Series 7 NP700Z3AH Fan noise -abnormally loud?

Hey all,

Samsung sent me a NP700Z3AH after I shipped my QX411 back and forth numerous times.

It seems I've inherited another laptop with issues. I've been browsing your forum the past few weeks and I decided to sign up and see what some of you think or if you are experiencing the same issue.

I've included a video clip taken late at night in a quiet room so you can hear the idle fan noise. It seems like a constant whooshing sound even in silent mode. It seems like cooling would be an issue from the design and my unit only has a single fan compared to the larger laptops with 2. But macbooks have a similar design and are very quiet.

New video recordings: 4-25-2012 record 01

4-25-2012 Record 02

4-25-2012 Record 03

In the one video I ramp up the fans by running prime95. In one video I go from standby to on and allow you to hear the fan. Basically the issue is, in a quiet room, I can be 5ft away and still hear the fan or noise. Even with silent mode it's noisy. Is it the hard drive spinning or the fan?



Old Link: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9534475/Video%20Apr%2020%2C%2012%2029%2015%20AM.mov

I also noticed my laptop was thermal throttling when I first got it. If I ran prime 95 it was hitting 95C and then dialing down the clock speed. Since then, I followed someones dis-assembly guide and ended up replacing the thermal paste with some I own. That seems to help. I've got some screenshots I can upload if need be. The unit now idles around 40-49C and when I ran prime95 It maxed out around 78-81C which is much more comfortable and kept the clockspeed up around 2.5ghz.

Thanks all

 

I've posted some updated videos to help get a response from everyone.

Thank you

 

what's the temperatures using HWinfo64?

 

Yes. I just got one for my wife, and I'm sorry to say that it runs hot and the fans, in normal mode, just keep running. I wonder if it's a bad unit and if I should either return it or disassemble and use better thermal paste. I put it on quiet mode, with the fan running constantly at low speed, and it seems to be running up in to the mid- and upper-50-deg range when doing basically nothing.

 

My S7 is basically silent when used for basic tasks (web surfing, MS Office work, etc.). I only hear the fan kick in when under significant load (gaming, mainly). Even then, it's not that loud.

Sounds like you got a faulty unit (no pun intended).

 

the fan is running in silent mode too, but very silent, I can only hear it if I am very close to the notebook.(ssd)

Theres seems to be a strange bug with the audio driver, sometimes there is white-noise-kinda sound coming from the speakers which I mistook for fan noise at first. This persists even after a reboot. If I play a loud sound for 1-2 seconds it disappears.

 

Temps are the same as with HWmonitor. 45-50ish idle

 

Same as hwmonitor 45-55 idle/basic usage.

Did you get her the 14"? I disassembled and changed the thermal paste which helped fix the thermal throttling when running prime95, it also lowered my idle temps by about 10c, but it's still hot...and loud...ugh

You have the 15" with two fans though?

Do you have the 14"? Did you put an SSD in yourself?

 

yes to both questions.

the disassembly guide for the 15" model applies to the 14" version too

 

Did it make your unit quieter?

I can hear mine in a quiet room 5 ft away from the unit. Part of me is unsure if it's the hard drive or the fan noise.

Also, does this white noise happen when the speakers are muted?

 

yes, subjectvily it is quieter. not a lot, but there is a difference.

yes, the white noise persists if the speakers are muted too.


*edit* btw, I did not replace the thermal paste yet, I am waiting for my intel 6230 card to arrive.

 

The hard drive noise should be immediate once the computer is turned on, but the fan may take a little time to get going. Also, the hard drive noise may be amplified through slight vibration if the computer is on a firm surface. Does the noise change if you lift the computer up?

John

 

I also had this problem, noise from the fan.
I found something that really helps
switch the graphics for the web (in the SWITCHABLE GRAPHICS)
choose the power saving
I have done it in my laptop now it is less hot and the fan doesn't work so much
You should do it with every program that you don't need strong graphic

 

I uninstalled some bloatware and temps went down between 10 and 20 degrees. I'm thinking of doing a clean install. Now to figure out the touchpad.

 

Read this thread, if you haven't done so already.

John

 

by the way, whats your thermal paste made of, fairy dust and unicorns ?

I'm using arctic cooling mx-2 and prime95-64bit still gets me temps around 91C with inplace FFT and 4 workers

 

Do they still use thermal pad for those laptop? Because laptop components are not likely desktop, so that most of old laptops used thermal pad instead of thermal paste. I remember once time I tore apart my old HP and apply some Arctic Silver 5 and after that, CPU temp was decreased.

 

Not really. Video 3 in my original post shows me turning it on and putting it to sleep. There are vent holes right in the front where the hard drive is. It sounds like most of the noise is coming from the left side of the machine which is where the hd is. Left front.

Already did this.

Clean install was performed.

That was with the samsung paste...I've since replaced it with mx-4
See Video 02 For temps now. about 10-18 C cooler.

No thermal pads. 1 small fan inside the 14"

 

Something I forgot to ask previously: Is the HDD 5400 rpm or 7200 rpm? The latter tend to be slightly noisier. Also, how is the HDD fitted into the chassis? Is it metal to metal or are there any rubber pads?

John

 

I was referring to the temps you got with your own paste, which I assume is the mx-4 paste. I am a litte surprised because you get 78-81C with prime95 and my own readings (with mx-2) were around 91C after 10 minutes.

 

7200rpm Hitachi. I'm starting to think this is the source of the problem.

Yep. Arctic cooling mx-4. Great stuff. Cleaned with articlean first.


<--- Pic of inside

 

Try listening carefully close to the front left corner. The photo shows that the HDD is a tight fit in the chassis (no space for any rubber pads) which would help amplify any noise. The fan is blowing out the back which should reduce the fan noise slightly (depending on what you have behind the computer.

John