S260 Fan Noise and Solutions

Ok, first of all I've got to say after owning my S260 for now 3 weeks, I love it. However, I'm just not used to a laptop generating fan noise and it bothers me. When the laptop is using battery (because of my power management settings) it almost never comes on. I'm very pleased with the noise when on battery. The only time I hear something is when I play a game by using the CD drive. However, whenever the S260 is plugged in, the fan runs almost constantly. This is distracting to me, not that it's loud, but it's noticeable enough as it sits on my desk right next to my desktop and it gets annoying especially when I'm writing a paper or needing to concentrate. I don't understand why the fan is going because nothing is running, it's just sitting there with the lid open - that's it. So, I tried adjusting the power management settings, and still can't get the fan noise to silence. I even adjusted the settings to Quiet under the fan noise, and made the laptop adaptive rather than performance. The only thing that seems to make a difference is if I adjust the settings to about the same level as the laptop when it's on battery (which includes the lcd brightness way down).

This seems crazy, I don't want to have to have my laptop on power savings when it's plugged in, but I also don't want constant fan noise. Has anyone figured out a way to adjust their settings to keep the fan from coming on constantly? I don't mind it coming on periodically, but just don't want it running all the time! I would love to hear some suggestions to improve the fan noise issue because this is my ONLY complaint!

 

Hey, have you tried my suggestion made in the topic "Best Power Saving"? Modify the power scheme yourself to create a scheme that fits this "plug-in stand-by" situation. You can keep the LCD brightness to whatever brightness you like, but turn CPU & CPU Control to "Battery" & "Level 1" and see if that helps.

Another way is put your laptop in hibernation when you are not using it. That will kill the fan noise for sure. [ ]

 

Thanks for the suggestion - I've been tweaking the settings like crazy and haven't found one that I like yet (which keeps the noise of the fan to a minimum - again, this only pertains to when it's plugged in). Your suggestion of turning the CPU Control to Battery - the problem with that is then my brand new $2,000 laptop functions at 600 Mhz or slower, correct? Right now I have it at adaptive so when it isn't needed, it will run slower, but when I am running something more intensive, it can run at a faster speed. I just can't get myself to tweak the settings to a point where the laptop is functioning like a slow old machine - that seems silly. Is that what it comes down to? Either slowing your laptop way down or dealing with a noisy fan?

Something interesting though as I type this, which I've been at it for about 10 minutes now, the fan hasn't kicked in at all. My settings right now are power savings - Off, CPU Control - adaptive, CPU fan control - level 1, optical drive - enabled and brightness - 8. I just spent 5 more minutes opening several programs and trying to do things that might get the fan to kick in (short of using the optical drive) and no fan noise. Funny thing is that this is the way the laptop functioned for the first two weeks that I had it, and just the past couple of days the fan seems to be kicking in more. Right now I'm very happy, as for the last 15 minutes or so, no fan noise at all. I have no idea what's going on. Last night it was sitting on my desk as I was working on my desktop and wasn't being used at all, but the fan was going for a couple of hours straight.

As for the suggestion about putting it in hibernation - I appreciate your suggestion, but that's what I'm trying to avoid - having to basically turn my computer off to avoid fan noise! There's GOT to be a better way. Oh well, it's now 20 minutes and no fan noise so for now things seem to be better.

 

Just a quick update... by going into my home network to get a file off my desktop computer, my fan kicked in for a couple of seconds. I got the file and closed out of everything. The laptop has now been sitting on my desk for about 10 minutes or so without any use, and the fan keeps coming on periodically (about every 15 seconds it comes on, then after 3 seconds it goes off, and repeats itself over and over). This is what I don't get. It was sitting on my desk for 20 minutes and no fan at all. Then once I do something that causes the fan to start, it creates a cycle where the fan won't ever stop coming on unless I close the lid and put it in standby. Has anyone else noticed this pattern - once the fan cycle starts, it continues no matter what the laptop is doing (or in my case, not doing)?

 

Well, dunno about the fan wouldn't stop completely situation, but for the problem of limited performance in the absolute power saving mode, well, you could always change the power scheme when you need the performance[ ]. Set either S1 or S2 to quick launch power panel, then just change power scheme whenever you need it. Not the best solution, but it works.

 

orangeman,

I just received my S260 and love it EXCEPT the fan noise as well. My Z1 is whisper quiet, but I have learned it uses a different fan than the S260. I, too, have tried tweaking all the power settings, but don't see the point of running it at reduced speed just to eliminate the noise. My solution is simple. . I am going to return it to Amazon.com and look for a different, quieter brand. I have heard the Fujitsu P7010 is better value and quiet too. Also considering the Panasonic CF-W2.

Deron

 

Hi!

I've read your message about the annoying Fan Noise of Sony Vaio. Today I bought a second hand SR17 which also makes a fan noise.
My question is: Could you find a way how to run the fan at a constant speed?
Mine is running for 10 secs and shuts down. then again it starts and stops.. It is very annoying.
Is there a way to use another software like speedfan? I've tried but it could not detect the CPU fan...

Thanks
Murat

Life though is Beautifull