this post was submitted on 02 Sep 2023
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If I'm trying to have a software program to help optimize my computers overall health and performance what should I be looking into? (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by borzthewolf@lemmy.world to c/linux@lemmy.ml
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So I am currently running stacer, tbh idk if its working good or not lol. Sometimes my computer still flares up randomly with high CPU usage and the fan going, but I try to use htop to pinpoint, but that tool is probably way more in depth than I know. I'd rather have like maybe a daemon? Or always on app that automatically notices strange things and helps balance out performance, I.e. CPU usage, ram usage, maybe heat?Battery life, overall just to help maintain optimum performance and proper running (I do not game at all BTW, so not a factor)

The three I know of are tlp, auto-cpufreq, and stacer. I've read that its not good to run the first two together. Plus I've tried tlp numerous times and I feel it made my perfoance worse... I tried the simple default settings and even thoroughly went through and customized the settings, still never seemed to work right. I experimented a little with autocpufreq but had no idea if it was working correctly lol. I mean I followed the basic instructions to set it up, but who knows. Same with stacer; dont know if its really working or if I even configured it right...

In your experiences, what would be the best tool or tools to help me with this. Not really looking for monitors as I have no idea what to do with all that info lol but tools that automatically monitor and make performance tweaks accordingly? Idk if there is an all in one solution or if you need specific apps together, but also need to be aware of possible confliction... Not to mention I set up netdata lol omg I had no clue what I was looking at or how to use it. Super overwhelming because the tool could actually help with network performance but it was so completely confusing. Definitely not for a beginner. Would love your guys suggestions please. Thank you

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[–] borzthewolf@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Thanks. See these are the things I dont know. I pretty much only use the browser on my laptop. I try to keep most things within the browser, but obviously have some apps/tools/programs like bitwarden, vlc, libre word, a textpad, just your basics... The only intensive thing I do on my computed is browsing. Sometimes I'll get into researching and use the browser heavily, lots of tabs lol or I'll stream videos I.e. Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, whatever.... Thats about it. No email, unless I use the browser. I typically use my phone for emailing. I do always try to look for light options as well. But I have zero knowledge of the technical workings under the surface, so I would have no idea how to properly configure certain aspects that may need fixed or configured. If I ever do configure something I either go by the manual or just use settings that I want. Idk I just wanna make sure everything is always properly balanced as possible, but as I've explained, I do have many strange issues here and there whether they're errors, hangs or freezes, slowdowns, overheating, high CPU or ram usage at random times when I'm not using heavily, idk. Linux is a complex system and I dont have the knowledge yet to understand and tweak the inner workings yet. Too confusing and dont know where to start

[–] const_void@lemmy.ml 10 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I pretty much only use the browser on my laptop.

Sounds like you might be better off with something like ChromeOS Flex. It's optimized to do just that.

[–] borzthewolf@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Thanks for the recommendation but honestly, I've been trying to ween off of google lol

[–] cizra@lemm.ee 4 points 1 year ago

Here's a couple of pointers to get started:

  1. The Arch Linux Wiki is full of excellent information. It's not for beginners, though.
  2. Run top in your terminal to see what's taking CPU.
  3. Run top -o RES (or what's easier, run top and then press M while it's running) to see what is taking up RAM.

... though unfortunately, it's mighty probable that the only significant consumer of memory and CPU is your browser. Get uBlock Origin, it helps web pages be lighter and eat less resources. Don't open too many tabs at once - learn to use bookmarks efficiently, instead (folders, bookmarks toolbar and whatnot).