Downgrading E6500 for less fan noise...?

I've done some tests with HWmonitor and I8kfanGUI

It seems to be a combination of the ACPI-THM_ temperature and the GPU Core temperature. If I boot the machine the fan will start when ACPI reach about 34C and CPU Core above 61C. The fans starts at full speed for a very short while and then quickly spins down to 2700-2800 rpm (slow according to I8KfanGUI)

What bothers me that I find the fan at 2800 rpm (slow?) quite noisy compared to my silent desktop PC. The fan will continue at this speed for hours even when the temperatures overall drops. I've also tried rebooting the machine; the fan will still be on. The only way to get the fan stopped is to turn the machine off and then wait for it to cool down and restart. Then the machine will run in about max. 5-6 minutes before the fan turns on again (forever).

I'm wondering why I8kfanGUI shows a GPU temp of 40C while HWmonitor shows 53C at the moment.

I would really like an E6500 or E6400 where the fan only is on when running GPU-intense graphics etc. When I try to turn the fan off in I8Kfan the BIOS takes over at start the fan rapidly. As mentioned earlier I've considered an E6500 or E6400 with a INTEL GPU instead. Your E6400-fan is off most of the time, right?

Besides getting a Dell-technician out to check the fan and the GPU-heatsink another solution could be to modify the fan. On my desktop PC I can control my CPU-fan manually by a turning knob, it's a very simple device which controls how much power the fan will get.

 

My E6400 with Intel GPU is very quiet. When the computer is idle or just doing light work the fan is off completely. When surfing web sites that has some cpu intensive flash animation the fan is either off or runs at low speed. The fan almost never runs at high speed.

When the fan is off the 7200 RPM hard drive in my computer can be heard quite clearly so for an ever quieter machine I would recommend a 5400 RPM hard drive.

If you want a silent machine with good graphics you might want to have a look at Thinkpad T400/T500. They have switchable graphics so you can run Intel graphics for most stuff and ATI HD 3XXX graphics when you need faster graphics.

Öjan

 

Before I bought the E6500 I was looking at the Thinkpad-series as well. Switchable graphics for less noise and power-consumption is indeed a very nice feature. I'm sure new Dell-models in the future will have this feature to. Anyway, I went for the E6500/E6400-series because of the good reviews, an apealing design, a great backlit LED-screen, the E-port plus dock (haven't seen other docks stuffed with so many video-outputs - I only miss a digital audio out.)

Unfortunately I'm a bit disappointed on the noise issue, secondly I didn't get my E6500 with backlit keyboard since it wasn't an option when I ordered via the web. I've later found out that I could get it with backlit keyboard if I had phoned my order instead... I'm trying to return the machine in exchange for a machine with Intel GPU and backlit keyboard, but it will be a bit difficult since I ordered it for my small business and not as a consumer with better return rights. So I'm probably stuck with it. It would probably also be expensive to order a new motherboard with the Intel PGU mounted instead.

Does anyone know if it at all is possible to mount a new backlit keybord in an E6500 or E6400 originally equiped with a standard keyboard?

 

Unless I am in a completely quiet room I don't know if my E6400's fan is running. I8kfanGUI tells me the fan speed when it is running is ~3000 rpm. Anything faster is a very rare event.

It is still not clear whether your fan noise is caused by either (i) a bad fan or (ii) too much heat. Either way, it is not satisfactory. Dell gave these notebooks a big and quiet fan in order that there wouldn't be noise complaints.

I suggest you try hard to get a replacement with slightly different specs including that backlit keyboard. It was an option on the website when these computers were released but then disappeared. However, I'm 99.9% sure that the keyboards are interchangeable if you need to follow that route.

Another option that is not on the website is the 65W travel (AC / air / auto) PSU. Now that BIOS A09 has stopped the warning messages about this PSU it makes a very nice travel companion for my E6400.

John

 

The fan in my E6400 is not very noisy at 3000 RPM but it is more noisy than a silent desktop computer put under the desk.

Don't count on the E6400 to be less noisy than your E6500. The fan runs at 3000 RPM quite often in my E6400 and I don't even have the nVidia graphics.

I you are bothered by the 3000 RPM fan noise in your E6500 there could be something wrong with the fan. Or you need a more silent computer.

My old Latitude D610 runs at 3600 RPM most of the time and I find that a little bit irritating, especially since it is very hot on the bottom despite the rather high fan speed.

Örjan

 

I am pretty much counting on my new E6400 being at least as quiet as my Lenovo, see sig below. I have barely ever heard the fan on it, but I plan on putting the 6400, with docking station, to WAY more work.

I have worked very hard, or rather Dell worked very hard to get my Optiplex so silent. It easily is one I can live with. I would even make it more silent when a decent deal on an SSD comes out, and I will do the same for the E6400

So, without being totally ridiculous about it, I am going to be what you might call ruthless when it comes to the sound. I want to be well within my 21 day return period if the fan/sound is unacceptable. I would hate to have to send it back, I have never had to do that. I always have good luck with laptops. They are my last obsession, besides ice cream and candy Dave

 

the t61 is really silent. i think ur gonna be disappointed

 

I shall be able to compare the 2 side by side. I hope it is quiet as I really want that backlit keyboard and LED screen. And Esata and docking station with dual DVI.

 

I do forget, when discussing heat and fan noise, that I use RMClock to undervolt the CPU. The 9x voltage is down from 1.1375V to 1.05V. That's not a very big drop, but it all helps. Also SLFM is 800MHz @ 0.925V.

John

 

Have you tried the new A10 BIOS that was released yesterday? It includes a change that probably changes the fan speed (Updated thermal table), but if it will be for better or worse I don't know. If it gets worse you can always revert to the old version.

Örjan