This post is more than 5 years old
29 Posts
6
218333
XPS 15-9560, Fan Always On and Always Loud
Hello,
I recently purchased a Dell XPS 15 9560 with 32 GB of ram and a 1 TB SSD. When I first powered it on and began to progress through the setup screen, the fan turned on. I hadn't even connected to the internet or opened any programs, yet the fan was still running at a noticeably audible and relatively frustrating level. The fan continued to run even after I finished the setup and left the computer idle.
When I connected to the internet and opened a few tabs of Chrome, the problem obviously became worse. I downloaded the recommended updates hoping the fan noise would be cured but it wasn't. I then exchanged the laptop for another of the same model and specs at the Microsoft Store, as a new laptop fresh out of the box shouldn't have such an issue. However, the same problem persisted. As I'm writing this, I have 5 tabs of Microsoft Edge along with 2 tabs of Google Chrome open, yet the fan is still working double time.
I know this can't be normal, especially since this is supposed to be a top of the line machine. My MacBook Pro of a similar price is currently running 50 tabs of Google Chrome, 40 tabs of Safari, and 10 other applications, yet is completely silent. I purchased the Dell XPS 15 because I read and was told it was the closest Windows compatible machine to a Mac in terms of power, reliability, and quality. However, the apparent discrepancy in performance is pretty egregious.
The other post on this topic came to the conclusion that all Dell XPS 15's have loud fans by Dell's design but that just can't be right. There's no way a machine this expensive should exude a loud fan with no applications open or resources being used. In addition, after doing a Google Search, I discovered that some people do have completely quiet machines.
For those that have the fan issue, have you been able to solve it? If so, how? For those that have completely quiet machines, where did you purchase them? Since I've already gone through multiple machines from the Microsoft Store with the same issue, could this be a result of purchasing from them?
Any help or insight as to why the fans of the Dell XPS 15 are so loud and information on how to solve the problem would be greatly appreciated.
nathald1
10 Posts
0
September 13th, 2018 05:00
Yes I have. Nothing has been changed.
AJRIver1
29 Posts
0
September 13th, 2018 05:00
Are you referring to the bios? Updating it had no affect on the fans. Neither did undervolting using Throttlestop. And the tech who was sent to do a thermal repasting exacerbated the problem, making the fans sound even worse. This problem wasn’t addressed with the 9570. It does the same exact thing. People must be ok with this because the Returns department at Dell claims the machine is rarely ever returned. But I find this hard to believe as I don’t understand how people can put up with such obnoxiously loud fans, especially in quiet environments. I’ve actually had people ask what was wrong with my computer, all while there’s is completely silent when handling similar loads. Yet Dell still stays this fan behavior is normal, which means the machine’s design is just tremendously flawed
nathald1
10 Posts
0
September 13th, 2018 09:00
As far as i understand XPS has three fan modes: 0, 2400 and 4800 rpm. When one uses it for light tasks document editing and browsing fan makes 2400 rpm, but it is still too loud for me. I would pay for highly adaptive fan control from 1 rpm to 5000 rpm and for some expensive high-end fan with some nano technologies. Macbook Pro 2013 with Windows 10 is way more quiet.
dracan
3 Posts
0
September 13th, 2018 10:00
Not sure to be honest - as I did a number of updates at the same time - eg. firmware, drivers, dock firmware. It was definitely noticeably louder (ie. very loud) when docked previously. Improved greatly for me once I updated everything. Unfortunately, a few weeks later - the CPU then died - so I'm waiting for a replacement, but that's another story! :(
seareggie206
1 Message
1
September 17th, 2018 08:00
Yes, this fan noise is way too loud and for no apparent reason. Has anyone found a fix for this. I just bought this laptop last week. Please help. I love the most of the other functionality of the computer. It is just this fan thing that is absolutely annoying.
AJRIver1
29 Posts
0
September 18th, 2018 21:00
I don't think there's a fix for it. You just have to be lucky enough to receive a unit that doesn't have fan issues. I haven't been.
DarraghC
1 Message
0
November 21st, 2018 16:00
I just went through a really annoying sign-up process for the sole purpose of telling you that you are the greatest living human. Laptop cool and happy now. Thank you.
evaxquhqis
1 Message
1
November 30th, 2018 07:00
The most reliable solution I've found to quiet the fan is to unplug from AC, suspend or hibernate the laptop, then plug the AC back in and finally 'resume'. If the laptop becomes unplugged and is plugged back in again, the fan will kick back on and you will have to repeat the suspend gimmick. It seems this issue is caused by a BIOS flaw that keeps the CPU in a higher package C state (PC3) than necessary when it detects the AC power. (I've been through each and every BIOS release to test this issue).
So, by 'sneaking' the power in while the laptop is suspended, I've been able to enjoy a CPU/package temperature over 45C without the fan staying on constantly and the package C state reaches the lowest-possible (PC8). The fan will run if the temperature is high, and will turn back off when the temperature drops.
Unfortunately, after suspend, the SMBIOS table becomes corrupt and I'm unable to adjust the thermal profile from 'quiet' to 'performance'. But at least the fan is off! Certainly can't be expected behavior for the little fans to run 100% duty-cycle when plugged in. Good thing is the warranty will be long-since-expired when the fans fail, so you'll be able to justify buying another laptop that doesn't have this issue.
Team Scream
1 Message
1
November 30th, 2018 23:00
Unbelievable that I am just now discovering this. I purchased my new XPS 15 on black Friday and just received it today, only to discover that that the thing sounds like a Lear jet on takeoff roll.....
I will not be keeping this laptop with this horrible and annoying fan noise. I work in the movie business and the sound guys are already sensitive enough to any kind of background noise....This will drive them up the wall.... and cause them to make me turn the laptop off while we are rolling...
Aint gonna happen....
DELL-Jesse L
Moderator
Moderator
•
16.6K Posts
0
December 3rd, 2018 05:00
Team Scream,
Click the links below for resolving fan noise.
How to Troubleshoot Fan Issues
Fan
beemike
1 Message
0
December 13th, 2018 22:00
go to > Control Panel\Hardware and Sound\Power Options\Edit Plan Settings then change advanced power settings and to Processor power management go to System cooling policy change them all to Passive.
George210
1 Message
0
January 1st, 2019 18:00
I think I know what the problem is. In my case the device starts to kick the fans when I plug in the AC and after a few minutes a little area left of the caps lock button starts to getting warm. And no matter what you are doing it seems that it reads the temperature of that area. As soon as I unplugged the AC and the area is getting cooler and cooler the fans slow down and after 5 minutes stops entirely. I think it's an easy fix with a bios update I do not know who it could be a Windows problem. That's all from me
Spaggio
4 Posts
1
February 13th, 2019 05:00
I changed the motherboard today.
All the bios and driver updates done.
Fan are running full speed when plugged AC, the only way is to change to setting to passive as already suggested. I cant understand why Dell would not release a bios update to fix this mess.
The official trouble shooting guide is ridiculous.
Very bad, Dell, very very bad
syntax9
3 Posts
0
February 24th, 2019 09:00
Dell will never release a fix.. They have turned into a horrible company which 5,000 dollar laptop is nothing but trash. I will never buy another dell
galki
1 Message
0
February 26th, 2019 21:00