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12 Posts
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30089
July 25th, 2018 08:00
Precision 3530 fan control
Hello all,
I've been using my new 6-core Precision 3530 for about a month now and I'm satisfied with it except one thing: the fan speed vs. processor load vs. temperature. I have HWiNFO64 running almost all the time and I've been watching it for a few weeks now so I'm pretty sure there is something wrong with the fan control. Switching the thermal setting in the thermal management tab in Dell Power Manager (DPM) does not solve all problems.
The hardware configuration: the laptop is connected to TB16 docking station, there is a Dell U2713HM monitor connected to the TB16's DP and USB ports and the USB keyboard and mouse are connected to the monitor's USB ports. The power supply is connected to the TB16 so the laptop is powered via its TB/USB-C connector. The networking is going via WiFi and there is no other hardware connected to the laptop.
The DPM thermal setting is initially on "Quiet".
So here's what happens (all the numbers are coming from HWiNFO64): the CPU package power stays around 3-5 Watt, the NVidia GPU is completely shut down, the CPU temperature stays around 45 degrees Celsius and the fan spins at about 3000-3700 rpm. This is not quiet by any means. If I disconnect the TB16 from the laptop, the CPU power drops by about 1-2 Watt but the fan speed does not change much. If I now switch to DPM "Optimized" setting then the fan speed drops to 2700 RPM. If I then switch it back to Quiet the fan slows down even further (below 2400 RPM) and now it becomes really quiet. The temperature does not change much, if at all. Quite often changing the thermal setting from Quiet to Optimized slows down the fan even when connected to the docking station, which does not make much sense to me. It almost looks like any change to the thermal setting kind of shakes the system and makes it "rethink" the fan speed, while, I believe, it should be a continuous process.
If I leave the machine completely idle for an extended period of time then the fan may eventually slow down but this usually takes hours and seems to happen only if the CPU temperature gets down to 40-something degrees.
So the first problem is that (even on the Quiet setting) the fan does not stay quiet (2200 RPM or lower) even if the machine is running idle and the CPU temperature is very much acceptable (45-50 degrees). And the second problem is that on the Optimized setting the fan does not slow down fast enough after the machine goes to idle (after running under load) and the CPU temperature falls to 45-50 degrees (which usually happens quite quickly).
I'd really would like to see this problem solved because the fan noise works on the nerves of everyone in the vicinity of the laptop. I'm not sure if the fan control is something that needs to be fixed in the BIOS or in the DPM software but I'd be willing to volunteer as a beta tester.
Kind regards and sorry for the long post,
Alexei
shrimphater
6 Posts
1
February 27th, 2019 04:00
Can confirm that the issue still persists. Have a new system Precision 3530 and a TB16 dock,latest firmwares and drivers (BIOS 1.6.1) and the system fan is always running even though the CPU is 50°C and less while the dock is connected.
The quiet mode in thermal manager makes the fan run only faster, the optimized mode make is slow a bit but its still noticeable. When using the system w/o the dock, the fan normalizes and is almost completely inaudible.
I have my doubts that this will be ever resolved. To be honest I am disappointed by this "Precision" system due to the issues it has and also by the build itself as it is a just Latitude clone.
Edit : I am convinced that this is a SW/FW issue. For example I did run a stress test on the CPU (was throttling) where the fan did run at full speed. After I stopped the test and the temperatures came down the fan was always spinning at 100%. I had to open power manager and just switch the profile to something else from optimized and then back again so the fan did come down a bit, but when the CPU was around 55°C the fan still running at 3000RPM+
Souperstar
10 Posts
0
March 5th, 2019 06:00
Thanks shrimphater, we appreciate your information and your edit. We still see the same issues as well. This seems odd to have not been fixed already.
shrimphater
6 Posts
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March 7th, 2019 07:00
New update : Today I updated the Dell Power Manager to 3.2.0 The Quiet Mode is now really the "quiet one" - when I change the mode to Optimized the fan runs faster and hence louder. The problem is that now when I switch between any of the mode combinations the fan is always running at around 2500-3000 RPM even when the temp is below 50°C ...
Edit : The only workaround that I have found for now is to use HWiNFO64 and setup a manual fan curve (Fan icon on the bottom left) as the constant fan noise even at low temps is my office environment is really annoying
Wouldn't recommend this system to others at this point.
Edit #2 : Today I restarted the PC and the profile behavior reverted back as before = the optimized profile makes the fan spin slower and the quiet profile faster ... I feel that every update or restart of the system is like a new advanture :)
metapolis
2 Posts
0
March 8th, 2019 09:00
i also upgraded to the latest bios (1.6.1) but still experiencing lots of fan noise. It's the worst when i plug in the AC and the battery is charging. i have no programs open and the fan goes nuts.
and fyi there's a lot more similar complaints on the twin latitude 5591 thread: https://www.dell.com/community/Latitude/New-Latitude-5491-High-Fan-on-AC-Power-Seems-clock-related/td-p/6102760/page/11
Best combo that's worked for me so far: Disable Speed Step in Bios, Optimized in Power Manager
up till now, latitudes and precisions have been reliable workhorses but i regret getting this machine. my take away is that it's poor cooling design. Very disappointed in Dell and surprised that they've managed to tarnish what is usually a solid lineup of business computers.
shrimphater
6 Posts
2
March 13th, 2019 08:00
I saw the latitude thread some time ago and applied the suggestions, the result (for me) is that the fan is a bit slower (usually doesn't go above 3300 RPM)
The issue itself lies in the attached docking or the power adapter. When attached - even when at full battery and the charging options set (dell power manager) to charge the battery only when bellow 90% the temperature of the CPU goes from around 45°C up to 55-60°C withing a minute and the fan spins up and is immediately audible. Even when the temp does goes down again after some time to around 45-50°C the fan still spins with the same speed and doesn't go down.
Things also tend to change depending on how the system is being used. In my case = detaching the dock,using sleep/wake up,restarts,shutdowns results in slight different behavior of the fan which is also annoying.
I spent more than enough time playing with this and my suggestion is to just stay away from this system and look for something else. The cooling solution is inadequate for the HW which can be used here and the strange fan behavior and noise even at low temps are just annoying.
GoslingP
2 Posts
1
March 15th, 2019 07:00
Hi,
I have the exact same experience. I've been using my 3530 for a week now and due to this it is a complete nightmare.
When is DELL going to do something about this?
shrimphater
6 Posts
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March 22nd, 2019 12:00
GoslingP
2 Posts
0
March 25th, 2019 02:00
Onyxgato
1 Message
0
March 25th, 2019 11:00
Just an FYI - we had a shipment of Dell Precision 3430's where a handful of them had an issue with the fan coming on full blast randomly throughout the day. I found the issue to be a green plastic cover on the underneath side of the heat sink. What you would need to do is remove the fan first (3 screws on this model) then unplug it from the MB and set aside. Next remove the 4 screws hold the heat sink on the processor, turn the heat sink over and see if there is plastic piece that has "Remove" stamped on it. This cover is apparently used to keep the heat sink compound soft or from getting on other things. Put everything back on in reverse order.
shrimphater
6 Posts
1
March 28th, 2019 02:00
Small update : Linux started to have the same type of behavior,just took it few days longer.
+++ Temperatures
CPU temp = 47 [°C]
Fan speed (fan1) = 4789 [/min]
And the fan just keeps on rolling,doesn't spin down till reboot or maybe after 15 min of constant fighter jet noise.
lanN87
1 Message
0
August 30th, 2019 03:00
Hi,
Prepare to order a 3530 so can any one update for the issue?
Many thanks
Souperstar
10 Posts
2
September 23rd, 2019 11:00
At some point, the latest BIOS updates seemed to have resolved the problem (there have been a few in recent months and I have not taken the time to track progress on this issue anymore). I'm not sure which one did it. I do still have Dell Command | Power Manager installed, with the Thermal Management > Quiet setting enabled.
Hellnola5
1 Message
1
June 30th, 2020 14:00
I've a 3541 through Corp COU earlier this year.
It's super noisy and quite disturb my family during late night working hours!
I upgraded the BIOS but as a COU, failure happened when install the Power Manager.
Sometimes even worse when you use a USB RF mouse/keyboard, those USB devices stop working properly or totally stop after a while.
GeoffGrnwd
1 Rookie
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1 Message
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2 Points
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June 14th, 2024 23:49
Noise is enough to totally distract, surely Dell can find a fix