[gentoo-user] Laptop Overheat

[Randy Westlund <rwestlun@gmail.com>]

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Hey guys,

When I'm compiling something large and close the lid of my laptop (lid
close events disabled) or leave it on the couch where it can't get
proper airflow, it tends to overheat and crash.  If I leave it open and
on a table, everything is fine.

I have a quad-core processor and MAKEOPTS="-j5".  During compilation,
system load is around 5 and all 4 cores are maxed out.  My CPU temp is
99C or under, which is safe for this machine.

dmesg shows this every few minutes whenever my machine is at max temp,
which I've read is normal:

[ 2092.018902] CPU0: Core temperature above threshold, cpu clock throttled (total events = 179101)
[ 2092.018903] CPU2: Core temperature above threshold, cpu clock throttled (total events = 179101)
[ 2092.018906] CPU3: Package temperature above threshold, cpu clock throttled (total events = 227311)
[ 2092.018907] CPU1: Package temperature above threshold, cpu clock throttled (total events = 227311)
[ 2092.018908] CPU2: Package temperature above threshold, cpu clock throttled (total events = 227311)
[ 2092.018916] CPU0: Package temperature above threshold, cpu clock throttled (total events = 227311)
[ 2092.019864] CPU0: Core temperature/speed normal
[ 2092.019865] CPU2: Core temperature/speed normal
[ 2092.019866] CPU1: Package temperature/speed normal
[ 2092.019867] CPU3: Package temperature/speed normal
[ 2092.019868] CPU2: Package temperature/speed normal
[ 2092.019874] CPU0: Package temperature/speed normal
[ 2099.655532] mce: [Hardware Error]: Machine check events logged

At the time of crash, syslog contains a bunch of '^@^@^@^@^@^@^@...',
but nothing useful.

It looks like my cpu clock is being scaled, but perhaps not being scaled
enough.  I'm guessing the processor halts when I hit 100C.  Again, when
I leave it well-ventilated it never goes above 99C and everything is
fine.

Any ideas about where I should look?

Randy

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