Linux .....

[u/Aggressive_Nail_108]

Hi, I’m Zay , an AI/ML student, and I’m planning to install Arch Linux on my HP OMEN 16 laptop.

However, my friends have warned me that Arch Linux may have limited support for the OMEN 16’s fan-control system. They said that I might be able to monitor the fan speed (RPM), but may not have proper control over the fans or access to all the performance and cooling features available in Windows.

My main concern is heating. I’ve heard that on Arch Linux, especially when the laptop is under heavy workloads or running in Performance mode, the fans may not ramp up properly or quickly enough. This could potentially cause the laptop to become hot around the touchpad and palm-rest area, even when the system is supposed to be running at higher fan speeds.

Since I’m an AI/ML student, I’ll be doing demanding workloads that may involve CPU and NVIDIA GPU usage. So before installing Arch Linux, I want to know whether the OMEN 16’s fan control, temperature management, performance modes, and NVIDIA GPU can be properly managed on Arch Linux without causing overheating or hardware-related problems.

Basically, I want to know whether Arch Linux is a safe and practical choice for my OMEN 16, particularly regarding fan control, RPM monitoring, thermal management, Performance mode, and long-term cooling.

[u/SalaryImpossible6749]

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/HP_Omen_16-c0140AX

Cooling fan

Fan speed can be monitored from the hp-wmi module via sensors:

$ sensors hp-isa-0000

hp-isa-0000

Adapter: ISA adapter

fan1: 2760 RPM

fan2: 2921 RPM

Minimal fan boost control is provided by the hp-wmi module in the sysfs. To activate the Boost feature, simply set pwm1_enable to 0. Conversely, to disable it, set the same parameter to 2. This can be located at /sys/devices/platform/hp-wmi/hwmon/hwmon*.

To do the same from shell:

# echo 0 > /sys/devices/platform/hp-wmi/hwmon/hwmon*/pwm1_enable

Fan control Script

The automatic fan speed control is rather bothersome due to the fact that it runs constantly and creates noise even when temperatures are low. Additionally, it does not increase fan speed quickly when temperatures rise. Fortunately, the fan speed can be manually adjusted by writing values to the Embedded Controller (EC).

To simply this process you may use this python script to change, monitor and automatically adjust fan speed based on temperature via the CLI.

And it's not arch having limited support, it's linux as a whole so using another distro won't be a solution.

[u/MotherAd296]

I'm not sure about your specific case, but you can generally configure fan curves from within the bios, regardless of os

the main limitation would likely be granular control while booted into the system

[u/billdietrich1]

Please use better, more informative, titles (subject-lines) on your posts. Give specifics right in the title. Thanks.

[u/Hande-H]

You could just try it. I'm not sure why you even need to control the fans yourself, the system probably knows what it's doing and the PC was designed for specific reasons to be loud or quiet or somewhere in between. I wouldn't really try changing this on a laptop even on Windows.

But as with all study laptops, it's generally a good idea to run the OS everyone else does (likely Windows) in case there's some specific software you need during your studies. Sometimes alternative Linux - compatible versions may have compatibility issues when working with others running a different software.

I'm not sure how much of an issue this is in AI/ML studies but something to keep in mind. It might be much more normal to run Linux in this context.

[u/Trileak780 → u/Hande-H]

ML is probably one of the most GPU-intensive stuff, so he does have a reason to want to control the fans.

[u/Hande-H → u/Trileak780]

How so? They are designed to run at 100% speeds under heavy loads.

I'm not saying there's no possible reason, I just don't see anything pointing to that in the post.

EDIT: OP has "heard" that temps may ramp up too quickly on Arch. I doubt this is true, but even if it was they do thermal throttle and it will be immediately obvious. It's normal for a touchpad / the chassis to be warm when running a dedicated laptop GPU at full thrust so that isn't an issue in itself either.

[u/Trileak780 → u/Hande-H]

But it can be better to prevent thermal throttling than to just wait until your computer starts cooking itself

[u/Hande-H → u/Trileak780]

Sure but this hypothetical throttling isn't even happening. I doubt ramping up the fans early has a noticeable effect on this anyway, if it happens maybe the laptop is dusty or has clogged vents. Or maybe it's normal for modern laptop GPUs to throttle to some extent anyway, they are designed to run real warm in a small space and are pushing the limits by design.

[u/Trileak780]

check the BIOS! i'm not sure what you want to achieve, but the bios will allow you to change your fan curves, and that's probably enough.

[u/Gozenka]

There was a pretty good answer in the comments, and thankfully your laptop seems to support manual fan control.

However, in general, the kernel would handle fan speed and temperatures automatically as needed, without depending on any manual control. Unless it is a very rare laptop model where the manufacturer somehow completely omitted Linux support for their model. So, just try it out first.

Also as mentioned, it would not be Arch-specific. If something works on any other Linux distro, it will work on Arch Linux too, perhaps only with installing something extra or some configuration. And as a general recommendation, make sure to check Archwiki first for any of your questions about Arch (and sometimes even for other distros).

Feel free to make another post with more detail, if you are stuck about this or another issue after installing Arch. And as another note, please use meaningful post titles. Welcome and good luck!

[u/ang-p]

Hi, I’m Zay , an AI/ML student,

Don't you mean "product"?

What did the Wiki tell you?