0

I am a beginner in Ubuntu and using 18.04 with Nvidia GTx 1080Ti GPU... I am concerned because recently the fan inside my Dell Precision 7920 is being turned on frequently. Even when I am running one or two tabs in Google chrome or running some simple apps. Though I am not running any models in GPU but nvidia-smi gives me only 2~3% of GPU usage... and there is nothing significant I can find in system monitors... I have attached the image in the link. see the system monitor info here

I want to know if anything is wrong, please let me know how to proceed.
N.B.: my system has dual boot with windows 10, which I rarely use...

Improve this question
0

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
0

The system monitor info you pasted doesn't include kernel threads, which is important to know when troubleshooting such things.

Try htop (after sudo apt-get install htop if necessary), and in it, go to Settings (F2), then "Display Options", and make sure at minimum to check these settings:

  • "Hide kernel threads": UNchecked
  • "Detialed CPU time": Checked
Improve this answer
4
  • Hello Jim, I have done the two points you suggested. Shall I upload the system monitor info again?
    – banikr
    Oct 10, 2019 at 21:02
  • Sure, happy to help, but it should also be self-evident in htop, if anything is chewing up CPU time that's not showing up in your gnome monitor. In htop, also sort by "TIME+" column (just click on it with mouse). That's a slightly friendlier way to see if anything is chewing it up via privileged execution and/or handling interrupts. (Sorting by TIME+ [total CPU time] just means things change more slowly, giving you more time to figure it out. Also, if something runs persistently but only spikes episodically and not currently, it will still have a high TIME+.)
    – Jim
    Oct 11, 2019 at 23:16
  • Hey Jim, I performed all the checks and unchecks you've mentioned. Sorted the system monitor with respect to time. Please take a look. imgur.com/6qqw8Mm
    – banikr
    Oct 14, 2019 at 16:54
  • Hi banikr, that's still the Gnome System Monitor. Nothing it is showing in the screenshot, is, by itself in this context, meaningful. (Other than Chrome characteristically chewing up CPU and RAM.) At least, not without further context. (E.g. uptime to compare Chrome total time to.) That's why you need htop. Configured appropriately as noted, it shows you all system processes, not just yours. If a driver is choking, for example, you won't see that in Gnome System Monitor. You will in Htop. It also shows uptime. Also it's hard to diagnose performance problems with Chrome running.
    – Jim
    Oct 16, 2019 at 0:24
0

I've had this same issue several times on different machines. In every single case, it turned out to be some combination of:

  • clogged cooling fins
  • old dried thermal paste between the CPU and cooling fins

You can clean the fins out with compressed air. You can by kits to refresh (clean, and re-apply) the thermal paste.

Improve this answer
1
  • Yeah, that would be good to do. But before that, I wanted to make sure the system is ok in software terms. Once I figure everything going good, I will try these things.
    – banikr
    Oct 10, 2019 at 21:04

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .