Dell Precision M6700 Owner's Review

I bought an m6700 for cad and its great but since i got it the fans wont shut up!! even when just browsing the internet with nothing else open the fans go off every few seconds even in quite mode, its wrecking my head. Please tell me there is a quick fix

 

If you're an undergrad, get the 15", getting a 17" monster out in a classroom can be problematic. Take it from someone who was an engineering student not long ago.

What are the ambient temperatures in your office? I would also log the temperatures for the various components using software like HWMonitor or HWiNFO64 to see which component is triggering the fans, it could be either the CPU and GPU and the fix might depend on which is causing this. I get that kind of behavior in my office with a multi-monitor setup because of the GPU that clocks higher when I use more than one monitor for example.

 

CPU running at less than 20%, RAM at 40%,
GPU at 57 degrees celsius,

room temp is usually between 20-24 degrees celsius

 

You'll need to take a log file, the CPU and GPU have different temperatures that trip the fans. For my firepro, the fans turn on at ~60^oC, for the CPU, the fan trigger temp is a little higher than that. Even a 12% usage on the CPU (1 core load) if sustained can push the temps high enough for the fans to kick in.

 

Is it necessarily a bad thing to alter these setting for the sake of stopping the fans kick in so often?

 

For me...

Use the "Balanced" power profile which will keep the CPU from going up into the 3 GHz range.

Install "Dell Feature Enhancement Pack" (you can find it with the rest of the drivers on the support site, if you're using the stock Windows image then it's probably already installed). Go then go to advanced power settings in Windows, look under the Dell section and set thermal mode to "Quiet (Reduced Fan Levels)".

That works OK for me. The fan comes on sometimes but the constant on-off cycle doesn't happen.

[Edit]
One more thing. If it's the GPU fan and you happen to have an NVIDIA card, you can use NVIDIA Inspector to force the GPU to the lowest p-state and see if it runs better then. I have mine set to run at the lowest speed (p-state and clock/memory speed), with a batch file pinned to the start menu to kick it up if needed.

Now if you're running CAD stuff all the time, this might kill the performance too much to be worth it, but for me looking at code all day I don't need the GPU to be super active most of the time.

 

You could try and get it off the hot reflect surface. I'll bet that the culprit?

 

I have never had an issue with using the M6700 in the physical space of a classroom, the tables, or individual desks. I have had to deal with privacy issues caused by the screen being large and having wider than normal viewing angles. If I turn the brightness down, it solves the privacy issue.

I have access to a Latitude E6220, but rarely use it for meetings. I just take the M6700. If I am traveling by air, then I use the E6220 on the plane.

On the fans - make sure the BIOS is up to date.

 

My own estimate places 17" not being an issue 75 to 80 percent of the time, but that 20-25 percent can be a real pain. It varies between universities though, so doing some scouting before buying will help. I even ran into times when 15" was an issue those were pretty rare though. As a PhD student, I never had any issues with my M6700, no more classes in a cramped amphitheatre. Never underestimate the weight of engineering textbooks too. YMMV of course.

 

Coming from someone who used to tote an HDX18 around daily, the 6700 is a cake walk (not really). In any event, I never understood all this weight issue since most folks (even little old ladies) have those wheeled cases and tug around twice the gear that I do.

BTW, have you noticed what many athletes and some musicians carry around? Suddenly, even a 17" laptop can seem so insignificant. Just be glad you don't play the cello.