How do I fix overheating and short battery life?

Question

I am using a VAIO VPCEA23EN with an ATI Radeon HD 5145 graphics card. I have 3 GB RAM and a Core i3 2,26 GHz processor.

My laptop gets very hot very quickly. Battery life is also much shorter than in Windows 7. I get less than an hour under Ubuntu and about 3 hours under Windows.

How can I fix both issues?

Answer 1

It seems you have the power regression/overheating bug with the Linux Kernel (I also have the same problem). There is kernel testing in place right now to fix this issue so it's better to wait for the Kernel update which I'm praying will finally fix this issue once and for all. This bug mostly affects Intel Processors (core 2 duo, core one, sandy bridge or i series)

Answer 2

use powertop to get an idea where the power goes and good tips how to minimize power consumption - it is a console app.

Answer 3

You can try disabling some services you don't use. Wi-Fi, video card and bluetooth are the devices with most power consumption. If you're using FOSS drivers you could try the binary blob or vice-versa and check if your laptop get better conditions.

Also, Jupiter might help lowering power consumption by changing kernel parameters on the fly.

Check http://www.webupd8.org/2011/09/jupiter-applet-finally-available-for.html