Any software available that can reduce computer performance and fan speed?

**gordintoronto** · October 6th, 2011

In 11.04 Unity, I actually display the CPU speed from within a Conky script. The important part:
${freq_g}GHz

I spelled out the whole thing in issue 51 of Full Circle Magazine, page 40.

**Bobhuber** · October 6th, 2011

1. You need to be running 64 bit (if it's giving you problems there is something else wrong)
2. Enable Amd Cool & Quiet in the Bios (It works fine in Ubuntu and unless something else is wrong will slow down the fan untill you need it)
3. Idle CPU temp should be around 30C unless you have the thing overclocked which is what it sounds like.

**VanR** · October 6th, 2011

+1 for enabling AMD Cool and Quiet in the BIOS. My computer also has a SMARTFAN function in BIOS also.

**jammaj** · October 6th, 2011

Thanks again to everyone.

Cool n' Quiet seems to be having an effect. The fan speed has reduced to 4800rpm, and I am just about able to hear myself think again.

But it is still loud and annoying. I think that my computer might be overclocked, but I certainly did not do this myself - well, at least not intentionally.

I will try everyone's suggestions, which will take me some time because I need to learn what, among other things, '.deb' and 'compile' and 'packages' actually means. This is all good for me probably, forcing me out of my languid state and having me engage. Ubuntu is pretty user friendly, so you do not have to learn much at all if you just have basic needs and nothing goes wrong. I shall report back.

But for tonight and this weekend, I shall retreat, and engage once more in non-computer interactions. This all has occupied my last few nights, during which I have crashed Unity a few times via compiz, installed several thousand things that I cannot name nor remember, accidentally made my computer excitedly proclaim that '4 cores are activated!' (I was happy for it), made my eyes bleed and my brain fall out, learned several new things, and perhaps I have grown.

**pjd99** · October 7th, 2011

FYI, .deb is the type of file the Debian (hence .deb) package management system (dpkg, apt) uses. These are akin to .dmg files for Mac, or .RPM for Fedora/Mandriva. They contain a pre-built version of the software for your operating system and architecture.

If you double click a .deb, Ubuntu Software Centre will open and allow you to install it. (or sudo dpkg -i <package_name.deb> from the terminal)

Compiling means you build the program from its source code. It is much more advanced than using the pre-made packages, and can be a real pain trying to meet all the dependencies for the source you are trying to compile. You might have the program source code, but it may require the source for 4 or 5 other programs before it will attempt to compile. You will need to install build-essential (sudo apt-get build-essential) before trying to compile anything.

Pre-compiled packages may also require others as pre-requisites, but these are usually available and will install automatically with your new program (if not it will fail and tell you the packages you are missing). Especially true if using a frontend like apt-get, Synaptic or Ubuntu Software Centre.

**jammaj** · October 10th, 2011

Originally Posted by pjd99

FYI, .deb is the type of file the Debian (hence .deb) package management system (dpkg, apt) uses. These are akin to .dmg files for Mac, or .RPM for Fedora/Mandriva. They contain a pre-built version of the software for your operating system and architecture.

If you double click a .deb, Ubuntu Software Centre will open and allow you to install it. (or sudo dpkg -i <package_name.deb> from the terminal)

Compiling means you build the program from its source code. It is much more advanced than using the pre-made packages, and can be a real pain trying to meet all the dependencies for the source you are trying to compile. You might have the program source code, but it may require the source for 4 or 5 other programs before it will attempt to compile. You will need to install build-essential (sudo apt-get build-essential) before trying to compile anything.

Pre-compiled packages may also require others as pre-requisites, but these are usually available and will install automatically with your new program (if not it will fail and tell you the packages you are missing). Especially true if using a frontend like apt-get, Synaptic or Ubuntu Software Centre.

Thanks for the help there. The info about .Deb was very enlightening especially, although I am sure I could have Googled it. But cheers nevertheless.

Well, I think all of this computer research might have led me to have a rather debauch weekend, perhaps because the brain needed balancing out. I am still recovering. So I am taking easier this week on both fronts.

Having said that

I have done some more research today and I have found out a few things.

Firstly, the piece of software that worked a treat on Windows was called EPU-4 Engine (later EPU-6 Engine), which came with the ASUS MB. Apparently ASUS just will not put out a version for Linux, and Wine doesn't work well with it. The way it goes, I guess. There appears to be no comparable application for Ubuntu, as evidenced by unsolved threads such as this: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1401546.

This thread follows the general jist of all other threads and other internet forums that I viewed, I.e. no resolution.

I guess that is really the end of the discussion so far as this forum is concerned, unless someone out there knows a comparable application...

However, for what its worth, I have come up with something of a solution. I went into my BIOS and enabled Cool N' Quiet, which worked quite well (knocked a third of the CPU fan's RPM speed). I then enabled something called 'C1E support', which also helped. lastly, I found a setting called 'Q-fan mode' for both the chassis fans and the CPU fan. I enabled this, and put the CPU fan on 'silent' (other options were 'performance' and 'optimal'). This has reduced the RPM to about 2250, which has made the world of difference.

The resulting CPU temp during idle times is now 47 celcius, which is not too much more than before (44c). It is still quite high, put it appears from my research that the CPU I have lends itself to these temps. Also, MB temp seems to have dropped to 34c (from 38c) for some reason, which is allright by me.

I am about to look into making the chassis fans run at a faster RPM (near the beginning of the thread I mentioned that they were both going only at about 800RPM). I am thinking that pushing up their speed will make up for some of the lost revs of the CPU fan, but shouldn't impact on noise too greatly. Looking inside the computer has been interesting, particularly because I noticed that the chassis fans are much larger than the CPU fan, yet the option of getting them to turn more quickly is not immediately clear (maybe there is no option?). Adjusting their setting sin 'Q-fan mode' to 'performance' didn't make any difference.

I am also thinking of adjusting physical things to make the system cooler - like ventilation and stuff. But this will be for when my wallet is a little fatter I guess (possibly never then).

cheers all