Is Ubuntu supposed to run hot if it's installed alongside Windows 7?

Question

I just installed Ubuntu 12.10 and the fan has been running a little hot for a good bit. Even when I switch to Windows 7, it's running hot. It didn't do this before I installed Ubuntu. I have an HP DV6 running I7, 8 GB RAM, and a 750GB hard drive. I used the SpeedFan software to see what my temperature was. Plus, the fan is pretty loud and I can feel the heat from the sides. I guess I want to ask two main questions:

1. Does Ubuntu cause the computer to run "hotter"?

2. If you have Ubuntu installed alongside Windows 7, are they both technically running at the same time, causing it to overheat?

Thank you in advance for any help

Answer 1

Regarding heat/power, Ubuntu tends to be running more services in the background and some hardware drivers are less efficient, so it tends to use more power and run hotter than Windows. So, you can expect worse battery life and more heat produced in general, regardless of whether you are dual-booting or not. A lot of these have been reported as bugs that should get fixed eventually, example: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/760131

As far as windows goes, assuming a standard installation, your computer can only have one OS in control at a time, so it is either Windows running OR Ubuntu running. While Windows is running/in control, Ubuntu is just a bunch of inactive files that can't have any effect on your computer's operation or heat because they're not running.

If you've just rebooted, Ubuntu may have left the computer hardware hot and Windows would not magically cool things off - it would potentially cool off over time, or Windows may use enough power/produce enough heat that it would stay hot.

Answer 2

They don't run on the same time, since you don't have a virtual machine in one of them, running the other one. Most people install them side by side and run either this or that.

Since both systems aren't identical and can perform different tasks, they can differ in running hot. This can be due to one using more CPU, or due to different settings in power saving, fan usage and so on.

I don't know about a general misbalance in one direction or the other - you should mention your board, chispset, CPU and memory, maybe laptop model if it is a laptop to compare with others.

Oh, I forgot to ask: How do you measure the temperature?