Fan Noise in Refurb VPCZ Models?

I also noticed that the fan seems to generate quite a lot of noise in the refurb VPCZ i purchased from Sony Style. From the moment the computer begins booting, the fan noise begins. It's not like a silent spinning fan noise either, there seems to be a "buzz". It sort of sounds like when you are burning a CD in the laptop.

Is anyone else experiencing this from the refurbs they recently purchased?

 

I received a refurb z11 from the outlet about 3-4 weeks ago, I'm not experiencing any problems with fan noise, it's very silent in normal use and only kicks up when playing a game. I do remember people stating that there's a silent mode of some sort, maybe you can try setting it to that?

 

My refurb VPCZ's fan is not loud either, I just got it Friday.

 

maybe its only on the 1600x900 screens. Myself and user BlackLS3 seem to have the same symptoms affecting the Refurb Full HD Zs.

Does anyone know if there are manual fan controls through either Bios or Sony Control Center?

 

Search for modded BIOS. I installed the BIOS, changed the temp threshold for fan speed, then choose static graphic switching, and install the latest Intel and NVIDIA graphics driver (thanks computercowboy!), and OC the GPU to 600/1320/750. Runs cool, and couldn't be happier.

 

My year old Vaio Z (i just got a new palmrest today on Sony!) buzzes, the tech was a contractor so i didn't want him to disassemble my mobo, etc.

 

I returned my first refurb because of the fan noise and ordered a FHD 1290X that will be arriving tomorrow. I'm hoping this one will not have the buzzing sound.

Has anybody replaced the fan themselves with another unit?

 

I don't know if the fan is defective as opposed to maybe the ball-bearings being misaligned or something. I dunno though. I'm too lazy to remove everything to get to the fan

 

You may be right. I'm convinced something with the fan in my first unit was off.. it sounded eerily similar to the busted fan that I had replaced in my work notebook, except the Z sounded busted immediately upon startup and it was more subtle. I'm hoping my next Z shows up as silent as many others report theirs to be - I really want to like this machine and end a year long search for a suitable notebook.

 

Good for you, they wouldn't replace my Palm rest.
Albeit I sent it in for something else and didn't have the time to argue about it.
I bet mine is warn down worse than yours too.
I have CC extended warranty but I don't want to lose my system for a few weeks for something so minor.

Also afaik, the buzzing is from the CPU, nothing you can do about it.

 

If you can do a careful visual inspection of the fan, that might help. I had a similar issue with an old VAIO, and found that one of the blades of the fan had broken off! That's a bit extreme, of course, but even a tiny bit chipped off one of the blades will cause an increase in the noise. Ditto for anything touching the blades.

When I had the fan replaced (not from Sony - it was not under warranty), the fan ran at full speed ALL the time. I discovered that the idiot techie had replaced it with a 2 wire fan (which had no speed control). I sent it back to him and made him put in a 3 wire fan, and now it is fine.

mfpreach: I've never heard of a CPU making a buzzing sound. Please enlighten me.

 

Apparently the i5's make a buzzing sound that annoys some people. There was a discussion about this last year somewhere in the forums. You should search for it either in the owners thread or in this forum.

Some people reported a buzzing but I think it is if you have sensitive hearing.

EDIT: Lol the reason I know about this is I was active on a thread regarding this last year, see:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/480987-vpc-z-arrandale-i520m-whining-noise-cpu.html

 

LOL New to me!

 

I bought a VAIO VPCF11Z1E (UK) off ebay. Third party refurbed (new motherboard).

The fan was very noisy even at idle.

A gpu burn-in test revealed the gpu was hitting its thermal limits and throttling back at 102 degrees C.

Cpu temps were fine.

I opened it up and the fan looked fine, not clogged up.

The cpu and the gpu share the same heatsink and the fan was keeping the cpu temps in check just fine.

The only thing I can think of is the heatsink was not sat correctly (or bent out of shape) on the gpu due to a poor quality refurb.

I never got to find out though as I returned it.

 

VPCZ is NOT a VPCF

 

I've had 2 refurbs (Z11 and Z13) and neither had fan problems. I suspect this is just an intermittent and occasional problem of the fan used in the Z, and either it shows up more in refurbs because it tends to occur after a year or so of use, or it is just as likely to be in a new one, but if loud enough the purchaser would always return it for a new one.

In any event, the relatively few responses suggest it's a "minority" defect, still worth getting fixed on the refurb 90 day wtty - or even returned for a refund in 30 days - if it really bothers you.

 

I am just returning a refurb Z12 to SonyStyle for issues including fan noise.

The SONY refurbs are supposed to ALL be 30 day returns,
so I am curious since you refer to the fan noise "occur(ing)
after a year or so of use".
If SonyStyle is telling the truth (that all their refurbs are 30 day returns),
then these Z's could have sat around awhile,
but should not have had more than 30 days of use, correct?

 

Man MW8T has some anger management issues. Did anyone check out this thread before it got cleaned up?

 

I'm going to call today and see if I can get it fixed. If not, i'm either going to return it or sell it.

 

Ah, but how many times has each been returned?

 

So I called Sony about getting the fan noise and screen repaired. Apparently they are sending a technician to my house to fix the laptop on site.

Has anyone had this experience before?

 

The original order confirmation email
has all the specs for the unit you bought.
If it says in home service, that is why
you got it. Since it was B Stock (refurb)
they would have made a mistake.
What are they supposed to fix with your
screen?

 

i dont care about the screen as much as fan. if they fix the noise ill be more than happy. i just dont get how they fix it at your home?

 

They disassemble it.
Probably 45 minutes to take apart and put back together.
I had a tech change the HDD in my old Z and that's how long it took. Fan should take about the same.
Still wanted to know what was wrong with the screen on your refurb and if your order showed on-site?

 

When I check my confirmation email or order status on SonyStyle, it actually does not show the 1 year in home service. I did notice on other models that it did specifically mention that, so I may have overlooked it on mine when purchasing it.

 

And the screen has a yellow tint. You can see the backlight bleeding in from the top and bottom as well. This is noticeable from startup (I started another thread about this).

 

So the technician is coming over today afternoon to replace the ridiculously loud fan. If he makes any scratches on the machine or the noise still doesnt go away, I am going to return the laptop to Sony. It still falls within the 30day return period.

 

So the technician made it worse. I felt bad, the guy spent so much time. However, by the time he was done, the fan made just as much noise and on top of that the wireless stopped working.

So i called Sony and requested a refund.

Turns out, the Vaio SA came out just today!!!! So they are refunding my original laptop and also giving me a 5% discount on top of my EPP discount as well. So i ordered the Vaio SA with the 1600x900 screen!