Is Z1 my fan abnormally loud? (mp3 file)

I bought a Z a couple weeks ago from JR.com and though I like most everything about it the fan continually irritates me.

My old Z550 had a lot of fan noise but it was mostly just the sound of air being expelled.

My Z1 has a mechanical whine in addition with sets me on edge.

I recorded the following sound file from a distance of 4 inches from the side air vent:

STE-001.mp3 - 0.20MB


If anyone could take a listen to the linked file and let me know if they have a similar/not similar sound from their own Z I'd greatly appreciate it.

 

Have you tried listening to that file yourself? Does it sound at all like the real thing?

With my speakers, it just sounds like an airplane engine sound or something lol.

Why did you record it from 4 inches away (is your head usually that close)? And what was the usage scenario at the time (0% idle CPU, 100% full power)?

 

^ Good questions.

Yes I have listened and it does sound like the real thing.

That "mechanical whine" is what I am referring, not just the sound of the fan pushing air.

I recorded it that close because my sound recorder isn't good enough to pick up the sound clearly at head level with all the ambient noise.

I was just trying to convey the nature of a noise as a kind of "whine" or "electric hum".

That noise was recorded with the fan speed set to silent with the computer at the desktop level with only Excel open.

 

LOL - that actually does sound somewhat like a ride in a commercial airliner..
It sounds like it is expelling alot of air despite being on SILENT fan-mode (you did mention the sound was recorded 4 inches away).

I speak this from personal experience, but have you ever worked with small paper bits with your machine before (or anything small yet 'foldable' like paper, say tissue bits for example)?

I had a small bit of paper fall into the vent while my machine was off while it was in the bag with a few bits of assignment papers, and heard a similar sound for a week before I decided to open her up to check for dust. Saw the paper lodged in the inner-vent exit which was HARD to see from the outside. Took it out, sounds normal today. The paper was a left-over from those plastic binding thingys (smaller rectangular things about 2mm wide and 7mm long).

Just a note, this happened on my VGN-Z. Not too sure how it would sound on a VPC-Z if I stuck a paper piece in it...

 

Unfortunately I don't think that's the issue but thanks for your thoughts on it.

Anyone else have any ideas?

 

I listened to the recording. Your Z is fine.

The fan has a slight whine to it because of its new design. It differs from the old generation Z.

In my experience, and your recording would seem to support this, you have to put your head right by the vent (i.e. four inches) in order to hear that whirring. If I'm working on Excel and there is any ambient noise in the room, I'm not going to hear anything.

I wouldn't worry. The fan noise topic has been beaten to death in so many threads. Try some searches. You'll find you're not alone in being bothered by it, but it's nothing out of the ordinary.

 

My fan has the same mechanical whine

 

Thanks for the feedback.

 

Can I ask what is your CPU temperature when idling/web surfing/light tasks?

Mine is around 50~55 Celsius usually, and with "power saver" cpu mode, "silent" fan mode, the fan is usually extremely quiet.

Of course it gets quite loud at full load.

 

sounds normal to me. i have my fan set at balanced

 

I've got the same problem with my z13... thanks for this thread!

 

That sounds appalling. I'm about to buy a Z13. I hope this really isn't the norm. There's no real way to test it out in a shop. There's way too much ambient noise to get any idea. Plus you never manage to put it under any strain.

 

I haven't seen a Z13, but I would be willing to bet that that is the norm. That is the way it sounds on the Z11. It really isn't that big of a deal. You said yourself you can't hear it with ambient noise, so what's the issue? When I'm in the library, it is not audible unless I stick my ear down to the vent.

If you put the computer under strain, it is going to get louder, but what gets louder is the woosh of air more than the whine of the fan. That mechanical sound gets drowned out by the traditional whoosh that you think of when you think of laptop fans.

 

I thought it sounded unusally loud... until i recorded it myself with my phone and it came out exactly like your audio file, and yeah i usually cant hear it unless i'm a few inches away

 

I said myself you can't hear it in a shop when you're trying it out. Back home it might be another story.

 

If you have ambient noise back home (i.e. air conditioning, TV, kids talking, fan, etc.) you won't hear it. If you have absolutely no ambient noise, you'll hear it very slightly. It's a little louder if you have the profile set on "Performance" mode as opposed to the "Silent" mode.

 

This is normal all VPC Z series have it, Sony know above this issue but ...

try listen VPC X this is a rattling sound.

 

As a VGN-Z owner whose machine has been making high pitched sounds late last year (I bought this machine back in December 08), I can tell you know Sony does NOT acknowledge sounds with their fans, well not with mine at least.

I sent it into service as this is a bad-ish motherboard issue, but they told me it's 'normal' (like heck it is...) and to keep me at ease they swapped the fan. Though the sound is still there. My warranty runs out late next month, though the repair work they have just done has a workmanship-warranty of 3 months... So we'll see...

In the end I gave up asking them to swap the motherboard; if you can't hear it with ambient noise around you, you're sweet. But then I work at night most of the time (in my quiet little room), and the high-pitched sound occuring every 3-5 minutes does get to you, and you do tend to get worrieds, all the more so since my Z never used to make such sounds till late last year.

I think us VAIO owners have it lucky though. All VAIOs I have heard are DARN quiet compared to other brands. I know a fellow who owns a Toshiba lappie (16' screen, big entertainment machine that's a step down from the Qosimo). The fan on that monstrosity lives up to the size; it sounds like a vacuum cleaner... And some Dells too to boot.