XPS 13 (2015) - Fan Noise

I got my XPS 13 2015 yesterday. After 60 min use I must say I am very disappointed.

My spec; i7-5500U, QHD+(3200 x 1800) infinity touch display, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, DW 1560 Wireless.


1. Fan Noise is the worst I have ever had on any laptop. CPU temps at 50 % load is 80 C ++. Fan spins up and down every 5-10 sec under load and the fan noise itself sound metallic. Really really bad.

2. Battery life is supposed to be 10+ hrs with my spec. According to Windows I have 4,2 hrs at 100 % battery. Not even 50 % of what Dell claims.


Anyone else with these issues?

 

I agree, I was in a meeting yesterday and was embarrassed at how loud it was. Really annoying that all the reviews I read before buying if anything said it was a very quiet laptop.

 

Check Dell Command Control and under thermal management you can set the fan profile to quiet.

 

Well instead on going on and off every 5-10 sec it no goes on when CPU is 50C and stays on until it drops below that temp.

Just tried to run some youtube while installing patched in the background. Result can be seen here

Dump by Op10Myzation posted Feb 6, 2015 at 7:56 PM

 

My 5600u with 7265 Intel is quite silent. Sometimes with heavy CPU-usages the fan is running.

 

I captured the noise with the camera on my mobile phone. Take a look at this a judge for yourself.

 

Maybe lot of background-Task (Anti-Virus, Indexing) running?

On my XPS 13 i heard the fan last time maybe 3 hours ago (Surfing, Outlook etc.)

 

No matter what kind of CPU utilization you have, the fan on your PC should not be louder than a vacuum cleaner.

 

I'm returning mine tomorrow.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

That is not normal. Have you had a look at the running processes? See if dllhost.exe has multiple instances and if so, try closing them. If they reopen, you might be dealing with this, which has been relatively common recently in my experience and causes just such CPU usage symptoms:

http://triplescomputers.com/blog/ca...despread-malware-without-a-filesystem-object/

 

On my i7 5500U disabling turbo boost remedied most of the fan spinning. Just make sure to check the power profile settings as the machine suddenly honors the thermal framework tdp setting (default 15W @0.6GHz).

 

in the other thread someone also posted fan noise with i7/QHD?

Did someone have NO fan noise with i7 processor?

Did someone have fan noise with i3/i5 processor?

 

I have the i7/QHD and initially had fan nose that kept revving up. It didn't bother me much but trying to improve battery life , I uninstalled a lot of stuff including Mcaffee and disabled some services and it rarely comes on except when I'm watching a video.

 

Yeah if anyone's using McAfee (that comes preinstalled) then that's an obvious culprit for starters. It also loads a custom Chrome extension which is pretty heavy in my experience (McAfee SiteAdvisor).

 

No fan noise with the i7-5600U at all.

 

Which SSD do you get when you buy the i7 model with 256GB and i7 with 512GB

 

My I5 version is god awful. I'm currently typing this at 40 Celsius and the fan is wide open. Any tips on how to proceed?

 

I took McAfee straight off my machine and ensured all updates were installed, I don't think the fan noise on mine is as bad as some people are finding in terms of it being continuously on as the laptop will run silent for a while but any sustained even small background cpu activity seems to fire the fan up. I find the noise quite intrusive as it doesn't seem to have a quiet setting it builds up from and at times can rev up and down frequently. I don't think the PC is doing anything wrong as the underside is usually warm or hot when the fan is running whereas if it was cold to touch when the fan was whirring away I'd think it shouldn't be on.

 

I'd have a look at task manager and see what is using the processor.

John

 

I think I've managed to calm my fans down slightly by disabling turbo boost, they only seem to kick in when they're actually needed now - on battery at least. However as soon as I plug it in, the fans go full blast even when I have the exact same things open. I'm obviously missing an option or setting somewhere, I don't know if it's turbo boost or something else.

Almost everything is default, aside from the Maximum (and Minimum) processor state which I lowered to disable turbo. Same power plan all the time.

Where/what should I be checking?

If I can get this solved I'll be one step closer to keeping the laptop.

 

Check:

Processor Power Management > System cooling policy (under Power Options > Advanced)
See if the options are different.

Alternatively try downloading Dell Command Power Manager and seeing if its power scheme settings help.

 

Both options for System Cooling Policy are the same.

Have just downloaded Power Manager, will go through it and see if anything helps.

 

Maybe your battery was empty? My fans spin up (although not to Max) when the machines batteries a being charged... they even keep running when i put the charging machine to sleep and stop after a few minutes. So charging seems to add to some degree to the thermal "load".

 

Basically, if you plug into the charger from Power Saver mode, the computer will run in full speed without any battery saving throttling. Hence why the chips get hot and you get fans kicking it. It's not really the battery charging itself that causes the fans to go out, but rather the ac adapter connection having the laptop run at full speed, even if your setting is at Power Saving.

 

I wouldn't know for sure if throttling is disabled when running in ac mode, but the additional fan spinning (even in idle) stops once the batteries are charged... (ie plugging in with empty battery --> fan for 2-3hrs, plug in in almost full battery --> fan for 10-20 minutes).

 

I had same and did this

1) Constant Fan noise. I suspect some windows update caused this
2) Restore to factory settings using Dell tool
3) don't connect to internet and see if it is quiet
4) Turn off automatic updates
5) Remove Mcafee
6) Go to "windows update" menu. Search & Install all updates (manually)
7) Turn on automatic updates
8) No constant Fan noise.

Furthermore:
- set CPU speed at 2.2 or 2.6 ghz (depending your model) in Windows power plan
- in Dell Power Manager => go to "thermal options" and select "quiet"

 

I noticed the same as previous posters. Has someone been able to avoid the situation.

Also, I find it very strange that if I close laptop (standby), the fans keep on going.

 

So I have the Microsoft Signature edition i5 256gb QHD+ version and after updating the bios to the newest version have had the fan consistently turn on. It used to only turn on when plugged in and charging (Unplugged never heard it) however now it is turning on intermittently while unplugged as well.

Is there a reason why the fan stays on while plugged? I have checked the setting in the Dell Command Power Manager as well as the setting in the power options its self (system cooling policy is passive for both plugged and unplugged). CPU is not being overworked by antivirus software or any other software.

What else is there that can be done? Should I just return it and switch to the Matte Finish one that doesnt seem to be having these problems?

 

What dell tool did you use to restore to factory settings? i have the microsoft signature edition so ill either have to use the windows 8.1 factory restart or go download the dell tool.

also how did you set cpu speed to 2.2ghz? i have the i5 256gb qhd+

 

I started having issues with the fan turning on while the battery was charging this week. Fan constantly on and very loud even with the system idle (no background stuff, cpu temp was < 40c). Turns out dell released bugged software in the wild, and it does automatically install on your computer if you have the dell support agent installed. Have a look on the dell forums, you'll see lots of people having problem with sound and fan since that update came out. I simply uninstalled all the dell software (dell support, dell support agent, dell update) and the fan issues went away like magic ! I recommend you do the same if you have these issues.

 

Uninstalled everything with name Dell in it. I also updated the BIOS. Worked like a charm. No more fan noise while charging and the fan still works when its supposed to. Also the processor no longer heats up to super high temperatures and the bottom feels a lot cooler than before.

 

I found 2 things that's causing the fans are going up on mine:
1. Windows defender that was starting a scheduled scan
2. The igfxEM module that's taking a lot of CPU resources! https://communities.intel.com/thread/57299 (reproduce this if you have multiple accounts and you switch between users or going to sleep/hibernate)

In the intel thread they are saying there is a new intel driver update with version number 15.36.14.64.4080 https://communities.intel.com/thread/59216
Currently I'm still on 10.18.10.3960

I'll try it out tonight, when I get back home. If someone else tries it, let me know if you see any differences please.

 

It wouldnt let me install. Says that the computer is not supported by this driver.

Edit 1: you need to go through the dell product support page and update it. Even though it says 10.18.10.4013 it actually installs the 15.36.14.64.4080.

http://www.dell.com/support/home/US...cetag/505BL12/drivers?appIndex=dellspct&s=DHS

EDIT 2: Bad idea for me, the graphics on netflix and such started lagging way too much so i reverted to the old one. But my fan problems are still gone. I believe if you remove all the software with the name Dell in it and mcafee you should be good to go.

 

After installing it, do you still have the problems I mentioned before?

 

The computer is cooler and the fan works much less now, I updated the BIOS as well and removed all the software with Dells name in it. Also I disabled windows defender and installed a different antivirus program. If you bought the computer from dell i heard that mcafee is also causing problems with eating up the CPU.

EDIT 1: Went back to the old Graphics driver, netflix and other video services started lagging too much on the new one. But my fan problems are no more still, which is good.

 

Did you install the update and start having lower battery performance? I thought the update made things worse.

 

Just a quick question... to those complaining about the loud fan, how loud is it really?

Some of the reports I've read make it sound like a rocket, but I'm wondering if that's because people are expecting total silence...

I'll be coming from an old laptop where the fan is always on, but at various volumes from "audible but OK" to "outright annoying". I know the XPS 13 fan is seemingly just on or off, but where does it sit in the noisy scale?

 

When I got my XPS 13, I was coming from a Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus which had some fan noise. I was expecting the fan on the Dell to be about the same, if not a little quieter.
The noise from the fan on the XPS was sometimes unbearable. My husband and I would be sat watching TV with our laptops and we'd find ourselves turning the TV up because the fans were whirring away. It was pretty distracting and I'd only be browsing the web.

However, I do think the one I received was faulty from the start. After about two weeks of owning it the fan starting making grinding sounds and I ended up returning it. I'm not sure if the noise was part of the issue.

 

when system is charging the FAN is on all the time

I observed
0%->75%: charge rate: 29 000 mW (fan noise constantly)
75%->100%: charge: 12 000 mW (no fan noise)

So maybe the internal cooling is just bad, and charging makes it too warm. This would be bad news, since a BIOS update cannot fix the problem... unless it the temperature for the fans to trigger is increased

 

<delete this post>

 

This laptops fan management appears to a mess. I was hoping the buy this over a macbook pro retina with bootcamp which is near the same cost, and I know the macbook never has any fan problems.

Looks like you guys are gimpimg the CPU speed to stop the fan from working, which is really is a not a solution, more so a downgrade. Should I be advioding buying this laptop as I don't want to regret it based of a crappy and loud fan?

I am buying the i7 version if that is going to add to the problem with higher clocks and more cache?

 

have a look at the temperatures with speedfan. even on light tasks the temperature rises quick above 70 c. on full speed it reaches up to 99 c. this has to be cooled by the fan or it will melt.

 

So I just did a bit of background research and found a thread for the older XPS 13 (2012) on Dells forum where people had almost the exact same complaints; hurricane force fans when it's not doing much. Within not too long Dell had released a new BIOS (A03 in this case) that addressed the issues, confirmed by the people with the noisy fans.

So looks like Dell should be willing and able to fix the issues with the 2015 model.

 

If the fans kick in when CPU reaches some 60 degrees this behavior seems ok. I believe (didnt read the thread) the 2012 model had a problem with unreasonable high fan speeds - which cooled the CPU to lets say 40 degrees but kept cooling on high speeds.

Unless Dell does something to decrease the CPU usage while doing light tasks or something similar I can not see big difference coming with future BIOS & driver versions.

What is interesting that the fans are not on all the time when charging up and that it depends on the charging rate(and resulting heat) as well. At least this has been done right - many laptops have the fans on all the time while plugged it.

 

I guess uninstall software (mcafee, etc) should solve the problem. Any user can prove this? after you uninstall the "dell" software, does the noise get any better?

 

my fan is off until the cpu temp goes over 50 c

 

Hi guys. As I previously said in this thread, I uninstalled the dell updater and user agent, which helped reduce the fan noise (except when charging!), but I still had the dell command power thing. The main issue that I had was the fan going on (sometimes quite heavily) while charging, even with the system idle and cpu temp < 40C. I noticed that I did not have this issue when booted into safe mode. I checked which services started with a normal windows boot and found that there is a dell command power service. I disabled it and the fan issue while charging disappeared. I'm not a 100% sure yet that this solved the issue, I'll keep testing this week.

 

dell's fan does have a reputation for being noisy

 

It did not work, the fan started to spin again while charging. Someone on the dell forums says it could be the heat generated by the battery. Still, it should not make the fan spin, because if the notebook is off, the fan does not spin while charging -> it is not necessary to have the fan spinning. Maybe my reasoning is flawed...

 

Mine revs up like a vacuum cleaner when plugged in (on and when sleeping) otherwise its very quiet. Have yet to try the Dell Command app to see if that helps. No notebook is perfect though.