User Feedback :: DSL Makes Notebook Run HOT!



Power consumption, hence heat, is to large part determined by CPU speed.

Since dsl doesn't have CPUFreq and an appropriate module for my Centrino then there's no CPU scaling afaik, so on my laptop, the CPU is always running at max, so my laptop runs hotter and the battery last less time when on dsl Cf Fedora. And the fan is consequently on quite a lot.

With CPU scaling and an appropriate control daemon such as Powernowd, my cpu would be running at half speed most of the time, which is all that's needed for surfing etc.

Original poster: you should make sure your fan is working.  Overheating is not at all good for your CPU.
You could probably still adjust the frequency scaling manually, even without cpufreq - in fact the default scripts with acpid in DSL3.4rc1 are set up to do this.

The command to set the cpu at its lowest speed (depending on the cpu) would be something like:

Code Sample
# echo 7 > /proc/acpi/processor/CPU0/performance
# cat /proc/acpi/processor/CPU0/performance
state count:             8
active state:            P7
states:
   P0:                  1600 MHz, 21000 mW, 250 uS
   P1:                  1600 MHz, 21000 mW, 250 uS
   P2:                  1600 MHz, 21000 mW, 250 uS
   P3:                  1400 MHz, 18500 mW, 250 uS
   P4:                  1200 MHz, 15500 mW, 250 uS
   P5:                  1000 MHz, 13000 mW, 250 uS
   P6:                  800 MHz, 10000 mW, 250 uS
  *P7:                  600 MHz, 7500 mW, 250 uS
Quote

You could probably still adjust the frequency scaling manually, even without cpufreq - in fact the default scripts with acpid in DSL3.4rc1 are set up to do this.

Haven't tried that - will do at some stage.
Quote (roberts @ June 19 2007,11:07)
Does you laptop support acpi?
Does the fan come on at all?
You may want to try DSL v3.4 with the new acpid where you can script control thermal, etc...
DSL forum user Juanito has experience with many of these triggers/actions.

am a fan of mini distros and noticed with both dsl and puppy that fan does not come on when using either

fan comes on with other larger distros being used as livecd [eg knoppix vector slax pclinos]

laptop gets really hot; i mean really warm

reasons this might be happening???
solutions???

thanks
Jimjan - try (in a root shell):

Code Sample
modprobe fan
modprobe thermal


to make sure the acpi submodules for this control are loaded.

They weren't on ye olde dsl-2.1b (which I use right now because I need ipw2200), which is why I didn't have  a /proc/acpi/processor/ directory for cpu status (@Juanito's post above).  Now I can do

Code Sample
echo 4 >/proc/acpi/processor/CPU0/performance


to halve my CPU speed as Juanito says.

My fan was coming on and off (or rather goes down to idle speed) regardless of loading these modules however, so there's another control mechanism.

Do the directories /proc/acpi/fan and /proc/acpi/thermal now exist?

dsl runs at THR0 = 63C at max CPU speed when doing ordinary stuff on a hot day for me.  Halving the CPU speed dropped that tempertaure by 11C in 10 minutes to 52C.

You must not run your laptop so it's as hot as you say,  you may be damaging the cpu and shortening its life.

(I'm not sure acpi for the 2.4.xx kernel was ever entirely a 100% done thing - you might need a 2.6.xx kernel with your hardware.  But Puppy has 2.6.xx  so not the sure what the problem is with that.)
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