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    nc8430 too loud when plugged in

    Discussion in 'HP' started by green giant, Nov 19, 2006.

  1. green giant

    green giant Notebook Enthusiast

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    The fan is pretty much always on when it's plugged in. I also noticed that the worthless ATI driver forces it to balanced when plugged in. Is there anyway around this? What's the best way to quiet it down?

    It's fine when it's on battery.
     
    green giant, Nov 19, 2006
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  2. Greg

    Greg Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Okay, here's a couple of tips:

    1) The driver isn't worthless. It is going to balanced for some reason, and I'm going to guess that you have an external monitor plugged into the laptop. There is no way to avoid that, since the X1600 has to get more voltage to drive the second monitor. If you don't have an external monitor, there might be something else you are doing that requires that much power. I have been able to get my nc8430 to "Max Battery" when I do not have an external monitor attached to the notebook.

    2) Go into BIOS and look for an option for "Fan Always ON when on AC." Turn that off, and the fan will only kick in some of the time. A large amount of the heat is caused by the X1600, which is the price you pay for having such a powerful card in a thin notebook.

    3) Undervolt the CPU & look into getting a cooling pad. Read through the Cooling Guide for more information on that.

    4) Check your power scheme on the notebook (Control->Power Options). Set it to a scheme that doesn't always run the CPU at the highest clock (like laptop or max battery).

    Hope that helps.
     
    Greg, Nov 19, 2006
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