Help with M5200N's fan......

ok i know this is been a problem amoung the Asus M5200N user for a while now. Basically the fan sucks!!!! to me it never stops the CPU is always hot and i constantly get piss off at my laptop because of the fan(i work in a quiet environment and the laptop's fan noise makes me feel like im running a PC). and now i sorta have enough money to get a new laptop. I thought about selling this laptop(1.8 Dothan,756mb RAM, 7200rpm 60gb, wireless and all) i got it for $1750 and i honestly don't think with it's reputation i can sell for anything over $1000 which is a big lost for me because i only had it for less then 4 month. So im thinking about getting a new laptop. But before i do that i want to know is there solution to the fan's problem? and the heat problem on CPU(i get about average 54~60c even when im doing nothing) so anybody?? thanks alot

 

well like i mention in the post i sorta have some money right now. I have no solution on how to fix the fan problem. But as for the Asus laptop i can't return it either. I have my eyes on Fujitus S6231 or P7010, im not suggesting them to anybody but that's just what i have in mind that's all. Um..if i remember it correctly Dell has X300 and something 700 as well. I remember the X300 was pretty decent i think but it's a little too slow for my taste and no cd-rom with it. That's about all i can remember about the x300

 

I got the same problem!
I am waiting till TOMORROW - monday to speak with ASUS REPRESENTATIVE! But I don't think they will be able to help, it seems like it's just the way this laptop is designed. I am returning this machine as soon as I speak with ASUS.

Thinking of getting DELL X300 instead. What do you think?
Any other options?

 

well it i have s5 and very pleased with my device because it is very very silent, even if the fan is working. after midnight, i continue my work(browsing and text editing) and notebook still qualifies as silent compared to 0 noise coming outside.

maybe it is because you are using a speedy harddrive. my device is working around 50c and fan kicks in about 51-52

 

I have the same problem with my M5n. I've been asssured that it is *not* supposed to be that way and I'm working with the manufacture to fix it.

I do have a fast HD, but that is not it. My CPU is 29 C right now, CPU fan is 1000-1200 rpm. That should not be the case. In fact, I stuck the computer in the fridge and brought the CPU down to 70 *F* and all I got was 1000 rpm on the fan--it has never turned off, not once.

Overall the computer is great, but this fan...especially after hours in a quiet office, is quite grating. I'm going to re-install Windows again today to see if it helps. And yes, using the latest BIOS (212) and all the latest drivers too....

 

Follow Up:

It turned off!

Asus wasn't lying, the fan *does* turn off...at 20C (CPU) the fan, according to Asus Probe was "off". Of course as soon as it went to 21C it zoomed up to 1300rpm. So I disagree with the other thread on this issue where Asus says there is no switch basically...clealy there is something they could do in the BIOS, namely up the 20C threshold to something nearer 35C.

I'm not sure what to do now...does anyone have a M5n that is different from what I just mentioned above? The fan is loud, but only in my office which is extremly quiet. Most other environments all I notice is a very cool-to-the-touch laptop with fairly crappy battery life ;-) I do have the option of sending it back though...

 

So is that it? I mean, if the M5N has a frickin' fan problem then i'm not gonna buy this thing. What a shame because for the money, wow -- you get some serious bang for your buck.

Has everyone simply given up on getting the fan to behave normally? I mean, fan switching off at 20C!?!? WTF is that?? Shouldn't it be more like fan comes off at 50C? Obviously something is torqued here.

Any news on this front?

 

Basically, I don't know how hard you guys are trying to run these systems, but all of Asus' systems run the same way.

The fans aren't just on or off... they gradually go up and down and on and off as the situation calls for it. The faster your cpu, and the more your using it, the hotter the system is and the more it wants to cool it.

Your fan speed on the M5/S5 has almost nothing to do with your hard drive speed. Yes, the faster your hard drive the hotter it will run, but on the S5/M5 there is only one fan and it is concerned with cooling down the cpu. It is true though that the hotter your hard drive is running the more it's going to affect the ambient temp of the system, and thus kicking the fan's rpms up a little bit as a result. Under the same conditions, the temp of the room you're in is also playing a role and depending on if you're in a cool, warm or hot room is going to affect how much or how little you hear the fan.


Anyone who's going to say their ears are more sensitive than someone else's is probably going to be the same person who wants to use a 7200rpm hard drive and a 2.1ghz dothan in an M5 and then complain about the heat and battery life. So, if you fit the bill, it's not for you but at the same time you have to know that a 12" ultra portable isn't supposed to be a super computer. You can get that power, but you have to make compromises somewhere.

Just for the record, I've worked on, sold and owned every Asus notebook since 1999 and have demos are notebooks that aren't going to be released for another couple months. Every single one of them works the same way. Their fans have been "smart" since before you even found fans that scaled themselves in desktops. What you have to keep in mind is the overall temps you're reaching with a maxed out M5 would be the same you'd reach in an M6. However, the heatpipe and fan are much smaller. That just means they have to run faster and longer to transfer the same heat.

J

J

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Justin thanks for the input.

It sounds like what your saying is that their is no problem w/ the BIOS code that handles when the M5N fan comes on and off. And also that the fan is scaling RPM's correctly.

But from the posts i've read here and other places it seems like that may not be true. Shouldn't the fan come completely off ever? I think a # of people have said that they can leave their M5N sitting there doing nothing for 30 minutes, and the fan is still on.

Seems to me the fan should come completely off sometime -- not only when placed in a refridgerator!

w

 

Sorry.... but if the computer is still on and getting hot, the fan will run. It's my experience that it's going to run at low rpm's, or spirts of high rpms... I guess it may depends on if using asus probe or another fan controller. No matter what you do, the heatpipe in the M5/S5 is tiny...... super small.... the ULV S5ne's stayed cool enough when just sitting there to keep the fan off. It's really just a matter of heat. I can't tell you.. blah blah.. I promise you your fan will be off when you do this.. It would be stupid for me to tell you anything other than my own experiences. Because everything uses them differently, in different environments, with different specs and most importantly, everyone has different opinions on whats annoying and what isn't I guess.

We're a distributor for some german watercooling products (no, nothing for laptops yet) but I've got a highend workstation that I use at home and I've got it set up cooling with water. It's got one 120mm fan blowing over a radiator. It's loud compared to an M5's fan for instance... but it's 90% quieter than the system would be if it were running the 12+ high rpm fans that it should be. So, I guess it's really how you look at it.

J

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

As long as the cpu is creating heat that isn't being transfered from the heatpipe to the room fast enough, the fan is going to go on.

Asus doesn't suggest using more than a 1.8ghz in the M5/S5, however, I've had plenty of customers order them with a 2.0 or 2.1. Most people think Asus' call on that stems from the small standard battery, but really it's more of a heat issue.

People who max out these systems usually tend to understand the heat and battery life is compromised to have high end desktop performance that weighs about as must as a 5 subject 5 star notebook.

At the same time, note the number of people saying the fan is annoying and the number of people who say it's whisper quiet. The bottom line is, a 12" notebook isn't meant for that type of performance, even though it can be had. So, to put down the notebook that has everything you could want in an ultra portable for these reasons are trival. I've used a black S5n w/ a 1.6ghz banias on business trips since november of 03. I recently got my hands on some pearl M5 shells (don't ask for them, they were a gift from asus and we can't use them for anything but contests and personal use) and built up a 2.0ghz m5np w/ a 60gb/7200rpm drive. I get 45 minutes of battery life on the standard battery, but I live with it. I love to put the thing up against a 12" powerbook prove hands down nothing can come close to it. Even with the 3x battery, the M5 is still fractionally lighter than the 12" powerbook.. The apple is 4.6 pounds and the M5 with the 3x battery comes in at about 4.4 .... I can get about 2 hours and 30 minutes with my high end set up which is just about what the apple gets with a 4200rpm hard drive and 1.3ghz powerpc G4 cpu... If you compare the S5 standard configuration which comes close to what the 12" apple is, with the 3x battery you'd get almost 7 hours of battery life... Has anyone ever listen to how loud the powerbooks get?

J

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

PRO - i'm not quite follwing you man.

Whats the deal. Why is the fan cutoff at 20 degrees celsius for these laptops? Why are people putting their laptops in refridgerators just to see if its even possible to get the fan to stop spinning.

You're going off on a rant about how everyone wants everything under the sun and still in small package and people should expect this and .... i don't get it. Are there not other laptops that are in the 12 inch range with pentium-m's whose fan can turn off under normal usage (or no usage!).

Why don't these fans turn off? It doesn't make any sense. Not all these people threw 2.1 Ghz dothans into their motherboards!

Can somebody else post here? Is this all BS? Do a lot of you have no problems with the fans on your M5N and some of you are just anal losers who want it all?? And of course, please post the Ghz of the chip if you reply to this w/ your experiences.

thanks!
w

 

W,

Let me rephrase with something you might understand. The 12" platform isn't designed for hardcore users. If it were, the unit would be bigger to include a better thermal solution... get it?

I'm not telling anyone to settle for anything, but if you want to use the computer for more than it's meant for, you have to take the good with the bad.

Anyone who wants to tell me that is BS, go right ahead. I use most of these laptops from demo stages on and use them for a good year afterwards. I'm a performance freak as many of you are and with watercooling being my side interest... I know all about cooling and I'm sensitive to the littlest fan noise. A 12" notebook like the S5/M5 is meant for internet, email, word.... thats about it. Those are the type of people who buy them and thats why when you go out, you'll see them with the slowest cpu and the slowest hard drive. Even with the slowest cpu, you can still play dvds really well. This is the ultimate use for a 12" system.

Now with out going off on a rant, none of you want that type of system. The hotter it gets the more the fan will run. The smaller the heatpipe and fan, mean the more the little system has to work to get rid of the heat. If you run a maxed out system and run it at full power, that cpu is NEVER going to be cool, even if you're not using it. Now, if you step the power gear settings down to Email, the cpu will run at 600mhz. That should keep it cool enough that the fan will shut off.

J

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Asus is about running a system as cool as it can be for better performance and cpu life, but thanks for the input.

J

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

I found a fix for this problem. I run a 1.7 dothan, and 768 mb of ram. My temps stay at about 55-60 under use. they'll peak at 80, but that's well within the spec for the dothan. My fan is almost silent, and only is audible when the temps rise. The fix is to find a 33 ohm resistor and solder it inline on the red wire to the fan. this drops the fan speed, but the CFM for this fan doesn't drop too much with that amount of voltage drop. So, just thought I'd share this with you. don't overheat.

 

I have to agree with Justin on this issue--it's that there is anything wrong with M5n that is just the way they designed it.

If they do up the temp in the Bios for when the fan kicks on, what you will have is a much warmer laptop--for some this is the trade off. My averatec used to get very warm--used to cause my palms to sweat (I even bought one of those "laptop coolers" with double fans to cool it down--how loud do you think that was!?). My M5np on the other hand is a much faster laptop (much!), weighs less and is a whole lot cooler--so there you go.

Considering how fast this laptop is I'm willing to live with the "fan issue"--and on extended battery I barely even notice it. Overall I'm very happy with it--the performance is unparralel. But if you're looking for a cool *and* quiet laptop with similar performance, then you'll just have to get one of the larger class laptops with a larger chasis and more bulk--that's just the trade off.

 

Right - or a slower cpu, etc... to keep the system cooler.

J

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by PROPortable

 

OK,

I don't care if you just turned it on, I care about the cpu values AND the over all system heat. When you start up the computer, until you get into windows that fan should be roaring... By time you get into windows, your cpu is either going to run on automatic mode or whatever powergear setting you have it set for.

Just so you know, the computer is set up to get rid of heat when the system is anywhere over room temp (68f / 20c). The notebook can get up to (87f / 31c)by time it starts up, granted that you're in an environment that is already atleast 68f/20c .... which I think most people are. You have to realize that the computer is dealing with that heat as well.

J

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by PROPortable

 

I hear you..

The only thing is, the fan does go off.... so I'm not going to settle and say, oh no.. it'll never go off. There are too many settings and factors that go into it though...... so some people are going to think I'm crazy, while some people are going to think these people who's fans don't shut off are crazy... and we're going to be stuck there for ever.

Lets leave it at this... I think we may just be wasting time with this one.

J

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Justin nobody is arguing that the fan will never shut off, simply that the laptop should NOT wait until 20 degrees celsius to do it.

Why does this laptop wait until 20C to turn off fan, while many others seem to hover around 40C - 50C to turn off??? That is a simple question which i think deserves a simple answer -- my answer is that the BIOS code is screwed and should be updated.

Even the S5N doesn't operate like this and its based on the exact same internals. It shuts off at 50.

For all the mumbo jumbo goin on in this thread, nobody has answered this question -- except for maybe me, and i'm saying its a bug. So just answer the question, why is at 20C for the shutoff when i can't name a single other laptop that requires the chip to be that cool before shutoff, including other 12 inch portables.

w

 

Just as a side note, I think I may know where the problem arises.

The S5 has a heatpipe attached to the cpu only......

The M5 has a heatpipe that is attached to the cpu and the intel graphics chip.

Same internals (just all totally moved around), but that right there could why we're seeing a difference.

J

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Just my opinion...

With the fan RUNNING while using the lappy, by means of using it for browsing chatting and do basics internet stuff..

the lappy produces around 46-50+ C. Therefore i think, well this is just my assumption that IF Asus does set the limit of 50c. The fan would often to be on and off, on and off consistenly...

 

I think I narrowed it down... no one all the way up the line can answer the reason the bios is set up this way. That is the "problem". The M5 turns on at 20c and the S5 at 50c

If it's just the bios, if it's really getting to you, why not try the S5 bios.

J

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

LOL. Who will be the first to try the S5 bios? Come on, do it! (note: it won't be me!)

Just a funny side note, I actually got a response today from Asus about the M5n fan--not that it helps too much, but for what it's worth [ ] :
-------------------------------------

Dear Friend :
Thank you for contacting ASUS Customer Service.
My name is Leon and I would be assisting you today.
Because considering the notebook have a storage in it and the cubage of the notebook is very small,so our RD set the FAN movement when the temperature is above 20C this is could guarantee when use this device the notebook could work steadily, so my friend you could see the temperature in ASUS Probe if the temperature is above 20C,I believe it's normal.
If having any problems, please don't hesitate to let me know. Let's discuss this issue together.
Thank you for using ASUS products and enjoying ASUS services!

Leon_gong
ASUS Customer Service Center (Shanghai , China)
If you have any suggestions or complaints about our technical support
service, please e-mail your feedback to [email protected]. We will then
arrange for a specialist to work on your issue. Your suggestions and
feedback are! most appreciated and allow us to serve you better.

 

I'll tell you this much..... he has an excuse for his english because he's writing to you from China. When you get a response like that from the US office, it's never good.

J

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Just spent some time going through posts here and on other forums and reviews which talk about fan speed/noise for both the M5N and S5N - figured i'd post it here too in case anybody wants to do some "light reading" hahaha - have fun.

S5Ne - aka ULV 1.1 Ghz chip:
http://notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=32228&highlight=S5N+M5N+fan
If your running on batteries, u will rarely hear the fan go on at all. When plugged in and doing intensive applications, the fan will kick in. Its not very audible unless u were in a really quiet place.

1.7Ghz S5N
http://www4.tomshardware.com/mobile/20040225/index.html
"The fan could be a little quieter, too: although barely audible when using standard Office applications, it kicks up a lot of a acoustic fuss when handling processor-intensive tasks such as playing a video stored on the hard drive."

M5N uknown Ghz:
http://notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=51525&page=2&pp=15&highlight=S5N+M5N+fan
"they certainly can't be worse than the M5N that whines along at all times regardless of whether the CPU is in need to any cooling or not. It's really bad :-( "
And....
"From my experience with an M5N the processor is only on when your plugged into the AC, when you let the Asus Power4Gear handle it on battery the fan is rarely on."

1.6Ghz "M5Ne" (I don't know what the hell model that is but whatever)
http://www.notebookreview.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2356&SearchTerms=S5N,M5N,fan
"This is the ideal notebook for travelling, it is very fast, quiet and light. It also does not appear to get too hot as the fan works quite effectively. I do not use notebooks for games, due to current limitation in graphics cards and screen response times of notebook's."

S5Ne with ULV Pentium chip 1.1Ghz
http://www.notebookreview.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=11063&SearchTerms=S5N,M5N,fan
"s5n with a 4200rpm HDD here. the fan kicks in about 50 degrees, which is very rare when i am running on battery power.
but when plugged(full performance mode) the fan rarely stops."

M5N Unknown Ghz
http://www.notebookreview.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=11028&SearchTerms=S5N,M5N,fan
"But it's quite loud, especially in a quiet room, and gets on my nerves loads."

General griping about how the M5N fan never shuts off...
http://www.notebookreview.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=10420&SearchTerms=S5N,M5N,fan

 

Newbie,

Thank you for the post and taking time to enter those URLs with fan comments.

Bob