Lenovo admits ThinkPad CPU throttling problem when running Linux, fix in development

[Redaktion]

Recent Lenovo ThinkPad laptops have a throttling problem when users are running Linux-based operating systems on their devices. Lenovo has now admitted to the problem – and announced that it will be fixed. Newer ThinkPads like the X1 Carbon Gen 7 or ThinkPad T490 are affected.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Lenovo-admits-ThinkPad-CPU-throttling-problem-when-running-Linux-fix-in-development.435549.0.html

[MarkC]

Own a MacBook Pro and fans rarely run but on a Thinkpad X1 or T series the fans never stop pretty much.. Why?

[frogg]

Around 66% of servers are running Linux, with High Performance Computing it climbs at 100%. What developers are using ? Probably desktops and laptops. Most probably running Linux too. That's where Linux support for at least the Thinkpad brand is very important. Think about it Lenovo.

In my opinion, a big reason to improve the Linux support.

[Timothy Tucker]

Mac guy ... Your fan does run because Apple thinks it is better to thermal throttle your processor rather than you hearing a fan. Check  Linus Tech Tip on YouTube about Apple thermal throttling.

[cslee]

This thermal throttling issues seem started burning during previous thinkpad...Till now it just getting more out of control.. whats the lenovo engineering teams doing...??

[and windows too]

i see cpu trouble too on windows 10 ! very very slow

[T480]

This also happens constantly in Win10 with T480 in the Lenovo original Ultra dock.

The problem is very severe, CPU clocks drop to 400MHz when the discrete nvidia GPU is used.

Very very bad thermal / bios design!

[Larry Edwards]

I was plagued by this problem for several months, but just discovered a simple Win10 setting that needed correction and which is a solid fix for me, and with another benefit, too. See a full explanation in my reply in TenForums, in post #24 in the thread titled "Change Maximum Processor Frequency in Windows 10". 

[sufehmi]

Bought a Thinkpad with a decent GPU - and just found out that whenever the GPU overheats, it may throttle the CPU down to 0.3 Ghz    ^__^;

That's just plain crazy.

If Lenovo is gonna advertise their Thinkpad products as "linux compatible", then this is a false advertising, as the product can not perform as advertised.

I'm gonna buy another laptop if they continue to deceive us like these.

[sufehmi]

So, is there a fix for this from Lenovo?

If not - then all reviews of Lenovo Thinkpad should assume that they still have this problem, and adjust accordingly ; for example; making sure it always goes through a comprehensive full-load testing, etc.

This issue is hitting me pretty hard, and I hate to see people continue to suffer from this.

Thanks.