Question Which Linux distribution should I try out?

[orb]

I don't know what power management tools are available for user in Ubuntu, but from the kernel side you can switch the CPUfreq governor to 'conservative' or 'ondemand' to make the CPU throttle down when it's unused, or even to 'powersave' which will keep it underclocked all the time (by searching I've found there are cpufrequtils or indicator-cpufreq Ubuntu packages, for example, which can be used to switch between these governors easily).

 

[n122vu]

This is not exactly about this topic, but I have some problems with my Ubuntu especially on my laptop. Since there are many linux users here (it seems), maybe one of you can give me a hand.

The thing is, when I run Ubuntu (12.04 LTS), my laptop tend to overheat a lot and the fan is always running full speed. I have a fairly recent HP Pavillion dv6, core i7, 8Gb ram. When I check the system monitor, the CPUs and the memory seem normal, nothing is running. I really have no idea what is wrong here. I know HP laptop tend to build up heat fairly fast, like when I play games on windows for an extended period of time, but when I do absolutely nothing, I don't get why it should overheat.

Seems it may be a kernel bug in 12.04 that's potentially responsible for your issue.

I'd take a look around askubuntu because I did see other users who also resolved this by installing a particular version of the fglrx driver.

 

[mordriel]

I agree. I'm running Arch on my other hard drive as well as my laptop. I do use other distros, but only when I'm studying. I began with Ubuntu in 2005, and I agree with Face. It's a great distro for people who want to get their feet wet. I also agree with Fizyk, that Arch is great for newbies (of which I admit to still being in that category, but I do a lot of exploring) with time to learn about the ins and outs of how stuff works. It's also highly customizable. Like, blow-your-mind customizable, in my case. I forgot what sleep was for about a week.