How to better monitor your Ubuntu Linux PC's temperature and voltage
Jack Wallen
eyetoeyePIX/Getty Images
Recently, I switched from Pop!_OS to Ubuntu Budgie as my primary operating system. For the most part, the transition went fairly smoothly. There was, however, something interesting happening with my desktop that I'd never before experienced. Once on a different OS, the fans ran constantly. This led me down a few rabbit holes before I could fix the problem. Ultimately, the issue was resolved by installing the System76 firmware that is required to properly control the fans. However, the process reminded me of a tool that can give Linux a boost with your hardware.
Also: The best Linux distros for beginners
You see, every motherboard contains various sensors that monitor things like temperature -- and the temperature of your PC is pretty important. Those CPUs can run very hot. If they overheat, your computer can crash (or worse). Because every PC manufacturer does things differently, and because PC internals vary from iteration to iteration, it's not always 100% certain that an operating system you install will pick up on every one of your motherboard's sensors. Most often, the OS installation does a good job but you might find (as I did) that your fans are running constantly, even when you're not using the machine.
Also: The best laptop cooling pads (that really work)
Should that happen, you need to use the sensors-detect command. Let me show you how it's done on Ubuntu-based Linux distributions.
How to install and use sensors-detect
What you'll need: The only things you'll need for this are a Ubuntu-based Linux distribution and a user with sudo privileges.
sudo apt-get install lm-sensors -y
Once lm-sensors is installed, you're ready to use the sensors-detect command.
sudo sensors-detect
And that's it! Hopefully, your operating system will now have better control over your hardware to improve the Linux experience.
Jack Wallen
eyetoeyePIX/Getty Images
Recently, I switched from Pop!_OS to Ubuntu Budgie as my primary operating system. For the most part, the transition went fairly smoothly. There was, however, something interesting happening with my desktop that I'd never before experienced. Once on a different OS, the fans ran constantly. This led me down a few rabbit holes before I could fix the problem. Ultimately, the issue was resolved by installing the System76 firmware that is required to properly control the fans. However, the process reminded me of a tool that can give Linux a boost with your hardware.
Also: The best Linux distros for beginners
You see, every motherboard contains various sensors that monitor things like temperature -- and the temperature of your PC is pretty important. Those CPUs can run very hot. If they overheat, your computer can crash (or worse). Because every PC manufacturer does things differently, and because PC internals vary from iteration to iteration, it's not always 100% certain that an operating system you install will pick up on every one of your motherboard's sensors. Most often, the OS installation does a good job but you might find (as I did) that your fans are running constantly, even when you're not using the machine.
Also: The best laptop cooling pads (that really work)
Should that happen, you need to use the sensors-detect command. Let me show you how it's done on Ubuntu-based Linux distributions.
How to install and use sensors-detect
What you'll need: The only things you'll need for this are a Ubuntu-based Linux distribution and a user with sudo privileges.
sudo apt-get install lm-sensors -y
Once lm-sensors is installed, you're ready to use the sensors-detect command.
sudo sensors-detect
And that's it! Hopefully, your operating system will now have better control over your hardware to improve the Linux experience.
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Summary
Guide on monitoring Ubuntu Linux PC temperature and voltage, focusing on using the sensors-detect command to access motherboard sensors for better hardware control. The process is demonstrated for Ubuntu-based distributions, requiring a user with sudo privileges and lm-sensors installation (sudo