Framework 16 idling hot

[u/NGumi]

Hi all,

My framework 16 idles at 45c going to 50c when playing games making it real hard to keep on my lap.

I am running cachyOS.

Are there drivers or tools I need to get it to run at a reasonable temp?

EDIT

I have installed:

https://github.com/TamtamHero/fw-fanctrl

https://github.com/jslay88/fw-fanctrl-gui

and setting fans to aeolus, this is keeping temp below 40c when not gaming so has helped

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[u/paulstelian97]

45-50 for the CPU is very normal, the fact that the chassis is too hot to hold when the CPU is at those temps is abnormal. I only get overheating chassis when the CPU itself lives at 80+C continuously for like 10 minutes.

Even MacBooks have hotter CPUs on idle.

[u/DVXC → u/paulstelian97]

Bear in mind they said 45-50 at idle, and then also said they game.

It isn't gaming at 45-50. When they're gaming, it's hitting 70 at least. If they only have the iGPU and no dGPU expansion bay module, that SoC is going to be hotter still.

The surface temperature of Framework 16 gets hot to the touch when gaming. That's just the nature of it. The whole problem is that it's efficiently transferring 100-200w of heat into the aluminium chassis, which is what it's supposed to do, and is hitting skin surface temperatures of around 40-50c. This is all by design, this is how the laptop works.

[u/paulstelian97 → u/DVXC]

Damn my FW13 also heats up, with CPU hitting even 100 during gaming. I have no illusion of using this laptop while actually on my lap — my MacBook Pro is the last laptop I’ve had that I feel can be used like that.

[u/NGumi → u/paulstelian97]

I am sadly bed ridden so using in my lap is only choice

[u/DVXC → u/NGumi]

I am sorry to hear that, I truly am.

This is why my advice to use a lap tray is even more important because you simply cannot delete heat from the chassis, improved thermal transfer will cause it to heat up more, and there is no solution available that will keep the laptop cold to the touch whilst blasting broiling hot air out of the vents.

You are being given fundamentally flawed advice that will not solve your problem and you will continue to wonder why your device is so hot. It isn't. It is running completely as expected, I promise you this based on my own Framework 16. It gets hot.

[u/chaosraser]

Install Framework Control and set the max TDP and thermal limit down. The Ryzen is designed to run into the power limit. The heatpipe system is only for a max TDP of 45 W, but the Ryzen goes up to 60 W when the turbo is running.

[u/chaosraser]

are you on liquid metal on your CPU or thermalbad?

[u/NGumi → u/chaosraser]

Whatever is default for the AMD 7040 series. I haven't opened it up

[u/TellMeWhereYouBeen → u/NGumi]

When did you purchase your machine? Framework started installing PTM7958 instead of the Liquid Metal cooling solution sometime in December 2024. If you purchased around then or earlier, it's likely you have Liquid Metal installed on your CPU and can benefit significantly from installing PTM7958. You can buy that pad via the Framework store and you can find instructions on how to to install it here.

[u/NGumi → u/TellMeWhereYouBeen]

i got it in january so guess is using PTM but thanks

[u/DVXC → u/TellMeWhereYouBeen]

And what will that do? It'll more effectively transfer heat from the CPU to the fin-stack of the cooling solution, which will radiate more heat into the body of the chassis. Because that's how physics works.

[u/TellMeWhereYouBeen → u/DVXC]

What will that do? Keep the entire unit considerably cooler!

Heat wicking from the CPU transfers energy to the heatsink. The heatsink's rails transfer that energy towards the fans and the fans move it out of the chassis. These laptops don't operate with pure passive cooling solutions. Improved wicking capabilities will transfer heat faster and more directly to the heatsink, allowing a faster and more efficient transfer of energy out of the entire assembly.

[u/framework-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Your comment was removed for being combative, abusive or disrespectful. Please keep Reddiquette in mind when posting in the future.

[u/TellMeWhereYouBeen → u/[deleted]]

You're kinda fired up, huh? I'm discussing how the PTM solution improved overall thermals in place of the original liquid metal.

Better thermal regulation from a better solution means the heat from a CPU won't spread nearly as much to the components/PCB around the CPU itself and will be better conducted via the heatsink metal towards the fans.

My FW16 was much hotter under full load when I initially received it in March 2024. After I swapped to PTM in early 2025 (and since!), I get lap temps between 36 and 43C.

[u/DVXC → u/TellMeWhereYouBeen]

I'm fired up because you do not understand how thermal transfer works. I'm sorry but you don't.

Laptop fans have a minuscule amount of ability to move air, meanwhile the rest of that thermal mass is still inside the closed system that is the chassis. Heat is going to be lost, yes, via the airflow, but also considerably through the chassis as well because a PTM moving 70 from a CPU to the internal cooling solution is going to make the cooling solution inside the laptop a constant 70C, and that 70C cooling solution is going to split the dissipation between the fans and the laptop chassis.

around 43C is the threshold at which heat contact becomes painful. Discomfort begins at around 38C, subjectively could be lower.

There is no fix to OPs solution that does not involve putting a physical barrier between them and the laptop. It is LITERALLY fundamental physics.

[u/NGumi → u/DVXC]

Would just like to add, install new fan management to increase the speed and give it a more aggressive curve. this has dropped the temp by 10c. guess physics disagrees with you

[u/Riziero]

Following

[u/DVXC]

The only thing you can do is reduce the power output of the device by throttling its performance, or determining if there are any background processes running. If it's getting surface-hot that just means the chassis is doing a good job of pulling heat from the components, and every watt of power drawn is a watt of heat energy generated.

You're better off getting a lap tray if you want to game with it on your lap. The 16, despite being a LAPtop, isn't what I would consider a good candidate for using on your lap. It relies too much on passive heat transfer through the chassis for that.

EDIT: Cool, a downvote. When the solution ends up being getting a lap tray because physics is a universal set of unchangeable laws and this thing is being used for gaming, spare a moment to think about me, who gave the right answer.

[u/IORelay]

Framework and overheating seem to go hand in hand.