Deafening D900k Fans (Linux)

My Clevo D900k (Alienware mj-12a) is slowly killing me. Ive had it a year and Im really loosing my patience with the constant deafening fan noise

I use Gentoo. Has anyone else using Linux been able to get the fans to run quiet when theyre not using the machine.

 

Have you ever opened up the notebook to clean out the fans (with Q-tips and air cans/compressors)?

If not, then thats your problem.

Gaming notebooks require care. If you dont take care of it, it wont take care of you.

I have had my D900K for almost a year and a half now, its been great and quiet as when I built it. I clean out any dust for the fans and vents monthly, so its cool and quiet for my work and gaming sessions.

Here is what I have to tell everyone that is clueless about taking care of gaming notebooks:

Remember these things to have your notebook be healthy for years:

1) Battery: to maintain the longevity of any rechargeable battery
- you must NEVER overcharge it [especially for long durations of time] by keeping it plugged into AC
- when it reaches 100% you should unplug it and let it discharge to 5-15%, then plug it back to power
- OR you can just charge it to 50%+ and remove the battery and store in cool place.. not the fridge [remember to use it occasionally 3-4 time a year to charge and discharge it].

2.) Heat: to prevent a healthy notebook from overheating
- ALWAYS use the notebook on a hard & flat surface
- RECOMMENDED to be used on a notebook cooler... namely the Zalman ZM-NC1000
- check your fans underneath occasionally (at least once a month) for any dust clogs [clean them out with Q-tips and air cans/compressors]
- ALWAYS monitor the temps (CPU, GPU, HDD, etc..) to watch for fluctuations, which would indicate overheating

By doing these simple things, your entire system will easily last for more than 3 years.

 

Hi, and thanks for replying. But Im pretty sure thats not the problem. Its always been like this. Its just that its always running on and never seems to switch to a lower speed like all my other laptops have done. Im assuming this is more to do with my OS not having proper drivers or just not being set up correctly to control the fans.

 

nope, its not software.

its more low-level than that. (pre-programmed into motherboard)

When certain components (GPU, CPU, RAM) within the notebook reaches a certain temperature, the fan will switch on to keep the temp steady.

This particular notebook will always have some fans spinning since it has powerful components (desktop CPU & high-end GPU), which gives off a significant amount of heat.

If you use a good notebook cooler, namely the Zalman ZM-NC1000, then the fans might not spin up as much... mainly the RAM fan does not come on from the external cooling. The CPU and GPU fans will always be on to steady the temps.

If you hit Fn+F2, it toggles the fans to Max Speed, which might help make a constant sound of fans spinning... its ALWAYS recommended to use this toggle when gaming.

You deafening sound noise would only occur if the fans are clogged. My fans are quiet and when they are toggled to max speed, its not annoying, its a very constant sound.

 

About your recommendation, when you're actively using the laptop and its fully charged, should you leave it plugged in?

 

if you overcharge your notebook (leaving plugged in after its already 90-100% charged) for a long duration of time, it WILL wear out the battery.

 

Well Ill be ...

I gave it a bit of a clean out this morning and removed a fair bit of dust/dog hair and it did seem to postpone the arrival of the noise by a couple of minutes after boot. If only I could find the hidden screws that are preventing me from properly disassembling it and getting to the main fans.

Just a comment about your battery advice ... One simply doesnt use this monster on batteries. You run it off the mains, because even when not being used youd be lucky to get an hours worth of running on battery power. This is a laptop only in the sense that you can fit it in a large backpack.

 

the get to the main fans, you will need to pop out your keyboard (no screws required)
then the metal protective plate under it (few screws)

there ya go, you should have access to the two CPU fans.