The Asus Vivobook has a problem: fan curves do not exist in Linux. It runs in balanced mode by default, which is what’s set in the BIOS, and reaches 95 degrees.
Recently, with kernel 6.12, in asus-nb-wmi some code was added to choose between quiet, balanced, and performance modes, similar to Windows, but I don’t see it working, so I searched for my own solution.
With this, I guarantee that your laptop won’t overheat or suffer, and it will last many years, even if you live in a hot climate.
This is a modification of Sepero’s script with the addition of Arkapravo Ghosh’s script.
In Sepero’s script, I change the default throttle value from 1 to 6, and I add Arkapravo’s script so that the fan goes into full mode when it reaches the temperature defined in Sepero’s script, and switches back to automatic mode (as it comes by default) when it goes below the chosen temperature, which in my case is 81 degrees Celsius.
First, you’ll need to install Sepero’s script, which is here:
https://github.com/Sepero/temp-throttle
They add it as a service in systemd and set the configuration to 1 second. I chose 81 degrees, and then in the script /usr/bin/temp-throttle, they change the 1 to 6 in the throttle line.
throttle () {
CURRENT_FREQ=$((CURRENT_FREQ + 6))
Once this is done, they install the fan-mode script in /usr/bin/fan-mode (https://github.com/Arkapravo-Ghosh/asus-fan-mode), which has the following code:
After giving it permissions with chmod, they modify Sepero's lines (bold) so that it looks like this:
throttle () {
CURRENT_FREQ=$((CURRENT_FREQ + 6))
printf "%s %3sC %10s" "$(date -Iseconds)" "${TEMP%???}" "throttle"
set_freq $CURRENT_FREQ && fan-mode -f
}
# Will increase the frequency of cpus if possible.
unthrottle () {
CURRENT_FREQ=$((CURRENT_FREQ - 1))
printf "%s %3sC %10s" "$(date -Iseconds)" "${TEMP%???}" "unthrottle"
set_freq $CURRENT_FREQ && fan-mode -a
} Look the number 6 and the && fan-mode -a / fan-mode -f.
With this, they make the frequency drop down faster, and when it reaches the indicated temperature, it turns on the fan at full speed, switching back to auto speed when it goes below that temperature, which takes just a few seconds, so it doesn’t cause any unwanted wear on the fan.
This is valid for other Asus models, and I assume that by modifying the fan-mode script, it could work for other brands as well.
I’m leaving a video showing how the temperature is fully controlled with a 24°C ambient temperature, and you can hear the fan turning on and off.
Another version of this script is using the max and the min freq as step up and step down for the CPU, and 0.2s for throttle, so, this way use the CPU at max freq sustained but whitout break the limit and very fast response max and low freq / temp.
Additionally, turn on the fan 5 degrees before the maximum temperature, thus achieving less throttling and allowing the maximum temperature to be set at 85 without reaching 90 degrees or 86. And throttle 1 degree less than max temp and not 3 like original Sepero script.
This way is of throttle is more like Android works.
Script:
#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Usage: temp-throttle # No arguments will default read from /etc/temp-throttle.conf
# Usage: temp-throttle [-t MAX_TEMP] [-c CONFIG_FILE] [-k CORE] [-f TEMP_FILE] [-i INTERVAL] [-l LOG_FILE]
VERSION="3.2"
cat << EOF
Author: Sepero 2012- sepero 111 @ gmx . com
URL: http://github.com/Sepero/temp-throttle/
Mod: 2024 synflag
Changelog: fan full speed 5 degrees before max temp, throttle to max and low freq CPU and more speed in response 0.2s
EOF
# Additional Links
# http://seperohacker.blogspot.com/2012/10/linux-keep-your-cpu-cool-with-frequency.html
# License: GNU GPL 2.0
#set -x
CURRENT_FREQ=1
# Try to return frequency to max before exiting.
user_exit () {
echo "Restoring to max CPU frequency."
for((i=0; i < 50; i++)); do
[[ CURRENT_FREQ -eq 1 ]] && break
unthrottle 2> /dev/null
done
exit
}
trap user_exit EXIT SIGINT SIGTERM
#trap user_exit EXIT SIGINT SIGTERM
# Generic function for printing an error and exiting.
err_exit () {
echo ""
echo -e "Error: $@" 1>&2
echo -e "Errors may be reported at: http://github.com/Sepero/temp-throttle/issues" 1>&2
exit 128
}
### START GET CONFIGURATIOM ARGUMENTS.
MAX_TEMP="" # Maximum desired CPU temperature.
CONFIG_FILE="/etc/temp-throttle.conf" # Optional configuration file.
TEMP_FILE="" # Optional file to force read CPU temperature from.
INTERVAL=1 # Optional seconds between checking CPU temperature. Default 3.
LOG_FILE="-" # Optional log file. Default output to standard out.
CORE="0" # Optional CPU Core to read frequency information from. Default 0.
parse_config_line () { # Interprets values from a line of config file.
case "$1" in
MAX_TEMP|TEMP_FILE|INTERVAL|LOG_FILE|CORE) eval "$1=$2";;
*) err_exit "Unknown option in config file $1. (Options must be all capital letters.";;
esac
}
parse_config_file () {
[ -r "$CONFIG_FILE" ] || err_exit "Config file cannot be read: $CONFIG_FILE"
while read -r LINE; do
parse_config_line $(echo "$LINE" | tr '=' ' ')
done < <(grep -oE "^[ \t]*[^=#]+=[^#]*" "$CONFIG_FILE")
}
if [ $# -eq 0 ]; then
parse_config_file
elif [ $# -eq 1 ]; then # Accept only MAX_TEMP for backwards compatibility.
MAX_TEMP="$1"; shift
fi
# Parse command arguments.
while [ -n "$1" ]; do
case "$1" in
-t) shift && MAX_TEMP="$1" && shift;;
-f) shift && TEMP_FILE="$1" && shift;;
-i) shift && INTERVAL="$1" && shift;;
-l) shift && LOG_FILE="$1" && shift;;
-k) shift && CORE="$1" && shift;;
-c) shift && CONFIG_FILE="$1" && shift && parse_config_file;;
*) err_exit "Unknown command line argument: $1";;
esac
done
# Begin redirecting output to log.
[[ -n $LOG_FILE && "$LOG_FILE" != "-" ]] && {
echo "Further output redirecting to logfile: $LOG_FILE"
exec 1>> "$LOG_FILE"; exec 2>&1; echo "$INFO";
}
# Verify max temperature was set.
[ -n $MAX_TEMP ] ||
err_exit "MAX_TEMP not given. Please supply the maximum desired temperature in Celsius."
# Verify temperature is an integer.
[[ $MAX_TEMP =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]] ||
err_exit "Maximum temperature $MAX_TEMP must be an integer."
# Verify interval is an integer.
[[ $INTERVAL =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]] ||
err_exit "Seconds interval for checking temperature must be an integer."
[[ $CORE =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]] ||
err_exit "Seconds interval for checking temperature must be an integer."
echo "Maximum temperature set to: ${MAX_TEMP}C"
echo -n "INTERVAL ${INTERVAL}. CORE $CORE."
[ -n "$TEMP_FILE" ] && echo -n " TEMP_FILE=$TEMP_FILE"
echo
### END GET CONFIGURATIOM ARGUMENTS.
### START INITIALIZE GLOBAL VARIABLES.
# The frequency will unthrottle when low temperature is reached.
LOW_TEMP=$((MAX_TEMP - 1)) # Formerly 5 degrees less.
CORES=$(nproc) # Get total number of CPU cores.
printf "%s %2s\n" "Number of CPU cores detected:" $CORES
CORES=$((CORES - 1)) # Subtract 1 from $CORES for easier counting later.
# Temperatures internally are calculated to the thousandth.
MAX_TEMP=${MAX_TEMP}000
LOW_TEMP=${LOW_TEMP}000
FREQ_FILE="/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu$CORE/cpufreq/scaling_available_frequencies"
FREQ_MIN="/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu$CORE/cpufreq/cpuinfo_min_freq"
FREQ_MAX="/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu$CORE/cpufreq/cpuinfo_max_freq"
# Store available cpu frequencies in a space separated string FREQ_LIST.
if [[ -f $FREQ_FILE ]]; then
# If $FREQ_FILE exists, get frequencies from it + sort highest to lowest..
FREQ_LIST="$(cat $FREQ_FILE | xargs -n1 | sort -urn)" || err_exit "Could not read available cpu frequencies from file $FREQ_FILE"
elif [[ -f $FREQ_MIN && -f $FREQ_MAX ]]; then
# Else if $FREQ_MIN and $FREQ_MAX exist, try generate a list of frequencies between them.
FREQ_LIST=$(seq $(cat $FREQ_MAX) -100000 $(cat $FREQ_MIN)) || err_exit "Could not compute available cpu frequencies"
else
err_exit "Could not determine available cpu frequencies"
fi
FREQ_LIST_LEN=$(echo $FREQ_LIST | wc -w)
# Use a temperature file set from configuration.
if [ -n "$TEMP_FILE" ]; then
[ -r "$TEMP_FILE" ] || err_exit "Temperature file cannot be read. $TEMP_FILE"
else
# Rare case devices (SoC) need to find cpu-thermal in type.
for i in {0..9}; do
[ -f "/sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone$i/type" ] &&
[ "$(cat /sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone$i/type)" == "cpu-thermal" ] &&
TEMP_FILE="/sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone$i/temp" && break
done
fi
# If TEMP_FILE is set, then it is used. Otherwise this line changes nothing.
TEMPERATURE_FILES="$TEMP_FILE"
# If temperature file location not set, then we autodetect.
if [ -z "$TEMP_FILE" ]; then
# Generate a list of possible locations to read the current system temperature. Must add (ls) in order.
TEMPERATURE_FILES="$(ls /sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone*/temp 2> /dev/null)"
TEMPERATURE_FILES+="$(ls /sys/class/hwmon/hwmon*/temp*_input 2> /dev/null)"
TEMPERATURE_FILES+="$(ls /sys/class/hwmon/hwmon*/device/temp*_input 2> /dev/null)"
# If no temperature sensor exists, then exit with error.
[ -z "$TEMPERATURE_FILES" ] && err_exit "A location for temperature reading was not found.\nPlease reference bug #7: https://github.com/Sepero/temp-throttle/issues/7"
fi
### END INITIALIZE GLOBAL VARIABLES.
### START DEFINE PRIMARY FUNCTIONS.
# Modify the frequency for all cpu cores.
set_freq () {
# From the string FREQ_LIST, we choose the item at index CURRENT_FREQ.
FREQ_TO_SET=$(echo $FREQ_LIST | cut -d " " -f $CURRENT_FREQ)
printf " %5s Mhz\n" ${FREQ_TO_SET%???} # Print the Mhz frequency padded to 5 vharacters length.
for i in $(seq 0 $CORES); do
# Try to set core frequency by writing to /sys/devices.
{ echo $FREQ_TO_SET 2> /dev/null > /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu$i/cpufreq/scaling_max_freq; } ||
# Else, try to set core frequency using command cpufreq-set.
{ cpufreq-set -c $i --max $FREQ_TO_SET > /dev/null; } ||
# Else, return error message.
{ err_exit "Failed to set frequency CPU core$i. Run script as Root user. Some systems may require installing the package cpufrequtils."; }
done
}
throttle () {
# put the freq to the low is possible
CURRENT_FREQ=$FREQ_LIST_LEN
if [[ $CURRENT_FREQ -gt $FREQ_LIST_LEN ]]; then
CURRENT_FREQ=$FREQ_LIST_LEN
fi
printf "%s %3sC %10s" "$(date -Iseconds)" "${TEMP%???}" "throttle"
if ! set_freq $CURRENT_FREQ; then
echo "Warning: Failed to set frequency. Retrying..."
fi
}
unthrottle () {
# restore the most high frecuency.
CURRENT_FREQ=1
if [[ $CURRENT_FREQ -lt 1 ]]; then
CURRENT_FREQ=1
fi
printf "%s %3sC %10s" "$(date -Iseconds)" "${TEMP%???}" "unthrottle"
if ! set_freq $CURRENT_FREQ; then
echo "Warning: Failed to set frequency. Retrying..."
fi
}
# Get the temperature from selected sources, and find the highest temp.
get_temp () {
TEMP="$(cat $TEMPERATURE_FILES 2>/dev/null | xargs -n1 | sort -gr | head -1)"
}
### END DEFINE PRIMARY FUNCTIONS.
# CURRENT_FREQ will keep the index of the currently used frequency in FREQ_LIST.
CURRENT_FREQ=2
get_temp
echo "Initialize to max CPU frequency"
unthrottle # Will unthrottle CURRENT_FREQ to 1. Max Frequency.
# START MAIN LOOP.
while true; do
get_temp # Gets the current temperature and set it to the variable TEMP.
# Establece el umbral para activar el ventilador en modo forzado 5 grados antes de MAX_TEMP
FAN_MODE_TEMP=$((MAX_TEMP - 5000)) # Restamos 5 grados
# Activa el modo full del ventilador cuando la temperatura esté 5 grados antes de MAX_TEMP
if [[ $TEMP -gt $FAN_MODE_TEMP && $TEMP -le $MAX_TEMP ]]; then
fan-mode -f
sleep 0.2; continue
# Aplica throttle solo cuando la temperatura alcance MAX_TEMP
elif [[ $TEMP -gt $MAX_TEMP && $CURRENT_FREQ -lt $FREQ_LIST_LEN ]]; then
throttle
sleep 0.2; continue
# Si la temperatura baja por debajo de LOW_TEMP, restaura el estado original
elif [[ $TEMP -le $LOW_TEMP ]]; then
unthrottle
fan-mode -a # Restablece el ventilador a modo automático
sleep 0.2; continue
fi
# Sleep wait between checking temperatures.
sleep $INTERVAL || err_exit "Sleep wait INTERVAL must be an integer or float value: $INTERVAL"
done
Original script with fan-mode 0.2s:
Moded script with fan-mode -5 degree fan on 0.2s and react only when 1 degree less than max temp:
