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As the title says, my computer starts running extremely slow after using ubuntu for about half an hour. 

:~$ lscpu
Architecture:          x86_64
CPU op-mode(s):        32-bit, 64-bit
Byte Order:            Little Endian
CPU(s):                8
On-line CPU(s) list:   0-7
Thread(s) per core:    2
Core(s) per socket:    4
Socket(s):             1
NUMA node(s):          1
Vendor ID:             GenuineIntel
CPU family:            6
Model:                 58
Model name:            Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3610QM CPU @ 2.30GHz
Stepping:              9
CPU MHz:               165.509
CPU max MHz:           3300,0000
CPU min MHz:           1200,0000
BogoMIPS:              4589.75
Virtualization:        VT-x
L1d cache:             32K
L1i cache:             32K
L2 cache:              256K
L3 cache:              6144K
NUMA node0 CPU(s):     0-7
Flags:                 fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx rdtscp lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good nopl xtopology nonstop_tsc aperfmperf eagerfpu pni pclmulqdq dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm pcid sse4_1 sse4_2 x2apic popcnt tsc_deadline_timer aes xsave avx f16c rdrand lahf_lm epb tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority ept vpid fsgsbase smep erms xsaveopt dtherm ida arat pln pts

I decided to check the temperatures (not sure if related to the problem):

:~$ sensors
coretemp-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
Physical id 0:  +96.0°C  (high = +87.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
Core 0:         +92.0°C  (high = +87.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
Core 1:         +96.0°C  (high = +87.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
Core 2:         +92.0°C  (high = +87.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
Core 3:         +92.0°C  (high = +87.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)

acpitz-virtual-0
Adapter: Virtual device
temp1:        +95.0°C  
temp2:        +95.0°C  (crit = +120.0°C)
temp3:        +30.0°C  (crit = +120.0°C)

nouveau-pci-0100
Adapter: PCI adapter
GPU core:     +0.91 V  (min =  +0.84 V, max =  +1.09 V)
temp1:        +89.0°C  (high = +95.0°C, hyst =  +3.0°C)
                       (crit = +105.0°C, hyst =  +5.0°C)
                       (emerg = +135.0°C, hyst =  +5.0°C)

I'm aware the temperatures are high, given that I'm running only Google Chrome. Besides, this problem of being very slow never happened on Windows before, even with such temperatures (which are not very common either).

What can I do about this?

Mr. Phil
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  • What brand computer? The Clock Modulation is most common on Dell computers, but does exist on some others. – Doug Smythies Feb 27 '17 at 19:44
  • As Doug Smythies mentioned, we'll need the manufacturer and model of your computer. Can you add that information to your question if you're still having the issue. – L. D. James Feb 27 '17 at 19:54
  • It's an Hp pavilion dv6 7003sp – Mr. Phil Feb 27 '17 at 20:35
  • The CPU frequency of 165.509 MHz suggests modulation of ~~12.5%, which is very drastic. Also, if the temperatures were done after this state, they should have already been lower. It seems there might be another contributing factor, not sure (graphics was suggested in another comment). A turbostat measurement may or may not provide insight ( sudo turbostat --debug sleep 10 ). – Doug Smythies Feb 28 '17 at 16:29

1 Answers1

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The problem is high processor temperatures have caused a first level thermal protection event. The event causes Clock Modulation on the processor, which in turn is not compatible with the intel-pstate CPU frequency scaling driver. The driver will always force the lowest p-state under these conditions and at 50% Clock Modulation, will result in an average CPU frequency at about 1/2 of the specified minimum.

What can you do about it?

  • You can install and run thermald, so as to keep the temperature lower, not hitting this limit.
  • You can disable the intel-pstate CPU frequency scaling driver, and use the acpi-cpufreq CPU frequency scaling driver instead. Reference.
  • Clean your fans and perhaps even replace the thermal paste between the processor and its heat-sink.
Community
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Doug Smythies
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  • Thank you for the answer. I'll try methods 1 and 2 and post back – Mr. Phil Feb 27 '17 at 20:39
  • However I'm still a bit confused on why the processor gets so hot in the first place. Temperatures on Windows are usually below 80 with moderate usage, while in Ubuntu it's above 90 with very light usage. Could this be some optimization issue? – Mr. Phil Feb 27 '17 at 20:44
  • @Mr.Phil In Windows you're using Nividia proprietary drivers, either the ones already included or the ones you installed. You're running with the open-source nouveau in Ubuntu which is great for many older cards but has issues with yours and newer. For better performance install the recommended Nvidia drivers. –  Feb 28 '17 at 01:36