6400 Fan/Heat ?

I just got my 6400 on Friday...

I've noticed that the system is quite loud... It seems there are 3 different phases...

one is very quiet, almost non-existent noise..

two - it seems a fan kicks in and makes it loud... its really noticeable..

then three- the real "fan" kicks in and it is really loud and I can feel air coming out of the bottom and hot/warm air coming out of the vents on the back left (as looking from front)...

Is this normal ?

I had a Latitude and the third level described above hardly ever happened, maybe once a week if it was sitting on my lap... but it cuts on every 5 - 10 minutes now on the I6400..

Thoughts?

MG

 

I'm curious to hear some expert advice on this myself--I was thinking of getting a 6400.

Maybe if you kept the notebook cooler, it wouldn't need to kick in so much? I'm not saying to buy a bag of ice, but I guess it could use some airspace. Don't they make stands for that sort of thing?

 

hey this is normal, there are indeed three stages. although the highest setting should only come on when your system is working really hard, like gaming (since thats the most intensive thing i do with my E1505/6400 with 5400 rpm HDD, X1400, 1GB of RAM, windows XP)

i am assuming that you have the ATI X1400?

if your fan is at maxumim almost all the time when your just browsing the internet and posting on Notebook Review.com, then i would give Dell a call...

here is a neat and helpful tool, i installed "l8kfanGUI" and i can see the fan speed. also, you can change the settings of the fan to make it turn on more, or have it on all the time. also, you can leave it at the default fan stages if you want too.

i noticed that if i leave the computer to cool itself with bios. then the fan kicks in at almost 70*C!!! so, now i changed it to 45*C ish (cant remember... >.<)

edit* i do not use a notebook cooler, and i think that my computer runs just fine heat wise. however, without using the program to control the temperature, the system can get quite hot, though it would not prevent me from putting it on your lap.

 

The 3rd stage does come on when I'm just browsing the net (i.e. posting here")

I just turned it on and almost instantly its at the 2nd stage fan, within 2 - 5 minutes...

I don't do ANY gaming, just basic word processing, internet, email, etc....

Thanks.

P.S. When its on my "lap" I'm conscious of it and don't have it flat on my legs, i prop it on the edge so the bottom is not touching anything and it still does it like above...

 

This is normal

 

If this is normal it sucks.

I would return it but it looks like I lose 15% ... restocking.

Crap.

Should have got the T60 from Lenovo...

 

the fan being on the third stage is not normal. even as i type on here with the bios controling my computers temp, my average system temp is about 50*C, and the fan kicks in at about 2500rpm. (which is the second stage)

 

ok - i added that program that fan control program... It heats up to 55 and it kicks in (the 3rd fan) and goes down to 38 and then cuts off. It goes right back up to 55 in less than 10 minutes and fan back on...

Normal??

Also, I've been on the machine for 30 minutes and the 3rd fan is on for the 3rd or 4th time and all I've been doing is surfing the 'net...

 

What processor do you have? I have an E1505 with T7200 and X1400. The fan has only kicked on high maybe two or three times since I got it around Thanksgiving (when controlled by the BIOS, which it is 99% of the time). Once was when I was gaming with the lid closed. It rarely kicks on the medium setting when just surfing and pretty much constantly runs on medium when gaming. What BIOS version do you have? You can check Dell's support site to make sure you have the newest version, which is A14.

 

I have the Core2Duo, 2.0 ghz T7200 667FSB, with 80gb hd with 7200 rpm. ati x1400 card. No gaming. just surfing, email, etc...

I checked and i have revision a14.

When I first got on this time, within 15 minutes the fan (3rd) was on... Then when i restarted to see the bios version, as soon as it started up this time, the fan started out ON.

 

Do you have the laptop closed with an external monitor connected or do you have it sitting on a bed, carpet, or something else that blocks airflow? Have you checked the task manager to see if you have anything running that is using the processor and lots of ram? How many processes do you have running? Go through msconfig and disable programs you don't need from running at startup. Also, if you haven't done a clean install of windows, that is highly recommended because it'll get rid of all of the Dell crapware. If none of this works it sounds like there could be something wrong as the fan shouldn't be running that fast so often when the BIOS is controlling them.

 

It is sitting on my lap some times, but I prop it so its not flat on my leg and the bottom is not on anything, its got airflow.

I played with the fan program and turned the fans to top speed and it seems what I thought was the 3rd level is really the 2nd level ( I think ). Air is blowing out the back left vents (warm air) and out of the bottom vent. When I did the fan at full speed it was REALLY loud so I think what I'm experiencing is the 2nd phase.

It is still annoying as you know what....

Other than the white rim (which my wife and my buddy with an apple macbook love) and the fan noise... the machine is screaming fast....

 

haha there you go, second setting is only the "loud" one as you refered to it, but not the "really loud one" (to me it sounds like a hair dryer). so yes, the fan tends to be like this, but to me, it doesnt really matter because most of the time i have music going so i cant even hear it.

cheers,

 

I finally called Dell support and read them my readings - it takes approximately 3:45 for my system to go from 37 celcius to 54 celcius and the fan to kick on. They are sending out a technician with some type of heat/thermal kit to reinstall.

Just thought I'd give update...

MG