Re: inaccurate fan speed

[earl middlebrook <eamiddlebrook@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi all,

Sorry for the delay in responce, work conference...

On Fri, Jun 21, 2013 at 4:16 AM, Jean Delvare <khali@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Hi Earl,

Please keep the list included, so that your messages get archived.

On Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:21:14 -0600, earl middlebrook wrote:
> Ubuntu did have thinkpad-acpi running.  I blacklisted it as suggested by
> Henrique.  Now the output of sensors is:
> earl@ElFuturo[earl]
> sensors                                                     [11:31AM]
> acpitz-virtual-0
> Adapter: Virtual device
> temp1:        +70.0°C  (crit = +105.0°C)
>
> coretemp-isa-0000
> Adapter: ISA adapter
> Core 0:       +61.0°C  (high = +95.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
> Core 2:       +64.0°C  (high = +95.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
>
> This seems much more reasonable.  Many of the temps detected by
> thinkpad-acpi were 0C of fluctuating off the charts.
> The cores temps are approximately the same as before.  They fluctuate
> faster though.  Something about the update rate I suppose.

The coretemp driver updates its values every second, and these
integrated digital sensors are very prompt to reflect temperature
changes.

The values are relatively high but still reasonable: thermal margin is
31°C (not actual degrees Celsius BTW, but close enough.)

I assume the above are idle temperatures though, you should worry if
the temperatures go too high when the machine is under load.

> > (...)

> > I had not heard of this before, but searching bugzilla.kernel.org for
> > similar cases I found this report:
> > https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=27792
> >
> > The good news is that you're not alone. The bad news is that this bug
> > report is getting old but the bug is still not fixed, apparently it's a
> > difficult one.
>
> It does look like it is not getting much attention any more...

That's right. I've added a comment pointing to your report.

> I dont understand much of what is going on but it sounds different than my
> problem, at least on the surface.  For instance, I have no problems with
> the buttons and the temps seem strange even after a cold boot.

Yes, I have noticed these differences too, but I still suspect a common
root cause.

> > I'd recommend blacklisting thinkpad-acpi and doing a full cold boot of the
> > box (remove all batteries and AC, push power button at least ten times for
> > at least three seconds each, and the last one for at least 15 seconds), to
> > make sure thinkpad-acpi is not actually making matters worse.
>
> Done.  It removes non-sense sensor readings.  CPU still looks very hot.
> The above sensors output was with only firefox up.
>
> > That said, usually these boxes work through the standard ACPI interface, and
> > they _really_ depend on GPU and CPU throttling/clock/voltage control to keep
> > cool.  Especially if the box has a cracked thermal interface or some other
> > defect.
>
> Is this just a matter of getting in there and having a look?

First you should ensure that all power saving options are enabled.

For the CPU, these are C states and cpufreq (although the usefulness of
cpufreq with good C states can be discussed.) Please install powertop,
then check the Idle stats and Frequency stats panels (use the Tab key
to navigate between these in recent versions of powertop.) You should
see multiple C states in the first and multiple frequencies in the
second.

When the machine is idle, the CPU should spend most of the time at the
lowest C states and the lowest frequency. If this isn't the case then
something is wrong, either in the BIOS or in the kernel.

Here are Idle stats from PowerTOP:

  Package              |             Core          |             CPU 0               CPU 2
                             |                             | C0 active   4.5%                0.5%
                             |                             | POLL        0.0%    0.0 ms      0.0%    0.0 ms
                             |                             | C1-NHM      0.0%    0.0 ms      0.0%    0.0 ms
C3 (pc3)   16.9%    | C3 (cc3)   15.0%    | C3-NHM      3.8%    0.9 ms     12.8%   32.3 ms
C6 (pc6)   59.9%    | C6 (cc6)   76.3%    | C6-NHM     89.3%    3.7 ms     86.3%    4.0 ms

                             |             Core          |             CPU 1               CPU 3
                             |                              | C0 active   1.6%                0.9%
                             |                              | POLL        0.0%    0.0 ms      0.0%    0.0 ms
                             |                              | C1-NHM      0.0%    0.0 ms      0.0%    0.0 ms
                             | C3 (cc3)    8.5%      | C3-NHM      4.3%    1.1 ms      5.3%    2.3 ms
                             | C6 (cc6)   86.0%     | C6-NHM     92.7%    3.3 ms     93.2%    3.3 ms

Here are Frequency Stats:

Package |             Core    |            CPU 0       CPU 2
                    |                     | Actual    2.0 Ghz     1.8 Ghz
Turbo Mode  14.8%   | Turbo Mode  12.8%   | Turbo Mode  12.5%        5.3%
2.40 Ghz     0.0%   | 2.40 Ghz     0.0%   | 2.40 Ghz     0.0%        0.0%
2.27 Ghz     0.1%   | 2.27 Ghz     0.1%   | 2.27 Ghz     0.1%        0.0%
2.14 Ghz     0.0%   | 2.14 Ghz     0.0%   | 2.14 Ghz     0.0%        0.0%
2.00 Ghz     0.0%   | 2.00 Ghz     0.0%   | 2.00 Ghz     0.0%        0.0%
1.87 Ghz     0.0%   | 1.87 Ghz     0.0%   | 1.87 Ghz     0.0%        0.0%
1.74 Ghz     0.9%   | 1.74 Ghz     0.6%   | 1.74 Ghz     0.5%        0.3%
1.60 Ghz     0.0%   | 1.60 Ghz     0.0%   | 1.60 Ghz     0.0%        0.0%
1466 Mhz     0.0%   | 1466 Mhz     0.0%   | 1466 Mhz     0.0%        0.0%
1333 Mhz     0.1%   | 1333 Mhz     0.0%   | 1333 Mhz     0.0%        0.0%

                    |             Core    |            CPU 1       CPU 3
                    |                     | Actual    1.8 Ghz     1.8 Ghz
                    | Turbo Mode  10.9%   | Turbo Mode  10.2%        8.7%
                    | 2.40 Ghz     0.0%   | 2.40 Ghz     0.0%        0.0%
                    | 2.27 Ghz     0.1%   | 2.27 Ghz     0.1%        0.0%
                    | 2.14 Ghz     0.0%   | 2.14 Ghz     0.0%        0.0%
                    | 2.00 Ghz     0.0%   | 2.00 Ghz     0.0%        0.0%
                    | 1.87 Ghz     0.0%   | 1.87 Ghz     0.0%        0.0%
                    | 1.74 Ghz     0.8%   | 1.74 Ghz     0.8%        0.8%
                    | 1.60 Ghz     0.0%   | 1.60 Ghz     0.0%        0.0%
                    | 1466 Mhz     0.0%   | 1466 Mhz     0.0%        0.0%
                    | 1333 Mhz     0.1%   | 1333 Mhz     0.0%        0.0%

Noticed this in Tunables:
>> Good          Using 'ondemand' cpufreq governor        

Could I try to toggle it and see if there is a conflict?

 

You may also check the power management of the graphics chip. But that
depends a lot on which graphics chip you have and which driver you use
for it.

> > We really need a dump of the kernel boot messages to know more.
>
> Could you direct me to where this is located so I may pass it along?

Right after boot, just do:
$ dmesg > /tmp/dmesg.txt
And share the file with us (send it via private e-mail or post it to
some pastebin site.)

Private E-mail on the way.

--
Jean Delvare

--
Earl Middlebrook

Potts Lab

University of Utah

Lab phone 801 585 9678

_______________________________________________
lm-sensors mailing list
lm-sensors@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://lists.lm-sensors.org/mailman/listinfo/lm-sensors