Significant warming problems in Ubuntu 18.04 dual-boot setup
Significant warming problems in Ubuntu 18.04 dual-boot setup
Hey everyone! I’m trying to move to Linux using Ubuntu 18.04 dualboot because of my development needs—Docker performs better on Unix systems, and honestly, it’s been a real challenge. Here’s the setup: My machine is an Acer Triton 500 from 2019 with an i7-9750H processor, 16GB RAM, RTX 2060 GPU. It runs Windows 10 flawlessly, stays under 50°C during idle or compilation. Then came Ubuntu 18.04. It’s open-source, but there’s no native NVMe support? That’s weird. I had to dig into hardware settings just to switch to AHCI for installation. The main problem is overheating—my laptop hits 90°C constantly when idle, and the fans are always throttling. On Windows 10 everything works smoothly, but here I’m barely getting 4 hours of battery life. Anyone have tips on how to fix this? I’m worried about running code or even testing servers. If it gets hot enough during idle, what will happen?
It's frustrating to hear about the ongoing issues with Ubuntu 18.04/19. Many people are worried about stability, and it seems like support for Mint is also lacking. I remember thinking it was a solid choice back then, but now I'm concerned about performance and battery life. Keep an eye on updates—hopefully things improve soon.
You might want to give Solus a shot—I tested it on a laptop without overheating problems and with good battery performance. Avoid relying only on the notion of the most stable distribution; explore a few options to see which suits your setup best.
During installation, you've added the specific drivers needed for your hardware, such as closed-source ones from NVIDIA, instead of relying on the standard open-source drivers that Ubuntu typically uses.
You've likely encountered the main Ubuntu LTS problem—your hardware is quite recent. It's recommended to use the newest Ubuntu release or a development version for such new devices. I'm surprised you managed to run video, but Linux drivers for this hardware are only available in non-LTS distributions. The real issue here is the slow driver update cycle since manufacturers mainly support Windows. You might consider PopOS for some patches, though it's unclear if they have two versions. Trying Ubuntu 19.10 Eoan could significantly help. Avoid Nouveau—the default open-source driver—rather than installing Nvidia's proprietary driver via the driver manager right after installation.
Here’s a clearer version of your message:
Thanks for the helpful response! I’ll give it a shot with 19.04. I picked 18.04 mainly because people online mentioned it was more stable, though your advice seems reasonable. Regarding your questions:
"The first step is installing the Nvidia proprietary driver via the driver manager right after setting up your system. (I’m not sure how to get it installed if you think it doesn’t support NVMe?)"
This issue relates to the storage mode of my SSD in the laptop, which by default was set to RST Premium. It appears that with 18.04 and older versions, only AHCI mode is allowed, and the system wouldn’t recognize my SSD.
Also, "Don’t even try using Nouveau (the open-source driver installed by default)."
For installing the Nvidia proprietary driver on Ubuntu, you might want to check the official Nvidia website or their documentation for step-by-step guidance."
Let me know if you need more details!
Yeah, the system is stable. It also covers the drivers now, so you can add more repositories for 18.04 like the updated kernel. I’m not sure if that feature works on Linux, but there’s a separate software raid tool. Just open the driver manager (found in the software repo settings) and install the latest Nvidia driver. If you see an older version, add the graphics-driver repo. You should have switched to supported graphics, and the proprietary one should work without draining your battery too much.