Asus W2V - Fan issue?

Hi,

it's just a week ago since ireceived my new laptop, a Asus W2V bought in Spain (where I live). And... I have to say that I'm f*****g impressed with its quality, the screen is awsome and the laptop quality too.
I haven't experienced any issues with the sound... I think it's great, though the headphones supplied are crap, so I'm using my 50 € headphones and I have no complaints about the sound.
But there's something it's killin' me... the CPU fan... I don't know if it's just me or what but don't understand why the fan keeps running all the time. Even when I'm with notepad or browsing the Internet or just doing nothing...
With my old laptop, that I'm still using because I'm still trasnferring all my files..., though the fans where loder than W2V they didn't keep running all the time. If I was just typing something or browsing the internet the fan were off, sometimes they turned on to cool the CPU, but just a half of a minute and then silence again Ok, if I started playing BF2 the fans turned on too but that is obvious. But W2V fan is always turned on and I don't understand why since Intel Centrino has it's own technology to reduce heat (reducing speed and voltage).
I have asked ASUS about this and if they are planning to release a BIOS update that, at least, have some kind of control on this because Centrino Hardware Control cannot control the fan and SpeedFan neither (though a W2V user have asked the developer of this project support for W2V)
That's all

 

Hi!
I'm spanish like you and I'm thinking to purchase this notebook. Where do you buy it? What configuration? The Digital TV and Wi-fi work correctly? And the speakers?

Thanks!!!!!!

 

I find that... if ASUS notebooks have just ONE problem, it'll be something associated with the fan(s).

More than likely though, ASUS does know about it... and will release a future BIOS update which will AT LEAST partially fix it... if not completely fix it.

I wouldn't worry about it if I were you... just be patient and admire your W2v some more

:asus:

 

Asus doesn't have a fan problem........ I think the W2 would also be the least of the ones that people would say that about though due to the larger fan and lower rpms.... But regardless it's a matter of balance.... the systems create heat and you've got to get rid of it...... if you want to keep something with a lot of power really cool, you need the fan to push more CFM and that means more fan movement and therefore more "noise"......... but if you go too far to the other end you contain too much heat and that's not good for performance.....

 

ASUS has had a few fan problems over the past little while...
the M5 series... the M6... and the A2D? I'm sure there were a couple of others...

They weren't too serious by any means, but they were "querks" nonetheless

 

Never used, built or would sell an A2d ---- but I believe that was a P4 system, correct? ... if so, I'm not even going there.. those get hot...

But agian... I said fan "problems"... not things that could be better or adjusted with a bios.... the m5 (not again), but a handful of people thought it ran too much.... agian we're talking about a balancing act, not life or death or a lemon of a design...... same goes for the M6, although that was never really complained about, but rather a different thermal policy was written .... some like one, some like the other..... I'm just saying that Asus doesn't make a pile of junk and the system isn't going to burn up or make you go crazy when it comes to their thermal policies.... but they've gt to choose what they see fit..... obviously they change them in certain cases...

 

I hope they release a BIOS with some kind of customisation screen for this as it's quite stupid that the fans are turned on when CPU load is less than 5% and my hand is hotter than the laptop...
Anyway, I'm not asking them to give me the chance to turn off the fans because then everybody would turn off the fans and there will be a lot of dead W2V's but I think as I explained in the e-mail that I sent them that if the temperature reaches some level then the fans turn on to cool it down and then when the CPU reaches another value fans turn off. That's what most laptops do. I know this model is quite powerful but when you're not doing anything the CPU lowers its own speed... (Intel's Centrino Speedstep Technology), so if the CPU lowers itself I don't get the point of having a CPU at 35 ºC instead of 40ºC or letting the CPU reach 40-45 ºC and when it reaches that temperature, cool it down.
However, fan noise is very very low... and this is something good.

@pucelano7: Hey, I'm from Valladolid too (I live quite close to Pza S. Juan). I bought the laptop (Pentium M 750, 1 Gb. DDR2, X700 128 DDR, 80 Gb., DVD-RW +DL, Intel 2915ABG, TV-Tuner Hybrid Analog/Digital) here: http://www.mcs-n.com, I haven't seen any other place in Spain, the laptop was expensive (2100 €) but I think it worths it and that on-line shop has very good prices and I doubt other shops could offer better prices. The wi-fi works very well, at least with my Linksys WRT54G (I had some issues with my old laptop and Intel 2200BG (2195ABG also had these issues as they use the same drivers) but they were driver related issues finally solved by Intel in the latest drivers, although a lot of people have been complaining.. search for a thread about this in this forum), I haven't had any problems, and TV-Tuner I haven't had the opportunity to test digital tuner because I don't have cable though in a few weeks I'll test it at a friend's home, I have tested the analog tuner (both home's terrestrial antenna and aerial supplied antenna and they work, but the signal that I get at home is bad because our aerial is a piece of **** and supplied antenna it's not a professional aerial antenna, but I know it works; so I think that it will work very well with a digital signal)

 

Thanks!
I live close to Pza. Circular(near you). I had searched a lot and I hadn't found any web with this laptop. But you've finished with my problem. I'll buy it the next week. I hope it's a wonderfull notebook.
I have this router too

 

Hello guys this is my first post in this forum. I'm very interested in acquire a W2V laptop but I've heard some problems related to the fans of this fabulous notebook. I'm quite finicky with the noise in the laptops so now I'm doubting to but or not. MrAnonym; u said the fan it´s not very loud, but is it enough to get u mad while u are writing in Word?

Thanks in advance mates!!

 

Apparently it's not noisy enough to get most people on this forum mad, but enough to drive me crazy. I would even go as far as to make the following preposterous claim: this Pentium M Sonoma 770 inside it runs as hot as Pentium 4. The fan stays permanently on at over 2500 RPMs, and even when CPU is idle, temp still hovers near 56C. I had a Pentium 4 notebook once (which I returned because of fan noise), and in idle mode temp would go up to 56C at which point the fan would turn on and cool it off to 46C, and then turn off.

So the problem I believe is two fold:
1) A processor that runs way too hot for a Centrino architecture
2) BIOS that spins the fan pretty much regardless of CPU temperature

People have blamed BIOS several times aready, but realistically, a BIOS option would be pretty much useless for a processor that runs this hot. It's already at 57C with the fan as it is - what, would you want it to go even higher? Unless you are ready to go for some serious underclocking and undervolting, a smarter BIOS would be no good for you.

And so I did go for some serious underclocking and undervolting - I ran this processor at 0.7V, 800Mhz. During idle CPU, temperature hovers near 43C, and yet the fan is still permanently on at the same speed. So claims against the unintelligent BIOS are indeed justified..

I guess the question you need to ask yourself is this: given they will eventually fix SpeedFan and make it work with W2V, how much underclocking will you be willing to endure for the sake of a silent notebook?

 

dorian, no, it isn't enough loud to get you mad, in fact I think it's pretty silent for a fan which is turned on all the time. So it won't make you crazy, but you'll notice the difference when you turn off the laptop
The problem is that fans get dirty, and when they get dirty... they get noisy And... in the end it doesn't matter wether you clean it or not, because dust it's inside the fan so you can't do a lot (just dropping some oil to make it smoother). Though I think this a nice fan so it will last a lot of time without having to "help" it.
Anyway, I think that BIOS option to control this could be useful; but it's more important that they modify the BIOS to stop the fan when CPU is enough cooled, and when it gets hotter again, then fan, turns on again.
It's not only the noise, I'm talking about fan durability... and... battery... there is a big amount of energy wasted if the fan is turned all the time.

 

Thanks for the answers. Really I appreciate it.