15 R3, Loud Fans

Question

Hi All, From searching the forums I guess I'm not alone in this, but my R3 15 (i7-7700 HQ w/ 1070 GTX ) is crazy loud.  It's been that way since I bought it a couple years back.  In my case, if the fans are running at all, they're running at 95% -100% and I can't even be in the same room as the laptop unless I'm wearing noise cancelling headphones.  It's an utterly unacceptible racket.  Then, when the CPU falls idle they just cut off entirely and it is silent until the temps hit ~60c and it's sounds like a turbine again. Watching the temps in HWInfo I can see it spike instantly from 50c to 90c+ degrees every time any random Windows background service kicks in and on come the fans at maximum, whining blast and everyone in the office looks over to see what the appalling din is.  The same happens when I do *anything* with it, even copying files or light web browsing, let alone playing some games. So far I've tried: Making sure performance mode is off (it was, and is off) Disassembling, cleaning and repasting the cooler (No noticable difference) Tweaking the Alienware software, but none of that made any dfference either and there's not much to change. Is there a way to edit the fan curves perhaps?  I feel like if they perhaps ran longer at slower speeds they could keep what little thermal mass there is in the cooler that few degrees lower.  I'm reasonably comfortable building/pulling apart PCs but the granular fine-tuning of performance variables is somewhat new to me.  Where would I even start with this?   Thanks in advance!

Safety Rabbit · Accepted Answer

So I think I've managed to get my fans under control. I'm left with the impression that what was at fault was firmware, somehow. For some reason the Alienware Updater software (which I have run many a time while troubleshooting this issue) informed me that it had in fact, never been run before (?!) and it had some new firmware for me. After this most recent firmware update, I found I was getting a much more reasonable fan response. I don't know if I'm happy or annoyed by this solution

Thank you all for your help, community, I did try each of the solutions and they're liekly to serve me well going forward too. Ta!

Safety Rabbit · Answer

Excellent suggestion @crimsom , thanks!  I'll pop it open and check out the fan connectors and report back once I've done that.  Probably replacing the fans would be a good idea too, I'll see about ordering some new ones.  I've had it open a few times, I actually rather like tinkering around in there.  It's quite an interesting machine inside.

crimsom · Answer

Hi @Safety Rabbit welcome to this user to user discussion forum. This is not Dell Support.

The Alienware 15 R3 CPU and GPU fans have four wire connectors, to provide controllable variable speed. From your description the variable speed is not working. Please look at the labels on the fans to check that these are the designated fans for your Alienware 15 R3, and that their connector has four wires.

Your most likely fix is to install new OEM replacement fans. Both are low value parts with one year warranty and are usually replaced at the same time. They are buried deep within the laptop, watch Alienware Support video.
Alienware 15 R3 CPU Cooling Fan - Left Side - Dell P/N 4D3V1
Alienware 15 R3 GPU Cooling Fan - Right Side - Dell P/N JWH30

Please click on Kudos to say thank you for response from user that is not employed by Dell. Please share an update on progress, so that other users derive benefit from your experience. Thank you.

A51-06 · Answer

I would agree too with the tinkering part.

what I would recommend is downloading SpeedFan since it can help you manage and curve the speeds of the fans in your laptop. All you have to do is enable DELL support in your laptop in the advanced settings for speedfan and then you are ready to go. Maybe you might have to close and reopen the app too after you check the enable DELL support.

A51-06 · Answer

That’s amazing and I’m so happy for you. Enjoy your thermals and have a great day.

Alienware

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