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    M14 Fan -Would i5 processor improve the noise level?

    Discussion in 'Alienware 14 and M14x' started by gigolojim, Jul 26, 2011.

  1. gigolojim

    gigolojim Newbie

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    Hello one and all. Relative noob to this scene but after months of research I decided I want to settle on the m14x. Its as close as I can get to a laptop that combines all of the elements I am after, of which there are many and having one normally excludes another, i.e games = noise etc.

    So I'm down to one, noise. I believe apparently its only when gaming/playing dvd's but I'd gladly take a relatively small decrease in performance for a corresponding decrease in noise. Its not a disaster if it wont help or is impossible but I am of the belief that if your going to drop over a grand on something it really should be as good a fit for the person as possible.

    I appreciate all comments and I am well aware plenty of people dont care about noise or use headphones or are slaves to performance or whatever. My needs are just different and I need the laptop for various tasks as well as decent to good quality gaming so if anybody has any idea or better yet, has the i5 version please feel free to enlighten me. Cheers :D
     
    gigolojim, Jul 26, 2011
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  2. ted264

    ted264 Notebook Consultant

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    i don't believe so the heat would almost be the same..... the fan has to cool everything in the tiny area so it will hit high speeds
     
    ted264, Jul 26, 2011
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  3. clienterror

    clienterror Notebook Consultant

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    Agreed, I also believe it's more of the Sandy Bridge design that makes it run so hot and not necessarily the CPU choice.

    Also look at it like this, you can downclock the i7 to i5 performance and it will run cooler than the stock i7 probably. But if you get the i5 obviously never get i7 performance. For $150 it's the best bang for the buck upgrade on the m14x.
     
    clienterror, Jul 26, 2011
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  4. trooper1414

    trooper1414 Notebook Deity

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    Dnt go for the i5....and the fan noise...under normal conditions dosent exist...and while gaming i have my headphones :p
     
    trooper1414, Jul 26, 2011
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  5. gigolojim

    gigolojim Newbie

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    Ok guys all good points thanks a million. My logic was cooling less cores would make less noise but obviously it doesn't work that way. i7 it is

    Thanks again :)
     
    gigolojim, Jul 26, 2011
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  6. niko2021

    niko2021 Notebook Evangelist

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    Well the fan would probably be the same. My m14x doesn't have a fan issue as of now. Did a lot of tweaking, cleaning, defraging, removing start up programs, stopping processes, and it's silent, even gaming doesn't get loud.
     
    niko2021, Jul 26, 2011
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  7. Kynlore

    Kynlore Notebook Geek

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    I don't know where the opinion of a noisy fan comes from. My isn't loud at all.
     
    Kynlore, Jul 26, 2011
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  8. or1onz

    or1onz Notebook Enthusiast

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    I believe the processor doesn't effect the fan to kick in so much.

    The fan kicks in to cool down the graphic more than the processor.

    When I am doing anything except playing 3d games, the fan noise is at the minimum. Barely hear-able compared to Dell Studio/HP Probook. Probook's fan noise is loud even under normal run.

    Get a headphone for gaming :D
     
    or1onz, Jul 26, 2011
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  9. ninja2000

    ninja2000 Mash IT

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    Well I am very sensitive to noise and I find the m14x way too loud whilst heavy gaming (ie BFBC2 which uses all the cores of an i7). The fan revs up very quickly whilst gaming to a medium level and then after a few minutes to an excessive level.
    Of course it needs to, it has to cool turbo boosted i7 @ 2.6ghz plus a 555m gfx card!

    I have found a solution for when I want to game quietly (ie gaming in bed or on a sofa).
    firstly, I set a power profile which locks the cpu to 2ghz by setting the max cpu performance to 99% in advanced power options (this effectively disables TB). You could also do the same with throttlestop.

    I then run HWinfo64 and adjust the fan speed to 4000 and then quit the program. This leaves the fan at 3800rpm so make sure you monitor temps, but with my cpu at 2ghz I havent broken 80c cpu and 75 with overclocked gpu.

    Having the cpu capped at 2ghz hasnt decreased my fps in any of the games I play (BFBC2, MOH, SC2, DOW2, Shogun 2)

    This has turned the laptop from slightly annoying to amazing for me as I can now game on the sofa next to my wife without ear ache from both the fan noise and my wife moaning ;)
     
    ninja2000, Jul 27, 2011
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