VAIO SR: any difference in noise generation between models with ATI/Intel GPU?

Hi people,

I got my new VAIO SR21M (European model with ATI Radeon graphics) a few days ago, and I really like this little fellow. One thing, however, almost drives me mad and that's the kind of noise it generates.

First, the spin-noise of the Toshiba 320 GB hard drive is pretty distracting. It is noticeably louder than that of the Seagate Momentus drive that I have in my old Inspiron 4000, and to which I am used.

Worse, however, is that the fan of the SR is running essentially all the time, and that it apparently does so at somewhat varying speed. This produces a rise and fall in the fan-noise level that repeats cyclically every ten to twenty seconds or so. This happens even under idling conditions, in both Vista and Linux.

Does anyone else have this kind of problem? And do the SR models with Intel graphics run any quieter (cooler) than the ATI models?

I am still within the return period, and I am considering to return the machine in order to get an SR with Intel graphics instead.

Your input is appreciated!

 

the intel IGP will run much cooler than the ati card... but no where near the preformance.

 

Have you tried going under power management and selecting a "Silent" profile to see if that helps? You should also check to see that your notebook isn't turning your hard disk off in your power settings. That might lead to noise problems as well.

 

Thank you for the hints.

I have tried switching to a silent profile under Kubuntu (Intrepid Ibex, latest beta) without success. I haven't tried this under Vista yet.

I will also try to tune the power settings for the hard disk. It may actually be that what I experience is somehow related to the "whirring noise" for a VAIO CS that was reported by some other user in this forum.

Thanks again.

 

Yeah try Vista and set Vista to powersaving mode AND set Vaio control center to Silent mode.

For the harddrive see if changing the AAM value helps. The Toshiba 320GB is known to be noisy.

 

I'm interested in this. Not that my Toshiba drive's noise really bothers me, but if I could get it quieter, I'd like to.

How does one go about checking/altering the AAM value, please?

 

Same question here. How can one alter the AAM value, please?

Regarding the Toshiba drive, it's at least twice as loud as my Seagate Momentus 5400.2, and the latter is about three years old! More recent Momentus drives (fourth or fifth generation) should be even quieter, I guess.

I have also tried a Hitachi Travelstar once (in my old Inspiron),
and that one was dead-silent, significantly better than the Momentus when it came to noise.

 

Hello, cannot help regarding your model, but just bought a Vaio FW11M (P8400, 16' screen) which is about as noisy as yours. Fan goes on and off for very trivial tasks like going back and forward one page in browser, or watching jpegs.
I noticed that selecting Power Saver Plan lowers fan action somewhat (at the expense of performance, processor is set at 50%). Also, I use Core Temp to check CPU temperature: I have observed than fan turns on at relatively low temperatures (37° C).
All in all, it is a disappointing experience. There are no power or fan options in BIOS, although Sony support say they might issue a BIOS update regarding this issue.

 

Here' some progress with Vista!

I managed to silence the fan by setting Vista to power saving mode and enabling the Silent option in VAIO Control Center. The latter is really crucial, as Phil already pointed out.

Finally, I have also disallowed Vista to power down the drive (inside Energy Saver Plan). All this has helped quite a bit. At times I can still hear some slight whirring, but it's bearable now.

Now I need to figure out how to achieve all of this under Linux ...

It's really a shame that there's no possibility to adjust fan behavior through
BIOS. I very much hope that SONY will indeed release that BIOS update.

Thanks for all your input.

 

First try the trial version of HDTune Pro. On the last tab you can tweak it.

If that is something you'd like to have on a regular basis, then search the hardware forum for hdparm (I believe it's called, if not let me know).

 

Hello, I checked carefully: there is no Silent option in the FW11M Vaio Control Center So this is not implemented on all models.

 

Hi ssd4all,
I'm very interested in the model you got, the SR21M/S and couldn't find any reviews or tests about in on the net yet. Could you write a small review on performance, everyday work, case quality, temperature etc (you know, the whole bunch) and perhaps post some pictures as I fear the display might be a bit too glossy.
That would be awesome!

 

I had both ATI and now have Intel GPU SR models...

I would have to say the noise is about the same, BUT, the Intel GPU stays SLIGHTLY cooler under normal conditions (not 3-d gaming/intensive work).

It's nice b/c sometimes the air is so cool blowing out that its almost like a little air conditioner for my hands.

 

Hi wasabah,

Eventually I might actually write a full review if I will ever find the time for this (real life is getting in the way right now, and I had the computer only for a few days, so I barely know it in everyday use yet...). But here are some first impressions:

Case quality:

This is excellent. The materials may not be as premium as on the VAIO Z but the overall finish is very good. There is also no battery wiggling present.
The only bad thing are the noisy touchpad buttons.

Keyboard:

This is in principle very good. I say in principle, because one of the keys in my unit is somewhat sticky. Otherwise it's a joy to type on that keyboard.
The keyboard was the main reason why I preferred the SR over the Z. The keys on the latter are, imo, too small for heavy typing work.

Screen:

It's decent. Colors are vibrant, and brightness is good. Viewing angles (both horizontally and vertically) could be better. And, yes, it's pretty glossy. I prefer non-glossy screens, but didn't have problems to adjust to this one
(I am not using the computer outside).


Battery life:

I measured 4 hours in my first test. Unfortunately I seem to have that battery drain problem when the machine is switched off.

Linux compatibility:

Surprisingly good, for such a new product! Kubuntu Intrepid Ibex is running pretty well on the SR already. Most things work out of the box (graphics, sound, touchpad including vertical scrolling, ethernet, supend to ram, suspend to disk, VGA port for external screen/projector). WLAN and bluetooth are also recognized and configured, but I haven't tested them yet.
Some little things need to be fixed (some Fn key-combinations don't work yet,
and the speakers are not muted when headphones are plugged in). Power management works to a reasonable extent (CPU frequency scaling works, and screen is automatically dimmed when on battery). But see also below.


Heat and Noise:

Heat is not a problem under normal use. But noise potentially is (see this thread). You can silence the fan under Vista, but this requires you to reselect the Silent option in VAIO Control Center after EVERY reboot (even if the button indicates that this is already the case). Strangely, this setting is not properly stored between reboots.

I haven't figured out yet how to solve the fan/noise problem under Linux. Even if the CPU is running in power save mode (800 MHz) the fan is running all the time and it is producing this annoying whirring noise.

I hope this was helpful.

Cheers!

 

Could you elaborate a bit, please, on differences in fan behavior of the Intel GPU model compared to the ATI model? I mean does the fan in the Intel model run permanently after you boot up the machine? This is the default behavior in my ATI model (which requires then adjustment through VAIO Control Center).

If there's no difference in this respect, I may as well stick to the ATI model.

Thanx

 

That's too bad, because it made a main difference for me.

In my (German) version of the SR's VAIO Control Center there's an entry "Energy options" where you can select the "temperature control mode" (either "Full Power" or "Silent").

 

Thanks Phil, I'll check those out.

 

I'm not even aware when my fan switches off/on. I can't imagine how people can hear it at all

 

yes it runs after bootup..about a couple minutes after though.

It doesn't matter. Get the ATI if you don't care about battery life. I enjoy my 7 hours of battery life, so Intel for me (i also have extended battery)

 

Hi, does the Sony vaio extended battery extend outwords towards the side of the vaio notebook or the bottom like HP ones? Meaning If i put it on the table, the battery would make my vaio slanted (if it extends downwards) but if it extends horizontally outwards, it will be flat on a table.