np5796 owners, question about fan noise

I just got my new np5796 laptop. It's a great laptop, but I'm wondering about fan noise. The one fan at the corner makes a bit of motor noise. The motor noise is louder than the wind noise generated by the fan. The only time its quiet is if the fan is off. Is this normal for these laptops, or does mine have a bad fan motor?

 

hard to tell unless we can actually hear it.

 

I'll try to pick up a microphone to capture it, so I can post it on here. I tried my phone but it doesn't seem to pick up the noise.

 

Here's a clip of the fan noise. The microphone I have picks it up pretty well. I've amplified it a bit so it's louder than what it actually sounds like, but you'll be able to hear sound I'm referring to. If you turn your volume down so the beginning is just a very quiet air noise, then it will sound similar to what I hear.

I recorded the clip while starting a game so the fan would kick up. It starts out with just the one larger fan running (which is pretty quiet and has no motor noise). Then the smaller corner fan turns on, which has pronounced motor noise, and it kicks up a few times through the clip. The clicking is the hard drive writing the recording, which the microphone seems to pick up louder than I hear it, along with a couple mouse clicks.
http://www.hex2bit.com/public/fan noise.mp3

Other np5796 owners, let me know if your fans sound like this, or if it's just mine. Thanks!

Edit (7/20/2008):
I wanted to outline my methods for getting this sound clip, so people don't think the fan is REALLY LOUD. The microphone was on top of my laptop, with the pickup only a few inches from where my face would normally be, not by the fan vent or anything. The sound it picked up was fairly accurate to what I hear. Second, I amplified the clip 18x, so it's a LOT louder than what it actually sounds like, and there might be some background noise from my fridge, AC, etc. I did this to better illustrate the motor noise, not to demonstrate how loud the fans are. So please don't go thinking this laptop is insanely loud. In the relative world of laptops, it's pretty typically of a gaming laptop, with the exception of the added motor noise from the one fan. The motor noise is probably around twice as loud as the wind noise from the fan, and even more annoying to listen to. Without the motor noise, I would have no issue what-so-ever with the fan noise... and would make this laptop perfect.

 

I knew it, I knew the 5796 is still loud. I just knew it!

 

Why would it run any quieter?? Same fans, and the low fan mode is the same also.....

 

Man. I hope the NNP8660 isn't that loud. I'd never heard the 5793, just heard about how loud it was, but that is loud.

I guess its good to know it won't melt down on you though.

 

the air 5792/3/6 blow during gaming can acutally burn something.

 

Has anyone ever tried to swap out the fans in the 5793/6 for quieter ones? Is that even possible?

 

My main question is if the fan is suppose to sound like that, with the motor noise? I really don't mind the air noise, I just don't like loud motored fans. I question whether it is normal or not...

 

your fan noise is definitely different from mine. I don't have motor noise at all.

 

The fans are loud and have a distinctive whine to them. The bad part is they seem to be on pretty much all the time! That is one reason why I am not panicking about the fan noise yet. Remember when the 570RU's came out with a BIOS revision to calm these suckers down? We'll probably see the same thing soon with the 570TU...

Bottom line: Don't panic yet. We have 8 BIOS revisions on the RU-U and this is brand new

What I certainly DON'T HOPE is that some bean counter in trying to save twenty-two cents on each unit didn't go with "Little Jimmy fan company" and these are lower quality junk.

 

I would still like to hear from someone who has the new np5796. I don't suspect the np5793 to be much different for parts, but you never know. If it turns out that it's just mine, I'll look at getting it replaced because it can get a little annoying when it is quiet around

 

Ah. Dont even say that!

 

I find the idle / low power auto made fans to be quieter than the 5793. I have owned both so i am writing this from experience. Although im sure that switching around the different bios with the previous 5793 changed things a bit.

 

@hex2bit, i think 5791/2/3/6 all have the same fan.

 

I had posted this earlier and I am not sure why it was deleted, probably an accident. That is from the 570-TY/5796. I recently configured 4 of them and they shared the same issue. I noticed it right away because the fans kept running, and for no reason according to my infrared thermal gauge. When the customer got the system he called and it was the first thing he wanted to talk about.

I have my fingers crossed this is something that can be addressed with a BIOS.

 

what I'm hearing won't be fixed with a BIOS update. It's the sound of the fan motor. It's like a low bearing growl that gets louder and louder as the fan increases speed.

I really don't mind them being on - even all the time - to dissipate heat. That's one of the things I appreciate about this model. But if the bearing or motor was quieter, it would be much nicer.

I'm thinking of opening it up, and seeing if it's possible to swap the stock fans out with quieter models (Zalman makes some pretty silent fans).

 

I have the NP5796 and that sounds about right compared to mine. Although, there is a lot of background noise so I could be wrong but that motor sound is how it should sound. I had the same reaction at first when I recieved my NP5796, but it's how it's supposed to be don't worry.

 

I guess im just used to the sound after having had the 5793 for awhile.
Brought it to the library today and there were no problems.

 

I dunno, improved heatsink maybe?
Which reminds me, does the TU actually have the SAME 2 fans as the RU ?

It is possible if you have the money for it. K-TRON replaced his regular fans, but for 600$ ...

Somehow, I don`t think any update or patch or firmware can fix this. It`s the fans themselves , I opened my RU, ran it on med/auto/full blast without the back panel, and believe it or not, IT DOES SOUND DIFFERENT. Most of the whine goes away, so whatever is making the whine comes from the back panel and the lid on top of the CPU fan. THe GPU one is weirder,less whine, but more annoying.

Did the same thing. Had to power down the unit 1 minute later

 

Six Hundred Dollars!!??! For fans? That can't be right at all. There's gotta be a way to replace them or upgrade them for under $100 (WAY under, I'd think)

 

where he got them from, they are used to selling thousands, so to only buy 2, the manufacturers still had to set up the manufacturing line to make them. all those machines cost money to do anything with them.

 

Holy..is like beeing in a plane that gets prepared to fly..

 

Did they become any quieter? I'm thinking of doing the same thing here.

 

Luckily I have a dual XEON server in my lab with Dynatron fans. I am so used to the fan noise it doesn't get to me. Sounds like many people are getting these systems and thinking that "it's ain't too cool".

Thatsa a no goot.

 

That's a very interesting point about the change in sound caused by removing the back panel - sort of like changing the muffler on your car by adding a tuned nozzle at the end (i.e., the same way one turns an innocuous little Honda Civic into an annoying little buzz-mobile). It might be possible to tone down the preceived noise level simply by tuning the vent slots.

 

I wouldn`t say necesarily quieter, but the whine is definitely not as irritating . Even when forcing them to full blast, they ran just like fans, not like cry babies.
I am positive the back panel or the metal plate on top of them has something to do with it. I know the fans themselves are POS but I`d take any improvement I can get. Honestly, had I been given a chance and if I had a couple of fans or replacements from OTHER laptops, I`d totally try them on for size.
I know it`s possible, but nobody seems to take interest in that.
It`s the sole reason why the RU/TU is not perfect. That and the crappy audio audio/speakers

True, I am very used to fan noise, my old desktop is like a leafblower most of the time.
But when studying, or trying to sleep , the RU is an alarm clock. Apparently, so is the TU.

Shyster1 , I would definitely say there is more to it than just the fans themselves, and the back panel is just another equation. I`ve had the laptop suspended and when putting my hand closer to the fans they increased speed and noise. Same thing with the panel. So more holes in the panel, and probably some sound dampener,any type of fabric or material would do, could improve the noise volume in terms of reducing it.
I`m inclined to get a separate back panel, drill il, place some anti-shock and anti-vibration add-ons and see how that works.
Unless I sell it first, which I`d much rather honestly, there`s nothing I can do with 3 gaming laptops

 

If I take compressed air and blow it in there I get a killer whine. The pitch of the blades may be causing some of this. I am going to take apart a RU-U today and compare the fans.

 

Interesting. Maybe not bearings or motors after all. KN - I'll be interested to know what you find!

 

Well this sucks bigtime
Yeah, Clevo have a great cooling system, but this? No way im getting this jet engine.....

What about NP8660? Will it basicly be the same as NP5796?

 

You`re lucky Mark, if I had the RU and the RU-U and the TU , they`d be sitting scattered all over my room running horrid tests.
I`m obsessed with fixing this fan noise, and already had some ideas but was too lazy to make them real. So far.
I dunno, I need a day off, I`ll swim through it.

 

The resellers aren`t saying anything, and why would they? If you`d knew that it is going to be noisy, would you buy it? No.
Or you could be told it`s not, and have a shock.
I`m fine with the RU, it has forced med speed, which is decent and works ok.
BUT BUT, it`s not silent enough for MY needs, everyone else is different though.
I`m picky about most stuff and if I`m obsessed with one thing, I never let it go.

 

this is totally catastrophizing.

 

No its realistic. Yeah, he did amplify it, but only to show us what he heard. And i didnt like the sound of that fan.

Eleron:
Yup, me too. The whole sound picture is important for me. My dad owns a dell Inspiron (the old model) and he have a decent GPU and a very fast CPU. It runs totally silent. So i know its possible to build a lappy which has both power and is quiet

 

I have both the RU and a XPS 1730. The sound when the Dell runs at full load is less irritating for me than the RU running on auto.
But that's me, as I said, I`m picky. The XPS suffers from no whining.
Thou shall not whine.
So would you like some cheese and crackers to go with that whine ?

 

wow that thing is loud!! i think i am going to stay away from this motor...

 

The thing is that with my heatsink mods the GPU fans are taken out of the equation if not gaming. The CPU is the one that is blaring (here) and that is at idle! I can put up with increased noise when I'm flogging the thing and two fans are running, but why if the CPU, doing nothing, with no thermal reason to have the fans this high... are they " flying"?

There is where I am coming from with the BIOS update. I'll tell you what though. You guys keep complaining, and saying you aren't going to buy it and someone is going to see it. They are going to report that back and you WILL have a BIOS revision answer one way or another because it will either be fixed that way or using cheese fans will be scrapped. There is no reason for it. If Vantec can make a Stealth case fan then the company that supply these fans to Clevo can do it too. Stop being greed-mongers and do it right!!! Clevo... you have ears, WTH were you guys thinking?!??!

 

there are general misunderstanding of 579x fan noise, yes it is loud, but:
1) that's full blast mode, which will never turn on automatically even with 6 hours straight crysis. unless your room temperature is 120F or above.
2) OP recorded it right next to the vent, with that, I can record the same loudness from my macbook pro.
3) he was intended to show us the motor noise, not how loud.
4) don't make comments if you never heard it personally before.

 

Well, tell you what Mark, I started the whole fan noise and ramping of the CPU fan debacle, and it eventually payed off, Clevo released 7 or 8 fan firmwares per Sager request, afaik, and the latest one removed ramping and turned the fan speed into a constant, and never turned off.
So Clevo can do it,if they want to show true support.
Having a quiet fan and then wham, a whiner a few seconds later, takes the laughter out of slaughter, na?

 

A-men brother.

 

WHY is it so hard for them to make a quiet laptop without tweaking software. Why cant they design a flawless high end cooling system?
I mean, that will only attract more customers.

What is stopping them (and a whole lot of other manufacturers)? Im just asking

 

Because people want to spend the lowest possible amount of money they can. China understands that and caters to that when they produce products.

 

Then please, forward me to a company that cares about people willing to spend a little more to get just the laptop they are looking for? I cant find any....
Sony? LG? Asus? I have owned a lot of lappys over the years (and know people with experience) and what seems to be common for all of them, is that either its bad fan control or just crazy sickening cooling system.

 

I'd take a little more expensive QUIET system, over a cheap LOUD system any day.

 

Cloudfire

That is what Killer Notebooks was founded on.
I love you

 

So guys, what would you suggest about this whole fan noise thing?
If the fan noise can be fixed by a BIOS upgrade or two, then of course we can just go buy the laptop without problems,... BUT if the sound is caused by bad fans, then I'd be in trouble if I bought the laptop right away. After all, they might change the fans after two months

Would your reseller give you new fans? Probably not, huh?

 

Give it a week and see what both Clevo and/or anyone else does with it.

I would give you new fans if they come out from Clevo. Before you go deciding on a different system look at the 17" I have coming out, the Nagamaki (not on site yet).

That has the Crossfire ATi or a single 8800 GTX in it. I can give you an update in 2 weeks when I get it if the fan noise is any better.

 

Fair enough,Mark

 

A few notes about the fan noise... it's not as loud as that clip makes it out to be. The microphone was sitting on top of the laptop, really only a couple of inches from where my face normally is, not by the fan exit, or anything like that. Second, it was amplified 18x from what the microphone picked up. I wanted to be able to illustrate the motor noise, not how loud the fan was. So don't go thinking the system is really loud, it's probably pretty typical of any gaming system. I really have no problem with the fan noise, other than the motor noise. I just don't like fans with noisy motors... which just seems pointless and easy to prevent.

I think I'll add a comment to my original post about my methods of producing the clip... if I can edit posts...