Lenovo unlocks proper “Extreme” performance mode for Legion laptops on Linux

Lenovo is introducing a sanctioned Extreme (maximum performance) profile for select Legion laptops on Linux. This addresses power-limit behavior that kept many models below their rated PL1/PL2 targets under Linux, even as Windows hit the advertised budgets. The enablement comes via firmware hooks and kernel-side plumbing, and Lenovo will limit the mode to whitelisted systems that pass thermal and acoustic validation.

What’s actually new

Firmware + kernel handshake: Extreme mode is exposed through Lenovo firmware tables and Linux interfaces rather than vendor utilities on Windows. Expect support to be tied to specific BIOS/EC versions and minimum kernel baselines.
Power budgets aligned with Windows: Approved models should sustain their vendor-rated PL1 while allowing short-duration PL2 excursions that were previously capped.
OEM-owned fan curves: Fan tables and temperature targets ship from Lenovo, so system noise in Extreme will rise in line with Windows “Turbo/Extreme” presets.

Why Linux laptops underperformed

On many gaming notebooks, the performance profiles (Balanced/Turbo/Extreme) are implemented by vendor services that are Windows-first. Absent equivalent hooks, Linux often fell back to conservative EC defaults. Community tools poked at DPTF/ACPI, but persistent, supported access to the same power/fan envelopes wasn’t consistent. Lenovo’s approach wires up a supported path so kernel governors can request the right budget without hacks.

Thermals, acoustics, and battery reality

Thermals: Extreme assumes clean heatsinks, fresh pads/paste, and ambient temps below ~25°C. Dust-clogged fins or aged paste will collapse sustained clocks and trigger audible fan ramping.
Acoustics: Hitting a high PL1 on thin-and-light Legions will push fans. If you value noise, keep to Standard or Performance profiles when gaming on AC.
Battery: Extreme is designed for AC power. On-battery limits remain conservative to protect cycle life and avoid VRM droop under transient spikes.

Who should care

Proton/Steam users: GPU-bound titles benefit less, but CPU-heavy strategy/sims (large AI turns, pathfinding) gain from higher sustained clocks.
Developers: Compiles and local LLM inference on the dGPU (or iGPU) get more consistent throughput when the CPU isn’t starved by low PL1 ceilings.

What to watch

Lenovo’s initial whitelist and BIOS release notes naming supported Legion SKUs.
Kernel changesets enabling the profile and any dependencies on specific governors.
Community before/after telemetry: PL1/PL2, steady-state clocks, and fan RPM in Extreme vs Performance.

Editor’s take

If Lenovo lands this cleanly, it sets a useful precedent: vendors can expose performance profiles on Linux without bespoke desktop utilities. The gating factor will be how quickly firmware lands across models and whether OEM validation errs on the side of very few “approved” SKUs.