Krdytkyu

I am running Ubuntu 17 on a Dell XPS 9560, purchased brand-new last September. Last week I suddenly began having issues with the laptop fan:

• it randomly spins up at least every 15 minutes or so to 5000 or 6000 RPM, even when the CPU is idling and cool (see sensors report below)


• during those 5/6k periods, it will occasionally spin down to <2000 RPM for less than a second, then return to 5/6k

I currently have i8kutils installed to control the laptop fan, running with the default configuration file (which specifies that the fan should be at minimum speed when the CPU is below 50 C). Something else seems to be causing the fan to run like this..

I'm inclined to think this is actually a software / driver issue, but I'm not sure how to diagnose further. Here's why:

• The fan issues began on the same day that I upgraded my nvidia-390 drivers.


• I promptly downgraded to the previous driver version, which made the fan problem go away for a few days.


• For some reason, though, the issues have now returned. (The drivers are still at their downgraded versions.)

Assuming this is a software problem — how can I further diagnose which processes might be making my fan go crazy? Is there any way to monitor which processes are setting fan speed?

(I'm also open to the suggestion that this must be a hardware problem, and that I should open up my laptop case instead!)

I'd really appreciate any help. Thanks!

Here is the output from sensors while the fan is running near top speed:

$ sensors

pch_skylake-virtual-0

Adapter: Virtual device

temp1:        +32.5°C



acpitz-virtual-0

Adapter: Virtual device

temp1:        +25.0°C  (crit = +107.0°C)



dell_smm-virtual-0

Adapter: Virtual device

Processor Fan: 6058 RPM

Video Fan:        0 RPM

CPU:            +34.0°C

Ambient:        +26.0°C

Ambient:        +27.0°C

Other:          +25.0°C



coretemp-isa-0000

Adapter: ISA adapter

Package id 0:  +46.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)

Core 0:        +46.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)

Core 1:        +44.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)

Core 2:        +43.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)

Core 3:        +41.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)

Here's the sensors output a few moments later, when the fan is completely off with a higher CPU temperature:

$ sensors

pch_skylake-virtual-0

Adapter: Virtual device

temp1:        +36.5°C



acpitz-virtual-0

Adapter: Virtual device

temp1:        +25.0°C  (crit = +107.0°C)



dell_smm-virtual-0

Adapter: Virtual device

Processor Fan:    0 RPM

Video Fan:        0 RPM

CPU:            +35.0°C

Ambient:        +29.0°C

Ambient:        +29.0°C

Other:          +29.0°C



coretemp-isa-0000

Adapter: ISA adapter

Package id 0:  +46.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)

Core 0:        +46.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)

Core 1:        +45.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)

Core 2:        +43.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)

Core 3:        +42.0°C  (high = +100.0°C, crit = +100.0°C)

I've got the inverse problem on an laptop, the fan was not running enough and got CPU crashes.

I've wrote a little script in order to help managing the fan rotation speed with more parameters in order to make it work following your own strategy.

To install it :

sudo npm install -g ubuntu-smart-fan

sudo apt-get install lm-sensors

sudo sensors-detect

After installing it, you can run it with default parameters :

sudo ubuntu-smart-fan --min=50

You can define your own strategy, take a look at the documentation here : https://github.com/ichiriac/ubuntu-smart-fan