Fan noise - suggestions?

Hi there,

I have some trouble with my Vaio SZ370p...since a couple of weeks my fan makes weird noises and the computer is running hot.

As far as I understood, there are basically 3 different speeds the fan works on. After starting the notebook it runs silent, when the first programs the fan starts running louder and faster and in a third step, during gaming for example, it goes full power. Now my trouble starts in the 2nd speed, where the fan makes noises like a playing card in the spokes of a bicycle. Additionaly - in the third phase during gaming - the sounds disappears (maybe because of the speed of the fan) but the computer runs hot:
Notebook Hardware Control tells me the CPU temperature rises above 80 degrees Celsius in about 2 minutes. Thermal zones heat up to 90 degrees. As a result the HD start heating up. The fan seems to keep the temperature at those settings, but the computer gets extremely hot on the bottom - regardless of the base - and palmrests are ready for eggs sunny side up.
Once the game is closed the CPU cools down to about 60 and then slowly drops.

So, I guess, because of the noise in "phase 2", that my fan has some issues and needs replacement. Anyone ever did that or can point out some helpful links?

Any other suggestions what may cause the heat and noise?

Thank you!

 

Try to update drivers. It could help with fan management. Also make sure you have the latests bios.

If you want to reduce processor heat, and overall heat, try Undervolting your CPU. Search it in the forums. It'll bring your cpu to alot lower than 60

 

Maybe you may want to open up your laptop to clean the fans or something along those lines...

 

Yea, that too, Dust will wreak havoc on any moving parts in your computer.

 

Thank you so far, but sorry, cleaning does not solve the issue. As I implied above I guess it is a mechanical problem with the fan, maybe the bearing is broken, as the noise (which is no typical fan noise) appears only at certain speeds...

Anyone ever changed a fan on SZ or knows a website with helpful pictures or information?

 

No one?





Ever?




No? ;(

 

Hi hara,

Edit: if your problem goes beyond dust bunnies in the heatsink, you might consider getting a new fan, I'm considering doing this since mine rattles annoyingly as well. The link below will show you how to take apart the laptop.

I had a similar problem:
- Computer was getting WAY too hot, even the carbon fiber was too hot to put my hands on.
- Computer would shut down from overheating (which is very bad for your hardware) at one point.

I downloaded SpeedFan and found that some of the temps were hovering around 90 C. Not too good. The heatsink itself was hot, but wasn't cooling the laptop enough.

What I did
-------------
Check out this link to find out how to take apart the laptop.
http://laptoplogic.com/resources/detail.php?id=43&PHPSESSID=3420b1fb6046727dcf632c4dd238739e

First, I took the laptop apart and blew compressed air through the vents, cleaned the keyboard, fan etc. There seemed to be dust on the fan that wouldn't come off by air though. Then I put the laptop back together. It didn't solve my problem.

Warning: if you blow compressed air near the fan, make sure you use a toothpick or screwdriver to stop the fan from moving. Apparently this can cause the fan to rattle later (which happened to me).

A few days later I tried again, but this time I took out the heatsink (has a couple of screws on the CPU in the center to remove it). It comes out very nicely. Make sure you don't touch the contact between the cpu and heatsink or let anything else touch it when the heatsink is on the table.

When I took out the heatsink, there were a few dust bunnies that were clearly preventing the air from flowing into the heatsink wings and out of the lappy. Once I put the laptop back together, no heat problems.



Other notes
----------------
My lappy is usually on a flat surface with maybe 1 mm of softness.
If you don't want to take your lappy apart right away, if you change the processor max speed to 50% in Power Options, this will cut the heat dramatically.
My lappy is a VGN-SZ460N. (Sony Vaio)
You don't need to take out the front panel (keyboard/carbonfiber) to clean the heatsink, but you might need to do this to replace the fan, not sure.

Let me know how it goes!


P.S. If anyone has a simple solution for fixing a minor fan rattle, please let me know!

 

Thank you so far, slick. Solving the heat issue does not seem to be a problem and I will take care of it today. I already found some dust bunnies inside the grill and will go on cleaning the complete interior...

The fan sound though still prevails and annoys me. I made this recording of it just a second ago so you can listen that this is not the typical fan-issue:
http://www.cotton.in-berlin.de/fan.wav
The fan makes those noises only when programs are used. Once I play games, it runs normal at high speed, but the computer gets hot. I will try to access the fan soon, but first I need to find out where to get a replacement...

 

Hara, I listened to the wav file you sent - seems like grinding to me. I don't know how to fix it myself, but I would first google 'vaio fan grinding' or just 'laptop fan grinding' to see if anyone else has the same issue. It might be that your fan is rubbing up against some loose piece of metal or plastic, or maybe it needs some oil (I hear wd-40 works well). Failing that, you could get a new part online.

 

yeah it sounds like something loose is impeding your fan which would explain why it's getting so hot it's not able spin as fast as it's supposed to. And to the other guy with the rattling fan, did you try greasing it with wd-40? Mine used to rattle pretty bad before too before I fixed it that way.

 

My fan has exactly the same problem, when I played your wav it grinded in unison with mine .

Is there anywhere you can get a replacement fan because the noise is really annoying. I tried to blow compressed air at it but it didn't fix it. Also is there a guide anywhere to remove the LCD portion of the laptop? the technician didn't seem to screw the hinge in properly when I sent it in for repairs last time.

 

I am having a similar problem Hara (though not as pronounced).

People have suggested cleaning the fan & fixing the heat sink but I am unable to get at those components.

Using that link that provides the step by step to removing the harddrive I can at least see the fan but removing the last piece covering it looks iffy - does anyone have any further guidance on this?

As for the heat sink, I have yet to see that.


If anyone has any more help to add please share!

(Also: does anybody know of a trustworthy company that could install a new fan on my behalf?)

 

I also have fan noise problem ( video) However, mine is not SZ but an older S series. I tried cleaning the fan but did not help at all. I guess the only solution is to replace it.

 

Well, I will throw my opinion into the ring.
I got the Z540 with the p8400 2.4ghz processor.

I think compared to my lenovo w500, the Vaio sounds like a jet engine. Seriously. Or a hair dryer. Compared to my old SZ it is a little quieter but not by much. My SZ had fan issues towards the end and I worry that the Z won't age well. The fan is always on. I don't mind the fan kicking in under load, but it seems to do this when just surfing or doing office productivity apps or watching hulu or h.264 videos. By comparison, I have to be encoding video or gaming for the Lenovo's fan to kick in, and even then it is about as loud as the Z's quiet mode. I have absolutely no idea how Lenovo does it, b/c the laptop still runs cool. I am a bit curious as to why one would set the cpu to 50% max in order to silence the fan, b/c then that would be making the processor effectively 1.2ghz. It's still fast for MS word and firefox, but still I'd want to use all my ghz and have it still be reasonably quiet.

Ameliorating factors: 1. My room is pretty much dead silent. 2. The Lenovo is basically the quietest laptop out there that still uses a fan. 3. I am sensitive to fan noise, probably b/c I read about it here first and b/c I was astounded at how quiet my Lenovo is. 4. I had an xps m1330 and that was objectively a jet engine. There can be no debate about that. 5. If I'm honest, my Asus 1000HA eeepc is probably a hair quieter. But it was only $300, so I wasn't as sensitive to the noise :>

 

Where can I get the sony Fan of it?
I tried to call their Canada sony part center for 1 hr and the usual run around makes me frustrated, and finally a very professional CSR tells me that the parts department is closed at 3 PM PST, so he gave me the number to call tomorrow.

I will update when I finally get to the department.