TM3002 deadsilent in idle mode?

I ordered the HP4200 2 weeks ago and noticed that the fan was ALWAYS ON! It was spinning very low but the sound was hearable and it distracted me constantly during surfing. It got so annoying I decided to send it back.

my question; Is the acer TM3002 dead-silent when it is in idle mode (like typing in word)? Or can you still hear a very soft whirring (I'm not sure if I use the right word, my native language is not english).

Thank's
ivan

 

I thought I mentioned it in the other thread. If you leave the CPU set to low or medium, the fan does not come on. Ever. Without the fan on, the laptop is silent. With the cpu set to low, I've had word, excel, powerpoint, firefox, my vpn software, remote desktop, the gimp and other apps open at the same time. The CPU does not speed up. The fan does not come on.

 

Thank's cuoog. I've read all the threads but it wasn't clear to me. Now it is.

 

Quick question, possibly answered elsewhere (i apologize)--

How easy is it to change the CPU mode speed? Is it a button on the case, built-in software, or third-party software?

 

On my 5003 WMLi I go to control panel/power options/power schemes and select Always On to give me full power all the time (fan comes on often). If Im doing light apps. I select Laptop which scales me back to 800 Mhz (no fan). Im still playing with this.

 

Well, Acer lappies comes with a bundled software called ePower Management, in which it is rather simple to adjust cpu speeds, lcd screen contrast etc. However, if you want the speedstep tech to work properly on you PM7X0 machine, you're much better off with a decent third-party tool like RM Clock, which lets you adjust not only clock speed, but also cpu voltage and auto-throttling between different cpu speeds - performance on demand. My Acer 3222 WXMI (PM 740) with an ATi x700 is set on about 20 % lower voltage than standard, and in 'idle' mode it throttles between 570 - 1000 MHz. Whenever I stress it it automatically boosts up to 1730 Mhz. The ATi card is also underclocked when not in 3D mode. The underclocking of GPU/CPU and undervolting allows me to lower the temp considerably. The fan hardly comes on. Now I'm running Adobe Photoshop CS, 4 IE windows, Winamp and MS Word. It's dead silent. An hour ago I played Need for Speed Most Wanted, with all graphical details set on max, for about an hour. The fan was spinning at about 50 % of its top speed....

 

Well, I just got my Acer Travelmate 3002, and I'm setting it up, but the constant fan is annoying me. When I use the built in software and set the CPU to low, I can still hear it. Occasionally it will turn off, but if I do any tasks, it comes right back on.

I also downloaded RM Clock, and I think I set it to 'Performance on Demand', but again it didn't solve my ongoing fan. The temperature of the machine is fine otherwise. I also quit out of all the Acer powermanagement and used RM clock then, but still same thing.

Can anyone advise?

Thanks

 

Really...I thought this was a small-ie and a PM CPU...

What/where was the price point? It's gotta hold near here as they announced the 3010 a couple of days ago and it's a new tech 945GM chipset with a double core Intel, aka Core duo. Love that Ferrari look, though. I've searched an no one has it so as long as it's "vapor-ware" you've got the smallest/fastest in the ACER line.

 

Mathias; The real benefit from RM Clock is that it allows you to undervolt the CPU significantly, which should help you to keep the heat down without sacrificing performance or clock speed. My 3222WXMI is undervolted to run at around 30% lower voltages than factory settings, and since lower voltage means lower resistance --> less heat --> less fan noise

 

Maybe you could recommend what entries I should put in for voltage and clock speed? For Default clock speed, it only has one entry for throttling. Is this correct? Someone's earlier post mentioned that at lower clock speeds, the fan is completely off... I just haven't found this to be the case..

I'm using the defaults right now and actually it has remained fairly quiet except during program loads, but when I used the built-in software and set CPU to lowest setting, it didn't really spin down the fan very much, even while just idling.

I got the system for $1180 from Buy.com, although it can be had for cheaper from zipzoomfly-- the latter did not report a backorder until a week after I ordered it and paid for 2 day shipping, so I finally had to call and cancel because it wasn't showing up.

Another advantage- Buy lets me return this computer within 30 days if I do not like it, and I only pay the shipping cost to send it back.