Vortex IV fan cycling

[uwotm8]

I am really liking my laptop however I have one major gripe - when browsing the web or doing anything non-intensive the fan kicks in arund every 5-10 minutes running very loudly for a few minutes before returning to being quite. I realise it is controlling the laptop temperature but is this normal? I certainly wouldn't want to take the laptop to a library or anywhere in public as its distractingly loud.
This is the temperature profile across 20 minutes or so via "speedfan"

 

[uwotm8]

tfw no reply

 

[TheGeeza]

Can you tell me the specific temperatures of the CPU and GPU and specs of the laptop? Is the laptop sitting on a hard surface leaving adequate room beneath it for cooling?

 

[uwotm8]

Thanks for the response. The laptop is the 17" Vortex IV review model (i7-4700MQ, 16GB RAM, GTX 780M, 120GB SSD, 750GB HDD (7200 rpm), w/ Blu-Ray player). It is only used on a solid, flat, wooden desk. Regarding the temperature readings this is what speedfan displays after 20 mins using google chrome:


Please let me know if it is other values needed or if these is a better program to get temperature values with.

 

[TheGeeza]

If you could download HWmonitor or speccy and show me the temps in that it would be a bit easier to read. From what that screenshot shows the temperatures don't seem to be a problem. Could be a temperature sensor playing up. How old is the laptop? If you can't get the problem sorted over the weekend then I would suggest giving PCS a call on Monday. They will sort it out.

 

[ubuysa]

You might want to experiment with the System Cooling Policy in the Processor Power Management section of the Power Options. You'll find two settings; Active and Passive and as you say they are both temperature driven.

Active increases the fan speed before slowing the processor. This is probably what you have set and it offers the best processor performance at the price of increased fan noise.

Passive reduces the processor speed before increasing the fan speed. This option gives the quietest operation at the expense of a slightly slower CPU.

Obviously if you're doing something very CPU intensive (like gaming) then the Active option is a must and you just have to put up with the noise. But if you use the laptop for less CPU intensive work (web browsing, writing documents etc.) then Passive will give you a quieter experience.

It's also possible that your laptop needs a good internal dusting. Dust builds up on the inside and makes it harder to get rid of the waste heat so the fan comes on earlier. Also dust on the fan blades makes the fan itself noisier than it should be. So get a can of compressed air specially produced for cleaning computers (most good PC stores will have it) and open up your Vortex and give it a good clean, paying special attention to the fan blades and the air vents. A good cooling stand will help too, the compressed air is good for cleaning the dust out of them too!

 

[uwotm8]

If you could download HWmonitor or speccy and show me the temps in that it would be a bit easier to read. From what that screenshot shows the temperatures don't seem to be a problem. Could be a temperature sensor playing up. How old is the laptop? If you can't get the problem sorted over the weekend then I would suggest giving PCS a call on Monday. They will sort it out.

Laptop is around 2 months old and has barely been used. I will dl those programs and post results tonight or tomorrow when I get a chance.

You might want to experiment with the System Cooling Policy in the Processor Power Management section of the Power Options. You'll find two settings; Active and Passive and as you say they are both temperature driven.

Thanks I will look at those settings. I will also get some compressed air but I hope there is not much dust build up from 2 months in which laptop has probably been on for around 100hrs.


Thanks to both of you for taking the time to reply. I also have another issue which I don't feel warrants a new thread so I will post it here for the time being. There is an issue with the laptop connecting to iOS devices - both iphone 4s and ipad 2. When connecting either (or both) devices via usb (on any of the 3 ports) the laptop detects the device and makes the normal sound (unsure on name of this sound - just the noise most PC's make when they recognise a USB device) and it shows up in My Computer as well as in iTunes. Then at seemingly random intervals (very frequently) the device disconnects (making normal disconnect sound) before almost immediately reconnecting. This an issue as it is making sycning files very tedious as the random disconnects cancels the sync. As a workaround I managed to use wi-fi syncing to get some music on my phone however this seems very unreliable as very rarely are the devices found in itunes so I would really like to find the fix. Other USB devices such as a memory stick connects and stay connected with no issue, this only applies to iOS devices however these same iOS devices with the same usb cable connect fine in every other (probably hundreds - 3+ years at university Library w/ phone pluged in to a PC) computer I have connected them to via USB so I believe the problem is specific to my laptop. I have tried disabling itunes but they still repeatedly reconnect/disconnect. As always any insight you may be able to bring to this would be very much appreciated

 

[u2l]

I have almost an identical laptop to you and I have exactly 2 of your problems. the usb and the random fan. how ever the fan seem to fix itself ( sort of) recently for me. it doesn't go into the level 1 (very quiet) mode though.only sometimes. when I first bought it the laptop was very quiet. and I have the hole dust cleaning gaming gear with me. been using every week.the fan nomally idling around lvl 2 mode. witch is fine by me. I can hardly hear it in my room

 

[uwotm8]

I have almost an identical laptop to you and I have exactly 2 of your problems. the usb and the random fan. how ever the fan seem to fix itself ( sort of) recently for me. it doesn't go into the level 1 (very quiet) mode though.only sometimes. when I first bought it the laptop was very quiet. and I have the hole dust cleaning gaming gear with me. been using every week.the fan nomally idling around lvl 2 mode. witch is fine by me. I can hardly hear it in my room

Interesting, I did a very quick search and we are not alone with the usb issue:
https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?28443-17-3-quot-Vortex-IV-USB-Issue
I guess its somewhat of a relief that its not only happening to me but it is concerning that this appears to be a systematic error and I certainly hope we can resolve it.

Regarding the fan (assuming there is 3 speeds / fan settings?) mine oscillates between 1 (very quiet) and 2 (very audible) and only kicks into ultra loud when the 780M is in use. I have no problem with the fan blasting when gaming, its the oscillation when in "light" use that is infuriating. I havent had a chance to look into the temperatures or the active/passive settings mentioned above as I havce been away from home but I will do in due course.

 

[u2l]

any luck with the fan problem ? my HWmonitor shows 4 cores idling from 22-26 degrees. after burner shows gpu always at 45 degree. the fan is still at level 2. some times randomly it just goes bak to super quiet mode for a while. sometimes it goes to level 3 (abit loud) for few seconds then go bak to being quiet.

 

[u2l]

any luck with the fan problem ? my HWmonitor shows 4 cores idling from 22-26 degrees. the fan is still at level 2. some times it go bak to super quiet mode for a while. sometimes it goes to level 3 (abit loud) for few seconds then go bak to being quiet. GPU idling at 45 degree

 

[uwotm8]

any luck with the fan problem ? my HWmonitor shows 4 cores idling from 22-26 degrees. the fan is still at level 2. some times it go bak to super quiet mode for a while. sometimes it goes to level 3 (abit loud) for few seconds then go bak to being quiet. GPU idling at 45 degree

I've not actually turned the laptop on since last posting (studying at at library all day every day) I'll get back to you once I get a chance to investigate further which will probably be around 5 days time after I've finished my exams. Really hoping to get this and the usb issue sorted as I will be using the laptop a lot more frequently next year

 

[D1craig]

I have been having this problem with all apple devices connecting to my laptop it has nothing in common with any of your laptops as it was bought from PC world about 3 years ago lol. Maybe it's another apple gimmick trying to get you to buy a mac.

I can totally understand the fan being irritating. You expect the things to kick in when it gets hot for example when gaming and you can feel the heat coming from the vent. Not when browsing lol. IMO this is a serious problem.

 

[uwotm8]

Here is what HWMoniter gives:


The passive/active settings made no noticeable difference. I can learn to live with the fan noise, the usb issue is my primary concern at the moment

 

[One-Half]

After 4months of use i get same problem ... idle laptop in quite mode cpu fan its loud not silent but loud...i accept fan noise when i play game but no quite mod and browse internet or what divx movie .. i try everything like new instal Win ,driver,power managnent seting nothing change look like bios or ec problem because when i power on laptop its load windows normal in quite mod its all silent and nice and after around 1-5min its go to second level and its to much hearable in night time or in quite rom when you just use internet. Also can some check BIOS/EC version for me if people without this problem have higher version then me pls... All who got same problem post your version and all who dont have problem post it too thx

 

[One-Half]

Noone with Vortex 4 17" on this forum?