Latitude E5401 Overheating

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I have the same overheating issues with my Dell 5401.  I have the model with discrete Nvidia graphics card and whenever I use a graphics "intensive" application (inverted commas because they really aren’t that intensive) the computer gets very hot, the mouse and keyboard start to lag and audio goes crackly.   

I've noticed that Microsoft Teams will almost always cause my machine to grind to a halt within minutes, with the base of the machine getting roasting hot when sat on my desk.  This problem is exacerbated by using the Dell WD19TB dock with one or more external displays. 

Having diligently been updating the BIOS, firmware, etc since purchasing the machine 18 months ago, the problem has finally been solved by using a cooling pad.  I’ve followed similar posts for other Dell models with the same processor (i7 9850H) that recommended disabling C-states in the BIOS, which did improve things.  The problem is slightly bewildering because the model I purchased was supposed to support three external displays, which clearly it doesn't have the necessary cooling for.

I’d be very interested to know if anyone has similar issues that have been solved by providing additional cooling

Following a couple of service visits via Dell ProSupport, overheating was diagnosed and the cooling system replaced.  Just made it through my first MS Teams meeting with all peripherals attached.  Fingers crossed, this problem is solved. 

Hi,

I have replied to you from a private message.

-Gautam.

Hi there,

I have the same problem. The 5401 laptop fan is always running at its maximum speed causing an unacceptable loud noise.

the laptop is so overheating to the pont that the mouse pointer is sometimes lagging.

Any recommandation ?

Hi , 

We were given some soft fixes by the Dell support team when we reached out to them. Below will be the steps on how to perform the soft fixes. It has helped us in keeping the overheating issue under control. 

Latitude 5401 Heat soft fixes 

The drivers link that provided below are the latest as of 26 Jan 2021. Please go to our support website support.dell.com to obtain the latest version.  

1. Update the latest BIOS à System will restart to apply the update. 

https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-my/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=9g33w&oscode=wt64a&productcode=latitude-14-5401-laptop 

 2.Download and install the Dell Command Update. Once if complete the installation of the application, launch it and scan for the system drivers. Just update once it pops up any drivers that require to update. à Restart the system if it asks for system restart. àOnce system restart, launch the Dell Command Update and scan again to ensure no further new update detected. 

https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-my/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=pf5gj&oscode=wt64a&productcode=latitude-14-5401-laptop 

 3.Intel Dynamic Platform and Thermal Framework Driver/Intel Dynamic Tuning Driver à Restart after installing it. 

https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-my/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=64c9j&oscode=wt64a&productcode=latitude-14-5401-laptop 

 4.Dell Power Manager Service 

https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-my/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=7866h&oscode=wt64a&productcode=latitude-14-5401-laptop 

• Launch the application and under the Battery Information, click “Settings” set for battery setting change to from “Adaptive” to “Primary AC Use”.  
• Go under Thermal Management, customers can select “Cool Mode” if they would like the system to run cooler. 

• Go under Thermal Management, customers can select “Quiet mode” if they would like less fan noise. 

5.Download and install the Intel Processor Power Management Utility à System will need to restart. 

https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-my/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=39kkn&oscode=wt64a&productcode=latitude-14-5401-laptop 

1. Users Must ensure Windows power plan is set to “Balanced”. 
2. End users Must also adjust OS performance setting to “Better Performance” when connected to AC power. 

• OS performance setting can be adjusted by left clicking on the battery icon located in system tray and just slider to “Better performance” as below. 

It's very possible that there is dust blocking air flow/coating the heat sink and causing thermal issues (hence high temp and loud fans). However, clearing this out might required a little more than spraying some compressed air into the fan, because this will just loosen the dust. You might have to take the machine apart, however because it sounds like you are talking about a corporate owned computer you probably shouldn't open the device up and should probably request someone do this from your IT department.

Hi,

As we have not heard back from you since our last interaction we will be archiving this case for now. Do reach back to us if you have any query.

Regards,

Akshatha

did anyone noticed the fan AND the heat sink blades are a lot smaller than the 5490.
Also if I can read the charts correctly the CPUs use a bit more wattage than the prior models, this is particularly true in my environment (i5)

not sure how the engineers think that upgrading the fan to a brushless fan was a "good enough" trade off in order to make the heat sink blades a lot smaller

Did anyone else noticed this?

Go to BIOS and shut off Turbo-Boost.....Worked on multiple here.

5401 running HOT loud Fan Fix

Ensure latest BIOS is installed

Manually install the below driver & utility. These are not auto installed by windows or Dell Command Update

Intel Dynamic Platform and Thermal Framework Driver

https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=64c9j&oscode=wt64a&productcode=latitude-14-5401-laptop

Intel Processor Power Management Utility

https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=p9cyy&oscode=wt64a&productcode=latitude-14-5401-laptop

After installing these, fan noise is reduced except when CPU is heavily used. Laptop is cooler to the touch, especially when idle or light use.

Hi all,

same problem here with minimum 6 DELL Latitude 5401.

Latitude 5401 Connected to WD19. Dual Monitor connected with DisplayPort to WD19. USB Hub of Monitor connected to Dockingstation. USB-Webcam, Keyboard, Mouse and Headset connected to USB Hub in Monitors.

On a normal office working day, users get problems using their peripherals connected via USB on the WD19. Mouse is lagging. Keyboard laggy and multipying key strokes. USB and internal Webcam Picture corruptions. After a while stucked picture. Only reconnecting will help. Sound lagging.

Problem occures, if PCH Chip geht over 110°C. This can happen with a simple webradio opend in Browser and Antivirus Software is scanning in background the local harddisk. Or creating an backup with Drivesnapshot to USB external Harddrive. Or a longer Teams Meeting. If the temperature is some minutes below 110°C the problem will went away. 

If i place a bag of ice below the Noteook, the problem will not occur.

If i replace the WD19 Dockingstation with an Lenovo USB-C Dock or a simple USB-C ord Classic Charging Cable, the PCH Temp will be ~20°C lower then with Connected WD15/WD19/WD19TBS or WD22TB4 Dock.

Created several Support Tickets. Got Heatsink, Fan and Mainboard replaced. System still overheating.

Problem persists with new installed Windows 10 and Dell Recovery Windows 10 Imag. Additionally reproduced the problem with Linux Mint Live USB. Kernel.log shows USB reset messages while overheating.

No messages shown in BIOS thermal log. No problems in BIOS log. Selftest passed.

Intel Dynamic Platform and Thermal Framework Driver und Intel Processor Power Management Utility installed. Does not resolve the problem.

BIOS of Latiude and WD Dock Up to Date.

DELL, please help!  It seems to be a problem of a whole series!

Tested PCH temperature average

Details           |      full workload | system idle
Lenovo Dock:         89,6°C          |   61,0°C
Dell WD15:             102,5°C        |    72,4°C
Dell WD19:             102,8°C        |    73,0°C 
130 Watt Dell USB-C charging Cable:  89,3°C    |   61,8°C
130 Watt Dell Classic Cable:                 89,1°C    |   63,4°C

Fan Speed:         ~4700  RPM    |  2700 RPM

Hi all!

Land in sight! DELL confirmed this problem and is working on an solution. It took 9 month of work to convince DELL. Will keep you updated

Any updates on this? I've downloaded and installed the latest BioS, Intel Dynamic Platform and Thermal Framework Driver, Intel Processor Power Management Utility, and disable Turbo Boost, but it is still noisy like an airplane without a big workload