Framework 13 AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 – High idle temperatures and aggressive fan / maybe after recent update

Framework Laptop 13 Linux
1

Hi everyone,

I’m experiencing increased idle temperatures and aggressive fan behavior on my Framework 13 (AMD Ryzen AI 7 350). The issue started a few days ago and I’m not 100% sure what triggered it, but it might be related to a system update I ran last week.

My setup:

  • Linux distro: Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS
  • Kernel: 6.17.0-1017-oem
  • BIOS: 03.04
  • Model: Framework Laptop 13 AMD Ryzen™ AI 300 Series
  • linux-firmware: 20240318.git3b128b60-0ubuntu2.26
  • fw-fanctrl installed with a “lazy” profile

The problem:
Before (whenever it changed), the fan would spin up occasionally under sustained heavy load, but this was rare and took a while to happen. Now the behavior is completely different: temperatures spike within seconds of any CPU load, and the fan immediately goes to maximum RPM. Even light tasks like opening a new browser tab or running a short script trigger this.

Idle temperatures are already around 55–65°C with just a browser open — which feels too high to begin with. Any load — even brief — immediately pushes temperatures to 85°C+ and the fan to ~7500 RPM.

I’ve seen threads about fan speed spikes being caused by aggressive boost behavior, and tools like auto_cpufreq being suggested as a workaround. However, I don’t think that’s the root cause here — the idle temperatures are already too high before any load kicks in, so limiting CPU boost wouldn’t address the underlying issue.

fw-fanctrl doesn’t help either — the temperature jumps are so fast and extreme that no fan profile can compensate for them.

What I’ve tried:

  • Downgrading linux-firmware to the previous version — but that version seems no longer available and others make HDMI connections fail.
  • Trying different kernels — no improvement.

I can’t pinpoint the exact cause. Has anyone else noticed something similar recently? Any ideas what might have changed and how to fix it?

Thanks!

1 Like
2

If the CPU utilization hasn’t changed (you’re using the same programs in the same ways you always have), but the temps are now unstable, that points towards an issue with the cooling system.

I’d check:

  1. Is the intake/exhaust clean? Open your laptop up and make sure there’s no obstructions (pet hair, dust, whatever).
  2. Is the fan clean? Not clogged up with nasty stuff?
  3. As a last resort (just because it’s a PITA), you can re-paste the CPU. Pick up some PTM 7950 first, then clean your CPU off with some isopropyl and apply the new paste. There’s guides online to do it safely.

Those are the steps I’d take in your shoes.

1 Like
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Thanks for the suggestions — I’ve checked the intake and fan, and there’s no visible dust or obstruction. (Cooling paste is ordered as well.)

But I don’t think this is a cooling issue, and here’s why: the CPU isn’t actually cooling down under low load — it’s not even trying to downclock.

With the system nearly idle (just a browser tab open), I’m seeing:

  • scaling_governor: powersave
  • energy_performance_preference: balance_performance
  • amd-pstate-epp: active
  • cpuinfo_min_freq: 623 MHz
  • Actual current frequency: ~3,500 MHz

Everything is configured correctly for the CPU to clock down to ~400–600 MHz at idle. It just doesn’t. It stays at 3.5 GHz regardless of load, which keeps temps at 55–65°C constantly.

I also think I narrowed it down to a specific package: downgrading linux-firmware from 20240318.git3b128b60-0ubuntu2.26 to 0ubuntu2 immediately fixes the behavior — idle temps drop, fan goes quiet. But that version breaks the HDMI expansion card, so it’s not a viable solution.

This looks like a firmware regression affecting AMD P-State behavior, not a hardware/cooling issue. Has anyone else seen this with the 0ubuntu2.26 linux-firmware package?

1 Like
4

Have you tried idling with the Live USB 24.04.4 LTS or even the 26.04 LTS?

5

Right now I can’t reproduce the issue on the real and with the live system.