Dell XPS 13 9380 fan problems solved

My new XPS 13 9380 would very often have the fans blowing when plugged in, even though not doing anything too intensive.

>> Solved by removing  Killer wireless software and driver (version 12.0.0.825) and using the driver version automatically installed by Windows and updates (version 12.0.0.820 )

For the first few days I put it down to windows updates, AV heuristics, and other imaginary teething problems but then I got sick of it and started to investigate. The result is that I have now fixed the issue and the laptop has been joyfully quiet - I hope it stays that way.

I believe the fan was on because one CPU core was pinned at 100%

The culprit was 'system' which when right clicked and go to propertied reveals it as ntoskrnl.exe

I also noticed that while the fans were blowing, turning wireless on/off would stop the fans and reduce the cpu usage for a little bit but not permanently.

So putting 2 and 2 together I tried updating the Killer wireless drivers with both the Dell update utility and with the driver package from the Killer wireless site. Updating the driver to the latest version (12.0.0.825) seemed to quieten the fans for a few mins, but then they'd start up again. I also tried removing the killer control panel management software too bu that didn't work either.

In the end, I solved it by:

• Removing all Killer software (Add remove programs)
• Ran the Killer uninstaller utility from the website
• Uninstalling the killer wireless device (via Device Manager)
• Rebooting

My laptop reverted back to Killer Wireless driver provided by microsoft version 12.0.0.697 and was quiet!

A subsequent windows update for the WiFi card then brought it up to version 12.0.0.820 and so far has been quiet for 4 days plugged in, on battery, charging/not charging.

 

There's definitely something screwy with this Killer wireless. at this stage, I don't quite know if it's just a complete removal of the Killer bandwidth management crapware or the driver itself. But I'm not going to update to the latest driver version until I have a need for a hairdryer.