Can I knock off the fan

jimi_t · 27-09-2006 12:31pm #1

I have a Fujitsu Amildo D7830 - the fan keeps going off in the library every 2 minutes, seems to be coming from the top left; processor exhaust or something. It's really annoying for me and as this is the only place in UCD with tables and powerpoints I'd rather not annoy the patrons - Its on mains power and is not being used for anything remotely processor intensive.

Any thoughts?

Cuddlesworth · 27-09-2006 12:47pm

Yeah, they go off for a reason. Feel free to turn them off and find out what that reason is.

aidan_walsh · 27-09-2006 12:49pm

Only if you don't mind transforming your laptop into an awkward tray.

jimi_t · 27-09-2006 1:32pm

krazy_8s wrote:

Yeah, they go off for a reason. Feel free to turn them off and find out what that reason is.

Blah - Tis crazily annoying, is there anyway I can underclock it? It's a PIV 2.6ghz, absolute overkill for browsing and typing. I know that it's going off for a (good) reason, I just need some way to render it unneccesary for it to go off at all rather than disable it entirely

Ruu_Old · 27-09-2006 1:36pm

If you attempt to underclock it (if there is such a thing), then the processor won't get the voltage it needs and you'll end up in all sorts of trouble.

dr.bollocko · 27-09-2006 2:06pm

http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php
There are a few freeware programs that allow you to funk a bit with your laptops fans, see maybe if you can balance your rig a bit better.

arseagon · 27-09-2006 2:13pm

You could also try tweaking the power management options on the control panel. setting it to Max Battery slows the PC right down and in my experience on a toshiba, the fan doesn't go off half as much. It won't stop it completely but the system remains a bit cooler.

daywalker · 27-09-2006 2:29pm

Here is a program that i use on my laptop it turns down the processor speed, similar to windows power management but better implemented, which in turn means the cooling fan does not turn on a lot

http://www.diefer.de/speedswitchxp/

HelterSkelter · 27-09-2006 3:03pm

Ruu wrote:

If you attempt to underclock it (if there is such a thing), then the processor won't get the voltage it needs and you'll end up in all sorts of trouble.

How is that true? You would only be decreasing the clock speed, it has nothing to do with voltage.

astrofool · 27-09-2006 3:14pm

have you got speedstep enabled in the bios? Also try installing the Intel mobo/cpu drivers as sometimes this can enable power saving features. The other suggestion is as above, to set the machine as if running off battery using min power levels all the time, even though plugged into the wall.

And besides, if the UCD library is as I remember it, there's enough gobsh*tes in there making noise already.

el Bastardo · 27-09-2006 3:48pm

You shouldn't need to undervolt or underclock a laptop. The mobile processors - I'm presuming it's a P4M 2.6 - are engineered to be cooler. As was said, check for speedstep in bios and that the correct driver is installed for the OS to use it.

Ruu_Old · 27-09-2006 4:47pm

HelterSkelter wrote:

How is that true? You would only be decreasing the clock speed, it has nothing to do with voltage.

I was talking about the speed of the computer, it'll be slower obviously.

jimi_t · 27-09-2006 6:25pm

el Bastardo wrote:

You shouldn't need to undervolt or underclock a laptop. The mobile processors - I'm presuming it's a P4M 2.6 - are engineered to be cooler. As was said, check for speedstep in bios and that the correct driver is installed for the OS to use it.

Therein lies the problem, it's a straight up 2.66ghz Northwood

I'll try speedstep and I'll try fiddling around with those programs and see if I get any success. Otherwise I'll just sell my Desktop altogether, leave the Fujitsu as a replacement (it's bloody heavy anyways) and keep my Compaq Armada for college.

el Bastardo · 27-09-2006 7:09pm

You can always try to lower the clock speed and/or undervolt it as a last ditch. I've had no problems on my Northwood 3 Ghz in a desktop (it's made it much cooler/quieter albeit at the expense of performance) but be warned: Some say that undervolting will wreck your processor in the long term.

Btw, just read that the P4M is a Northwood core.

Lump · 27-09-2006 11:59pm

Just open the case and cut the wires to the fan.... top done.

Stephen · 28-09-2006 8:54am

and laptop fried.

Lump · 28-09-2006 12:18pm

Really!!!!! ONE ONE ONE

DemonOfTheFall · 28-09-2006 1:32pm

Ruu wrote:

If you attempt to underclock it (if there is such a thing), then the processor won't get the voltage it needs and you'll end up in all sorts of trouble.

This is just plain wrong.

Think about it, the higher the clockspeed the more voltage you require for stability.

Imagine turning down the clockspeed, you now have the same voltage as before except now you have a lower clockspeed. Therefore the processor will have plenty of voltage to spare and stay stable.

If you turned down the clockspeed and turned down the voltage it is possible that the chip would become unstable, but that's different.

http://cpu.rightmark.org/products/rmclock.shtml is a great utility for turning down clocks on A64s. dunno about pentium 4s tho.

Capt'n Midnight · 28-09-2006 9:19pm

use a vacuum cleaner to clean the fan in case it's dusty
also make sure there is an air gap under the laptop - if it don't have enough passive airflow the fan will most definitley kick in

TerrorFirmer · 28-09-2006 10:16pm

el Bastardo wrote:

You shouldn't need to undervolt or underclock a laptop. The mobile processors - I'm presuming it's a P4M 2.6 - are engineered to be cooler. As was said, check for speedstep in bios and that the correct driver is installed for the OS to use it.

Theres no such thing as a Pentium M 2.6. Its a full desktop chip and as such gets extremely hot - the cooling is need badly!

Stephen · 28-09-2006 10:36pm

Its a P4M, which is pretty much a desktop CPU that supports SpeedStep.

Duffman · 29-09-2006 3:54am

If it's a Pentium 4 you really need the cooling.

If the fan is ridiculously loud you could buy one of those USB-powered laptop cooling pads with quieter fans. Would be a pain in the ass to carry around though.

My Pentium M on the other hand runs at 30C in the library with passive cooling

Mutant_Fruit · 29-09-2006 9:16am

Its a P4M, which is pretty much a desktop CPU that supports SpeedStep.

Nope, it's not. It's a bog standard desktop P4. Hence it chews power and runs hot. Unfortunately P4's don't support powerstep/speedstep or any of those nifty power saving and underclocking features that PM chips support, so you're SOL i'm afraid.

Friend of mine also has a P4 based laptop and she has the exact same problems. I've tried doing what you're trying now, but it didn't help.

EDIT: There's a world of difference between a P4 and PM. One is based on the Netburst architecture, one is based on the P3

EDIT2: Fixed typo, wrote P4M not PM

Stephen · 29-09-2006 12:36pm

I thought a P4M, as opposed to Pentium-M, was pretty much the same as a desktop P4 Northwood, just with support for speedstep and possibly lower power consumption?

astrofool · 29-09-2006 12:43pm

Mutant Fruit is indeed completely and utterly wrong and can be safely ignored.

All P4 support thermal throttling to a degree anyway. Before the P-M (P-Pro arch.) came out, the P4-M(netburst) was what Dell (and all Intel partners) was selling, and it went all the way to 3.06Ghz, it was hot, but it did support throttling, though not to the same degree as the P-M.

Mutant_Fruit · 29-09-2006 2:36pm

astrofool wrote:

All P4 support thermal throttling to a degree anyway.

Isn't that the "oh my god i'm running at 80C i better slow down" kind of thermal throttling as opposed to the full blown control that you have over PM's? I didn't believe there was *any* manual control on P4 chips.

Can I knock off the fan

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