1

Every time that I try to run youtube, any browser, turn on nginx or mysql, the overall temperature of my hardware increases to 60-88 degrees C°. Sometimes it reaches critical value of 90+ degrees. To prevent that I have installed a brand new CPU cooler, external coolers, renewed the cpu/gpu thermal paste, removed the dust with air duster and still no effect.

Some info:

  • Lenovo G570(notebook)
  • 6GB RAM, preload feature turned on
  • top output below

Is there a way to increase fan speed with CLI to 100% speed when I need it? Are there any other ways to decrease overall temperature of my hardware (except of the ones I have already mentioned)?

If you need more more info on my hardware, I will kindly provide it.

top:

GChuf
  • 495
Dominik Dratvinski
  • 63
  • Does the fan eventually kick into full speed after a few seconds at high temps? I know the default sample rate for fancontrol is 10 seconds, meaning you could be at high temps for up to 10 seconds before fancontrol notices. I think thermald is similar if you are running that. – rtaft Jul 08 '20 at 14:56
  • Thanks for asking that. I think sth is wrong with my fan speed conf. It seems not to cool down the machine as it suppose to, even though, a brand new cooler is installed there. – Dominik Dratvinski Jul 09 '20 at 15:34
  • I have done some edits to my answer. Do check the step by step guide. – Abhay Patil Jul 20 '20 at 20:15

2 Answers2

1

Under volting helps a lot when there is over heating (and by lot I mean A LOT). To be on a safer side, manufacturers supply higher voltage than required to the CPU (which causes heating), as at very lower voltages CPU doesn't work properly under stress. Under volting is completely safe. It will not void your warranty whatsoever. Under volting is basically removing the excess voltage supplied and giving the minimum voltage required to run the CPU smoothly.

Try intel-undervolt from here on GitHub.

Here is an article on CPU undervolting in Linux which I followed

Some terms in the guide might be deprecated. Refer to the first link for the deprecated terms.

Here is a step by step procedure with the non deprecated terms

  1. install git with sudo apt install git
  2. run git clone https://github.com/kitsunyan/intel-undervolt
  3. sudo su and then enter password
  4. run ./configure --enable-systemd --enable-openrc && make && make install
  5. close the root mode by typing exit and press enter
  6. run sudo systemctl daemon-reload
  7. run sudo gedit /etc/intel-undervolt.conf this will open a text editor
  8. change the value in line 10 (in front of CPU) to -130 like this undervolt 0 'CPU' -130 (recommended -125)
  9. now save that text file and exit
  10. run sudo intel-undervolt apply and then run sudo systemctl start intel-undervolt
  11. use the system for some time, if it looks stable then run sudo systemctl enable intel-undervolt.

As of selecting the offset, I use undervolt 0 'CPU' -130 in the /etc/intel-undervolt.conf file. As a beginner I would suggest you to stick to undervolting the CPU only.

To find the correct offset (unique to each CPU piece. Same CPU but on different computer could have different ideal offset) slowly lower the offset by small values (I used 10), and at the point where your PC crashes, is the threshold. And set the final value to threshold - 10. In my case it crashed at 140 so I set it to 130.

The only downside (if you don't choose sudo systemctl enable intel-undervolt) is that you will have to apply the settings on every boot. I have created an alias with alias us='sudo intel-undervolt apply && sudo tlp start'. So I just have to type us in the terminal on a boot, and then I am good to go.

Note: the crashing of PC to calculate the offset is completely safe. It will not damage you hardware whatsoever.

Note: Any Intel CPU can go to -125 at least, above that comes the difficult part. If you want to take it to the limit, then only try increasing it step by step. Otherwise -125 will work just fine for any Intel CPU.

Abhay Patil
  • 2,705
  • Thank you for advice, but I would prefer less rough solution, As for I am not that much experienced with tweaking hardware, especially cpu/gpu conf and I am afraid to break my buddy. – Dominik Dratvinski Jul 09 '20 at 19:21
  • @DominikDratvinski this is not very difficult try -130. Most of the cpus will work at -125 to -140 range. Every cpu can be done atleast -125. Try that. And this will not break your CPU at all. The difficult part comes when you want to go to the limit of undervolting. Then you have to try and test it. Otherwise -125 will work just fine for any cpu. BTW which cpu do you have? – Abhay Patil Jul 10 '20 at 09:00
  • Has anybody else tested this method? I want to decrease the temperature of my machine. But, I am a little scared about this. – Dellu Nov 02 '23 at 12:30
1

Regarding the fan speeds, I think it's best if you start with this question here. I'd recommend going into UEFI settings at first and see if you have any kinds of options for fan speed there, before searching for CLI solutions

(why? well because if you set up a nice fan curve in UEFI, you won't have to bother with manually setting fan speeds as often)

Edit: the cooling effect of fans depends significantly on the amount of dust inside your computer - make sure your computer is clean! Open the case and remove any dust.

As for reducing your hardware temperatures, I think you should pay attention to overall performance as well. I would suggest:

  • underclocking/undervolting your GPU as well (if you have a dedicated one), in hopes to decrease the "ambient" temperature inside your laptop (increasing GPU's fan speed might help as well)
  • reducing load (disabling processes and services which you don't need)
  • optimising your programs (Xorg, chrome)
  • updating your software & drivers
  • updating your kernel and firmware

"mods":

  • add some extra heatsinks inside the computer if you can, and if you think it will help (you can add them to the existing cooling systems - note: a nicely placed aluminium 8mmx8mm heatsink helped decrease my desktop's Nvidia GPU temperatures by 1°C)
  • drill a few holes for extra air circulation

updates:

  • get a CPU that has a lower TDP (Thermal Design Power)
  • GPU which uses less power
  • SSD instead of HDD can also help, but not significantly
GChuf
  • 495