Laptop running very hot with Ubuntu

Solution 1:

It is quite possible that you have an ACPI (power saving) incompatibility. You do not mention which version of Ubuntu you have; try with the latest.

You can try FWTS, which is a firmware and powersaving (ACPI) tool, https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Kernel/Reference/fwts It should help you identify what exactly is not working well.

Solution 2:

You could try passing a boot parameter. You do this by editing the configuration file for GRUB, for example:

sudo -H gedit /etc/default/grub

Find the line that says:

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"

change it to:

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="**acpi_osi=Linux** quiet splash"

then save and exit, and run

sudo update-grub

to make the change effective. Then restart.

Solution 3:

The overheating problem could happen due to the graphics card. Under Windows there is the so called Optimus technology, when you don't play games the laptop just uses the integrated Intel HD for the simple stuff.

I believe that Ubuntu doesn't have that kind of technology yet so it uses the graphics card all the time. What you could do to solve your problem is find a program that acts like Nvidia Pptimus technology.

A quick search lead me to the Bumblebee project.

I didnt try this yet, so I can't guarantee anything. If someone knows/tries if this method works or if the above info is true please confirm, thanks!