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So I am running into overheating issues, constant shutdowns and lagging when I open multiple tabs on the browser, which is not convenient at all.

Here are my laptop specs:

Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU L 640  @ 2.13GHz
8 GB Ram
Harddisk 160 gb 
Intel® Ironlake Mobile 

Currently running Ubuntu 14.04 and the machine is almost 5 years old, but it has served me well and I honestly abused it.

So should I try to send it to be fixed or is there anything else I can do other than dust off and reapply the thermal paste apply or get a new one?

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  • I feel this may be better asked over at Hardware Recommendations. This isn't really about Ubuntu. Nov 19, 2015 at 2:02
  • i thought perhaps ubuntu 14.04 might have an overheating issue, but i will try to post it there Nov 19, 2015 at 2:10
  • It may be true, but the way your phrased your question makes it focus more on whether or not you should get a new laptop, not actually fixing the problem itself. Nov 19, 2015 at 2:14

3 Answers 3

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Alternatively, install thermald which will by default try various passive cooling strategies (e.g. CPU freq scaling, etc) to cool your CPU. See https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Kernel/PowerManagement/ThermalIssues.

To install use:

sudo apt-get install thermald
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You could invest in a laptop fan cooler. You know those ones you put under the laptop to make sure the intake fans are getting extra air flow. Some laptops later in their life get clogged up. It might be worth it to take it apart and just blow it out. Generally this is easy to do.

More targeting the Ubuntu side of things. You can turn the CPU frequency down in ubuntu.

sudo apt-get install indicator-cpufreq

You also then need to make it apart of the startup process by adding a startup script. Just type "Startup Applications" in the dash and add your bash script starting that application there.

If it is GPU you might want to think about switching to open drivers, or closed drivers and see if that helps. You could also try something that requires less system resources and turning of system effects with something like Compiz Config Settings Manager. It is slightly advanced so just be a little careful what you turn off.

sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager
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  • 1
    That is very help, thank you for the monitoring applications. I believe that it has come to it's end of time however. What is bugging me is that its components of hardware, are relatively high up to date, as far as i've seen the market lately. I will try taking it apart soon, thanks for all the tips Nov 19, 2015 at 3:23
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The problem is the age of your Intel Core CPU.

At that time Intel's emphasis was still on processor 'power' (at the expense of excess heat and/or power needs). The only way to really solve this (with your current hardware) is to aggressively limit the CPU and graphics, and slow it further under high load (or heat).

Basically you need add-on software to aggressively manage your thermal envelope (operating range).


That said, I no longer recommend such an approach. Intel have admitted their mistakes, and moved on ..

For Ubuntu:

A modern Notebook with only the current generation (not 'sixth') Intel Core i3 mobile, 4GB RAM, and a hybrid (SSHD) drive will not 'break the bank' and may even out perform your current hardware.


UPDATE: (21-Nov)

I would suggest the HP 250 G4 (N0C12PA) with i3-4005U/4GB RAM, although you may not need the fast processor. Do a price comparison on the lesser model (N0C12PA) with Celeron N3050.

You need to replace the 'standard' (and slow) 5400rpm 500GB HDD (typically Seagate ST500LT012) with a faster Hybrid drive: eg. Seagate 500GB SSHD (with 8GB flash) ST500LM000.

If required replace 4GB SODIMM with 8GB, but first try compiles without this.

PS: This (even with Celeron) also performs well with Windows 10 (64-bit).

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  • I do a lot of java/C/ web development, can you recommend a laptop ? Nov 19, 2015 at 15:11
  • Do you also do any DSP (digital signal processing) or GPU (graphics/parallel processing) based development, or is it just general website content? How portable? (11", 14", 15.6", etc.) How long away from mains power (on only battery)? Do you 'need' a touch-screen?
    – david6
    Nov 20, 2015 at 4:22
  • Updated my answer ..
    – david6
    Nov 20, 2015 at 20:32

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