Kernel options to make a laptop cooler (less warm)

el mariachi · 2012-04-19 15:37:06

With just chromium with 6 tabs open (no flash) my Dell E5400 is cruising at 60ºC--70ºC.
Other than chroium there is MonsterWM, dzen2 and netcfg in the background. So nothing too cpu intensive.

With which options should I compile my kernel to make my laptop as cool as possible?

Last edited by el mariachi (2012-04-19 15:37:37)

ludwis · 2012-04-19 20:04:48

Are you sure it is a software problem? These are not normal temperatures for idle state. Maybe you just need to remove dust from inside. If you got these tempertures right after you bought this laptop, then it is probably damaged. As to the software side, do you use any kind of power saving features (like cpu frequency scaling or disabling unused devices)? Have a look at http://www.lesswatts.org.

Hyugga · 2012-04-19 20:15:17

Check cpufreq utils or laptop-mode tools. I personally use cpufreq to lower the cpu usage when needed. Check https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Cpufreq

el mariachi · 2012-04-20 08:03:07

ludwis wrote:

Are you sure it is a software problem? These are not normal temperatures for idle state. Maybe you just need to remove dust from inside. If you got these tempertures right after you bought this laptop, then it is probably damaged. As to the software side, do you use any kind of power saving features (like cpu frequency scaling or disabling unused devices)? Have a look at http://www.lesswatts.org.

Laptop is not new, but I cleaned it.
Ondemand, PM PCI, the powerdown script, 300Mhz clock, pcie_aspm=force, phc-intel undervolting, and still get those temps idling. There was one version of the 3.x kernel series that gave 30-ish ºC idling but I long lost track of which

brebs · 2012-04-20 08:57:07

Check *where* the heat is coming from - e.g. CPU, video card, hard disk. Hopefully they each have a temperature sensor. Install lm_sensors.

el mariachi · 2012-04-20 10:34:10

I only have sensors for the cpu :S (did everything in the wiki)

el mariachi · 2012-04-20 11:46:50

the kernel options:
i915.i915_enable_rc6=1 i915.i915_enable_fbc=1 i915.lvds_downclock=1 drm.vblankoffdelay=1 force_aspm=force

won't help either. mayybe it's the hdd? it isn't doing any strange noises

el mariachi · 2012-04-24 16:51:36

did a fresh install (after an enhanced secure erase) and it's the same. It's so loud it hurts my ears >:( shouldn't have upgraded the kernel...

iv597 · 2012-04-25 19:18:22

You can grab an old kernel package from the Rollback Machine or just grab a tarball from kernel.org and compile the old one that worked well. You can even 'zcat /proc/config.gz > .config' in the source tree to have a -ARCH config (although downgrading configs I've never tried, that *could* go badly...)

You'd probably have to guess and check to find the right one, so the ARM way is probably going to be less painful.

iv597 · 2012-04-25 19:19:09

Although, I'm in the "it's probably hardware-related" boat, so that's probably not gonna do you much good.

el mariachi · 2012-04-25 20:16:05

my laptop has always been hot with linux (>60ºC) but with a certain kernel it came down to 38ºC! Problem is I don't remeber which version, patches and configuration...
I'll try the wayback machine.. thanks for the tip

nabeelimran · 2012-04-25 20:37:02

My laptop tends to get very hot. And since I multi-boot, I had to find a cross-platform solution. Besides keeping the rear end lifted by about half an inch I use:

$ pacman -S i8kutils i8kmon

...and presto! the problem is gone. If you need config instructions, I'll be more than happy to help :-)

Arch Linux

#1 2012-04-19 15:37:06

Kernel options to make a laptop cooler (less warm)

#2 2012-04-19 20:04:48

Re: Kernel options to make a laptop cooler (less warm)

#3 2012-04-19 20:15:17

Re: Kernel options to make a laptop cooler (less warm)

#4 2012-04-20 08:03:07

Re: Kernel options to make a laptop cooler (less warm)

#5 2012-04-20 08:57:07

Re: Kernel options to make a laptop cooler (less warm)

#6 2012-04-20 10:34:10

Re: Kernel options to make a laptop cooler (less warm)

#7 2012-04-20 11:46:50

Re: Kernel options to make a laptop cooler (less warm)

#8 2012-04-24 16:51:36

Re: Kernel options to make a laptop cooler (less warm)

#9 2012-04-25 19:18:22

Re: Kernel options to make a laptop cooler (less warm)

#10 2012-04-25 19:19:09

Re: Kernel options to make a laptop cooler (less warm)

#11 2012-04-25 20:16:05

Re: Kernel options to make a laptop cooler (less warm)

#12 2012-04-25 20:37:02

Re: Kernel options to make a laptop cooler (less warm)

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