Reducing fan noise for Inspiron 1525

I bought my Inspiron 1525 a few weeks ago and am getting increasingly irritated by the fan noise. It is quite loud and turns on frequently. I like things quiet, but apparently this is a common problem with this laptop.

I am at the edge of the laptop's return date. So I have seen a lot remedies on the internet such as software, BIOS settings, special fans, etc, but I am unconvinced. I will probably try all these out in due time, but I need to decide *now* whether to keep this cpu or take it back. Which is too bad because overall I like the Inspiron 1525.

So, basically, the question is, can a noisy fan be fixed somehow someway, or is it a lost cause?

 

Using NHC, even when idle the cpu temp will rise up to the low 50's, then the fan kicks in and drives it back down to low 40's. But I don't know if that is usual for an idle laptop.

 

Just how noisy is it? Can u hear it 10 ft away?

 

If everything else is quiet, then sure.

 

I just signed up to say I agree entirely with the OP: this laptop is absurdly noisy. It is easily heard 10feet away in an otherwise quiet room. I find it unacceptably intrusive as I spend most of my working life in a quiet library and research setting. I am used to peace. When I contacted Dell the guy said that the fan was supposed to be this noisy.

It is very disappointing that reviews of the Inspiron 1525 are not highlighting this problem. I would certainly have avoided it had I known this.

 

Funny, I don't think it's a problem at all. I've heard noise a lot louder than the sound produced by the 1525's fan. Wait till you hear my family. The 1525's fan is like a whisper compared to them, lol. To each his own I guess.

 

You sure you don't have a bad fan? The 1525 is the same basic layout and fan as the 1520 ... and while I'm gaming on mine it's queit even with the fan going at full bore.

 

Ya I don't get the feeling that there is actually an issue with your fan. It sounds more like you are disappointed with the god awful noise it makes. Mine can get loud enough to be distracting to a point, but when I am running hot generally I have a pair of headphones on so I don't notice it. Usually the only thing I hear is my HDD clicking or making strange whirring noises. It's noisier than the Samsung I had (Died on me), but a little faster. So how do you really win?

One thing I might try is elevating the laptop a little, get some thing under it that does not block the vents. See if that keeps things cool enough to avoid winding up noisily. Investing in a more powerful processor, with a smaller fab process and more power, might keep it at idle more often and thus keep the heat down.

I would seriously consider a fan upgrade if I were you and I could find one. Although, given the small size and big job that they perform in a laptop, I feel it would be difficult to have both quiet and performance. Usually, the larger the fan that you can get in there, the quieter that it could be (larger pushes same volume at a lower rpm thus quieter).

If you decide to get a different computer as a result . . . avoid HP for the moment. The new DVz is awesome, but runs pretty hot. The fan seems to NEVER shut off.