Yoga Fan Noise

I have a new Thinkpad Yoga model 20CD-0038UK
Anytime I use any software/app which has sound capability the fan then goes to full blast and is very noisy.
for windows 8 apps the only way to stop the fan is to kill the app in task manager.
Playing an mp3 file the cpu is at less than 5% and the fan still goes flat out.
Stopping "windows audio device graph isolation" audiodg.exe also stops the fan noise (but then no sound from the laptop.
I have now tried a factory restore on the device but this has made no difference.
I understand this is not normal for the TPY which should manage to play music/video without fan cutting in.
Any advice?

That isn't my experience at all. I have the i7-4600U processsor and my fan rarely turns on. Those instances are usually processor intensive like Miracast (projecting to a HDTV) or hardware scans. Can you hit the CTRL-ALT-DEL to open task manager and find what application is using resources (e.g. memory and processor) to require the fan? Usually, that will help guide you down the right path to getting a solution.

Similar Messages

Grinding fan noise on both my g4 1117dx

I bought two g4 1117DX laptops in August.
First one and now both have fans that make a horrible rattling noise. I updated bios, but no change.
I have blown out the vents, no improvement.
Let's be clear, this is not the noise of a normal fan. They make one hell of a clacking noise. For instance Skyping is impossible now.
These laptops are virtually new and in pristine condition.
I suspect that the fans will need to be replaced. They are under warranty, but I don't want to lose the use of them by sending them away.
Is there any alternative to replacing the fans?
What fan should I use to replace them?
Given that both the OEM fans are faulty is there an alternate supplier?
Will HP send me two new fans for free?
Where are instructions on fan replacement?
Thanks
Chris Maitland Hoare

Hi Jay,
please see this blog about Yoga 13 fan hitting the metal housing...
http://uselesspuzzles.blogspot.com/2012/11/how-to-fix-lenovo-yoga-fan-noise.html
maybe best to consult Lenovo Tech Support about a possible fan replacement...
http://support.lenovo.com/de_DE/feedback/detail.page?LegacyDocID=MIGR-76613
Zehn

Problems with new Yoga 2 Pro (battery, fan noise, yellow, screen orientation, on-screen keyboard)

I purchased the Yoga Pro 2 on Thursday October 17. I love the computer for so many reasons, (especially since it replaces my 4 year old Compaq that was 6.5lbs!) however, I am also having a few issues with it.
It is the i7/8GB/256GB model from BestBuy. I am experiencing the same yellow issue as is mentioned by many on here. I didn't realize it, though, until reading these forums and then comparing to my old computer and my ipad and iPhone. A little disappointed, though it looks like Lenovo may be working on a solution.
But the real reason I originally came to look at this forum is because of 2 things: my fan and battery.
The fan (on the right side of the keyboard) is always on! I didn't expect this, and am wondering if mine is a lemon or if others are noticing the same thing. It's pretty noticeable, especially in a quiet room. I was showing off my new computer to a friend and the very first thing she said was that it was loud! She was using a MacBook pro, which wasn't making any noise at all.
The second thing is the battery... I am attaching 4 photos all taken within a few minutes of each other. If you cant see them, they are all of the battery meter on my screen. I am listing the time of day (to show how much time passed), percent remaining, and time remaining:
10:04 (88%) 306 hr 15 min
10:05 (88%) 8 hr 48 min
10:09 (86%) 4 hr 54 min
10:29 (81%) 5 hr 12 min
I feel like my computer just cant make up its mind!!
Another issue I had... I turned on my computer to show it to a friend (same friend who said it was noisy) and the screen image wouldn't flip when in any of the modes. This means I showed her the stand mode with an upside down image. Even in tablet mode I couldn't get it to flip. I turned the computer off and then on again, and luckily it decided to work, but it was frustrating, and I hope it's not something that becomes an issue.
Also, when I have the computer in tablet mode, the keyboard automatically pops up when I click somewhere to type... but this doesn't happen in stand mode or tent mode. Is this normal? I would have thought that the keyboard would appear in any of those modes, since the real keyboard is not accessible in any of them. And of course now that I am testing it out while writing this, none of the modes (including tablet) is having the keyboard come on screen. Of course, I know I can always choose the icon on the task bar to bring up the keyboard, but it would be nice if the computer did it automatically since it knows there is no other keyboard accessible in those modes. Is this an issue anybody else has had?
I really do enjoy using this computer, but some of these issues really need to get worked out if I am going to keep it. I'd love to hear if anyone is experiencing anything similar, and if there are any good fixes!

I just got a Lemontine Yoga 2 Pro i5/8GB/256GB from lenovo.com and the silver one from BestBuy in the same configuraiton. The silver one has no issues except for the crazy number of hours remaining on the battery which is fine, doesn't bother me. The fan noise is very quiet, and you can only hear it if you put your ear up to the vents in a quiet room.
Now the Clementine one...It was heating up pretty good. I put my ear to it on many occasions and can hear nothing at all, the fan is either missing LOL or doesn't work. I had an issue where I left the thing on for 4 hours, but sleep is configured after 5 hours. When I tried to use it, it showed me the screen brielfy, then blank. Tried hard reset, called Support, nothing. Support says its dead. Ok, an hour later, it turned on. I'm guessing it was too hot and was in some mode to protect itself, like a smartphone that is left out in the sun for some time, it won't power on till its cooled down.
I'm still in process of trying to get a hold of Lenovo to swap it, but since they no longer sell this configuration, I doubt they'll be able to get me a new one.
The silver one from BestBuy us solid though, love it, best in class in my opinion...actually got it from Future Shop sorry...from Canada, but they're essentially the same store.

Thinkpad Yoga 12 20CD extreme fan noise

Hi,
Last week, I had my Thinkpad Yoga 12 serviced, as it didn't boot anymore. The whole interior got replaced. Since then, the fan noise is really unbearable. It was the same when I initially bought the machine, but then, a BIOS update (don't know which anymore) fixed it. It's a loud high-pitch noise, like a whissle.
I need urgent help, my collegues are complaining of the noise.
Best regards,
Jeroen

paraloid wrote:
Well here I am on the new thread as well - and like heck the issue was resolved on the old thread. As mentioned before by myself and others on the other thread, I would update the BIOS, the fan would work for a while, then it would stop again until I updated the BIOS yet again.HOWEVER, thinking on this, and a variety of other problems I've been having with the TP Yoga (a whole lot - such buggy software), I remembered from my T61 days that the Lenovo System Update software is pretty hit and miss with finding updates. So I went to the Lenovo downloads page for the TP Yoga and indeed found a lot of software not passed onto me by the System Update.Amongst these was (TA-DA !) a utility "Lenovo Fan Test for Windows". I thought it would be useful to install in any case to test if the fan was operating properly (it was not part of the standard suite of diagnostic tools provided on my computer).Anyway since I installed it my fan has worked !!! - but only when my computer is plugged in, though this I believe is because I am using Lenovo Power Optimized (Lenovo Power Manager was another software on the site not provided to me via System Update) which I believe relies on passive cooling (throttling back processor) when only battery power is available. But now TpFan works all the time, though only in smart mode, and when I plug in the power to stream a video the computer doesn't reach boiling point and then shut down.Interesting. My fan diagnostic comes up as unavailable...

Yoga Pro 2 Fan noise tweak fix?

Anyone we can tweak the EC for yoga pro 2 like was done for the yoga 13
http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/Idea-Windows-based-Tablets-and/Yoga-13-Fan-Noise/td-p/902693/page/84

The MBA (at least my old 2010 model (which was a total lemon)) definitely has a substantial fan which kicks in under load (gaming etc.). You don't see vents because they just use the crack along the hinge line to get the air in and out. Yes, this means there's less exposed vent area but you still have to worry about blocking it say you were using it on top of a blanket or something.
Also if your MBA ingests, say, enough cat hair to block the fan intake, then good luck getting at it to clean it out. I had an old Dell gaming laptop that became unusable until I opened it up and pulled the 1/8" mat of cat fur off the face of the heat sinks.
Over time the inside of your laptop can start to look like that furnace filter you haven't goten around to changing in a year or two, depending on how the airflow goes. Usually the air gets pulled through a heat sink and the outer face of the fins can collect stuff.
Someday the power dissipation may be such that we can have completely sealed dust-proof machines, but until then environmental concerns over time are still a big pain.
Z.

Thinkpad T60 fan noise

Hello
I own a Lenovo Thinkpad T60 laptop. Lately fan of my laptop started making a whirling sound. Its been only 2 years since i have purchased the laptop and now i am running with this horrible fan noise.
I want to replace the fan with a new one. So i have checked the hardware manual of Lenovo and found out that at some point i have to apply thermal great at a location of fan assembly at the time of installation.
What thermal grease i have to use for this. If i buy the fan assembly at Lenovo, will they send me the thermal grease also.
Also do i need to buy the same fan model as the existing one... If it so, where can i find the fan model in my system..
Your responses are greatly appreciated.....

Hello,
the simpliest method is to use your 3years warranty and send it to depot.
The other way is to do a parts look-up on Lenovo support page, see link on top of this page.
Then your get the FRU number, search for it at Google, also for thermal grease like Arctic Silver.
The fan isn´t very expensive may be 30$ and it´s not difficult to deploy it. But you will loose warranty!!
Regards
Andreas
Message Edited by Agotthelf on 10-02-2008 09:59 AM
Follow @LenovoForums on Twitter! Try the forum search, before first posting: Forum Search Option
Please insert your type, model (not S/N) number and used OS in your posts.
I´m a volunteer here using New X1 Carbon, ThinkPad Yoga, Yoga 11s, Yoga 13, T430s,T510, X220t, IdeaCentre B540.
TIP: If your computer runs satisfactorily now, it may not be necessary to update the system.
English Community Deutsche Community Comunidad en Español

G580 loud fan noise

Well a lenovo, used for a year and a buzzing loud crackling fan noise problem... Aren't we surprised!!!
Useless to ask for a BIOS update for a essential product, they didn't care to give one for a thinkpad.
Here's the problem though...
The laptop makes a buzzing fan noise. That is not a fan running at full speed. This noise is more like a buzz of a large fluoroscent tube. And will stop, well, if you tap it, knock it, or use your acquired accupressure massage tricks for the revered Lenovo products. Problem is it will reappear after a few minutes or seconds depending on your luck.
Lenovo don't seem to provide any off shelf fans at least in India for the product. Even the cpu temp seem to be rising. It has touched 70C for i53210m.(room temp at 26C, load 100% for arnd 30 sec, avg load 6%)
My question is with the temperature on the higher side, and the fact that I cannot feel much air from the fan, how do I know the gurgarating buzzing loud fan is actually working or needs to be changed?

Hi pkj5ue,
You can get access to the fan by removing the bottom cover and taking the 3 screws out and removing the keyboard. The fan will be visible at the top left. Blowing come compressed air in through the vent and vacuuming out through the fan should suffice for a simple cleaning.
Here's videos showing disassembly of the various components.
If you need to replace the fan or reapply the thermal paste, yes, you will have to disassemble the laptop.
Regards,
Dave
T430u, x301, x200T, x61T, x61, x32, x41T, x40, U160, ThinkPad Tablet 1838-22R, Z500 touch, Yoga Tab 2 Windows 8.1, Yoga Tablet 3 Pro
Did someone help you today? Press the star on the left to thank them with a Kudo!
If you find a post helpful and it answers your question, please mark it as an "Accepted Solution"!
If someone helped you today, pay it forward. Help Someone Else!
English Community Deutsche Community Comunidad en Español Русскоязычное Сообщество

X61s fan noise

Hello,
I have newly aquired a Thinkpad x61s and Im wondering what is normal and what is not in these computers, this question concerns the fan noise. In my opinion its on the whiny side but I would like someone with experience to listen to it and tell me what they think.
Heres the link to it: http://rapidshare.de/files/40904318/x61sfan.wav.html . Sorry for the one minute wait, but Rapidshare is the easiest way to share files like this.
(Fan is also running almost constantly, but from what I've understood this is normal?)
An opinion or two would be greatly appreciated!

Hello Warner,
please check this page out.
You´ll find plenty of tools.
Follow @LenovoForums on Twitter! Try the forum search, before first posting: Forum Search Option
Please insert your type, model (not S/N) number and used OS in your posts.
I´m a volunteer here using New X1 Carbon, ThinkPad Yoga, Yoga 11s, Yoga 13, T430s,T510, X220t, IdeaCentre B540.
TIP: If your computer runs satisfactorily now, it may not be necessary to update the system.
English Community Deutsche Community Comunidad en Español

Thinkpad Yoga - fan sounds like a plane

In tablet mode (and mostly when the tablet is horizontal) then the fan (I suppose it is the fan) makes some horrible noise. I can't work with it at work in this mode as my colleagues look at me weirdly. When I lift up the screen a bit, then the fan stops in a struggling sound.
I did a video of the issue:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0Y0hEr3qKc
It's a shame because in latpop mode it doesn't make any sound, even thought the work I do in laptop mode is much more intensive. Would not be for the sound, this is the best laptop I ever had. The keyboard is great, the edges are not sharp, the screen is beautiful, the wacom pen works perfectly. An awesome computer.
Anyone one had this fan noise issue?

Hi,
Welcome to Lenovo Community Forums!
I’m sorry to hear that fan in your Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga is making noise.
If your laptop feels hot and shows any of the problems below, chances are its overheating or getting there:
Fan constantly running and making loud whirring noises
Computer struggling to perform basic tasks like opening a new browser window
Mysterious error messages popping up in random programs
Lines on your laptop screen (a sign your video card is overheating)
System freezing or the dreaded BSOD (blue screen of death)
The laptop abruptly shuts down on its own
First of all, update BIOS to the latest version.
Use dust remover spray to clean out of the laptop's vents. Dust can accumulate in and block the laptop's fan vents. Start using compatible cooling pads which will help in the flow of cool air into the underside vents of the laptop. Keep your working environment or computer room as comfortably cool as possible. Check if the fan is touching some wires during spinning to cause the noise.
Best Regards,
Mithun.
Did someone help you today? Press the star on the left to thank them with a Kudo!
If you find a post helpful and it answers your question, please mark it as an "Accepted Solution"! This will help the rest of the Community with similar issues identify the verified solution and benefit from it.
Follow @LenovoForums on Twitter!

HP TouchSmart 610-1280qd CTO Desktop PC Fan Noise

Hi,
Can you tell me if a loud CPU fan is normal for this computer?
The CPU fan is working very hard and the CPU and GPU are all ~38 degrees Celcius. The bios reports 1100 CPU Fan Speed and 3800 system fan speed. It sounds like my CPU fan is actually spnning faster than that.
Thanks
SOLVED: I spent some time with technical support and they had a model in the lab and confirmed that the loud fan noise is not by design. I returned my Touchsmart and received a new replacement and it is almost silent. I checked the BIOS and the fan speeds are reporting 1100 CPU Fan Speed and 2100 system fan speed with the same low temps above. I believe in my original machine they did not install fans right by swapping the plugins on the motherboard; I do not have solid evidence of this though.
I hope this help and just know that these machines should be very quiet most of the time other than some low level harddrive access noise.

Hello sal4303. I understand your screen is going blank.
Have you tried changing the settings for how long it takes your monitor to turn off? Here are the instructions.
Let me know if this has an effect on your issue.
Have a lovely afternoon!
Please click the white star under my name to give me Kudos as a way to say "Thanks!"
Click the "Accept as Solution" button if I resolve your issue.

Big fan noise problem: the rear fan won't shut off, the BIOS won't update, systemupdate locks up

I received new ThinkStaion (oh boy, lots of memory and CPU speed, yay!)
I unfortunately left the originally installed Vista OS on there. Very much regretting that as I believe it contributes to the following problems (BIOS).
So the original problem was that after just a month of using my new ThinkStation, the System Board died, and it had to be replaced. Honestly, all I did was choose the sleep or hibernate option in Vista to shut down. Afterwards,poof! didn't even get the proper Power lights on the system. I diagnosed this with the online docs and then sat for a few hours on our tech support line doing all the same things to re-diagnose it.
So after the replacement, the rear fan will not shut off. Jet engine noise all day. I went into the system settings and selected "Quiet" for the Fan settings but that did not help.
Research on this forum resulted in the possibility of a BIOS update fixing the problem. Comparison to my co-workers systems which arrived at the same time shows this BIOS is woefully out of date, so even if it does not fix the fan issue I want to update it. However, everything I've tried to do is failing for one reason or another.
(The fan issue does need resolution since in one week I will end up sharing an office (first time in many years, thanks IBM for nothing!) so since I don't want us both to have to wear noise cancelling headsets, I'd like to fix this without having to just pull the @#$@ power to the fan. Grrrr. )
I downloaded what I felt were the appropriate Lenovo apps to update both the BIOS and the serial number but none seem to work properly from the command line in Vista. One of the two (can't recall which) asks me to reboot and it never actually shuts down. Eternal "Shutting Down" message. Ga! The other throws some gosh awful
systemupdate le
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?sitestyle=lenovo&lndocid=MIGR-69701
eternal reboot
BIOSD attempt:" 2xjy26usa
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?sitestyle=lenovo&lndocid=MIGR-69701
error 1275 no admin priv - I AM the administrator account, there is no other acct to use!
Then I decided Vista might be the problem and found sites recommending flashing the BIOS from a bootable USB. So I started down that path and after burning the wrong version, finally geting the AIK Vista tools installed and to the point of trying to make the USB bootable, it won't allow me to put the OS boot on it. Ah, for the days when a simple "sys a:" took care of that.
So, after reformatting the USB and pounding my head in the wall, keyboard, etc. I am at my wit's end. What to do. I just want the fan noise to go away.
This does seem to duplicate other forum messages but I can't get anywhere on this. Help!
Solved!
Go to Solution.

FYI to all the helpful folks here (and any looking to shut their jet engine off as well): Flashing the BIOS did the trick.
First I had to find a website with DOS OS files and put those on the USB instead of Vista. Oldie but a goodie, but at least it booted! No other versions would.
I had been intending to use the WinPhlash utility that Lenovo supplied with the BIOS update but since I was booting from DOS that was useless. However, I found a DOS version of it and used that instead. Boom baby! Flashed and rebooted.
It did take two boots to get it back to normal (first one gave very alarming messages about no operating system being found but I think it was just a remnant of the reboot that was triggered from the DOS session). A second boot returned life to normal and blissful silence from the server. And I was finally able to get the model and serial number back in there to get rid of the bootup message it throws for that too.
Ahhhhhhh.
Thanks to all for the hints - I believe I had gotten the idea of flashing the BIOS to solve this from some other thread I found here. This is a very nice forum to have bookmarked.

HT3964 How do I stop my Macbook from overheating and making a fan noise?

My Macbook Pro 17 Inch keeps overheating and making a fan noise after I use it for... say... an hour.
I use Windows on my Macbook, is this related to my problem? If not, do I need to get my fan replaced?
It gets annoying whenever I play a game, and then suddenly my Mac goes to sleep for no reason (probably due to overheating).
The fan noise is kept to a minimal when I use a web browser, or listen to music, but it goes up when I start an application.

Since overheating is something the computer tries to prevent, it will shut down if the temps get too hot, thus your experience is not overheating.
You can have a look at Activity Monitor (Menu Bar > View > Show All Processes) and then sort by CPU to see what the culprit is during downloading.
A hot Mac is not that big of a problem, the fan takes care of the heat and if you do not mind the noise, then that is it.

Macbook pro- OSX lion 10.7.2 fan noise

I just bought a macbook pro laptop, upgraded it to the Lion version, it is now 10.7.2, with processor of 2.7 GHz intel core i7, memory of 8GB, 1333 MHz DDR3. Whenever I am on a program like imovie, safari, iphoto, charging my smartpen...etc.... the fans goes off like crazy. It lasts for a very long time. Sometimes the noise get so bad, it goes from loud to louder...... I don't know what the problem is.
I am a new mac user, I have no idea how to install, delete, clean softwares. Please help?? Thank You ...

Thanks a lot for replying, but what exactly does the istat widget program do?
Also, the fan noise seems like a normal noise every time I launch a program, but it's getting to the point where I am frustrated(annoyed) of the fan noise. I would've thought that upgrading to a Mac book would cause less fan noise because of it's high processor. Sometimes I feel like I should go back to a Dell or HP because of this problem, but at the same time, I love my laptop. ;)

Mac Pro 2x2,8 Ghz - Fan Noise - Please help evaluate

Hi Guys,
Since yesterday, I'm the proud owner of a Mac Pro 2x2,8 - Really happy - really nice machine.
However I'm slightly irritated by the posts I've read all over the internet, saying that you can't hear the fans of this machine at all in idle.
As you may have guessed, my box is not silent at all - it is quite quiet compared to other noisy PCs, yes, but no match for the previous iMac 24" which it replaced. You could hardly hear the iMac versus now the Mac Pro... you notice it's there... sitting under the desk - audible.
I realize that fan noise is highly subjective, and I'm using the Mac in a completely silent environment. No AC, no nothing. I've tried the following: removing the hard drive and silencing the graphics card... Upon bootup the Mac would quickly "turbo" it's fans and then go to it's normal state. The loudest fan (which is drowning out all other noise) is the one at the bottom front (CPU?).
Looking at istat, it's in normal parameters (500rpm or so) and doesn't move up or down...
Comparing it to other devices, it would sound like a PS3 when having played 1 hour (fan speed at level 2-3) or an (quiet) xbox in idle mode (dvd not spinning). I know... geeky comparisons
Now, again - not close to my interpretations of "whisper quiet" "can't hear it at all"... "only hear it when I put my ear to the grill" "sounds like it's cooled passively"
Which makes me think that either
a) people out there are deaf /
or
b) my Mac needs a closer look by a genius
Would really appreciate your opinions.
Thanks,
Tom

hey tom,
you might have the same problem i have. I have the 2.8 octo 2008 mac pro. and it used to be whisper quiet. I was amazed. But recently as in the last few weeks the graphics card fan has become audible. I put in an e sata adapter last week and while inside the mac pro I took a look at the fan to see if it was dusty or visibly distressed. Nope. Couldn't find anything wrong with it. So now i'm just dealing with the noise. Which is too bad cause I really really really don't like fan noise. But the air conditioners on most of the time now so I really can't complain about a little fan noise compared to the ac's grumbling.
but i'd like to know if others are having this problem
thanks,
jayson
www.oldchildprojects.com
Message was edited by: woodybrando

T530: Unbearable fan noise

Probably similar to this thread, the T530 I recently received has fan noise issues. I've invested considerable time in solving this, but found that a solution can be achieved with reasonable effort only by Lenovo:
Introduction:
Most ThinkPad models do not provide the operating system (or the user) the ability to set the fan speed directly (e.g. in rounds per minute) or in a fine-grained way (e.g. as a percentage of maximum speed). Instead, there are "fan speed levels", usually 9 levels (level 0 through level 7 as well as the level "disengaged"). For each level, a particular fan speed is defined and the Embedded Controller tries to achieve this particular fan speed by measuring the fan speed and adjusting the electrical properties of the fan (e.g. voltage or pulse length or something like this).
The fan noise problem:
Every time the internal temperature sensor reaches 50 °C or so, the fan starts with about 1900 rounds/minute and then quickly goes to about 2737 rounds/minute, where it is loud. Then it takes about 20 seconds, the temperature drops to 45 °C, then the fan is switched off. Then, after maybe other 30 seconds, the cycle repeats and the fan is switched on again, ...
There are major problems with this behaviour, because:
The fan is not running continously, but pulsating.
The fan is running at level 1 at a much higher speed than needed, creating unnecessary noise.
I have measured the individual fan speeds for individual fan speed levels:
The fan speeds at different levels are as follows:
Level 0: 0 rounds/minute
Level 1: 2737 rounds/minute
Level 2: 2944 rounds/minute
Level 3: 3033 rounds/minute
Level 4: 3074 rounds/minute
Level 5: 3597 rounds/minute
Level 6: 3773 rounds/minute
Level 7: 3773 rounds/minute
Level disengaged: 4754 rounds/minute
Solution draft:
A minimum solution to the problem above would be introducing another fan speed level between 0 rounds/minute and 2737 rounds/minute, with about 1900 rounds/minute. The reason this makes a difference is that there is a fundamental difference between laminar flow and turbulent flow, where the laminar flow makes nearly no noise and the turbulent flow makes a lot of noise. (Whether an airflow is laminar or turbulent is easiest influencable by affecting its speed.)
As you can see on the observed mapping from fan speed level to fan speed, level 6 and level 7 map to the same speed.
Thus, no particular fan speed would be lost if the mapping would be changed to the following:
Level 0: 0 rounds/minute
Level 1: 1900 rounds/minute
Level 2: 2737 rounds/minute
Level 3: 2944 rounds/minute
Level 4: 3033 rounds/minute
Level 5: 3074 rounds/minute
Level 6: 3597 rounds/minute
Level 7: 3773 rounds/minute
Level disengaged: 4754 rounds/minute
Solution implementation by user is impossible:
The problem, however, is that, while a user can decide which fan speed level should be active at a particular time, the user cannot decide which fan speed should actually be achieved for a particular level. Thus, the user can either decide to have 0 rounds/minute (which is not particularly sustainable, because the equipment becomes hotter and hotter) or to have 2737 rounds/minute (which is not particularly sustainable either, because both the user and other people arund the user's Lenovo computer are distracted from work).
The mapping from fan speed level to fan speed is actually stored in the Embedded Controller Programm ("ECP"). This Embedded Controller Programm is freely changeable or configurable by the user. Only Lenovo has the source code to this Embedded Controller Programm, and actually only Lenovo may know how to disassemble such a binary Embedded Controller Program in case the user wanted to change it. Thus, even advanced users cannot fix this problem by fixing it where it should be fixed.
It should be noted that, because fan speed is a long lasting issue at Lenovo, a third party has been even developed an after-market hardware solution: TPFC. However, this solution probably voids the warranty, and it work arounds the problem at the wrong place, and it costs time and money and effort to actually install it.
Only Lenovo can fix this problem:
How Lenovo should fix the problem
Thus, this is my call to Lenovo to fix this problem (at least for the T530 series, but probably W530, T430 are also affected). Ideally, the solution should be as follows:
Change the Embdedded Controller Program such that the mapping from fan speed level to fan speed is as follows:
Level 0: 0 rounds/minute (no noise level)
Level 1: 1500 rounds/minute (low noise level, sweet spot)
Level 2: 1700 rounds/minute (low noise level, sweet spot)
Level 3: 1900 rounds/minute (low noise level, sweet spot)
Level 4: 2100 rounds/minute (some noise level)
Level 5: 2600 rounds/minute (high noise level)
Level 6: 3100 rounds/minute (high noise level)
Level 7: 3773 rounds/minute (high noise level)
Level disengaged: 4754 rounds/minute (high noise level)
The reasons for this fan speed design are as follows:
The "sweet spot" where both the fan will run most of the time and where the user would not complain is between 1500 rounds/minute and 2100 rounds/minute. If the fan needs to be faster to keep the system cooled, then the user is likely to run the system with considerable load to CPU or GPU. In this case, there is no option to reduce the fan speed, but also in this case, the user probably accepts the fan noise for the computing power delivered.
The "sweet spot" in terms of CPU load is where the users do not accept fan noise while actually generating only minute CPU load (e.g. during web browsing or writing documents, where the CPU and the GPU is mostly idle). For many users, this is their normal working state (e.g. working in a quiet office, a very quiet library, a quiet bedroom, a quiet boardroom, ...). These scenarios are where Lenovo ThinkPads currently fail to deliver, unnecessarily
The "sweet spot" needs higher resolution (more fan levels allocated to these fan speeds), because slightly different load patterns may make it necessary to go from one level to the next higher level, but then the next level still should be bearable. Conversely, the higher levels (e.g. from 2600 rounds/minute on) do not need such a high resolution, because for most of the users, these levels will be only attained rarely anyway, and then they are accepting the noise.
Currently, there is no fan speed level at the sweet spot. With the proposed fix, there would be 3 fan speed levels at the sweet spot, with a neighbouring fan speed level (2100 rounds/minute) still being bearable when considering the performance delivered.
There is no fan speed level below 1500 rounds/minute. This is ok, because the fan is nearly inaudible at this speed anyway, and below a certain speed, there is a risk (depending on the fan) for the fan to actually not rotate at all (e.g. due to friction).
How much time and effort would Lenovo need for fixing the problem:
The Lenovo engineer responsible for the Embedded Controller Program of the T530 should need less than one day to change the source code of the Embedded Controller Program and to recompile it. The engineer may need one additional day to test this program (e.g. for different types of fans), and there may be a need for an additional day to release the update to the BIOS and ECP. All in all, Lenovo should not need more than 3 engineer-days (maybe worth 1800 USD) to fix the problem.
Why Lenovo should fix the problem:
Probably the whole current T series (T530,T520,T430,T420) as well as the current W series (W530,W520) fails the users in any of these scenarios (among others):
User working in a quiet office.
User working in a quiet library.
User working in a quiet bedroom.
User working in a quiet boardroom.
Thus, the Lenovo T series is currently not usable for many business users and almost all students. This problem should cost millions of USD of revenue, while fixing it would cost it maybe 1800 USD.
Incidental remark: Lenovo subsidiary can do better:
Lenovo has bought the majority of the Germany consumer electronics company Medion. Medion currently offers a consumer level notebook "E7222" for 499€ including German VAT. Despite of this low price, this notebook delivers very good fan control (that is: the notebook is nearly silent when the CPU is near-idle). (However, being consumer-grade, it does not offer a docking-station or a FullHD screen or WWAN.)
What will I personally do:
Some weeks ago, I had a powerful W530. I returned it due to fan noise for cash refund. Now I have the T530 (Serial number: R9RRF26) which has exactly the same problem. The deadline until I can legally request a cash refund runs until 2012-09-07. I hereby ask Lenovo:
To fix the problem and release an ECP or BIOS update until 2012-09-06 (it is doable, see above) or
if the problem cannot be fixed in this time (e.g. due to bureaucracy): provide me with a written statement (e.g. e-mail or forum post is sufficient) that my legal cash refund deadline (German law: §355 BGB) will be voluntarily extended by Lenovo (to some date Lenovo thinks it needs to fix the problem).
If none of the above happens, I will have to return the T530 as well. This is the 2nd chance Lenovo has gotten from me, there will be no 3rd chance. I would have to turn to Fujitsu (they do have business-class machines with big batteries, FullHD, WWAN) and they probably have better fan control.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

kaawee,
Thank you for the considerable thought that you put into your summation / analysis and proposal for a change.
I don't agree that you are wasting your time as we did make EC changes on the X220 and T420s to change fan behavior (along with several other systems). However, not all customers agree that the changes made the system behave the way they wanted and were completely satisfied (hence some of the dissenting opinions expressed here).
We are interested in feedback on T530, W530, T430 fan concerns and we are investigating. It is possible that a future change might be made, but I cannot say for certain that it will, nor can we commit to making this change within 4 days (2 now remaining) from your original posting.
Best regards,
Mark
ThinkPads: S30, T43, X60t, X1, W700ds, IdeaPad Y710, IdeaCentre: A300, IdeaPad K1
Mark Hopkins
Program Manager, Lenovo Social Media (Services)
twitter @lenovoforums
English Community Deutsche Community Comunidad en Español Русскоязычное Сообщество

Yoga Fan Noise

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for