Why are my laptop fans spinning all the time at high speed even though CPU usage is under 20%?

18.04 asus fan

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Solution 1

It might not be a software problem. After a few years, the thermal compound that's sandwiched between the CPU and the heatsink becomes hard and brittle and doesn't conduct much. If you're able to get to it, I recommend buying a kit that includes:

a cleaner to get the old heatsink off
a prep compound to prepare the CPU surface for the new thermal compound
and the thermal compound itself.

One thing you might try first to make sure it's not a software issue, is to boot from a LiveCD, open a few browser tabs like you described, and see if the fans race. If they do, it's very likely the hardware issue I described.

Solution 2

If you have not installed any of the power management services in Ubuntu, you may find these to be helpful:

First, install Tlp, Thermald, and Lmsensors to create power sensing and management. From the terminal:

sudo apt install tlp thermald
sudo apt install --install-suggests lm-sensors psensor

There are configuration files for Tlp located in /etc/default/tlp which you can customize to fit your needs. You can issue sudo tlp start to start the process, but I would reboot.

Secondly, there are a set of utilities to set the fan speeds for various sensed temperatures. The following is quoted from https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1165469-control-fan-speeds-lm_sensors-isnt-working/?tab=comments#comment-595825859

sudo apt-get install lm-sensors
sudo sensors-detect
just follow the prompts. Add the recommended lines to /etc/modules.

Now, if you don't want to reboot, you'll have to manually activate the modules.
sudo modprobe module1 module2
where module1 etc. = the module names provided from sensors-detect.

Next, you need to create your fancontrol file. The easiest way is to run pwmconfig.
sudo pwmconfig
and work your way through the instructions there.

Finally, run sensors -s to make your fan configuration take effect.
sudo sensors -s
Now, you can check your temps.
sensors
Now to run fan control, type:
sudo /usr/sbin/fancontrol &
A nice way to visually inspect temps is with gkrellm. To get it:
sudo apt-get install gkrellm

5,374

Dipto Mondal

Passionate Software Engineer I, having a deep insight into various technologies of programming. Love to solve algorithmic problems and make things work better than expected. Also, having a love for learning new things and making use of them. Have interest in building scalable software applications. Always looking for exciting opportunities to hone my skills and grow as a developer. In my two years in this industry, I've honed my analytical thinking and collaboration skills, and I love working with a team.

Updated on September 18, 2022

Comments

Dipto Mondal over 1 year

I am using an ASUS ROG GL553VD. When I use Windows everything is okay, but in ubuntu 18.04 (actually, in all versions) it keeps running fans all the time even though the CPU usage is under 20%.After fresh install the fan was running normally but when i was trying to shutting down the laptop was freezing.. And to solve that freezing problem I installed the NVIDIA driver and the fan spinning problem began..
- Admin about 5 years
  
  Your laptop has a Nvidia graphics. Have you installed the drivers? If so, which version? Please edit and update the question.
- Dipto Mondal about 5 years
  
  Edited...@GabrielaGarcia
- chx101 over 2 years
  
  I have the same issue with my ASUS ROG FX305VD. Removing the Nvidia drivers solves the problem. But at the same time, I can't enjoy my games. :/
emk2203 about 5 years

If the CPU would overheat at 20%, the windows system would shut off after a few minutes. But he says everything is OK, so it's unlikely.
Admin about 5 years

Indeed. If it works as expected in Windows there's no reason to suspect hardware issues. Please read the question carefully before answering.
Admin about 5 years

I suspect this has to due with Nvida running with nouveau instead of the proprietary drivers. I never had to install the things you recommend here.
Charles Green about 5 years

@GabrielaGarcia Depends upon the laptop, I think. My (admittedly older) Dell has in some releases, had a tremendous heat problem, and without Tlp, my battery life is nill. I think it was 18.04, my fans used to spool up at login...
Admin about 5 years

I'm waiting for some reply to my comment under the question. The reasons for my suspicions are a high-end gaming laptop with a current Nvidia card + newbie + lack of Nvidia drivers (a knowledgeable user with this problem and Nvidia drivers would have mentioned it in the question, I think).
Charles Green about 5 years

I'm of the impression that it the NVidia drivers were not loaded, then the card would be inactive and either an on-board video or llvmpipe would be used. The llvmpipe would result in high CPU and temperatures . Tlp and Thermald would assist and Psensors would visually show high temps internal to the box...
Admin about 5 years

There are open-source and proprietary drivers for Nvidia cards. The problem happens with nouveau, the default open-source driver. Proprietary drivers that really works need to be explicitly installed but are available at the Ubuntu repositories or the graphics drivers PPA. nouveau has poor support for newer chips.
Dipto Mondal about 5 years

@CharlesGreen this is the output for pwmconfig Giving the fans some time to reach full speed... Found the following fan sensors: hwmon1/fan1_input current speed: 0 ... skipping! There are no working fan sensors, all readings are 0. Make sure you have a 3-wire fan connected. You may also need to increase the fan divisors. See doc/fan-divisors for more information.
Dipto Mondal about 5 years

Thank you for your answer @Eric...But I don't think there is a hardware issue..
Charles Green about 5 years

@DiptoMondal Please execute sudo sensors-detect
Charles Green about 5 years

@DiptoMondal Made major revision to answer...