I recently switched to Linux Mint, and while overall I'm enjoying the experience, I've noticed a troubling issue: my CPU and SSD get extremely hot, seemingly out of nowhere. Initially, it would take about 4 hours of use for the temperatures to rise, but now it happens in just 30 minutes or less. Even when the CPU and SSD usage are low, the temperatures stay consistently around 60-70 degrees Celsius. This is in stark contrast to my experience with Windows 11, where the CPU rarely exceeded 60 degrees Celsius, even under stress. I've ruled out a thermal paste issue since I reapplied it just two months ago and had good cooling before. What could be going wrong?
3 Answers
I've seen SSDs start heating up like that, but it’s worth checking if it’s radiant heat from another component. About the thermal paste, why did you decide to repaste it after two years?
It sounds like there might be an issue with how your fans are being managed in Linux. What model of laptop do you have? Sometimes, proprietary laptops may not have optimal fan control under Linux. If your cooling fan is not working correctly due to being set to a constant low speed or miscommunication with the OS, that could cause overheating even when usage is low.
My laptop is an HP 15s-eq2xxx with a Ryzen 3 5300 and integrated graphics. The fan has been acting up since I replaced it after the first one failed. It used to run at full speed all the time but now barely spins, which makes it quieter but causes more heating.
Your laptop's CPU temperatures, while higher than before, are still within normal limits. However, if fans are controlled by firmware that may not be optimized for Linux, that could cause issues. It might also help to clean the fans and do another thermal paste job just to ensure everything is good.
That's a good suggestion! I'll check the fans and maybe do another thermal paste application to see if it helps.
I repasted it because it wasn’t cooling as well as it could. After two attempts to get it right, I managed to improve the cooling, but now the temperatures are still higher than when I was on Windows.