Romagnolo73
IMHO. Your Ryzen 5 2500U doesn’t support amd_pstate (it only works with Zen 2 and newer), and acpi_cpufreq isn't available for this CPU either. So there’s no working CPU frequency scaling driver on your system.
That’s why power-profiles-daemon shows this output:
*balanced:
PlatformDriver: placeholder
power-saver:
PlatformDriver: placeholder
The asterisk * means the balanced profile is active, but PlatformDriver: placeholder tells us that no real driver is being used. So the profile is technically "enabled", but it doesn't actually affect CPU performance or power usage.
To reduce heat and fan noise (especially during summer), it's best to use TLP. It can still apply power-saving settings, even without CPU frequency scaling.
You can install and enable TLP:
sudo eopkg install tlp
sudo systemctl enable --now tlp
Edit the config: sudo nano /etc/tlp.conf
Set the following options:
CPU_SCALING_GOVERNOR_ON_AC=powersave
CPU_SCALING_GOVERNOR_ON_BAT=powersave
CPU_ENERGY_PERF_POLICY_ON_AC=power
CPU_ENERGY_PERF_POLICY_ON_BAT=power
These settings may still work on your hardware, especially the ENERGY_PERF_POLICY, which doesn’t depend on CPU scaling drivers.
Restart TLP: sudo systemctl restart tlp
Optional: for additional power tuning, install and run powertop:
sudo eopkg install powertop
sudo powertop --auto-tune
I think this is the most effective solution for your CPU, since KDE and power-profiles-daemon cannot control the hardware directly on this platform.
