To those who own/owned both an x200 and x300: fan noise

Hello,

If you have firsthand experience with both these laptops, which one would you choose to keep and why?

Actually, what I care alot alot about is fan noise. If I use tpfancontrol 3rd party software on the x300, will the fan noise be on the level of the x200, which is virtually silent (even without tp fan control)?

 

Well, I haven't used the X200, but I guess you've seen my reports on the X300, where I found the BIOS fan control to be too noisy for my liking.

A little background: I am a silent computing enthusiast - I mount my hdds on rubber gromets/suspensions, undervolt my system fans (which I choose carefully) and generally take reasonable steps to reduce the noise signature of my PCs in my home environment. So perhaps I can be considered more sensitive or demanding than the casual user in this regard.

Re: the X300, I am actually sensitive enough to be able to hear the hum of electronics when the SSD is being accessed. Granted, I have to put my ear close to the mainboard, but it does have its own audio signature.

Having said that, the fan at 2000 rpm is of a very benign noise character and practically inaudible to me. 5000 rpm is a different matter, it becomes annoying to me at home (at work, there is too much background noise to notice the fan at 5000 rpm, although you can still detect it if you pay attention).

I'm very leery of recommending the X300, because it does have the drawbacks I mentioned, but also because you are making a lot of compromises to get a system that small. If you really need an ultraportable with a dvd writer (note it doesn't write dual layer discs), WWAN, and can live with the performance of the 1.2 GHz processor and GMA X3100 GPU, then the X300 is for you.

If you don't need to cart around a dvd drive, then the X200 has a more powerful processor, GPU and longer battery life, not to mention being quieter at stock in the bargain. However, if you start optioning it with accessories like an ultrabase and dvd writer etc, it quickly balloons in weight and cost, to an unattractive degree in my opinion. So it's a bit of a toss-up.

 

BTW, to answer your question, I'd prefer the X300 because of the higher resolution screen (even if it is a little dim, it's still very usable for me). I use my X300 to do some lightweight CAD so I can port models between work and home, so the higher resolution is much appreciated. It's also a boon for spreadsheets and Matlab. And I appreciate having the dvd drive because some vendors still use CD catalogs, and some databases are on CD.

The X200 is just too minimal for my uses and needs. If I couldn't have the X300 for some reason, I'd rather have even a Vaio Z instead of the X200.

Of course, hp has a few 12" ultraportable models with optical drives - the 2530p and 2510p...

 

Thanks for the detailed response. Does the x300 have a physically different fan than the x200, or is the behavior purely a bios thing that tpfancontrol can modify so that the x300 fan ramps up/down like the x200 fan?

I currently have a vaio z and the fan is way too loud, although rm clock goes a long way in helping it.

I understand what you mean by being sensitive to noise. I think that the w500 i also have is virtually silent. I can hear the whoosh of air, which is totally fine, but it is pleasant and not grating at all. And this is in a completely quiet room. Usually 2000 rpm is totally fine with me. Even 2500 rpm would be ok. While i'm not after silence, i'm after non-intrusive noise. I can make my vaio z's fan go down but it will ramp back up, then back down, then back up. For whatever reason, my w500 is just so quiet that I took it for granted when looking for an ultraportable.

 

The x200 and x300 have similar fans "silent owl blade", but the x200's fan is thicker and more effective at lower RPMs.

The x200 (and x200s/x200T) is effectively silent under normal operation. The x300 requires tweaking with TPFanControl, but it also can be very quiet (even if loud at stock).

I would say it comes down to the features you require. If you frequently need an optical drive, get an x300/x301. If you only need an optical drive occasionally, get an x200 due to the increased performance, battery life, and larger number of ports (54mm ExpressCard, Modem, card reader, docking station). If you don't need a webcam or WWAN, the x200s is also a very good option as it is lighter than both the x200 and x300, and has a LED screen of the same 1440x900 resolution as the x300.

 

I am also a quiet PC enthusiast (though I care less...since my room has the fileserver that my roomate and I share) and find the x200 to be silent in general operation. The slow/medium fan setting is also quite benign.

 

I've had an x200 for about 2 weeks. I bought it because of the reviews regarding it's 'silent' operation. To clarify: I too am extremely ('overly?') sensitive to fan noise. My desktop is fanless; I owned Panasonic y2s and y5s for their silence (but, unfortunately, they lacked a certain oomph and, frankly, portability). So, I opted for the x200. Regarding fan noise: yes, on 'max battery,' the fan is virtually silent. But, there is a good bit of what I can only describe as 'machine noise' (power supply? even on battery?) that comes out of the right-rear side of the machine. A 'machine noise' that is louder than the fan. I've seen reference to a 'Penryn whine.' Is that what I'm hearing?

My power manager version is 1.45, and I've tried to install the most recent, but even though it tells me it has installed, it hasn't. The v1.45 remains.

I like the computer. It's quiet. It's not silent.

 

Do you have a mechanical hard drive? I suppose we should never say silent, but for all intensive purposes it is very quiet.

 

Jaredy,

I'm not even looking for silent, but really unobtrusive, and this kind of electric buzz/hum coming from the right rear verges on too intrusive. Yes, I have a mechanical hard drive, but that's not it (or at least I don't think it is; the hum is constant, while the HD comes on and off). My x200 keeps bugging me about not having a genuine Lenovo battery (it says it's a Panasonic), but it was the battery that shipped with it (9 cell, BTW). Anything there?

Again, what about the power management program? I tried downloading the latest from the Lenovo site, and it says it installs, but nothing looks at all different from the version that shipped with it. Any advice there would be greatly appreciated.

 

Hmm... I do not have any whine or electric buzz that is obtrusive. I have VERY VERY slight whine that I can hear if I put my ear to the laptop (but then so do phones, etc). I am using 2.41a for the power manager, I am not sure about your battery message. Mine lists panasonic as the manufacture...

 

Ah...looks like you're using Vista. I ordered from a re-seller specifically to get XP, and it looks like the only thing the update does to the power manager under XP is update it to Finnish/Norwegian (lucky me!). Obviously I'm not looking for total silence; even my fanless desktop buzzes/'whines', like you said, anything electronic will. I'm just a little surprised at the extent to which it does. Nevertheless, I do like this laptop a lot. A couple of decibels lower and I would love it.

 

I recently got brand new x301, and also have this stupid problem of some strange high pitched whine noise. It is incredibly annoying in silent environment.

Relativelly loud noise (like fan for example) gives very small distracting problem, whereas noises which are on the borderline of our ability to hear are immenselly distracting, because we constantly trying to adjust and actually comprehend what is it we are hearing...

Anyone got any experience what is this noise ? And how to fix it .

Much appreciated


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X301, 128 SSD, DVD, 4GB, Vista Ultimate 32 Bit