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    M11x fan speed controller?

    Discussion in 'Alienware M11x' started by rotobadger, Dec 2, 2010.

  1. rotobadger

    rotobadger Newbie

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    Hello All. I'm new to the forums here but have been a lurker for a little while.

    I just purchased a C2D M11x as a backup computer to my 17'' MBP (running Bootcamp). I travel a great deal for my work and needed a capable yet (relatively) light and portable notebook with a small footprint. After researching like crazy, I decided on the M11x. So far, so good...

    BUT

    The fan noise is a problem. I really didn't expect this much noise while at idle (around 42 C). Also, I am up to date on the bios with A05.

    Is there any way of adjusting the fan speed? I've looked and have been unable to find any way of doing this. 42-45C is a relatively low temperature (my HP NX9420 doesn't really kick in the fans until around 75 degrees C).

    Any help would be greatly appreciated as this is an issue for me.

    Great forum by the way!
     
    rotobadger, Dec 2, 2010
    #1
  2. Benchmade 42

    Benchmade 42 Titanium

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    does the fan kick in using integrated gpu?
     
    Benchmade 42, Dec 2, 2010
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  3. rotobadger

    rotobadger Newbie

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    It does. The fan seems to kick in at 42 degrees or so regardless of which card is active.
     
    rotobadger, Dec 2, 2010
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  4. codesplice

    codesplice Notebook Guru

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    I believe it was suggested in the Optimization thread that disabling the Fast Acess facial recognition service from startup (via msconfig) should reduce overhead CPU usage, and - in turn - help keep the fan from constantly spinning.

    Additionally, these laptops seem to have an issue with not fully powering down the discrete graphics card after switching back to the onboard Intel unit. You tend to have to reboot to get the nVidia card to shut off all the way, and until that point the fan is still going to be tyring to cool it.
     
    codesplice, Dec 2, 2010
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  5. Benchmade 42

    Benchmade 42 Titanium

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    the bios A05 should've fix that issue, it was confirmed by most m11x r1 users so i don't know what's going on
     
    Benchmade 42, Dec 2, 2010
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  6. codesplice

    codesplice Notebook Guru

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    Eh. I've got the A05 update on my R1, but the nVidia card still shows up in Device Manager after I switch back to the onboard Intel chip. Maybe I'm doing something wrong.

    EDIT: Yup, it was me. Just gotta wait about 15 minutes for it to shut off. Makes sense.
     
    codesplice, Dec 2, 2010
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  7. rotobadger

    rotobadger Newbie

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    I'll disable facial recognition and see if that works.

    I really don't mind the fan kicking in with some noise at high temperatures (like when you're playing games or video encoding) but it's ridiculous that 42C sets it off.

    As I'm typing this on my Macbook Pro the M11x is sitting completely idle...and the fan just turned on!

    There's gotta be a way to set the fan to kick in at higher temps...
     
    rotobadger, Dec 2, 2010
    #7