[Resolved] My PC heats due to video

[Leloup78]

Bonjour,

I use Linux Mint inside a virtual Box. Video heats my PC. It is crazy. For example,if Youtube plays a video the four processors reach around 70% and more while if I launch the same video from host, Win7, the processor activity is only 25% and temperature keeps stable. So, with Linux Mint, the temperature dramatically increases and in 1 or 2 mn, it reaches 80°C.
This is due to VirtualBox? or to Linux Mint? Plugins? Codecs?

Actually if you right click on the video, and hit "Stats for nerds" it says it's a 640 by 360 video using the VP9 codec. I'd actually say that 25% CPU is quite high for that video.

Tests have been launched with Ubuntu V16 and Debian 8.7 like guest and this is the same. The PC heats due to video whatever the guest. Then, a new test has been done with an Octave computation instead of video reading. Results are the same. I remark that the host processor activities is approximatively twice as high as than the guest processor on, as you see below.

My current understanding of the virtual world is pretty small, but I do believe the majority of my hardware drivers are "virtually" created, and this, I would think, could possibly lead to overhead processing losses. (anything virtual requiring GPU performance is not going to give me the maximum performance that I would get directly from your real GPU/driver.) Increase in CPU usage would be expected, as my virtual process is being created there.
So, in other terms, either, these results are normal and my PC has to heat due to excessive processor activity or can someone explain to me what fails? Video, Octave and VirtualBox settings?

Let me know your point of view, your explanation, your solution if this is possible.

Regards,

Le Loup

[Perryg]

Post the guests log file ( as an attachment ). Right click on the guest in the Main Manager then click show log. Save and post as an attachment. Compress if it is too large to post.

Also run glxinfo | grep OpenGL in the guests terminal and post the results here as we.

[Leloup78]

Bonjour,

The log I found is enclosed hereafter. I didn't again perform heat tests. I hope that it is good enough. If it isn't, let me know, I will again perform temperature tests.

Regards,

Le Loup

[socratis]

That's the "VBoxHardening.log", that's not the log we're looking for. We're looking for the "VBox.log".

[Perryg]

I am afraid that is the hardening log and not the guests actual log file. Read the instructions again and post the vbox.log. Also you seemed to also miss the last piece of information I requested.

[Leloup78]

Bonjour,

I found VBox.log. Let me know if this is OK for you.

Regards,

Le Loup

[Perryg]

I still don't have all of the requested information but at this point I would say to enable 3D acceleration in the guest plus reduce the CPU count to no more than 2. This may or may not help but is the only suggestion that can be given at this point.

[socratis]

In addition to what Perryg pointed out, you might want to update to either 5.1.30 or 5.2.0. VirtualBox 5.1.12 r112440 is quite old. And don't forget the Extension Pack for your host, plus to update the Guest Additions (in the guest).

[Leloup78]

Bonjour,

You could see enclosed hereafter all log files I found.

Regards,

Michel

[Perryg]

You have not done what I suggested yet again so I see no sense in my continuing assistance.
Perhaps someone else can.

[Leloup78]

Thank you Perryg for your proposal above about the 3D acceleration in the guest plus reduce the CPU count to no more than 2. I will try.

After, sorry, but you have two possibilities to pick VBox.log files. The first option is to right click on the guest in the Main Manager then click show log. Save and post as an attachment. This is exactly that I did when you said to me to read the instructions again and post the vbox.log. The second option is to copy the files in \VirtualBox VMs\Linux Mint 18.1\Logs directory. I did too. I made comparison between the two options for the files contents. These exactly are the same.

Is there someone else who could give some helps to understand about the load division between virtual and real processors and so, the temperature increasing?

Regards,

Le Loup

[socratis]

What Perryg was referring to, was this:

Also run glxinfo | grep OpenGL in the guests terminal and post the results here.

That's the part that you didn't do, among the rest of the suggestions. I'll tell you one last time what you have to do:

• Upgrade to the latest VirtualBox, 5.1.12 is too old. As of this writing it's 5.1.30, or 5.2.0.
• Reduce the virtual CPUs to 2.
• Enable 3D acceleration. Re-install the Guest Additions (GAs) in your guest.
• After the GAs installation and the reboot, post the output of:

  • glxinfo | grep OpenGL

• Post only the first log, the one named "VBox.log". ZIPPED.

Is there someone else who could give some helps to understand about the load division between virtual and real processors and so, the temperature increasing?

Not until you've done the steps above, no.

[Leloup78]

Bonjour,

Thank you for your patience.
michaou-VirtualBox ~ # glxinfo | grep OpenGL
OpenGL vendor string: VMware, Inc.
OpenGL renderer string: Gallium 0.4 on llvmpipe (LLVM 3.8, 256 bits)
OpenGL core profile version string: 3.3 (Core Profile) Mesa 11.2.0
OpenGL core profile shading language version string: 3.30
OpenGL core profile context flags: (none)
OpenGL core profile profile mask: core profile
OpenGL core profile extensions:
OpenGL version string: 3.0 Mesa 11.2.0
OpenGL shading language version string: 1.30
OpenGL context flags: (none)
OpenGL extensions:
OpenGL ES profile version string: OpenGL ES 3.0 Mesa 11.2.0
OpenGL ES profile shading language version string: OpenGL ES GLSL ES 3.00
OpenGL ES profile extensions:
michaou-VirtualBox ~ #

First, the virtual CPU is reduced to 2 and the 3D acceleration is enabled. The CPU temperature decreased by 10 ° C. So, the CPU temperature was 73 ° C instead of 83 ° C with the same fan speed (2750rpm) and the same video. The disadvantage is the poor video rendering. In other terms, the screen aspect is so bad.
Second, I tested separately the two proposed solutions either the enabled CPU number to 2 or the 3D acceleration. In the both cases, the temperature is higher.
Third, now, the VirtualBox release is upgraded to 5.2. plus extensions plus Guest Additions (GAs) in guest. The test results are the same. However, when the guest (linux mint) opening, I get a message that the acceleration has been modified due to driver missing and so the CPU temperature is going to increase.

I have not idea what driver is missing... Do you have a little idea?

Regards,

Leloup

[socratis]

Leloup, I'm afraid I'm going to follow my fellow Perryg's way and not reply anymore:

• I know I can write. I wrote down what I want you to do. In full detail.
• I know you can read. You did 1 thing out of those asked of you.
• Now, there is a gap in between parts 1 and 2, so until that gap gets filled with the information requested, I'm out of here.

[Leloup78]

Bonjour everyone,

Answer is: the Nvidia GPU can't work in a virtual machine. So, 3D is not possible and PC still heats due to video or to computing.

Regards,

Le Loup