So, I had the same problem with my Inspiron here, however, I've got an Nvidia 630m and Intel GPU's. To solve it, I'm using bumblebee since he manages my needs of performances, and with that, doesn't overheats my notebook. I don't know if there is such software for AMD, but you should look for that, since the fan works nonstop for this reason.
I also own a Dell Inspiron 15R laptop, but with an i3 processor and 6GB RAM and running Ubuntu 14.04. I was experiencing the same issue you are and would like to offer you the solution the fan issue on my computer.
I found out via the forums about an application called TLP, which is an autonomous power management tool. Once installed, it began to work immediately and my fans began to run normally. Slightly skeptical, I restarted my computer a few times to verify that the problem was resolved, and it was. My fans were not running at max speed and remaining as such once my computer displayed the GRUB menu and thereon, as they were before I installed TLP.
This site will guide you through installing the application.
UPDATE
I have discovered that TLP was not a complete solution to this issue, or my fan issue. However, I recently found a solution to my fan problem, which seems identical to yours, and I posted it on my thread, https://askubuntu.com/a/537538/311982. But I will post my answer here, for convenience.
Fan speed is normalized by editing the line
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"
in the grub configuration file found at /etc/default/grub so that it reads
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash acpi_osi=!Windows 2012".
Follow these steps to try this solution:
- Open a terminal, type sudo gedit /etc/default/grub, and press ENTER
- Enter your login password and press ENTER (the password will not be displayed as you type it)
Edit the line,
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"
such that it reads,
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash acpi_osi=!Windows 2012".
Click "Save", wait a few moments for the file to save, then close the text editor.
In the terminal, type
sudo update-grub
and hit ENTER
Finally, shut down your computer. Shut it down completely, so don't "restart" it.
Once you turn your computer back on and select the linux operating system whose grub file you edited earlier, your fans should be working normally. This solution has worked for me on Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Elementary OS, and LXLE on a Dell Inspiron 15R 5520 laptop.
-Jordan
Best Answer
Fan speed is normalized by editing the line
in the grub configuration file found at
/etc/default/grubso that it readsFollow these steps to try this solution:
sudo gedit /etc/default/grub, and press EnterEdit the line
such that it reads
Click "Save", wait a few moments for the file to save, then close the text editor.
In the terminal, type
sudo update-gruband hit EnterFinally, shut down your computer. Shut it down completely: don't restart it.
Once you turn your computer back on and select the linux operating system whose grub file you edited earlier, your fans should be working normally. This solution has worked for me on Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Elementary OS, and LXLE on a Dell Inspiron 15R 5520 laptop.