Precision M4600 Owners Lounge

Recently, I ordered M4600 with DVD writer and thinking of getting an internal Blu-Ray combo/writer.

Anyone know whether any of these drives will work on M4600

http://www.amazon.com/LG-BT10N-Inte...f=sr_1_37?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1327315884&sr=1-37

Amazon.com: LG Super-Multi Slim Blu-ray Combo Drive CT21N - Bulk: Electronics

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-UJ240-Blu-ray-Burner-DVD±RW/dp/B003AXW2YQ/ref=dp_cp_ob_pc_title_0

 

Hello everybody,
I have received my Precision M4600 (i7 2720QM, FirePro 5950M, 12GB RAM, SSD128GB+HDD750GB), and I have an erratic, annoying fan noise.

I have set the power plan to quiet (reduce fan), but whatever the power plan or the load is, the computer is dead quiet, then bursts like a hair dryer for about 5 seconds, each minute.

Is there any way to have the fans running continuously at low speed instead of this perpetual cycle of full stop / full blast ? It's really annoying for such a high end machine...

Additional info : 19°C room, brand new computer, "quiet" power plan, no load or light load (web browsing, emails), the computer sits on a table, proper airflow underneath the machine.

Thanks in advance for your precious insights...

 

This is my number one gripe about this machine. Mine comes on and goes off like that a couple times a minute, even when I'm not doing anything. Very annoying and I'd also like any tips on how to get it to stop.

 

Is this the case with all m4600 units? Reviews I read showed quite low levels of fan noise.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if this would mostly affect the Firepro owners. I've found out with SpeedFan that the CPU (in my case, i7 2720QM) actually runs cool and quiet, while the GPU is scorching at idle.

To those affected, if your fan starts blowing hard every 30-60 seconds, try downloading GPU-Z, then going to the Sensors tab.
Check out the values of the GPU Core clock and GPU Memory clock.
If they are set at 750Mhz (GPU) / 900mhz (mem), you are affected by the same problem as I was : the GPU won't scale its frequency and is stuck at its maximum power ! (this is unforgivable on a high-end laptop, Dell...)

Here's how to solve this first problem :
- Download the latest ATI FirePro drivers from Dell :
Drivers and Downloads | Dell [United States] (direct link)

- Remove the graphic pilot. No need to remove the whole Catalyst suit, only the pilot is needed.

- Reinstall the new driver properly.

- Check out GPU-Z again. 100Mhz/151.6Mhz at idle ? You're all set, the fans should blow a lot less frequently.

I've found two other conditions that trigger abnormally high GPU frequencies, causing the fan to blow often on idle :
- Flash Player... whether it's active or not. Start a youtube video, pause it, check out the GPU : stuck at max speed ! (edit : disabling the hardware acceleration in Flash properties solves this problem)
- Connecting an external monitor. Not as bad, but still stuck at 250/900Mhz while idling. Disabling PowerPlay in the Catalyst control panel solves this particular issue, but then then GPU will remain stuck at 150mhz whatever the load is...

So, in the end, the fans still will blow like a hairdryer, only less frequently.
The true problem is, the fan speed does not scale at all, it goes from silent to air-dryer-loud instead of revving up smoothly as with the MBP or ThinkPads. I really wish it would run continuously at a low to medium speed as with these competitors.

i8kfan is not supported at all, don't even try messing with it as forcing it in test mode will only result in a blue screen. The new Precisions aren't supported by SpeedFan either, so no chance to alter the speeds ourselves (which shouldn't be needed to begin with).

Anyone here has a solution ?

Dell, I hope you are listening, many people here are expecting a fix for this issue, which is a disgrace for you on such a highend laptop.

 

Actually, this happens on the workstation in my sig, too.

So not just a Firepro issue. I've learned to live with it, maybe the fan table is set to start at low values... If we can somehow modify the fan table to make the fan start at like 5'c higher, we probably won't have this problem.

 

It's a common problem, the fan is annoying, way much worse than Thinkpad W520, the temperature is also much higher compared to w520
Wish Dell could improve it.

 

@icesample, @Ryan: You must be very sensitive; I bearly notice fans - they are quiet in my opinion.

 

It should be an easy bit for Dell to implement a slow fan startup and have them running constantly depending on average CPU use and GPU use over a specific Time. I don't mind the fans once they are running, as they are pretty quiet, but the startup noise is just too annoying. Let's hope for a fix on that on the next release of the bios.

Has anyone actually contacted Dell directly regarding that problem yet?

 

I have since yesterday, but ended up talking to some level1 in some random part of French speaking Africa, where, at the end of the day, they told me my graphic card had to be replaced...
I have just forwarded them this permalink and urged them to escalate the issue to Dell engineering. I am more than willing to collaborate with them, should they need it.