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I have been using Windows (Vista and 7) for quite some time on my DELL Studio 1555 and I have never experienced overheating problems (even when rendering videos etc.) but as soon as I turn on my laptop with Ubuntu, the fan starts spinning at full speed and the temperature starts rising steadily. The temperature rises to a point where the laptop shuts down due to too much heat!

Here are some additional details: Laptop model: DELL STUDIO 1555 BIOS version: A13 (latest, as per DELL website) Graphic card: ATI Radeon HD 4570

I did a clean install of Ubuntu 12.04 and have upgraded and updated everything, and the problem still persists.

This seems to be a common problem with many DELL laptops but I have not been able to find a proper solution...

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Sagar, this is a common occurrence in all laptops, and has to do with a flaw in systems with powerful graphics cards, which happens in Dells. There is no solution, except maybe a cooling pad, or not having the laptop flush against the work surface (so the fans can still operate). As well, this is also a limitation in the temperature regulation within the OS (which Windows and Dell drivers for Windows take into account) – The Lord of Time May 31 '12 at 17:55

2 Answers

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The issue is absence of proprietary graphics drivers. See if you have xorg.conf in /etc/X11. Most likely it would be either absent or with improper configuration.

CHECK PRESENT TEMPERATURE:

First install lm-sensors using sudo apt-get install lm-sensors

Then run sudo sensors-detect and say YES to all the options.

Now, run sensors and see how the temperatures are.

INSTALL PROPRIETARY GRAPHIC DRIVERS:

After this, install the proprietary Radeon drivers using "Additional Drivers" or jockey-gtk from Unity Dash.

Then run sudo aticonfig --initial to configure xorg.conf properly.

CHECK TEMPERATURE AGAIN:

Now, run sensors again and see if there is any difference in temperature.

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I am using the exact DELL Studio laptop and my laptop runs cooler in Ubuntu than Windows 7.

I did following things to bring the system temperature significantly.

  1. Install proprietary graphics driver throught jockey-gtk. Search for jockey in unity menu.

  2. Install tlp to control HDD and WIFI power consumption. ( It's not necessary but significantly reduced the palm rest temperature )

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protected by Bruno Pereira♦ Jul 10 '12 at 16:49

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