Latitude E6400: anything to get this fan to shut off?

This fan noise (which ive been dealing with for two years now) is driving me crazy.

Ive had this thing replaced 3 or 4 times due to Throttling and Overheating; every time the unit ultimately gets back to a place where the fan stays on at high speed ALL DAY. The last Bios fixed it for a while, but its back to its old ways...

I have this thing docked-which seems to be the problem (as the unit steps down once its undocked).

Any suggestions?

 

I forget if you have already undervolted the CPU in order to minimise that source of heat. If not, follow the guide.

My only suggesting is that you try to figure out a way to use the computer without the dock. I think the fan rules take account of the reduced cooling by convection and radiation when a computer is closed (that would be an interesting test - is the higher fan speed triggered by being docked or being closed - what happens when the computer is docked but open).

I regret to report that the E6410 is no better in this respect and is possibly worse since one cannot undervolt the CPU. I have found that the sustained (hours) running of a single-threaded CPU-intensive program is sufficient to get the fan in a docked E6410 running on full speed.

John

 

John-

How safe is it to undervolt the CPU? (for someone who doesnt really know what they are doing)

With Throttlestop (whihc happens to work great) and now the need for undervolting, I dont think ive ever owned a computer that I needed to fiddle with so much just to get it to work normally.

And BTW-I used to average mid40's-mid50's temps, now-im usually in the high 60's low 70's.

There is NO DOUBT the machine runs hotter while docked.

 

Firstly, if the temperatures have noticeably increased then have you given the cooling system a good blast with a can of compressed air.

If you've managed to get ThrottleStop running then RMClock shouldn't be too much of a challenge. The risk is zero provided you do not drop the voltage too far. While I recommend that you first read the guide, my quick procedure (which I have used on every computer I have had for the past 5 years except the latest one) is:

1. Save and close any work in progress.
2. Install and run RMClock (note that there is a special signed 64 bit driver if you are running 64 bit Windows)
3. Run a program which fully loads the CPU (Prime 95 torture test, Orthos, ...)
3. Set the current profile in RMClock to Performance on Demand
4. Go to the Performance on Demand profile and make sure that Use P-state transitions and all the index values are enabled (you need only worry about the AC settings at this stage)
5. Go back to the main profiles page and make a note of the highest Index VID (probably around 1.25V)
6. Reduce the highest VID to 1.15V (a safe starting place in my experience) and write that on a piece of paper.
7. Wait 30 seconds and, if the computer has not hung or blue-screened then reduce the VID by a couple of steps (ie to 1.125V) and write down the voltage (you can also watch the temperature drop)
8. Repeat step 7 until the computer hangs or blue-screens. You then know the voltage at which the CPU becomes unstable.
9. Restart the computer, restart the CPU torture program, restart RMClock and set the highest VID to 2 steps above the voltage you reached in step 8 and leave the computer running overnight on full CPU load.
10. If the computer survives step 10 then set the maximum VID one step higher still as a further safety margin and save your settings. I use the auto-adjust intermediate VIDs option.

I have had the P8600 and SP9400 running stable at 1.05V maximum. Out of the box the SP9400 (in my E4300 has a maximum VID of 1.2375V so that's a useful reduction (power is proportional to voltage squared) and means that the computer can run a full load and not make a lot of noise.

Give undervolting a try.

John

 

I have read that if you can access a certain diagnostic mode (I forget the key combination, but John knows it) and disable BIOS fan control, i8kfangui will work on the E6400 and probably other machines of the same family, and you can set the fans to run when and how you want.

Haven't verified it myself, and it's probably not the safest solution, but it's a thought.

 

Thanks.

Where exactly do I fire the compressed air?

Do i need to open the back up or will firing it into one of the vents suffice?

 

I would remove the one piece base and then blast the grills on the heat sink (close to the edge of the computer). Also check if the fan is clean. If not, it may be best to try and brush any dirt off. You can also blow the air in from outside the exhaust to loosen any fluff but do it with the base removed so you can clear the muck away.

John

 

you have had the whole laptop replaced multiple times? And still the same issue?

 

The bane of my existence; nothing has changed.

The Latitude is flawed in two main areas: heat diddipation (or the lack thereof) and the throttling issue.

if I could go back in time and buy anything but a Dell, well-i would.

 

Throttling only happens if the laptop is unable to remove the heat the CPU/GPU are generating... So, I'd consider those the same problem.

What are you running that keeps your CPU maxed out for extended periods?

The Latitude's have some of the best cooling of any laptop out there. I manage 50+ of them in my day job and I've never seen one of them do what you are describing... My brother has an HP elitebook that he has to remove the keyboard on and point a fan at to keep it's temperatures in check when gaming. Even worse are the MacBooks....

If you are expecting to run your CPU at 100% and not have the fans also running at 100% your expectations need adjusted. That said, if you are running your CPU at 100% for extended periods of time, you should probably be using one of the Precision series machines. These are workstation grade machines and have even more robust cooling. My M4500 has no problems getting rid of the heat from a 45W CPU + 45W GPU...

EDIT: Looking thru your previous posts, it appears you have a P9600 with the Intel GPU... I'm suprised you can even get the the fans to come on full speed with that combo. Your CPU puts out 10W less heat than one of the T series CPU's available for that laptop, and you don't have the extra 12W of the Nvidia chip... An E6400 can handle almost twice the heat yours generates. If your getting this machine hot enough to throttle, the air coming out the side vent should be so hot it's uncomfortable to hold your hand in front of it, is that the case?