Buy Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i Aura 2025 for Video Editing? Power Consumption on Linux

Nerd Corner Linux
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My questions are a little longer than others I’m seeing so far on the forum, so thanks in advance for whomever is willing to read it. Hopefully thoughts are plenty clear and not-redundant.

After watching several videos from Just Josh’s channel, as well as some others, I have some questions/data needs about the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i Aura 16 inch laptop. (I’ll just call it the Yoga Pro from here on.)

As quick context, I plan on running Linux for the first time (something like Ubuntu) to try & closely resemble MacOS on an M Series chip. A majority of the apps I use are already open-source, except my video editor (Final Cut)… BUT I do have limited DaVinci Resolve experience for some specific visual effects like planar tracking.

First:
The various tests (e.g. power consumption of CPU and GPU) that he has in his videos are presumably while running Windows. I’d like some real info on power consumption while running Ubuntu or a similar Linux Distribution.
I’ve been very accustomed to using a 3rd party power adapter from a reputable brand which can supply 100W of power with a second device plugged into one of the other adapter ports. It’s always been plenty more than I’ve needed. I use a charging cable with an LED wattage indicator sometimes, and I’d be hard pressed to say I’ve ever seen it exceed even 50W continuous while doing video editing. Usually it sticks around 20W to 30W.
Per the videos from Just Josh, the Yoga Pro needs a 170W power brick to prevent battery drain???
If my most intensive tasks are:

  • Video Editing in DaVinci (3, maybe 4 4K clips on top of each other, but otherwise 1 4K clip with some text, .png elements, some keyframed animations, and maybe some visual effects like planar tracking),
  • Exporting while I switch over to some other tasks (perhaps the most demanding of which could be another video project or a photo editor like Affinity),
    do I absolutely need a 170W power brick, or can I use my 3rd party adapter?
    Point being, I don’t plan on trying put it under the most hardcore workload…. or even doing that all the time. Sometimes it’s just chill office work or maybe some more involved research with some browsers.

Second:
Kind of attached to the first question, but if I run Linux, does that effect the power modes the Yoga Pro can actually run in (more options? less? to manage power)

Third:
Can I use Apple peripherals and program trackpad gestures?

Fourth:
Does anyone sell a Thunderbolt 4-to-Lenovo’s proprietary charging adapter/cable?

Aside from those four things, I feel like I have a decent understanding of the machine and am leaning in that direction. Don’t really want to go with Gigabyte because of what Josh said about their poor service and ranking them as a company. Lenovo sounds like the next best brand before Apple, and they have good enough service.

Anyone who is more knowledgeable with all the internals and what exactly to spec it with (aside from 1TB SSD, 32-36GB of RAM)(and rough cost), I’d definitely appreciate insight. Just know I’m a bit of a novice since I’m coming from Apple where the assortment is simpler and it’s built to be more power efficient out-of-the-box.

Though power consumption is my main concern, my preferred features overall are:

  • Install Linux out of the box… NO Windows on the hard drive at all
  • NVIDIA GPU, since that apparently is preferred for DaVinci to fully work???
  • Multiple Thunderbolt 4 ports (I’m very used to USB C for accessories since I’m coming from Apple)
  • Display par or better than MacBook. I like my stuff crisp & clear! (If I’m switching to a “PC,” I want it to feel nice! 120Hz refresh is appreciated, but my Studio Display I use most of the time is capped at 60Hz. NOT SURE if I would get something else… may not be enough cost difference between what I paid for it and the alternatives to justify selling & switching)
  • 16 inch screen is a MUST for a portable powerhouse. I like my screen real-estate
  • Can use Apple Peripherals (trackpad at minimum) with most of features somehow
  • Can run on 65W of power for Video Editing/Exporting in DaVinci (my power bank is a beast, but goes from 140W in one port, to 65W with a second port also being used…. NOT SURE if I’d have to find a different process here)
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I will answer the questions that I can answer. The battery drain is really only going to occur when rendering a video (exporting). Unless you are exporting alot i.e. a movie, its likely to be minimal if its something like YouTube. If you just run the laptop on its Balanced mode vs Performance, it shouldn’t happen, or will be even more minimal. The tradeoff will be a slightly slower render time. The issue raised in the video is going to be more common on Gaming.

Moving to Linux, won’t help if the applications / OS are functioning correctly and allowing the hardware to be draw the amount of power the manufacturer has set. This is what worries me on Linux. I don’t know if you can drop down to a non-full performance mode. I don’t know if Lenovo’s performance modes can be set there. I’m not saying they can’t. This is something we would have to test.

Another option that will help is to lower the screens brightness substantially during rendering. A bright display like the one in the Yoga Pro 9i draws a ton of power. This will also likely bring down system power draw. I don’t know if this will just mean more power re-directed to the GPU though. It is something we should test.

Overall, buy the laptop. Test your applications on it. If it drains the battery when plugged in, then get the 245 W charger. I wouldn’t burn cycles trying to solve this in the ways you have outlined.

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As somebody who has (probably) the most experience with Linux here, it really comes down to tuning, either by the OEM or the user.

Some laptop OEMs have ways to expose the power modes in desktop enviornments like GNOME & KDE Plasma. It’s similar to Windows in that regard. However, some OEMs require third party control centers to tune their laptops, which for the most part do not exist on Linux. (There are some exceptions though.)

Here’s something I found on my laptop when I boot into KDE Plasma on CachyOS. From left to right are the power modes when I click on the option in the panel:

  • Power Save
  • Balanced
  • Performance

Screenshot_20251014_120814
Screenshot_20251014_120814443×279 21.8 KB

There’s also TLP for Intel CPUs for manual tuning, but that’s a lot more risky and potientally not worth it for beginners. And for AMD CPUs, it’s a bit more tricky, because TLP is not recommended for their stuff.

As for Apple peripherals, it’s going to unfortunately be hit or miss. Some might work, but generally, the newer and more “exotic” the hardware, the less it will work, if at all.