local.sh

Fan control needed for CPU

merlin:~#  smbios-thermal-ctl -g
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Current Thermal Modes: 
         Performance

Current Active Acoustic Controller (AAC) Mode: 
         AAC mode Disabled

Current Active Acoustic Controller (AAC) Mode: 
        Global (AAC enable/disable applies to all supported USTT modes)

Current Fan Failure Mode: 
Helper function to Get current Thermal Mode settings

by default, CPUs are throttled down for temperature, install throttled to control fans
which in turn allow CPUs to run harder:
apt install thermald
merlin:~# systemctl start thermald
merlin:~# psg thermald
root       45398  0.0  0.0 287000 10240 ?        Ssl  04:09   0:00 /usr/sbin/thermald --systemd --dbus-enable --adaptive

Sound

This firmware module is crutial and missing on debian:
merlin:/# dpkg -S iwlwifi-so-a0-gf-a0-83.ucode
linux-firmware: /lib/firmware/iwlwifi-so-a0-gf-a0-83.ucode.zst

/etc/pipewire/microphone.conf

# https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/PipeWire
# this works for pipewire-media-session but not wireplumber (that uses lua)
context.objects = [
    { factory = adapter
        args = {
            factory.name           = api.alsa.pcm.source
            node.name              = "microphone"
            node.description       = "Undetected Microphone"
            media.class            = "Audio/Source"
# arecord -l
            api.alsa.path          = "hw:1,7"
        }
    }
]

merlin:~# dmesg | grep snd
[   84.237700] snd_hda_intel 0000:00:1f.3: vgaarb: pci_notify
[   84.242752] snd_hda_intel 0000:00:1f.3: runtime IRQ mapping not provided by arch
[   84.242780] snd_hda_intel 0000:00:1f.3: DSP detected with PCI class/subclass/prog-if info 0x040100
[   84.247195] snd_hda_intel 0000:00:1f.3: SoundWire enabled on CannonLake+ platform, using SOF driver
[   84.247203] snd_hda_intel 0000:00:1f.3: vgaarb: pci_notify

merlin:~# dmesg | grep firmware
[    2.924714] i915 0000:00:02.0: [drm] Finished loading DMC firmware i915/adlp_dmc.bin (v2.19)
[    2.949985] i915 0000:00:02.0: [drm] GT0: GuC firmware i915/adlp_guc_70.bin version 70.5.1
[    2.949993] i915 0000:00:02.0: [drm] GT0: HuC firmware i915/tgl_huc.bin version 7.9.3
[   83.756991] systemd[1]: systemd-pcrmachine.service - TPM2 PCR Machine ID
Measurement was skipped because of an unmet condition check
(ConditionPathExists=/sys/firmware/efi/efivars/StubPcrKernelImage-4a67b082-0a4c-41cf-b6c7-440b29bb8c4f).
[   84.624266] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: loaded firmware version 83.e8f84e98.0 so-a0-gf-a0-83.ucode op_mode iwlmvm
[   85.611677] Bluetooth: hci0: Minimum firmware build 1 week 10 2014
[   85.641830] Bluetooth: hci0: Found device firmware: intel/ibt-0040-0041.sfi
[   87.312791] Bluetooth: hci0: Waiting for firmware download to complete

https://thesofproject.github.io/latest/getting_started/intel_debug/suggestions.html#run-alsa-info

No sound on speakers on dell 9730 (But works on wired headphones and bluetooth) #4758:
https://github.com/thesofproject/linux/issues/4758#issuecomment-1874578163

apt-get install -t bullseye-backports firmware-sof-signed thermald
intel-microcode amd64-microcode firmware-realtek firmware-iwlwifi

apt-get install -t unstable firmware-sof-signed alsa-ucm-conf

Without alsa-ucm.conf (not always installed on debian), this crutial file was missing:
merlin:~# cat /usr/share/alsa/ucm2/sof-soundwire/rt1316-2.conf
# Use case Configuration for sof-soundwire card

SectionDevice."Speaker" {
        Comment "Speaker"

        If.lrswitch {
                Condition {
                        Type ControlExists
                        Control "name='rt1316-1 DAC L Switch'"
                }
                True {
                        EnableSequence [
                                cset "name='rt1316-1 RX Channel Select' L,L"
                                cset "name='rt1316-2 RX Channel Select' R,R"
                                cset "name='rt1316-1 DAC L Switch' 1"
                                cset "name='rt1316-1 DAC R Switch' 1"
                                cset "name='rt1316-2 DAC L Switch' 1"
                                cset "name='rt1316-2 DAC R Switch' 1"
                                cset "name='Speaker Switch' on"
                        ]

merlin:~$ inxi -aA
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel vendor: Dell driver: sof-audio-pci-intel-tgl
    alternate: snd_hda_intel,snd_sof_pci_intel_tgl bus-ID: 0000:00:1f.3 chip-ID: 8086:51ca
    class-ID: 0401
  API: ALSA v: k6.6.9-amd64-volpre-sysrq-20240101 status: kernel-api with: aoss
    type: oss-emulator tools: alsamixer,amixer
  Server-1: PipeWire v: 0.3.65 status: active (process) with: 1: pipewire-pulse status: active
    2: wireplumber status: active 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin 4: pw-jack type: plugin
    tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli,wpctl

merlin:~$ wpctl status
PipeWire 'pipewire-0' [0.3.65, merlin@merlin.svh.merlins.org, cookie:3437972412]
 `- Clients:
        31. pipewire                            [0.3.65, merlin@merlin.svh.merlins.org, pid:3849]
        33. WirePlumber                         [0.3.65, merlin@merlin.svh.merlins.org, pid:3847]
        34. WirePlumber [export]                [0.3.65, merlin@merlin.svh.merlins.org, pid:3847]
        81. Efl Volume Control                  [0.3.65, merlin@merlin.svh.merlins.org, pid:32317]
        95. enlightenment                       [0.3.65, merlin@merlin.svh.merlins.org, pid:32317]
       102. wpctl                               [0.3.65, merlin@merlin.svh.merlins.org, pid:41767]

Audio
 |- Devices:
 |      44. sof-soundwire                       [alsa]
 |  
 |- Sinks:
 |      53. sof-soundwire HDMI / DisplayPort 3 Output [vol: 1.00]
 |      54. sof-soundwire HDMI / DisplayPort 2 Output [vol: 1.00]
 |      55. sof-soundwire HDMI / DisplayPort 1 Output [vol: 1.00]
 |      56. sof-soundwire Headphones            [vol: 1.00]
 |  *   57. sof-soundwire Speaker               [vol: 0.50]
 |  
 |- Sink endpoints:
 |  
 |- Sources:
 |      58. sof-soundwire Headset Microphone    [vol: 1.03]
 |  *   59. sof-soundwire SoundWire microphones [vol: 0.48]
 |  

Configs

This config file is very important if you want to configure the touchpad to emulate 3 buttons at the bottom of the bad (left/middle/right)
/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/70-synaptics.conf

# https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Touchpad_Synaptics#Configuration
# https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000150104/precision-xps-ubuntu-general-touchpad-mouse-issue-fix

Section "InputClass"
    Identifier "touchpad"
    Driver "synaptics"
    MatchIsTouchpad "on"
       #Option "TapButton1" "1"
       #Option "TapButton2" "3"
       #Option "TapButton3" "2"
       #Option "VertEdgeScroll" "on"
       #Option "VertTwoFingerScroll" "on"
       #Option "HorizEdgeScroll" "on"
       #Option "HorizTwoFingerScroll" "on"
       #Option "CircularScrolling" "on"
       #Option "CircScrollTrigger" "2"
       #Option "EmulateTwoFingerMinZ" "40"
       #Option "EmulateTwoFingerMinW" "8"
       #Option "CoastingSpeed" "0"
       #Option "FingerLow" "30"
       #Option "FingerHigh" "50"
       #Option "MaxTapTime" "125"
       #Option "SendEventsMode" "disabled-on-external-mouse"
       #Option "Tapping" "True"
       Option "AccelProfile" "adaptive"
       Option "AccelSpeed" "0.3"
       #Option "TappingDrag" "True"
       #Option "HorizontalScrolling" "True"
       #Option "ScrollMethod" "edge"
       # https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Touchpad_Synaptics
       # left 40% middle 25% (40% to 65%) right 35% (from 65% to 0=inf)
       # buttons go from 90% down to 0=inf
        Option     "SoftButtonAreas"  "66% 0 90% 0 40% 65% 90% 0"
EndSection

lmsensors if the right kernel build options are set

merlin:~# sensors
coretemp-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
Package id 0:  +62.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 0:        +58.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 4:        +57.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 8:        +60.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 12:       +59.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 16:       +58.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 20:       +52.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 24:       +59.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 25:       +59.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 26:       +59.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 27:       +59.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 28:       +59.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 29:       +58.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 30:       +58.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 31:       +58.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)

dell_ddv-virtual-0
Adapter: Virtual device
CPU Fan:     2866 RPM
Video Fan:   2857 RPM
CPU:          +61.0°C  (low  =  +0.0°C, high =  +0.0°C)
NB:           +52.0°C  (low  =  +0.0°C, high =  +0.0°C)
Other:        +56.0°C  (low  =  +0.0°C, high =  +0.0°C)
Other:        +51.0°C  (low  =  +0.0°C, high =  +0.0°C)
Other:        +53.0°C  (low  =  +0.0°C, high =  +0.0°C)
Ambient:      +28.0°C  (low  =  +0.0°C, high =  +0.0°C)
Other:        +49.0°C  (low  =  +0.0°C, high =  +0.0°C)
Unknown:      +26.0°C  (low  =  +0.0°C, high =  +0.0°C)
Video:        +53.0°C  (low  =  +0.0°C, high =  +0.0°C)

ubuntu 6.5.0-14 kernel:
merlin:/lib/modules# sensors
ucsi_source_psy_USBC000:002-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
in0:           5.00 V  (min =  +5.00 V, max =  +5.00 V)
curr1:         0.00 A  (max =  +0.00 A)

iwlwifi_1-virtual-0
Adapter: Virtual device
temp1:        +39.0°C

ucsi_source_psy_USBC000:004-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
in0:           5.00 V  (min =  +5.00 V, max =  +5.00 V)
curr1:         0.00 A  (max =  +3.00 A)

coretemp-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
Package id 0:  +51.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 0:        +44.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 4:        +43.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 8:        +46.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 12:       +41.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 16:       +41.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 20:       +45.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 24:       +47.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 25:       +47.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 26:       +47.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 27:       +47.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 28:       +48.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 29:       +48.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 30:       +48.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)
Core 31:       +48.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)

nvme-pci-e200
Adapter: PCI adapter
Composite:    +30.9°C  (low  = -40.1°C, high = +119.8°C)
                       (crit = +129.8°C)
Sensor 1:     +40.9°C  (low  = -40.1°C, high = +139.8°C)
Sensor 2:     +30.9°C  (low  = -40.1°C, high = +119.8°C)

ucsi_source_psy_USBC000:003-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
in0:           5.00 V  (min =  +5.00 V, max =  +5.00 V)
curr1:         0.00 A  (max =  +0.00 A)

ucsi_source_psy_USBC000:001-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
in0:          18.00 V  (min =  +0.00 V, max = +20.00 V)
curr1:         6.50 A  (max =  +6.50 A)

dell_ddv-virtual-0
Adapter: Virtual device
CPU Fan:     1221 RPM
Video Fan:   1206 RPM
CPU:          +53.0°C  (low  =  +0.0°C, high =  +0.0°C)
NB:           +43.0°C  (low  =  +0.0°C, high =  +0.0°C)
Other:        +47.0°C  (low  =  +0.0°C, high =  +0.0°C)
Other:        +42.0°C  (low  =  +0.0°C, high =  +0.0°C)
Other:        +45.0°C  (low  =  +0.0°C, high =  +0.0°C)
Ambient:      +31.0°C  (low  =  +0.0°C, high =  +0.0°C)
Other:        +42.0°C  (low  =  +0.0°C, high =  +0.0°C)
Unknown:      +27.0°C  (low  =  +0.0°C, high =  +0.0°C)
Video:        +36.0°C  (low  =  +0.0°C, high =  +0.0°C)

nvme-pci-e100
Adapter: PCI adapter
Composite:    +31.9°C  (low  =  -5.2°C, high = +89.8°C)
                       (crit = +93.8°C)

BAT0-acpi-0
Adapter: ACPI interface
in0:          13.13 V
curr1:       1000.00 uA

The various historical collections were fairly good:

Hopefully I'll be back in Sheffield one day, and will have time to play more next time.

Thinkpad History: P70, P73, to P17gen2 With Linux

P17gen2 is not much an upgrade to P73, if at all :-/

both laptops mostly look the same,

so in the short term, this is how I had to get the P17 to work, with 2 USB adapters, sigh...

128GB of RAM in that used model, that was nice. The Xeon 11855 didn't feel faster and definitely didn't last longer on batteries :-/

So basically the P17gen2 didn't really have any clear advanage compared to the P73 and dropped a few things I used. It does allow for more RAM, and I'm hoping the new CPU is better somehow, but I didn't see anything super obvious.

Dell XPS 9730, faster, smaller, lighter and 2x the battery life of P17gen2, and charges from regular USB-PD when Lenovo still refuses almost all other power supplies

P17gen2 vs Dell XPS 9730, and the Dell has more pixels even (3840x2400 instead of 3840x2160), but it's sadly missing the trackpoint

P70, P73, P17gen, Dell XPS 9730, you can see how big and fat the Lenovos, are

another shot of how much smaller and thinner Dell XPS 9730, sittting on top of P17gen2

I had no plans on using windows, but I wanted to get a fair test of battery life, so I did it under windows

Not even 5H, I feel P73 was better than P17gen2

With Dell XPS 9730, I easily got 8H on windows and linux, and up to 10H by tuning a lot

up to 15h of battery life on the dell?

only 3H for lenovo on windows in battery saver mode?

So basically as much as I very much, and I mean very very much miss the trackpoint on Lenovo, Lenovo really got lazy in design. The P17gen2 is huge compared to the Dell XPS 9730, it's much heavier, bigger, has a smaller resolution and only about half the battery life. So much wasted space inside that laptop, I'm not sure what else to say.
Oh, right, and Lenovo made power worse on their laptops, they still require special and heavy power supplies, and still refuse to use any other power source. and completely refuse to use any USB power (20V, 100W PD). Come on, lenovo, really! I don't want to hear any BS excuses, Dell does it fine (it uses whatever power can come from USB and if it's not enough will slowly discharge the battery to make up for the difference).

Dell XPS 9730 Linux Tip: AHCI vs VMD and no M2 SATA support either

Tbe laptop documentation says nothing on whether SATA M2 is supported or not, and sadly just like Lenovo, it only supports NVME, no M2 SATA:

one downside of the Dell is that it's hard to open to change the M2 drives (only 2 slots), lots of clips to unclip carefully

Other 17"+ 4K laptops (intel gen13 or better)

Windows, trying hard to prevent people from installing google chrome, what a joke

'added trust of microsoft' the company that got infiltrated by crackers that stole all their source code?

another forced banner to tell me not to use chrome

and one more pathetic attempt to stop me from switching, 4 in a row!

I didn't quite know that Bletchley Park is actually separate from the National Museum of Computing (they are adjacent, but separated by a fence, needing an annoying 10-15mn walk all the way around), and Bletchey Park actually opens earlier, so it's probably best to visit first (also check the National Museum of Computing's website for which dsays they have guided tours and guides showing the hardware (well worth it).

I'll start with the National Museum of Computing as it was the most exciting to me with its fully functional rebuild bombe and colossus decryption machines for Enigma and Lorenz (the much more secure encryption system German Command used):

One big mistake the germans did was to send a weather report starting with the same german word (known plaintext) every morning. This allowed building a computer (bombe) that tried all rotor combinations to turn the crypted message into the known platintext:

The even more impressive machine (by a lot) was the aptly named "Colossus" which was build from scratch from a reverse engineered design (that part is so impressive), to decrypt the much more secure Lorenz encryption:

the computer reads the encrypted message from this paper tape (5 bit ASCII)

this machine did the decryption once the other machine had output the decryption parameters

How lorenz was reverse engineered and cracked is complicated and super impressive, but basically all came down to the almost same message being sent twice with the same key which allowed for a known plaintext attack:

This video shows the different machines in action Bombe rebuild (to break enigma), Colossus rebuild (to break Lorenz), plus the oldest still working half-mechanical computer (Harwell Dekatron):

And the museum had lot of other computers, a collection that is close to being as good as the one at the computer history museum in Mountain View, CA:

they have a whole collection of tubes (pre-transistors) to replace the ones that break on their machines

core memory

impressive they had so many of those machines, still working

I had one of those

this too

and this too (Asmtrad CPC464+memory upgrade+floppy)

didn't have this one at home, but worked with them at SGI

those I never had, but I wish I did. Archimedes was awesome and way ahead of its time with Arm RISC CPUs

The Harwell Dekatron was also a very cool (and still working) computer I had never seen:

Bletchley Park had different buildings each with their story and what they were used for:

Lots of info on the machines, an earlier crack of older enigma machines was to use EINS for plaintext attacks:

They had many displays on the brilliant mathematicians that broke the codes and built the machines. Alan Turing was one of them, but they were multiple others:

Despite some inefficiencies in having to go back and forth between the 2 museums to join a timed tour at Bletchley (which actually is skipable if you are short on time), I spent the entire day there (open to close) and it was very well worth it.

Thinkpad P73 vs P70, not a win all around: only one 2.5" drive instead of 2, and a badly designed power system

P70 vs P73, they look pretty similar

*Update*: it seems if that if you get a cheaper nvidia chip with the P73, it is then configured to accept 135W power supplies as the minimum required. That said, it will still refuse to work with any regular 90W power supply or external battery back, unless you force it with the center pin resistor swap.

While I have no plans to use windows on that machine, I thought I'd just try it out to see how it does on power. This is where I was impressed, windows can idle at less than 10W for more than 11H runtime, while I'm lucky if I can get linux at 15W. This is definitely a place where linux should do better, of course, it's not as if Lenovo put any work into making linux more efficient on their hardware either:

*Update* : with tlp and using the nouveau driver just enough to turn off the nvidia chip, I'm now able to tune the laptop down to 10W, almost matching windows.
See tlp issue 494 for details on how to setup tlp to run in low power mode when power is plugged in.

Another disappointment is that the P73 is mostly the same size and weight than the P70, but it has less room for storage. It has a bunch of empty spaces that aren't used for anything, and it can't use two 2.5" SATA drives anymore, like the P70 could. Worse, the now single 2.5" slot uses a lenovo only ribbon cable that does not ship with the laptop and basically means you cannot even add a 2.5" drive without that special ribbon cable, which isn't in stock yet. Well done... Ah yes, the battery is also not hot swappable, even if it is replaceable (unlike a Mac laptop where everything is sealed shut).

this shows the unobtanium lenovo cable for the now only single drive that fits, along the unused space

Ok, stop complaining, just buy a bunch of 170w or 230W power supplies and move on with your life

Tricking the P70 and P73 into accepting a power supply it wouldn't otherwise use

For the P70, I built this power supply adapter with a resistor bridge to tell the laptop how big it should think the power supply, is:

It's basically a configurable version of this. Yes, lenovo, I thank you for the hours I wasted opening up power supply plugs and replacing the center pin resistors:

Here's how the P73 responds:

- 230W works fine   4.6k => I have seen power supplies work with 170W but fail at 230W, so the laptop does draw more
- 170W works ok     1.9k (1.8k also ok)
- 130W rejected     1k
- 90W  rejected     550 

The rejected power supplies will be used to charge the laptop if it is shutdown, but they will not be used in any way otherwise. On the P70 the laptop would at least use the power supply to keep the laptop alive, and use half battery half external power supply. Not so with the P73, it just ignores it entirely.
This is utter bullshit as I have plenty of 90W power supplies, including 12V car converters, or a 90W external 20V battery pack I can't use anymore.

You can go read my Hacking a thinkpad slim tip adapter to output more than 90W (required to charge a Thinkpad P70) page for details, including this nice battery pack I couldn't use anymore:

*Update* : so, actually with some serious tlp hacking (basically I told it to force battery mode even if a power supply is plugged in), I've managed to throttle the laptop enough, even when plugged in, so that it only uses 20W. At that point, I'm actually able to use my old external battery pack, as well as a 90W power supply, as long as I lie to the laptop and pretend they are 230W power supplies with the resistor trick. In my tests with windows, it was not possible to throttle the laptop enough when plugged in, not to have it overwhelm a smaller power supply (not that 90W is small for a laptop that normally uses 20-30W when it's not charging batteries).
If you scroll to the bottom of the page, you'll also see a terrible buffer lipo hardware hack I did that allows to use the battery pack with higher amp draws, but it's a bit ridiculous (and bulky).
See tlp issue 494 for details on how to setup tlp to run in low power mode when power is plugged in.

Without the tlp hack or the buffer lipo hack, when I lie to the laptop and tell it is connected to a a bigger power supply, manage power draw with what I run, and disable battery charging in software, but the laptop will still draw the power supply for over 100W when you plug it in for a fraction of a second, and refuse it if the voltage drops.
Obviously this would not be a problem if the laptop simply had a 90W power supply mode where it throttle things down and turned off battery charging. This is mostly what the P70 does.

In the meantme, on top of hacking my power supplies, I also made this for my laptop, it looks silly and makes the thinkpad not look like a professional laptop, but well, that's lenovo's fault:

this takes any power supply and replaces the center tip resistor with a 1.9k one to emulate a 170W power supply

From talking to Lenovo, they don't think that this is really a problem, so since I'm an engineer, I made my own external battery pack, but I otherwise recommend to road warriors to avoid thinkpads from now on, given the backward power design in this one.

Making a Thinkpad P73 compatible external battery pack

Prototype with 150W step up converter which takes my 16V lipo to 20V while delivering enough amps to make the laptop happy:

it works, and the laptop thinks it's connected to a 230W power supply thanks to the center pin resistor.

Here's a quick demo:

Version 2 was to have a way to recharge the battery pack while it's being used. I've used this to use the battery pack as a buffer to absorb peaks from the laptop without tripping an external power supply, including in a car limited to 100W or a plane power supply limited to even less:

this works in theory, but the lipo charger is quite slow and wouldn't keep up for long, but I made a better version shown lower down

Lenovo's P73 airplane mode simply stops using the external power supply and reverts to batteries. Sigh...

Making a battery pack to act both as buffer for a smaller power supply, and as emergency external power (even power the laptop from 12v)

version 1 was a bit bigger than I wanted, 90W power supply shown for scale

here, the 90W power supply is recharging the battery at 2.5A while it's being discharged at 3A on the output side, using the battery as buffer

I made version 3 a bit smaller, with a built in 12V lipo to act as buffer for a smaller power supply. Yes, it's a beautiful piece of art, I know :)

Pushed to the extreme, I can now use my original external battery pack again by having it recharge my lipo+150W step up that can output more amps than the ravpower pack can. Of couse, it's inefficient, the ravpower pack outputs 20V that gets down converted to 12V by the H605 Air lipo charger, which charges the built in 3S lipo in the box, and then gets up converted back to 20V without the amp limitation (the phone used to control the lipo charger also inside the box):

The really cool thing is that by using tlp, it's actually possible to tune the laptop down to very low power use, even when plugged in, something that windows probably can't do:

7.3W with the screen off (and around 10W with wifi off and the screen on low dim) is not bad for a laptop that big

4S Lipo vs 4x 18650 or 26650 batteries

That said, as I recently found out that 16650 (or better 26650) batteries are both lighter and smaller. The only thing the lipos do, is offer a better discharge rate, but while that's useful for a high power RC plane motor that can empty the batteries in 10mn, it's not needed for a laptop:

26650s are 195 Wh/kg while the lipo I gave was 184Wh/kg. The 3rd battery listed is supposed to be 260Wh/kg which is much nicer, that said, it looks like those samsung batteries are actually smaller than 26650s, lighter, and yet offer the same 5Ah at 3.6V. If so, that's very impressive.

As of this writing, I have however not found 26650 battery holders that hold 26650 protected cells that are a bit longer. This seems to the be only one available, and it's too short to hold the batteries: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074GVPWSH

A few months later, I ended up cutting them and taping them to make them longer. It doesn't work great, but it was enough for a few tests. In the end, I found that somehow I wasn't getting enough amps out of them, which surprised me, so they didn't work that well compared to a lipo:

Conclusion