Laptop runs hot.

R

rz

Hi :).

I have tried to install/configure FreeBSD 9.0 on my laptop a few months ago, and I am going to try again with your help and knowledge.

Last time it ran very hot while it was sitting idle in the shell.
It was a fresh install without any software installed.

I assume this is being caused by my GPU, as the same thing happens on GNU/Linux.

I have checked if installing X11 with the Radeon driver would make a difference, but it did not, neither did any of the Radeon power options in my /etc/xorg.conf make a difference.

On GNU/Linux I have solved this problem by installing the Radeon driver, and setting the "power profile" (a feature of the Linux kernel?) of the card to "low".

I have read that FreeBSD does not yet support KMS for the Radeon driver, does this mean that I will not be able to set my GPU into low power mode?

Is there any way to do something like this in FreeBSD? or does the problem lie elsewhere?

My laptop:
Dell Studio 1558
CPU: Intel i7 Q720
GPU: ATI Mobility Radeon 5470

Thanks in advance!
 
When I used to run GNU/Linux on my old MacBook (2nd gen), I would have the same problem. After I did some searching, I found that there was this one file: /sys/devices/platform/applesmc.768/fan1_min which stored the minimum fan speed. Here is a very basic script of how you could set it:
Code: 
#!/bin/bash
# Set MacBook 2,1 Fan Speed

$fanspeed="3600"
echo $fanspeed > /sys/devices/platofrm/applesmc.768/fan1_min

You would need to run this script as sudo to get it working. I had a more complicated script that gave me a bit more control, but that's the gist of what it would do.

Though I've very new to FreeBSD, so I'm not sure if there is a /sys/devices/platform folder or what the equivalent is. If it is there, try running the following command in /sys/devices:
# find . * | grep fan

See what it tells you. I'd also try to find out what is the max/min/safe RPMs for your laptop's fan.
 
  • Thanks
Reactions: rz
Well, I'm still having the same problem till this very day, and I think I know what the problem is.

The Radeon driver on FreeBSD isn't as well implemented as on GNU/Linux systems (from my short experience) and fglrx isn't available.

I remember I've wrote an E-Mail to AMD customer services about fglrx on FreeBSD, but they will not support FreeBSD in the near future.

That's unfortunate, as I really wanted to give *BSD's a shot as a Desktop system, seeing that *BSD's sepatate the core system from user applications unlike on GNU/Linux where all packages are in the same pot (thus leading to an unstable system).

PS: I haven't replied to this thread earlier, the reason being that my Laptop wouldn't be able to run FreeBSD for very long, as it would automatically shut off due to the heat, therefore making it impossible to try anything/fix anything. Besides, there isn't/wasn't anything I was able to do, the fans were working properly, it is/was the Graphics driver :)
 
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