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    Is it normal for cooling fans to completely stop spinning?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by BNRJJ8, Aug 18, 2012.

  1. BNRJJ8

    BNRJJ8 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I know that fans will change their RPM depending on the heat sensor readings, but will they ever reach a complete stop?

    I'm working on a friends Acer Aspire 2920Z and I've noticed that its fan will sometimes completely stop spinning, and I'm not sure if this is normal or not.

    I booted up speedfan to check out its behavior. It seems like it likes to stop the fan and will not start it back up until the system temps are around ~52 degrees Celsius.

    I'm asking if this is normal behavior because I've never noticed this on my own laptop (albeit a much larger, and more powerful one) before.
     
    BNRJJ8, Aug 18, 2012
    #1
  2. Tsunade_Hime

    Tsunade_Hime such bacon. wow

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    Most fan profiles won't even turn on the fan until it reaches a certain temperature, barring gaming laptops. Any CPU load on my Alienware causes my fan to spin up and it is quite noisy.
     
    Tsunade_Hime, Aug 18, 2012
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  3. tijo

    tijo Sacred Blame

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    Yes, some laptops stop the fans entirely, my G73 does this, the fan stop spinning once the GPU temp hits below 43C, same for the CPU which almost never happens really.
     
    tijo, Aug 18, 2012
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  4. Kuu

    Kuu That Quiet Person

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    My HDX has an option to always keep the ran running at the lowest speed, but that's not a default. It will turn on if anything hits 60c if you leave it set to turn off though, and it'll stay on until it hits 55c I think? I have it set to always run, I barely remember.
     
    Kuu, Aug 18, 2012
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  5. namaiki

    namaiki "basically rocks" Super Moderator

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    The fan turning off was one of my favourite things about my previous laptop. With the SSD drive installed, the computer was completely silent for web browsing and typing up stuff.
     
    namaiki, Aug 18, 2012
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  6. Mobius 1

    Mobius 1 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    My mom's acer does this while my macbook does not. Idk about the asus I have now.

    So I think it's normal for it to stop in some laptops
     
    Mobius 1, Aug 18, 2012
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  7. Deks

    Deks Notebook Prophet

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    Fans stopping entirely when reaching low temperatures is fine.
    My P7350 cpu had a knack for remaining under 50 degrees C when typing, browsing, or even at times watching movies (this was after I cleaned it out thoroughly for the first time, replaced the thermal paste that came with it and undervolted it).
    Fans apparently have a tendency of activating at over 50 degrees C (anything lower is considered to not require fans running in the first place).

    So yes, I would say you have nothing to worry about. The fans only kick in when the temperatures reach a high enough threshold.
     
    Deks, Aug 18, 2012
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