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I have a Dell Inspiron 17R 5721 for a year now and I mostly use ubuntu 12.04. I had heating problems sine the beginning while I was using ubuntu but by trial and error I managed to decrease it to logical levels, that is 60C when idle and sometimes even bellow that.

Lately tho, I've had REAL problems with the heat going up to 90C and more if I didn't turn off the apps/games that I used at the time. My fan has a problem and I'm waiting on Dell to fix that BUT... until that happens I'm in windows where the heat is much less in normal conditions, on computer startup is at 40-48C and If I try to do stuff (watch videos, surf on the internet) the heat is at 50-56C.

So the question is "Does Linux Cause More Heat Than Windows In General"?

I love Ubuntu but I don't want to sepnd another 1K Euros any time soon. As I said I only have this laptop for a year and I hope that it'll live longer.

Not Amused
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1 Answers1

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So the question is "Does Linux Cause More Heat Than Windows In General"?

In short your answer is Yes. Linux in general will generate more heat and give you less battery life as compared to Windows due to the face open source drivers doesn't do power management well and is by default set to run on full power all the time.

The problem is probably in some of your drivers. you have to search for your problem and try other drivers if you find the problem but mostly is your graphics.

you can read these discussions here and here.

Maythux
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