I have a Windows laptop for the first time in well over a decade for a project I am working on. Even though it is overpowered (i7, 64gb ram), and it is currently "idle", the cooling fans are working overtime because the damn OS is always busy doing some random shit when "idle". This is AFTER I ran a debloat script. It was near impossible to use before then.
EDIT: I found the cause of the fanning issue and different behavior between Win 11 and Linux (Pop!_OS). Even though the laptop comes with an Nvidia RTX 4000 series GPU, Windows 11 set the global default GPU to be the integrated graphics (Intel UHD). The same laptop under Pop!_OS automatically set the default GPU to Nvidia. As soon as I dug this up and switched the settings to Nvidia, the laptop stopped fanning full speed nonstop.
Everything by VoidTools is a million times better than the Windows search, it indexes every file and then actually finds it right away when you search for it.
I don't get why people exaggerate this much. I have a laptop with a 7840hs and 32gb of ram so it's also "overpowered" but it's whisper quiet and consumes 30-45w while doing simple tasks. Consumption only increases if I'm running code, playing games, etc which makes total sense.
Windows is not a well optimized os and the telemetry sucks but you're just flat out lying with your claims. It's either that or your laptop has the worst possible cooling.
No exaggeration. I could literally record video at any time to show how it is fanning like crazy. If it is on, it is fanning like a jet plane.
EDIT: Problem found. Win 11 defaulted to integrated graphics even though the laptop has an Nvidia GPU. The same laptop with a Linux (Pop!_OS) install defaulted to the Nvidia GPU. That's just dumb.
I have a laptop that I dual boot Windows 11 and Ubuntu on.
If I leave the Windows desktop idle for >20 minutes the fans will almost always randomly flare up even though I'm doing nothing. On Ubuntu, the desktop usually stays silent, or sometimes the fans come on a little (probably due to bloated browser apps) but never flare up the way it does on Windows.
Again, the most common problem in those cases are crappy drivers/fan curves. I have a laptop with W11 on it and fix/maintain laptops for friends as well and this is not an issue with any of them. The only time I had this problem was with a specific laptop.
Honestly, of all of the things you could criticize about windows (and there are lots), this is the one thing that is simply not an inherent OS problem.
I should test this. I normally set an aggressive fan curve so the CPU doesn't overheat, and because I game on my laptop I use the custom fan profile instead of the default quiet one. I should try using a different fan profile when not gaming.