Laptop running hot

[Liam Proven]

On Fri, 24 Sept 2021 at 03:24, Phil <phillor9 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Kubuntu 20.10 running on a ThinkPad T420 with 6GB ram and a 500GB SSD.

I have a T420 and it runs nice and cool. I use Unity, not KDE or GNOME.

Stuff to look at...

• Check your firmware is current -- mine wasn't

• Some models (Core i7 variants) of the T420 have dual GPUs with
switching. You can set the default GPU in the firmware. Obviously the
discrete one takes more power and runs much hotter. If you don't need
GPU acceleration, use the integrated GPU in the CPU.

• 6GB is not a lot these days. The 420s take cheap generic DDR3
SO-DIMMs. People are giving away 2GB ones, but 4GB ones should be
about €/$5 or less. I'd suggest taking it to 8GB.

> the 2GB of swap ram is not being used.

... um... huh? You mean it has a swap file or partition but it's
inactive? Well you can increase swappiness if you want.

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SwapFaq#What_is_swappiness_and_how_do_I_change_it.3F

-- 
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