Optimus IX - up and running on Linux Mint 19 with a few minor issues

I took delivery of my first ever PC Specialist computer today, an Optimus IX laptop which I bought for general use and photographic processing:

Optimus Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD 144Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Intel® Core™ i7 Six Core Processor 8750H (2.2GHz, 4.1GHz Turbo)
16GB Corsair 2666MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1050 Ti - 4.0GB GDDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
2TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 2.5" SSHD
512GB INTEL® 760p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (upto 3230MB/sR | 1625MB/sW)
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
COOLER MASTER MASTERGEL MAKER THERMAL COMPOUND
2 Channel High Def. Audio + SoundBlaster™ Cinema 3
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® AC-9260 M.2 (1.73Gbps, 802.11AC) +BT 5.0
1 x USB 3.1 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
RGB BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM

I must say, I've been impressed with PC Specialist's build time and customer service / support. The computer itself is really nice and seems to be pretty much perfect, except that the space bar doesn't light up like the other keys... but I'll pick that up with the support team and see if that's normal or not. No biggie... I'm sure they'll sort it out if it's a genuine problem.

Anyway... I ordered the computer without operating system, as I wanted to install Linux Mint 19 (I've been running 18.3 on my HP ENVY 17 laptop for some time now).

I spent a pretty frustrating afternoon trying to get things working, but after a bit of online research I came across the following incredibly useful post on PC Specialist's Italian forums:

https://www.pcspecialist.it/forums/showthread.php?59573-Successful-Ubuntu-18-04-Bionic-Beaver-installation-on-Optimus-IX-15-6-quot

It relates to Ubuntu 18.04, but since Mint is based on Ubuntu, I figured I'd try it... and I'm very glad I did, as it got me working!! I now have a stable and VERY fast laptop running Linux Mint 19. Did I mention how fast it is??

Despite this, I do have a couple of relatively minor problems still to deal with:

The brightness control isn't working. The OS recognises that I'm using the keys and shows this on-screen, but the physical brightness doesn't go up or down based on the adjustment. I'll work on this some more tomorrow... I have a few leads.

Also, if I use the "Sleep" function from the keyboard, when I bring the PC back to life, the screen remains switched off.

Finally, the keyboard lighting control isn't working, despite following the instructions in the post I referred to. Maybe it works differently under Mint 19, or perhaps the Optimus IX 17" model uses a different keyboard...

In any case, what started out as a predictably frustrating day with a new machine and Linux has ended on a mostly positive note

I suspect that all the bits that aren't working are managed by the Clevo 'control centre' tool - and that's a Windows only tool AFAIK.

I thought it was updating this thread to highlight my experiences since my original post.

For those who wish to read no further, I've somewhat grudgingly decided to run Windows 10 instead of Linux Mint 19 for now.

After reaching the state I was at in my original post, I spent a couple of days trying many different approaches to getting the brightness control working, but these were unsuccessful despite some excellent help from various forums and Linux gurus.

Next, I tried installing a brand new (genuine) copy of Windows 10 Home from USB stick... a nightmare in itself, as the USB stick supplied by Microsoft requires legacy boot capability, and it seems my Optimus IX BIOS doesn't allow that option, so I had to create my own installation media from the Microsoft website (using my father's Windows PC), onto a SanDisk Cruzer stick that I know is bootable without legacy BIOS compatibility. Anyway, I finally got Windows installed. Then I installed the full range of standard and optional drivers on the CD supplied with the laptop. It was only during the install of these that I realised how essential they are to the operating system, since even Windows can't automatically handle all of the Optimus IX (Clevo) technology without those drivers and utilities. That aside, with everything installed, it all worked *PERFECTLY*... not a single hitch anywhere.

Back to Linux...

Having enjoyed a successful installation of Windows 10, and received some more advice from different forums on things to try with my Linux Mint 19 install, I decided to give it another go, always knowing I could return to Windows 10 if necessary. This time, though - despite the various advised additions to grub, I couldn't even complete installation of Mint. It failed during the bluetooth driver installation, if I remember correctly. Whether correctly or incorrectly, this leads me to believe that the driver and utility installation from that CD supplied with the computer might actually update the BIOS and/or other firmware.

At this point, several days in without a working PC (not the PC's fault, nor PC Specialist), I decided to put my Linux attempts on hold for now. I far prefer Linux (especially Mint) to Windows, but the operating system is secondary to me so long as I can run the software I want... and all of the software I like is available in both Linux and Windows versions, without penalties to the latter. I have little doubt that with enough time and effort it would be possible to overcome the difficulties in gaining full functionality from this machine under Linux Mint / Ubuntu / other Linux derivatives. But for me personally, I just want to get on with enjoying my new PC right now. If that has to be under Windows 10, so be it.

So, for now - sadly - I'm calling my Linux installation only a partial success, and an aborted one at that.

Again, I'd like to make clear that I don't blame PC Specialist or the PC itself for these things. It's more a case of the Linux development community not having caught up yet with recent architecture and devices, and Clevo for not providing Linux drivers and utilities. I wish they would, as they could really corner the market in Linux laptops.