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E5440 Fan Speed and Noise
Every other machine has a thread complaining about fan noise so I thought I'd create one for the E5440 too :emotion-1:
I've had my E5440 for about 3 months and generally happy with it. Most annoying aspect however is fan control and noise in casual use.
I've used some software to track temps and the fan speed. I can see by default the fan is completely off while temps rise over ~12 minutes. Then the fan cuts in at 3000rpm and drones on for ~12 minutes. All temperatures fall back to their baseline after ~6 minutes but the fan keeps going for no obvious reason.
Fan off:
Fan on:
Considering this machine has a 4th generation i5 rated at only 15W I didn't expect the fan to be running half the time at a minimum of 3000rpm! Especially when the CPU is idling.
My old 2008 HP machine has an old Core 2 Duo chip rated at a huge 65W and yet in casual use the fan spins constantly and quietly at ~1000rpm and rarely ramps up at all.
It seems that the calibration for casual use is off. The HP method of keeping the fan spinning slowly at all times is much more desirable than alternating between 12 minutes silence and 12 minutes of droning noise.
Note: I updated to the latest BIOS A07 last week with no notiable improvement in fan control. The BIOS seems to have no fan control options.
I was hoping to use SpeedFan software to control the fan myself but although it can monitor fan speed it can't gain control.
Jeroen1000
7 Posts
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October 21st, 2015 05:00
I can also attest that the fan is more active when the machine is on "AC" power. How is that ticket comming along? I'd consider opening one too and using your reference so that we can both "nag" at them:-)
CurbedLarry
130 Posts
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October 21st, 2015 06:00
Hi,
I don't have an open ticket right now. I tried to open one in January but didn't get very far, both email and phone support channels didn't want to accept BIOS issues. That time I raised it for the Power Manager utility not working.
I've been told to try opening a new one for the fan and asking for it to be escalated to the Resolution Experts Center (REC) but I'm very busy at the moment.
If you have time to raise it and reference this thread that would be great!
I estimate that raising the GPU temp threshold from 32C to 35C would reduce fan use by 90%.
Lawrence
CurbedLarry
130 Posts
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October 21st, 2015 07:00
I'd just be happy if the default BIOS fan control was better - that GPU threshold and loud default speed of 3,000rpm.
Ability to change thermal profiles from Windows is just a "nice to have" at this point!
Jeroen1000
7 Posts
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October 21st, 2015 07:00
Sure I'll give it a shot. Stunning how hard thermal management is these days. *most* (your mileage may vary" business Lenovo's fare better in the fan department.
I'll also ask about the non-working fan profiles concerning Power Manager. I'll report back with the ticket number
Jeroen1000
7 Posts
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October 21st, 2015 08:00
Support request 918841868 has been made (in Dutch - my native language). Let's see where this gets us.
I have pointed them directly to this thread because I will never be able to explain it with the low amount of text I was allowed to input. If required, I will also phone Dell Support to elaborate.
I hope you are willing to test their suggestions as my system has a live TPM and I can't just upgrade the bios without angering the IT departement at my Company:-).
Jeroen1000
7 Posts
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October 27th, 2015 04:00
This issue is now being escalated to REC. So it has at least been accepted.
I've asked to:
- fix Thermal management in BIOS
- Make Power Manager (the power profiles work)
- And if possible, allow users to set up the thermal management. Sort of like how you can do it with desktop computers (read: custom fan speed and temp. settings).
CurbedLarry
130 Posts
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October 27th, 2015 05:00
Thanks. Be sure to mention that in the default BIOS fan control the cut-off temperatures are set 2/3C too low.
At the weekend I've removed my motherboard to check the factory thermal compound applied (see below). You can see there is too much and air bubbles that can only increase temperatures.
I removed this mess and applied a small amount of Antec thermal grease and temperatures are now a little lower. But it still takes many minutes for the GPU to drop from 34C to 32C.
CurbedLarry
130 Posts
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November 19th, 2015 00:00
Hi Jeroen1000,
Is there any progress on your support case?
Thanks.
Jeroen1000
7 Posts
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December 1st, 2015 07:00
You would think so by now wouldn't you? I've sent Dell 3(!) reminders already but they are not really providing any feedback. I've now sent a forth expressing I'm kind of annoyed that this is taking so long.
CurbedLarry
130 Posts
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January 20th, 2016 09:00
New BIOS A14 released today. Haven't installed yet but no mention of power management:
http://www.dell.com/support/home/uk/en/ukdhs1/Drivers/DriversDetails?driverID=3TJK5&productCode=latitude-e5440-laptop
Still impossible to get anyone at Dell to acknowledge, let alone fix, broken power management on this device.
gliveron
3 Posts
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August 12th, 2017 10:00
Still no answer?
CurbedLarry
130 Posts
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August 15th, 2017 05:00
Sadly no resolution. The BIOS is now up to version A18 but fan control was never improved, I had to accept the fan will run continuously under even light CPU loads.
My solution was to blank off most of the lower fan intake and the centre third of the fan outlet. This reduces noise to a bearable level. Have to be careful not to subject it to high CPU loads though.
I'm also using a Toshiba Ultrabook of similar age/spec and while the fan isn't quiet it only runs 50% of the time. With my fan and loose battery problems Dell won't be getting any business from me in a long time!
gliveron
3 Posts
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September 3rd, 2017 12:00
Many thanks for taking the time to research this issue, certainly agree that I would have expected some sort of advice response from Dell. I upgraded my E5440 to an SSD several months ago and was hoping that this would have helped improve my overall situation, however so far status quo...I think!! Anyhow thanks again for your perseverance.