Options
Dell XPS 14 fan issues
stringman
Posts: 252 Forum Member
✭
Hi all
Bit of a long post so bear with me.
I have had a Dell xps14 ultrabook for over a year now and have been really happy with it apart from a few niggles with the wifi and a few blemishes on the screen.
The one thing I was really impressed with was the quietness of the laptop (its got a ssd) the fan didn't seem to come on much so I was as happy as can be.
My problems started when the engineer swapped over the screen ( this was after 3 cancelled appointments) all was well except the webcam no longer worked!!!
After lots of arguing I was offered a brand new machine.
The replacement arrived and wouldn't even boot!!!
cue more arguments and another laptop arrived.
within seconds of powering up the fan was going crazy and making a huge racket.
So an engineer arrived and duly swapped over the motherboard and fan- he said the noise was due to the tape holding the metal plate on was loose and catching the fan.
But the fan still comes on and annoys the hell out of me (as my old one is so quiet) so I started thinking:
Maybe the fan on the old laptop isn't working (though when I did the pre boot diagnostics said it was fine.
I also thought I could reconnect the webcam and then reject the new noisy one.
So I thought I would conduct a little test.
I got both machines to do a video conversion of an film to a HD AVI so see what happened.
both machines were left to completely cool down before the test.
Both machines had core temp running
During the conversion I noted the following:
New machine
highest temp 78 deg c
average temp 66 deg c
fan kicks in 66 degc
core 0 running at 55%
core 1 running at 28%
Old machine
highest temp 99 deg c
average temp 77 deg c
fan kicks in ?? deg c couldn't ever really hear it kick in
core 0 running at 40%
core 1 running at 10%
SO (FINALLY) MY QUESTIONS ARE:
Is it normal that a machine could get up to such high tempratures? (old machine)
is it normal that the fan comes on at 66 and then stays on for so long under load (new machine)
Is there a reason why the core loads should be so different?
Is there a reason why the old machine should suddenly be reaching such high temps? ( it never used to get that hot)
How easy it to get to the webcam connector on the motherboard (the manual seems to suggest that it is)?
Is the fan serviceable at all?
My thoughts were that I could take off the back cover on the old machine and then do a test and see if the fan actually kicks in
I have a week to decide what machine to keep. my ears say fix the webcam and keep the old one my head says keep the new one and just accept the noise.
Finally is there a way of controlling the temp that the fan kicks in at ( I have system cooling policy set to active on both machines)
many thanks in advance
Bit of a long post so bear with me.
I have had a Dell xps14 ultrabook for over a year now and have been really happy with it apart from a few niggles with the wifi and a few blemishes on the screen.
The one thing I was really impressed with was the quietness of the laptop (its got a ssd) the fan didn't seem to come on much so I was as happy as can be.
My problems started when the engineer swapped over the screen ( this was after 3 cancelled appointments) all was well except the webcam no longer worked!!!
After lots of arguing I was offered a brand new machine.
The replacement arrived and wouldn't even boot!!!
cue more arguments and another laptop arrived.
within seconds of powering up the fan was going crazy and making a huge racket.
So an engineer arrived and duly swapped over the motherboard and fan- he said the noise was due to the tape holding the metal plate on was loose and catching the fan.
But the fan still comes on and annoys the hell out of me (as my old one is so quiet) so I started thinking:
Maybe the fan on the old laptop isn't working (though when I did the pre boot diagnostics said it was fine.
I also thought I could reconnect the webcam and then reject the new noisy one.
So I thought I would conduct a little test.
I got both machines to do a video conversion of an film to a HD AVI so see what happened.
both machines were left to completely cool down before the test.
Both machines had core temp running
During the conversion I noted the following:
New machine
highest temp 78 deg c
average temp 66 deg c
fan kicks in 66 degc
core 0 running at 55%
core 1 running at 28%
Old machine
highest temp 99 deg c
average temp 77 deg c
fan kicks in ?? deg c couldn't ever really hear it kick in
core 0 running at 40%
core 1 running at 10%
SO (FINALLY) MY QUESTIONS ARE:
Is it normal that a machine could get up to such high tempratures? (old machine)
is it normal that the fan comes on at 66 and then stays on for so long under load (new machine)
Is there a reason why the core loads should be so different?
Is there a reason why the old machine should suddenly be reaching such high temps? ( it never used to get that hot)
How easy it to get to the webcam connector on the motherboard (the manual seems to suggest that it is)?
Is the fan serviceable at all?
My thoughts were that I could take off the back cover on the old machine and then do a test and see if the fan actually kicks in
I have a week to decide what machine to keep. my ears say fix the webcam and keep the old one my head says keep the new one and just accept the noise.
Finally is there a way of controlling the temp that the fan kicks in at ( I have system cooling policy set to active on both machines)
many thanks in advance
0
Comments
Fan/cooling profiles can be modified. Check BIOS and power options. eg active/passive.
Dunno about the webcam.
66C ain't too bad under load. Possibly up to 70C+
Dunno why core loads different, except all machines are different depending on what else is running.
99C means your old laptop has a serious problem. I don't know why it hasn't shut down.
Maybe 'simple' to fix though.
Compressed air aerosol to dislodge fluff, don't use on duvet or lap, check vents are never blocked.
Or strip down and modify whatever.
(Google xps fan replacement)
You can tell if fan is working by feeling breeze from vents.
I know 99 is high but I know the critical temp is 105.
I set the profile to passive which should raise the fan kick in temp. Still not convinced that the engineer didn't cock something else up along with the webcam ( he has broken other bits on some of my other computers in the past (no he doesn't work on them anymore)
the fan passed the pre boot test so I don't think its that.
I can feel some air movement but not as much as from the new machine, so I was think the problem may be with the sensor.
I thought I would take the back panel off so I can actually see if the fan is working.
I suppose if the fan (from the old machine) is fine (and quiet) then I could look at swapping over the fan from the old machine to the new one.
I think I need to bite the bullet and pull the backs off.
Does that mean it is out of guarantee ?
A Dell supplied engineer ?
The same engineer as before ?
Ah, sounds like a private 'engineer' that you employed.
The 'old' machine runs way too hot, if you have a choice it sounds like you are still under some sort of guarantee, where did you buy it from ?
I bought it from Dell and it has the 3 year warranty.
The latest update is that I did a pre boot diagnostic on both machines and the old machine failed the fan test so I am going to have a look inside the old machine and see what I can find
I greased the new fan and refitted it. It still comes on much quicker than the old one ( the new machine seems to run hotter than the old but that could be due to the dell crap running in the background) but its slightly quieter .
And to be honest I know I have no other options than to keep the new machine or lose the support.
I wonder if I can upgrade the fan?
Thanks for your help