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Heat sink fan noise

post #1 of 17
12/27/02 at 4:19pm
Thread Starter 
Well, after unpacking my 5660 last night (2.66 CPU, 512 RAM, 40GB 5400RPM HD, XP Pro), I finally had a chance to find out for myself what the buzz is all about (both figuratively & literally). Everything I had time to play with looked good (7207 3DMark2k1 with the 6228 driver & no overclocking), but I've got one major concern that may prevent me from keeping it.

The two heat sink fans that cool the CPU run constantly and make a loud humming/grinding noise. I opened it up, and it's both of the fans that make the noise. I unplugged each of them separately, and they both make the noise equally. If I unplug them completely, of course it's as quiet as I expect it to be (the majority of the time). Fans running most of the time would be okay, but the grinding noise produced by these particular fans is what's buggin.

Sorry if this is a little too personal, but I have Tinnitis, which is a hearing condition that causes you to hear ringing constantly (like what a normal person experiences temporarily after standing next to a gunshot or firecracker). Interestingly, it's actually more tolerable to have a constant low background noise, so I even sleep with a small fan to help "drown out" the ringing. Plus, I work around computers all day every day (and have for about 12 years). I mention this personal stuff just to make it clear that I can deal with constant "background" noise, and especially that caused by computers. However, having to support servers, PC's, and laptops, the reality is that occasionally we have to replace fans that make the amount of noise that this 5660 is making.

I called Sager, and they indicated that it's running normally (even let me listen to one that sounded pretty much the same), and there's nothing that can be done about it. Is everybody else experiencing this? Is it true that those fans are always on? I really don't want to go with any other machine, so if anyone has a suggestion, I'd very much appreciate it.
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post #2 of 17
12/27/02 at 4:26pm
There was 1 other person with a 5660 that felt the noise was too loud and I gave him a refund. He ended up getting an 8886 and is happy with it. Other than that, nobody has really complained. If you push it hard on 3DMARK or with gaming do you hear the fans kick in harder? I'm wondering if it's stuck at it's fastest speed. I believe the CPU fans do run all the time, but never notcied the noise level as being much. Many have told me it's not as loud as the Dell 8200.
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post #3 of 17
12/27/02 at 4:31pm
Thread Starter 
No, PCTORQUE, I'm actually not doing anything. If the machine has been off for a while, when I turn it on, the fans don't come on immediately, but after coming into Windows and then just letting it sit (i.e. not running any apps), the fans turn on after about 3-4 minutes tops, and then they never turn off. Even if I boot up into DOS using a floppy, and just let it sit at the A: prompt, they still run. Doesn't make sense why the CPU is running so hot.
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post #4 of 17
12/27/02 at 4:34pm
I know that, but to be able to tell if they're running at the normal idle or wide open try to run an intense program to see if they pick up in speed and noise level as they should. If they don't, then they're running full speed.

If it's too much to deal with, I'd go for a PIII mobile system with no sound at all.
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post #5 of 17
12/27/02 at 5:14pm
Thread Starter 
Sorry about that. It's the grinding noise when the fans are running "idle" that's the problem. Not sure how best to word this, but when running 3DMark, the blowing intensity of the fans seems to just about double in ouput (i.e. definitely blows harder), and normal air blowing is the type of sound that I'm used to (and comfortable with). However, the grinding noise actually remains the same regardless of whether or not the fans are in "full-throttle" mode or idle.
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post #6 of 17
12/27/02 at 6:38pm
Thread Starter 
PCTORQUE - Can you find out if there's any other heat sink that can be used in the 5660?
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post #7 of 17
12/27/02 at 6:50pm
For the high end P4 that's the only one Sager offers and I know of to be able to get.
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post #8 of 17
12/27/02 at 10:16pm
uh oh, 5660 has a loud noise? Is it any louder than a desktop would be?
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post #9 of 17
12/28/02 at 2:27am
Thread Starter 
I would definitely say that it's louder than many desktops I have used, but not louder than most machines specifically built for power (which typically have several fans that run constantly). However, the big difference here is that I can't just put the thing under my desk to get it out of the way (and dampen the noise). Either way, fans simply blowing air don't bother me at all - this is different.

From my own troubleshooting, which included completely removing the heat sink unit, and even removing the fans so that I could hear them run outside the heat sink, it looks like it's just a faulty fan. I take back what I wrote earlier. Only one of them makes the grinding noise as it spins. Interestingly enough, outside of the heat sink, it's very minor. But, when it's actually in the unit, I don't know what happens, but it seems to create some sort of mini accustic chamber to make it much louder. Very wierd.

I spoke with Sager again, and they agreed to send me a new one, so when I get that installed I'll post and let you know if it's any quieter. Hopefully I was just a bit unlucky.
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post #10 of 17
12/28/02 at 2:40am
Well, I was gonna say, the 8886 makes not much noise at all, even compared to my p4m lappy... I hope the new fan works out. Glad to here Sager is gonna send you one. Definitely let us know how that works out! Good luck with it!
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post #11 of 17
12/28/02 at 8:35am
There actually seem to be quite a few reports of faulty Sager laptops recently. Dare I say, is it possible they might be lagging a bit now?
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post #12 of 17
12/28/02 at 9:25am
Quote:
Originally posted by denkc
There actually seem to be quite a few reports of faulty Sager laptops recently. Dare I say, is it possible they might be lagging a bit now?
naa, I reference this site to all customers for tech help. So basically most anyone with a problem is likely to post here. Most people without problems, if they come here, they just lurk which is why you see so many guests online all the time. Right now there's 5 members and 12 guests online. Most of the problems our customers have you're looking at them on this board. That, and people who bought from other places post here if they have a problem also.
I think there's been more dead MP3 players than there should be though. They're always replaced quickly, but I made the option in the system builder to not have to buy one mostly for that reason.
The thing you have to understand is some people's problems is they've never installed an OS or even drivers before. From the stats I posted you will see over 60% buy without an OS. Some do it just to save the $ and have no idea how to install it. So, they do it incorrectly and have really strange problems and we hear about it probably 4 out of 5 times.

The 5660 and 8886 system are NOT loud compared to desktops with equal power. I've built tons of high performance desktops mostly AMD and will tell you the second you throw an Alpha 8045 heatsink on an AMD XP 2600 with sufficient cooling along with a few 80mm Antec fans it's going to be much louder than these systems.
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post #13 of 17
12/28/02 at 10:02am
Lol, of course AMD is loud. The server I got here is an AMD 800 MHz, and it's the loudest computer in the house. The rest are P3, with one P4. Yeah, I have more than one, but it's only because when we upgrade, my parents hate to throw away old ones.

I look forward to hearing one in the near future.
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post #14 of 17
12/28/02 at 2:38pm
If one is really concerned about the noise of the fans, they could always go a put a few extra dollars into some high performance low nosie fans. Fans come in all different sizes, and they are being designed for lower and lower noise, with more CFM. On my Athlon XP 1500+, I used to have a volcano 6cu+... 7200 rpm fan. It would only keep my cpu around 60 Celsius.. I changed it for a Taisol that runs at 4800 rpm, and the noise level dropped in half at least, and it keeps my CPU at 45-48 celsius. It works like a champ. Perhaps you can get Sager to send you new fans, or just replace them on your own.. I'm not sure if they use sleeve or ball bearing fans... sleeve are always louder.
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post #15 of 17
12/28/02 at 3:21pm

Re: Heat sink fan noise

Quote:
Originally posted by richlivi

Sorry if this is a little too personal, but I have Tinnitis, which is a hearing condition that causes you to hear ringing constantly (like what a normal person experiences temporarily after standing next to a gunshot or firecracker). Interestingly, it's actually more tolerable to have a constant low background noise, so I even sleep with a small fan to help "drown out" the ringing.

holy crap dude! i have something like that, but i thought i was just weird! i have a fan too! my parents think im just doing it to waste their money on electricity
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post #16 of 17
9/1/03 at 8:27am
if you think that noise is irritating you just wait till you have a screwed fan in a desktop... it speeds up and then starts rattling, causing it to slow down again, and then it speeds up again. this ends up buzzing rhythmically. it's a pain, i could hear it all through my house at night, until i eventually I unplugged the fan... i think it was a seized bearing or something
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post #17 of 17
9/1/03 at 10:20am
My 8887 is pretty silent most of the time. The fans will kick on occasionally while intense gaming, I barely notice it. The only noise that I used to get that was irritating was the grinding of the hard drive, and that was corrected with Intels application accelerator.

I would think the better the ventilation / airflow around the laptop, the less the fans would need to go into overdrive.
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