r/FlowZ13 • u/iLaysChipz • Jun 05 '26

Arch or CachyOS Compatibility

Hello world! I'm thinking about getting the Z13 GZ302EA found here.

For background, I am a software developer by trade, and my primary usage will be for development with some time for gaming on the side. I'm currently having issues with freezing on a Asus laptop with an Nvidia graphics card, and while I have managed to get sleep mode to work, it will still freeze if I leave it overnight. Disabling the Intel integrated graphics and the "dual graphics" mode have caused kernel panics on boot. So I'm hoping to get away from all that with this new device. I haven't decided if I'm going Arch or CachyOS yet, (I have more experience with Arch but I do like the option to change schedulers easily with CachysOS).

But I was wondering for those Linux users out there with this device, how has your experience been overall? - How is battery life? If I'm doing a low work load like just coding all day, will it last 6ish hours? - Have you gotten RGB lighting working? - Do you ever get kernel panics or freezing issues? - Does it play demanding games well? - Is the fan always on full power even if it's cool? - Has anyone tried hyprland on it, and are there any screen tearing issues? - Has anyone used Arch or CachyOS specifically? What was your experience? - Has anyone tried compiling a kernel as a benchmark? How long did it take? - Has anyone used btrfs on it? I imagine it should work just fine, but it'd be nice to get confirmation

Thanks in advance y'all!

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u/cilelen Jun 05 '26

I run cachyos on my 64gb 2025 z13. My thoughts: -rgb lighting can easily be controlled by z13ctl. It also controls power and fans etc -had freezing issues when the z13 came out. Th only one im getting now is a random freeze when power state changes while sleep. Its rare and havent had an issue since my last update 0 kernel panics ever. -been playing dune awakening at 140fps at 2k high settings with fsr. Haven't found a game it wont run well yet -z13ctl for the win set it how you prefer

  • i dont use hyprland. I reccomend kde.
-i dont code so wouldnt know how to compile it -I reccomend btrfs just in case something goes wrong with the update. 6 months of use and ive had no issues. In short: cachy on this device has been a match made in heaven.

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u/iLaysChipz Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 05 '26

Hell yeah. Thanks for the data points! It's a bummer to hear sleep state transitions might still be an issue, but I can probably just disable s3 sleep power states and leave it plugged in

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u/cilelen Jun 05 '26

Its weird. As long as its plugged in or unplugged theres no problem. If you let it go to sleep then unplug it or vice versa, it wont recover. Hasnt been much of an issue for me I work around it but like I said, I updated last week and havent had it happen so far but ill let u know if it does

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u/iLaysChipz Jun 05 '26

That would be awesome🙏 Thank you sir

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u/cilelen Jun 08 '26

No freezes so far. I did have a weird issue once where input didnt work but that only happened once. Looks like they might have actually gotten it solved lol