GPU fan always on full blast

raginaot · 2010-11-23 00:30:02

hey

I have noticed that the fan on my ATI HD 5870 card is always on full blast in arch, resaulting in unbearable noise. Feels pretty hot when I touch it too.

Is there any way I can see the temps and gpu load or even adjust the fan speeds. Using the xf86-video-ati driver.
How could it be under so much load though just running the gnome desktop?
It doesn't even break a sweat in Windows 7 with aero on.

Is the official ati driver better?

Coacher · 2010-11-23 01:00:48

Well, support for reading temperature for ati chips is in 2.6.36 so wait until it hits the core or install from testing.
Here is the copypaste from somewhere I dont remember (I keep it in rc.local) but it probably will answer your questions

# enable dynamic clocks for gpu
# There are two sys-files in /sys/class/drm/card0/device:
# power_method: Here you can switch between dynpm and profile method.
# The driver scales the sclk dynamically based on the number of queued fences.
# dynpm only scales sclk dynamically in single head mode.
# power_profile: If you have enabled profile method you can choose between default low, high and auto
# (select between low and high based on ac/dc state)
# There are five profiles available: low, mid, high, auto, default.
# Low will always force the GPU to run at low levels, while high will force it to run at full power.
# Low could possibly lead to screen artifacts, if this happens you should consider using the mid profile.
# Auto will select between mid and high depending on the GPU usage and switch to low when the display is of (dpms active).
# Default uses the default clocks and does not change the power state. This is the default profile.

raginaot · 2010-11-23 21:03:02

there is no /drm folder in /sys/class/ on my system

but I'm using the open source drivers. Maybe I should install the official ati drivers instead?

Coacher · 2010-11-23 21:20:38

I'm using opensource driver too, but i have 3650 which is older and properly supported.
You should definetely try out newer kernel before installing proprietry driver.

raginaot · 2010-11-23 22:45:01

Coacher wrote:

I'm using opensource driver too, but i have 3650 which is older and properly supported.
You should definetely try out newer kernel before installing proprietry driver.

ok thanks I'll try that

I have never done this before though.
How exactly do I update my kernel and how can I see the current kernel version?

Coacher · 2010-11-23 23:53:54

If you are using and running defult arch kernel then just: pacman -Qi kernel26
If you want 2.6.36 which is currently in testing then the easiest way to get it is:
1. Uncomment [testing] line in /etc/pacman.conf
2. #pacman -Sy
3. #pacman -S testing/kernel26
4.(optional) if you are not planning to use testing for everyday use just comment back appropriate line in /etc/pacman.conf and run #pacman -Syy

Last edited by Coacher (2010-11-23 23:57:07)

Coacher · 2010-11-23 23:58:46

However, never used testing for myself so some issues could arise.
Please read this thread:
https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=96507

stykwerks · 2010-11-24 00:19:27

I have the 5870 as well, but I've been using the proprietary Catalyst driver due to the problems I had trying to get my dual monitor setup to work with xf86-video-ati. The fan hasn't been an issue with the Catalyst driver, however that driver comes with its own issues as well, so like the other's have been saying, I'd try out the new kernel before testing the Catalyst driver.

wonder · 2010-11-24 00:27:58

Coacher wrote:

If you are using and running defult arch kernel then just: pacman -Qi kernel26
If you want 2.6.36 which is currently in testing then the easiest way to get it is:
1. Uncomment [testing] line in /etc/pacman.conf
2. #pacman -Sy
3. #pacman -S testing/kernel26
4.(optional) if you are not planning to use testing for everyday use just comment back appropriate line in /etc/pacman.conf and run #pacman -Syy

using testing like this is not encouraged. testing is all or nothing.

1) enableing testing and community-testing
2) pacman -Syu

that's it

raginaot · 2010-11-24 01:53:10

stykwerks wrote:

I have the 5870 as well, but I've been using the proprietary Catalyst driver due to the problems I had trying to get my dual monitor setup to work with xf86-video-ati. The fan hasn't been an issue with the Catalyst driver, however that driver comes with its own issues as well, so like the other's have been saying, I'd try out the new kernel before testing the Catalyst driver.

check my thread here https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=108804
I had some issues with my dual monitor setup too and ended up following that tutorial that Bregol posted and all is good now.
I can post my xorg config if you like to try again.

But I think I'll try the proprietary driver first and see how it goes. I don't feel confident enough on linux yet to be using some potentially unstable stuff.

Before I do, do I have to uninstall the open source driver and do I need to turn off X while I'm installing the new driver?

toffyrn · 2010-11-24 09:33:21

I have a 4870x2, and with the opensource driver my fan ran always on full speed.
The catalyst driver did fix this issue for me

However I do believe it will take some time before xf86-video-ati can handle 5000 series properly..

raginaot · 2010-11-25 22:59:26

I'm having some trouble installing the catalyst driver
I uninstalled xf86-video-ati and now I'm trying to follow the wiki in cli mode https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/AT … stallation

cd catalyst-utils
makepkg -c
sudo pacman -U catalyst-utils-*.tar.xz 
(or if you are updating: sudo pacman -Ud catalyst-utils-*.tar.xz)
cp ati-driver-* ../catalyst
cd ../catalyst
makepkg -ci

When I do makepkg -ci in the catalyst directory I get a whole lot of errors. I outputed it too a text file and it looks like this

[1m[32m==>[0;10m[1m Unpacking archive ...[0;10m
Warning: target directory exists archive_files
Verifying archive integrity... All good.
Uncompressing ATI Catalyst(TM) Proprietary Driver-8.791..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
patching file common/lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/2.6.x/Makefile
patching file common/lib/modules/fglrx/build_mod/firegl_public.c
patch unexpectedly ends in middle of line
Hunk #2 succeeded at 411 with fuzz 1.
OsVersion says: SMP=1
file /proc/kallsyms says: SMP=1
Warning:
kernel includes at /lib/modules/2.6.33-ARCH/build/include not found or incomplete
file: /lib/modules/2.6.33-ARCH/build/include/linux/autoconf.h

Warning:
kernel includes at /lib/modules/2.6.33-ARCH/build/include not found or incomplete
file: /lib/modules/2.6.33-ARCH/build/include/linux/autoconf.h

assuming default: MODVERSIONS=0
Warning:
kernel includes at /lib/modules/2.6.33-ARCH/build/include not found or incomplete
file: /lib/modules/2.6.33-ARCH/build/arch/x86/include/asm/compat.h

make: *** /lib/modules/2.6.33-ARCH/build: No such file or directory.  Stop.

what to do? :S

raginaot · 2010-11-25 23:40:26

ok wtf
I just checked in /lib/modules and there are two folders there
'2.6.33-ARCH' and '2.6.35-ARCH'

'2.6.35-ARCH' contains 'build' and all those subdirs the installer can't find in '2.6.33-ARCH'

should there be 2 directories in there? is this normal?

toffyrn · 2010-11-27 11:52:25

I don't know if this is normal, but 2.6.36 is out which may fixes things?

I just tried disabling kms on the opensource ati driver, and it controlls my fan much better...

raginaot · 2010-11-28 00:10:53

toffyrn wrote:

I don't know if this is normal, but 2.6.36 is out which may fixes things?
I just tried disabling kms on the opensource ati driver, and it controlls my fan much better...

guess I'll give it a shot.
I went back to the open source driver though and installed xf86-video-ati-git and added these 2 lines to the xorg config like someone suggested here on the forums.

option "DynamicPM" "true"
option "ForceLowPowerMode" "true"

The fan is much quieter now but I don't know what will happen if I put load on the card.

Now about updating the kernel. I just use pacman for that? Is there any chance my system will go into cardiac arrest during that operation?
Just wondering if I should do it now or set aside a few hours for hacking around...

thestinger · 2010-11-28 00:33:02

2.6.36 is in [core] now, so you can just do

pacman -Syu

raginaot · 2010-11-28 00:51:38

thestinger wrote:

2.6.36 is in [core] now, so you can just do
pacman -Syu

sweeet! thankx

raginaot · 2010-11-28 01:08:14

hmmm... I did the upgrade and everything seems to be working, except for 1 thing
I can't mount my raid array anymore
I used to just do "modprobe dm_mod" followed by "dmraid -ay" then the partitions would appear as /dev/dm-2 and /dev/dm-3
but now when I run dmraid it gives me this :S

[steini@myhost ~]$ sudo dmraid -ay
/dev/sde: "jmicron" and "isw" formats discovered (using isw)!
ERROR: isw: wrong number of devices in RAID set "isw_ceijhcahbb_TERARAOD" [1/2] on /dev/sde
RAID set "isw_ceijhcahbb_TERARAOD" was not activated
ERROR: device "isw_ceijhcahbb_TERARAOD" could not be found

I even reinstalled dmraid and its still not working

Last edited by raginaot (2010-11-28 01:08:55)

stykwerks · 2010-11-28 01:27:53

Coacher wrote:

Well, support for reading temperature for ati chips is in 2.6.36 so wait until it hits the core or install from testing.
Here is the copypaste from somewhere I dont remember (I keep it in rc.local) but it probably will answer your questions
# enable dynamic clocks for gpu
# There are two sys-files in /sys/class/drm/card0/device:
# power_method: Here you can switch between dynpm and profile method.
# The driver scales the sclk dynamically based on the number of queued fences.
# dynpm only scales sclk dynamically in single head mode.
# power_profile: If you have enabled profile method you can choose between default low, high and auto
# (select between low and high based on ac/dc state)
# There are five profiles available: low, mid, high, auto, default.
# Low will always force the GPU to run at low levels, while high will force it to run at full power.
# Low could possibly lead to screen artifacts, if this happens you should consider using the mid profile.
# Auto will select between mid and high depending on the GPU usage and switch to low when the display is of (dpms active).
# Default uses the default clocks and does not change the power state. This is the default profile.

This worked perfectly for me, and the detailed instructions are here: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Ati#Powersaving. Since the upgrade to 2.6.36 ramped up my fan even using the Catalyst driver, I dumped it and installed xf86-video-ati-git as the radeon driver now appears to work much better with the dual headed DisplayPort setup on my 5870. Implementing the wiki suggestion using the "auto" profile instantly quieted my card. It just seems this is a new step to complete during setup, which hopefully shouldn't be that often.

Arch Linux

#1 2010-11-23 00:30:02

GPU fan always on full blast

#2 2010-11-23 01:00:48

Re: GPU fan always on full blast

#3 2010-11-23 21:03:02

Re: GPU fan always on full blast

#4 2010-11-23 21:20:38

Re: GPU fan always on full blast

#5 2010-11-23 22:45:01

Re: GPU fan always on full blast

#6 2010-11-23 23:53:54

Re: GPU fan always on full blast

#7 2010-11-23 23:58:46

Re: GPU fan always on full blast

#8 2010-11-24 00:19:27

Re: GPU fan always on full blast

#9 2010-11-24 00:27:58

Re: GPU fan always on full blast

#10 2010-11-24 01:53:10

Re: GPU fan always on full blast

#11 2010-11-24 09:33:21

Re: GPU fan always on full blast

#12 2010-11-25 22:59:26

Re: GPU fan always on full blast

#13 2010-11-25 23:40:26

Re: GPU fan always on full blast

#14 2010-11-27 11:52:25

Re: GPU fan always on full blast

#15 2010-11-28 00:10:53

Re: GPU fan always on full blast

#16 2010-11-28 00:33:02

Re: GPU fan always on full blast

#17 2010-11-28 00:51:38

Re: GPU fan always on full blast

#18 2010-11-28 01:08:14

Re: GPU fan always on full blast

#19 2010-11-28 01:27:53

Re: GPU fan always on full blast

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