Lenovo ThinkPad E540, GeForce GT740M "overheating" and battery drain

Question

Recently I managed to crash the Ubuntu 16.04 on my ThinkPad, up to the point where I decided to just reinstall the whole OS. After I did that, my screen was flickering. When I connected an external monitor, that one worked fine, so I assumed it's something about the internal display only.

After some searching, I found Upgrade to 16.10 causes desktop backlight flickering, which kind of solved my problem. I've added i915.enable_psr=0 and i915.enable_fbc=0 as suggested to the GRUB config. This as said, kind of solves the problem. The flickering is gone and the screen works normally, but and this is the big but: The battery drains pretty fast (70% in 20min) and the laptop gets freakingly hot (that you almost burn your legs, when the Computer is idle it is about 70°C-80°C).

I'm suspecting, that the GPU (could also be the CPU though) is working to much, this would explain the power consumption and why it gets that hot.

Has anyone dealt with this issue or any idea how to fix it?

I have the latest drivers for the GPU installed (lenovo-375, which is actually 375.39). The OS is Ubuntu 16.04, 64bit

If you need any additional information, just let me know.

----- EDIT: Adding output -----

sudo tlp-stat -s  
--- TLP 0.9 --------------------------------------------  

+++ System Info  
System         = LENOVO ThinkPad Edge E540 20C6003QMZ  
BIOS           = J9ET92WW (2.12 )  
Release        = Ubuntu 16.04.2 LTS  
Kernel         = 4.8.0-41-generic #44~16.04.1-Ubuntu SMP Fri Mar 3 17:11:16 UTC 2017 x86_64  
/proc/cmdline  = BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-4.8.0-41-generic root=UUID=23c621a6-a836-4a29-8b5b-fad452bac256 ro quiet splash i915.enable_psr=0 i915.enable_fbc=0 vt.handoff=7  
Init system    = systemd v229  
Boot mode      = BIOS (CSM, Legacy)  

+++ TLP Status  
State          = enabled  
Last run       = 19:47:40,     10 sec(s) ago  
Mode           = AC  
Power source   = AC  

Psensor Output:  
Physical id 0: 86°C
Core 0-3: 74°C-81°C
temp1: 83°C
fan1: 0RPM /* this seams odd */
GeForce GT 740M 0 temp: 71°C
GeForce GT 740M 0 graphics: 45%
GeForce GT 740M 0 video: 0% /* this seams odd */
GeForce GT 740M 0 memory: 37%
GeForce GT 740M 0 PCIe: 11%
CPU usage: 19%
free memory: 1% /* this seams odd too, as I have 16GB and `top` said 2.4GB used.
KINGSTON SHSS37A480G: 100°C

sudo cat /proc/cpuinfo
processor   : 0
vendor_id   : GenuineIntel
cpu family  : 6
model       : 60
model name  : Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4702MQ CPU @ 2.20GHz
stepping    : 3
microcode   : 0x1e
cpu MHz     : 2899.987
cache size  : 6144 KB
physical id : 0
siblings    : 8
core id     : 0
cpu cores   : 4
apicid      : 0
initial apicid  : 0
fpu     : yes
fpu_exception   : yes
cpuid level : 13
wp      : yes
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 pdpe1gb 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 sdbg fma cx16 xtpr pdcm pcid sse4_1 sse4_2 movbe popcnt tsc_deadline_timer aes xsave avx f16c rdrand lahf_lm abm epb tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority ept vpid fsgsbase tsc_adjust bmi1 avx2 smep bmi2 erms invpcid xsaveopt dtherm ida arat pln pts
bugs        :
bogomips    : 4389.98
clflush size    : 64
cache_alignment : 64
address sizes   : 39 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
power management:

processor   : 1
vendor_id   : GenuineIntel
cpu family  : 6
model       : 60
model name  : Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4702MQ CPU @ 2.20GHz
stepping    : 3
microcode   : 0x1e
cpu MHz     : 2900.524
cache size  : 6144 KB
physical id : 0
siblings    : 8
core id     : 0
cpu cores   : 4
apicid      : 1
initial apicid  : 1
fpu     : yes
fpu_exception   : yes
cpuid level : 13
wp      : yes
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 pdpe1gb 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 sdbg fma cx16 xtpr pdcm pcid sse4_1 sse4_2 movbe popcnt tsc_deadline_timer aes xsave avx f16c rdrand lahf_lm abm epb tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority ept vpid fsgsbase tsc_adjust bmi1 avx2 smep bmi2 erms invpcid xsaveopt dtherm ida arat pln pts
bugs        :
bogomips    : 4389.98
clflush size    : 64
cache_alignment : 64
address sizes   : 39 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
power management:

processor   : 2
vendor_id   : GenuineIntel
cpu family  : 6
model       : 60
model name  : Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4702MQ CPU @ 2.20GHz
stepping    : 3
microcode   : 0x1e
cpu MHz     : 2902.270
cache size  : 6144 KB
physical id : 0
siblings    : 8
core id     : 1
cpu cores   : 4
apicid      : 2
initial apicid  : 2
fpu     : yes
fpu_exception   : yes
cpuid level : 13
wp      : yes
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 pdpe1gb 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 sdbg fma cx16 xtpr pdcm pcid sse4_1 sse4_2 movbe popcnt tsc_deadline_timer aes xsave avx f16c rdrand lahf_lm abm epb tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority ept vpid fsgsbase tsc_adjust bmi1 avx2 smep bmi2 erms invpcid xsaveopt dtherm ida arat pln pts
bugs        :
bogomips    : 4389.98
clflush size    : 64
cache_alignment : 64
address sizes   : 39 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
power management:

processor   : 3
vendor_id   : GenuineIntel
cpu family  : 6
model       : 60
model name  : Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4702MQ CPU @ 2.20GHz
stepping    : 3
microcode   : 0x1e
cpu MHz     : 2523.742
cache size  : 6144 KB
physical id : 0
siblings    : 8
core id     : 1
cpu cores   : 4
apicid      : 3
initial apicid  : 3
fpu     : yes
fpu_exception   : yes
cpuid level : 13
wp      : yes
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 pdpe1gb 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 sdbg fma cx16 xtpr pdcm pcid sse4_1 sse4_2 movbe popcnt tsc_deadline_timer aes xsave avx f16c rdrand lahf_lm abm epb tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority ept vpid fsgsbase tsc_adjust bmi1 avx2 smep bmi2 erms invpcid xsaveopt dtherm ida arat pln pts
bugs        :
bogomips    : 4389.98
clflush size    : 64
cache_alignment : 64
address sizes   : 39 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
power management:

processor   : 4
vendor_id   : GenuineIntel
cpu family  : 6
model       : 60
model name  : Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4702MQ CPU @ 2.20GHz
stepping    : 3
microcode   : 0x1e
cpu MHz     : 2959.606
cache size  : 6144 KB
physical id : 0
siblings    : 8
core id     : 2
cpu cores   : 4
apicid      : 4
initial apicid  : 4
fpu     : yes
fpu_exception   : yes
cpuid level : 13
wp      : yes
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 pdpe1gb 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 sdbg fma cx16 xtpr pdcm pcid sse4_1 sse4_2 movbe popcnt tsc_deadline_timer aes xsave avx f16c rdrand lahf_lm abm epb tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority ept vpid fsgsbase tsc_adjust bmi1 avx2 smep bmi2 erms invpcid xsaveopt dtherm ida arat pln pts
bugs        :
bogomips    : 4389.98
clflush size    : 64
cache_alignment : 64
address sizes   : 39 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
power management:

processor   : 5
vendor_id   : GenuineIntel
cpu family  : 6
model       : 60
model name  : Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4702MQ CPU @ 2.20GHz
stepping    : 3
microcode   : 0x1e
cpu MHz     : 2926.574
cache size  : 6144 KB
physical id : 0
siblings    : 8
core id     : 2
cpu cores   : 4
apicid      : 5
initial apicid  : 5
fpu     : yes
fpu_exception   : yes
cpuid level : 13
wp      : yes
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 pdpe1gb 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 sdbg fma cx16 xtpr pdcm pcid sse4_1 sse4_2 movbe popcnt tsc_deadline_timer aes xsave avx f16c rdrand lahf_lm abm epb tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority ept vpid fsgsbase tsc_adjust bmi1 avx2 smep bmi2 erms invpcid xsaveopt dtherm ida arat pln pts
bugs        :
bogomips    : 4389.98
clflush size    : 64
cache_alignment : 64
address sizes   : 39 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
power management:

processor   : 6
vendor_id   : GenuineIntel
cpu family  : 6
model       : 60
model name  : Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4702MQ CPU @ 2.20GHz
stepping    : 3
microcode   : 0x1e
cpu MHz     : 2899.182
cache size  : 6144 KB
physical id : 0
siblings    : 8
core id     : 3
cpu cores   : 4
apicid      : 6
initial apicid  : 6
fpu     : yes
fpu_exception   : yes
cpuid level : 13
wp      : yes
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 pdpe1gb 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 sdbg fma cx16 xtpr pdcm pcid sse4_1 sse4_2 movbe popcnt tsc_deadline_timer aes xsave avx f16c rdrand lahf_lm abm epb tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority ept vpid fsgsbase tsc_adjust bmi1 avx2 smep bmi2 erms invpcid xsaveopt dtherm ida arat pln pts
bugs        :
bogomips    : 4389.98
clflush size    : 64
cache_alignment : 64
address sizes   : 39 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
power management:

processor   : 7
vendor_id   : GenuineIntel
cpu family  : 6
model       : 60
model name  : Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4702MQ CPU @ 2.20GHz
stepping    : 3
microcode   : 0x1e
cpu MHz     : 2870.178
cache size  : 6144 KB
physical id : 0
siblings    : 8
core id     : 3
cpu cores   : 4
apicid      : 7
initial apicid  : 7
fpu     : yes
fpu_exception   : yes
cpuid level : 13
wp      : yes
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 pdpe1gb 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 sdbg fma cx16 xtpr pdcm pcid sse4_1 sse4_2 movbe popcnt tsc_deadline_timer aes xsave avx f16c rdrand lahf_lm abm epb tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority ept vpid fsgsbase tsc_adjust bmi1 avx2 smep bmi2 erms invpcid xsaveopt dtherm ida arat pln pts
bugs        :
bogomips    : 4389.98
clflush size    : 64
cache_alignment : 64
address sizes   : 39 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
power management:


cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/scaling_cur_freq
3065686

Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat. — Thomas Ward, Mar 27 '17 at 19:39
Shutting down the dedicated GPU and using indicator-cpufreq seam to have solved the problem. — wawa, Mar 29 '17 at 09:03

score 1 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:23

1

An easy solution would be to use indicator-cpufreq Available in the Universe repository and installable from the Software Center or via the CLI with the command sudo apt-get install indicator-cpufreq With it you can choose between performance and power savings or even fine tune the clock rate (depending on your configuration as seen below.

If you are having issues with your system forcing turbo on you can flip the swich that allows this behavior with the command echo 0>/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpufreq/boost to disallow frequency boosting and echo 1>/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpufreq/boost to allow it. Disallowing boost will have an impact on both heat and performance.

Writing a "1" does not explicitly boost the system, but just allows the CPU to boost at it's own discretion. Some implementations take external factors like the chip's temperature into account, so boosting once does not necessarily mean that it will occur every time even using the exact same software setup.

It would also be prudent to check nvidia-settings and make sure overclocking is disabled Under Clock Frequencies by removing the checkmark in the box seen below:

If for asome reson you can't find the Clock Frequencies Setting examinine the Thermal Settings and Power Mizer settings to insure that they are sane.

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:23

Community

1

answered Mar 27 '17 at 18:33

Elder Geek

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This would take care of the CPU, but I think the GPU is causing problems as well. – You'reAGitForNotUsingGit Mar 27 '17 at 18:35
Installed it, I only have the options Performance and Powersave. It was on Performance after a reboot, and I changed it to Powersave but that didn't seam to help, as it's getting hot again. – wawa Mar 27 '17 at 18:39
Hmm. This might be relevant. based on the previous issue with the flickering. – Elder Geek Mar 27 '17 at 18:44
Tried that already, while trying to get rid of the flickering, unfortunately after the Unity Greeter all I got was a black monitor, I then formated the HD and reinstalled Ubuntu. – wawa Mar 27 '17 at 18:52
@wawa edited answer. – Elder Geek Mar 27 '17 at 19:52
In NVIDIA X Server Settings, I only have Thermal Settings and PowerMizer but no Clock Frequencies, that I can change. About disallowing turbo boost, I do often compile Java applications on the laptop, will that have a performance impact there? – wawa Mar 27 '17 at 20:02
The settings you mention that you do have are worth examining to insure that they are sane. Disallowing boost will have an impact on both heat and performance. – Elder Geek Mar 27 '17 at 20:08

Lenovo ThinkPad E540, GeForce GT740M "overheating" and battery drain

1 Answers1