HCL - Razer Blade 14" (01/2017)

[michael.l...@gmail.com]

HCL: Razer Blade 14" (01/2017)
---
layout:
'hcl'
type:
'laptop'
hvm:
'yes'
iommu:
'yes'
slat:
'yes'
tpm:
'Unknown' (I disabled secure boot in the firmware)
brand: |
Razer
model: |
Blade
bios: |
E1.00
cpu: |
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-6700HQ CPU @ 2.60GHz
chipset: |
Intel Corporation Skylake Host Bridge/DRAM Registers [8086:1910] (rev 07)
chipset-short: |
FIXME
gpu: |
Intel Corporation HD Graphics 530 [8086:191b] (rev 06) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
NVIDIA Corporation GP106M [GeForce GTX 1060] [10de:1c20] (rev a1) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
network: |
Qualcomm Atheros QCA6174 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter (rev 32)
memory: |
16272
scsi: |


versions:

- works:
Yes
qubes: |
R3.2
xen: |
4.6.1
kernel: |
4.4.31-11
remark: |
Had to fix UEFI boot process and update the kernel to fix intel i915 graphics flicker. Still testing features and capabilities.
credit: |
Michael Liesenfelt
link: |
http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-systems/razer-blade

---


Installation and BIOS/UEFI:
I had to disable secure boot in the firmware before my USB stick would boot, just as expected.
I enabled the boot ‘SCM’ boot compatibility option.

I did a custom installation (https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/custom-install/) to manually create the gpt partition table, luks encrypted device mapper (--cipher=aes-xts-plain64 -s 512 -h sha512 -i 5000 --use-random), lvm physical volume, lvm virtual group, and logical volumes. Selected ‘custom partitioning’, re-scanned the available disks, then manually created the volumes for installation. Installation proceeded smoothly.

Boot Problems [solved]:
Upon rebooting after installation the razer firmware would not detect or boot the qubes installation. To solve this issue, boot the installer with the ‘rescue’ option and follow the “Troubleshooting UEFI related problems” > “Boot device not recognized after installing” qubes documentation (https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/uefi-troubleshooting/).

Copy /boot/efi/EFI/qubes/ to /boot/efi/EFI/BOOT/.
Rename /boot/efi/EFI/BOOT/xen.efi to /boot/efi/EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.efi.
Rename /boot/efi/EFI/BOOT/xen.cfg to /boot/efi/EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.cfg.


LAN:
No wired ethernet adapter.

WLAN (necessary before fixing graphics):
The Atheros works well. On first bootup, ‘Add/Remove app shortcuts’ to the ‘sys-net’ VM. Select the ‘Settings’ application. From the main menu > Service VM sys-net > sys-net: Settings. Add your wireless information to ‘Network’.

Intel Graphics Problems [solved]:
Upon first reboot the i915 Intel 530 graphics would result in a spontaneous screen flicker. To fix this issue, update dom0 so the 4.4.31-11 kernel/initramfs is installed in addition to the default 4.4.11-11. Upon reboot, the old 4.4.11 kernel will still be loaded. Copy the new 4.4.31 kernel and initramfs from /boot to /boot/efi/EFI/BOOT/. Edit /boot/efi/EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.cfg, copy the previous two entries, and edit them appropriately for 4.4.31-11 kernel/initramfs. The i915 initial compatibility kernel boot option can be safely removed.

The QHD+ screen is dense and beautiful. After installation I set the display resolution to 1080p until I figure out xfce font/icon/wm scaling.

Disk/filesystem:
I replaced the stock 256G Samsung 951 nvme SSD with a Samsung 960 Pro 1TB. Both are detected, have no problems, and run extremely fast.

Encryption Performance:
# Tests are approximate using memory only (no storage IO).
PBKDF2-sha1 624896 iterations per second for 256-bit key
PBKDF2-sha256 800439 iterations per second for 256-bit key
PBKDF2-sha512 653725 iterations per second for 256-bit key
PBKDF2-ripemd160 358610 iterations per second for 256-bit key
PBKDF2-whirlpool 276523 iterations per second for 256-bit key
# Algorithm | Key | Encryption | Decryption
aes-cbc 128b 1001.2 MiB/s 2868.0 MiB/s
serpent-cbc 128b 87.5 MiB/s 639.6 MiB/s
twofish-cbc 128b 195.6 MiB/s 352.9 MiB/s
aes-cbc 256b 755.4 MiB/s 2349.0 MiB/s
serpent-cbc 256b 86.5 MiB/s 654.8 MiB/s
twofish-cbc 256b 197.0 MiB/s 353.7 MiB/s
aes-xts 256b 2837.0 MiB/s 2821.5 MiB/s
serpent-xts 256b 626.0 MiB/s 629.8 MiB/s
twofish-xts 256b 345.8 MiB/s 353.0 MiB/s
aes-xts 512b 2290.6 MiB/s 2309.5 MiB/s
serpent-xts 512b 621.2 MiB/s 621.4 MiB/s
twofish-xts 512b 344.0 MiB/s 351.4 MiB/s

So, AES-NI : aes(512bit)-xts will be able to keep up with the fastest NVMe SSD’s out there and keep cycles off of the CPU’s AVX units.

LSPCI:
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Skylake Host Bridge/DRAM Registers (rev 07)
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Skylake PCIe Controller (x16) (rev 07)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation HD Graphics 530 (rev 06)
00:08.0 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Skylake Gaussian Mixture Model
00:14.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-H USB 3.0 xHCI Controller (rev 31)
00:14.2 Signal processing controller: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-H Thermal subsystem (rev 31)
00:15.0 Signal processing controller: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-H Serial IO I2C Controller #0 (rev 31)
00:15.1 Signal processing controller: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-H Serial IO I2C Controller #1 (rev 31)
00:16.0 Communication controller: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-H CSME HECI #1 (rev 31)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-H PCI Express Root Port #1 (rev f1)
00:1c.5 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-H PCI Express Root Port #6 (rev f1)
00:1d.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-H PCI Express Root Port #9 (rev f1)
00:1d.4 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-H PCI Express Root Port #13 (rev f1)
00:1e.0 Signal processing controller: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-H Serial IO UART #0 (rev 31)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-H LPC Controller (rev 31)
00:1f.2 Memory controller: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-H PMC (rev 31)
00:1f.3 Audio device: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-H HD Audio (rev 31)
00:1f.4 SMBus: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-H SMBus (rev 31)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation GP106M [GeForce GTX 1060] (rev a1)
3b:00.0 Network controller: Qualcomm Atheros QCA6174 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter (rev 32)
3d:00.0 Non-Volatile memory controller: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd Device a804

LSUSB:
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 006: ID 04f3:20b3 Elan Microelectronics Corp.
Bus 001 Device 005: ID 1532:020f Razer USA, Ltd
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 0bda:579f Realtek Semiconductor Corp.
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0cf3:e300 Atheros Communications, Inc.
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 045e:0040 Microsoft Corp. Wheel Mouse Optical
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

Webcam:
I haven’t tried to test it yet.

Sound:
I haven’t tried to test it yet.

Touchscreen:
Seems to put the cursor where I touch just fine.

TrackPad:
Seems to work just fine. You will have to go into the dom0:settings and enable ‘Tap touchpad to click’.

Keyboard:
Volume and screen brightness hotkeys work. Keyboard works as expected.

Suspend/Sleep:
I haven’t tried to fully test this out yet.

-----------

I will try to monitor and update this thread, so if there is anything else you want me to try out let me know.

/michael.liesenfelt

[Krasi]

I have the stealth one and had similar issues, unfortunately Qubes is still unstable with the new kernel and crashes on me. Unsuspend/wakeup is not working for me, the os just freezes with black screen. External monitor is also not detected unless I boot qubes with it attached. You can test the camera with cheese, mine is not working :( I am also still unable to assign devices to other VMs without something crashing or not working.

Please let me know if you manage to fix any of those issues on your laptop.

Thanks