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XPS 8930, BIOS 1.0.13 & 1.0.12 max fan speed
On my Dell XPS 8930, I recently noticed the internal fan speed going off the charts during a game. This was a game I'd played several times previously, and I'd never before heard the fan behave in this way. Today, I encountered the problem again when converting a video using Handbrake. Within two or three seconds (before the CPU could possibly have heated up), the fan started blowing like a jet engine.
I remembered that I'd updated the BIOS recently, so I re-installed the previous BIOS, and the problem appears to be fixed. Backing down to 1.0.11 is a workaround and not a fix. I converted a video - and the fan sped up just enough to cool the CPU - no jet engine simulations.
Here are the details:
BIOS version causing fan problems: 1.0.12 - Released on July 24, 2018
BIOS version not causing fan problems: 1.0.11 - Released on June 21, 2018
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Here's the catch - Other than messing up the internal fan, I don't know what Dell changed in BIOS 1.0.12. It's possible that it contains critical fixes. Or, maybe it does nothing other than mess up the fan. No idea. I have been unable to find anything resembling a changelog. Perhaps someone else might share.
Dell doesn't recommend returning to an earlier BIOS version, but I successfully did it, and I seems to have fixed the fan. When 1.0.13 is released, I don't plan to install it unless I have a backup copy of 1.0.11 - just in case.
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To retrieve an older BIOS file:
- Go to the Dell Support XPS 8930 site
- Click "Drivers & Downloads"
- Under "Category," specify BIOS
- You will see only the current BIOS listed. Click the small triangle to the left of your BIOS name for more options.
- Click "Older Versions."
... and you'll find links to older BIOS files.
RoHe
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August 13th, 2018 10:00
BIOS 1.0.13 has already been released for the XPS 8930. :Wink:
BIOS 1.0.13 - Update Intel ME Firmware to address security advisories INTEL-SA-00125 (CVE-2018-3655) & Intel-SA-00131 (CVE-2018-3643 CVE-2018-3644).
Neal Miller
101 Posts
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August 13th, 2018 11:00
I was unaware, thanks.
Is there a changelog that describes the changes between BIOS 1.0.12 and BIOS 1.0.13? I'd really like to confirm that it mentions fixing the fan issue before I needlessly upgrade the BIOS again.
The only note on the download page reads: "Update Intel ME Firmware to address security advisories INTEL-SA-00125 (CVE-2018-3655) & Intel-SA-00131 (CVE-2018-3643 CVE-2018-3644)."
... In other words, it does NOT address the fan issue found in 1.0.12.
Neal Miller
101 Posts
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August 13th, 2018 12:00
Fair enough... I'll refrain from BIOS updates going forward, unless I have a specific reason or directive to do so. But all of my other drivers were up to date; the only variable was upgrading the BIOS from 1.0.11 to 1.0.12, and reverting to 1.0.11 solved the problem.
So perhaps it was a combination of the BIOS version and another driver - but no other drivers were updated in that timeframe. At least, not with my knowledge.
RoHe
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August 13th, 2018 12:00
What's on that page is all that Dell made publically available about BIOS 1.0.13.
I'm a regular around here and I don't remember seeing any other threads about fan issues being caused by BIOS 1.0.12 on the XPS 8930, aside from your comments in this thread. Even a quick Google search didn't turn up anything aside from this thread.
What makes you think that fan issues were a common problem with that version of BIOS? Yes, you apparently had a problem that was solved by reverting to 1.0.11, but it could have been a flaky BIOS update to 1.0.12 or maybe an outdated driver (eg, chipset, video, etc) or some other app running on your PC that doesn't play nicely with 1.0.12.
So you might want to make sure all your drivers and Windows itself are fully up-to-date before you update to 1.0.13, assuming you believe that those Intel design flaws need patching.
And keep in mind there's always a chance a BIOS update will fail and brick your motherboard. If your PC is out of warranty, Dell won't replace your motherboard if a BIOS update fails and you weren't specifically instructed by an actual Dell Tech Support person to update BIOS. Getting an alert from Dell's SupportAssist or Dell Update app do not count as being directed to update BIOS by Dell Tech Support.
PaulvD
4 Posts
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September 21st, 2018 08:00
Bios version 1.0.13 also has this fan speed issue,
i.e. the fan permanently running at higher speed.
Back to 1.0.11 and the fan speed problem is gone again.
RoHe
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September 21st, 2018 11:00
I pinged my Dell tech contact.
Do you have the latest drivers, eg: chipset, video, etc?
546insp
732 Posts
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September 21st, 2018 13:00
On my 8920 updating the bios was only half the problem. After I took out a couple unneeded HDD's there was less fan incidences and then I added a fan which completely cured all fan problems. Fall temperatures and a colder house had an effect also I presume.
DELL-Chris M
Community Manager
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September 22nd, 2018 07:00
RoHe is correct. The Fixes and Enhancements on the website are all of the data we get.
What Intel Chipset version is installed? We need XPS 8930 users to download and run SpeedFan and post screenshots. For those still with BIOS 1.0.13 and 1.0.12, what is SpeedFan showing for fan speeds? How are the temperatures? Then compare those screenshots to users running 1.0.11. Below is a screenshot example of SpeedFan fan speeds and temperatures from my Area-51-R2 =
PaulvD
4 Posts
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September 22nd, 2018 13:00
Hi,
I reinstalled bios 1.0.13
Checked with SpeedFan version 4.52
and found out the (top) fan speed is now somewhat, but not much, higher compared to 1.0.11
i.e. fan2 = 440 versus 405 RPM
Fan1 around 1630 for both BIOS versions.
(PC has no load)
For completeness follows the log from Speedfan:
"
Win9x:NO 64Bit:YES GiveIO:NO SpeedFan:YES
I/O properly initialized
Linked ISA BUS at $0290
Found nVidia GeForce GTX 1070
Linked nVidiaI2C0 SMBUS at $3D403E3F
Linked nVidiaI2C1 SMBUS at $3D403637
Linked nVidiaI2C2 SMBUS at $3D405051
Scanning ISA BUS at $0290...
DELL at $3E8 msg : Tested temps : 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
DELL at $3E8 msg : Tested fans : 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
DELL at $3E8 msg : Tested pwms : 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Scanning I2CNVidia SMBus at $3D403E3F...
Scanning I2CNVidia SMBus at $3D403637...
Scanning I2CNVidia SMBus at $3D405051...
Found ST3000DM001-1CH166 on AdvSMART
Found ST4000DM005-2DP166 on AdvSMART
Found SCSI drive 005-2DP166 (4000,8GB)
ProbeSCSI: WARNING: hard disk skipped because of invalid returned LogSense data
Found SCSI drive 001-1CH166 (3000,6GB)
ProbeSCSI: WARNING: hard disk skipped because of invalid returned LogSense data
Found SCSI drive KXG50ZNV256G NVM (256,1GB)
Found ACPI temperature
Found Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8700 CPU @ 3.20GHz
End of detection
Loaded 0 events
"
This marginally higher fan speed is not what triggered me to go back to BIOS 1.0.11
So I am left puzzled what has been going on originally.
This is a regular Desktop PC in normal use, so in the mean time I have had Dell driver and Microsoft updates.
Maybe that has changed it.
Anyway, I hereby withdraw my earlier message dd 09-21-2018 about fan speed issue
Paul
Before you ask: yes I did a reboot when I first noticed the higher fan speed. It did not go away.
PaulvD
4 Posts
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September 22nd, 2018 15:00
RoHe
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September 23rd, 2018 13:00
If not because of fan speed, why did you revert to 1.0.11?
(Thanks to @Anonymous-Chris M for jumping in to assist. :Yes: )
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
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September 23rd, 2018 14:00
It seems to me that the new BIOS tweaked the CPU fan profiles.
But IMO , cooling an nice-modern Intel-i7 with just a heat-sink and a fan is a losing proposition from the get go (especially if you are doing real work with it ... like maybe audio/video work or even Direct-X gaming).
546insp
732 Posts
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September 23rd, 2018 20:00
I don't know...……...I made big gains on mine by correctly adding a 120mm front fan to my 8920 and if you have to go back to an older bios version something else it wrong.
I noticed that most are all of the front fan installations done in here don't draw 100% outside air like shown in the post I made. I can put a light paper strip up to the 1/4" vertical vents up front and the fan will hold it there. That fan and a bios update totally knocked out my top fan jet blasting off problem. If you don't block off all venting around that fan air will make a U-turn from inside the case and you will just be blowing hot air around.
DELL-Chris M
Community Manager
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September 24th, 2018 12:00
PaulvD,
For my XPS 8930 notes, can you capture a screenshot of SpeedFan showing all of the fans? Like I did above? I used the Snipping Tool in Windows 10.
546insp
732 Posts
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September 25th, 2018 07:00
Bios 1.0.17 is the new one, try that.