The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Power Mgmt software?

    Discussion in 'Sager and Clevo' started by arcanis_2000, Aug 9, 2011.

  1. arcanis_2000

    arcanis_2000 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    34
    Messages:
    41
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Hi,

    While I'm getting used to my new NP8170, I notice that it powers the fan on/off constantly depending on what I application I am using.
    I remember I use to have a speed control program (3rd party) way back on my old Dell that allowed me to control and see what's happening.
    Is anyone using something similar or should I just trust that my Win7/Clevo chipset drivers are doing the best already to adjust for speed and power?

    Thx
     
    arcanis_2000, Aug 9, 2011
    #1
  2. Electric Shock

    Electric Shock Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    268
    Messages:
    670
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    You cannot use a speed control program with the NP8130/50 so I assume it is the same for the NP8170. The fans are controlled by the embedded controller which typical software has no access to.

    What you need to do is flash a new EC if Clevo or Sager has come out with one that does not start/stop so much. I had the same problem for a month with my NP8130 until I flashed a new EC and BIOS that changed the fan tables so the fan would not start/stop and instead run at a constant slow speed which is much kinder to your ears as you don't notice it and forget about.

    I seem to recall 8170 owners hoping for a new EC with decent fan tables in one of the other threads.
     
    Electric Shock, Aug 9, 2011
    #2
  3. arcanis_2000

    arcanis_2000 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    34
    Messages:
    41
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Does this also apply to when I'm plugged in vs. battery?
    Would I not be able to crank my cpu/gpu to max for a 10mins quick game and then exit while on battery?
     
    arcanis_2000, Aug 9, 2011
    #3
  4. Anthony@MALIBAL

    Anthony@MALIBAL Company Representative

    Reputations:
    616
    Messages:
    2,771
    Likes Received:
    3
    Trophy Points:
    56
    Are you talking fan speed or GPU/CPU power? You can crank the fan speed to max with the FN + 1 shortcut, but you can't crank the CPU/GPU to max power on battery. The battery just can't run them at full speed, so they run at a relatively decent underclock when on battery power (meaning game FPS will drop significantly)
     
    Anthony@MALIBAL, Aug 9, 2011
    #4
  5. arcanis_2000

    arcanis_2000 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    34
    Messages:
    41
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Thx
    I meant both, as I alluded to on my OP that it would be nice to see the fan & power controls.
    Fn+1 is pretty cool tho.
     
    arcanis_2000, Aug 9, 2011
    #5