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Posted by TranceFantasy2k on Aug-02-2005 00:12:

Tech question

*raises flame shield*

ok i have a compaq presario v2000 notebook with a 1.6ghz pentium M processor. I know you're all going to hate it, but i like it and it hasn't given me problems.

I've noticed though that when i have it unplugged that the fan doesn't come on as often as it does when it is plugged in. Is there any way that i could control when the fan comes on or the duration of it. How come they don't have the fan run all the time under AC power like a desktop?

It's not posing a problem but i used to have a dell that ran really hot and went kaboom. so i'm a little paranoid.

Posted by sensorium on Aug-02-2005 00:21:

*destroys flame shield*

Posted by smokeape on Aug-02-2005 00:24:

Re: Tech question

quote:
Originally posted by TranceFantasy2k
*raises flame shield*

ok i have a compaq presario v2000 notebook with a 1.6ghz pentium M processor. I know you're all going to hate it, but i like it and it hasn't given me problems.

I've noticed though that when i have it unplugged that the fan doesn't come on as often as it does when it is plugged in. Is there any way that i could control when the fan comes on or the duration of it. How come they don't have the fan run all the time under AC power like a desktop?

It's not posing a problem but i used to have a dell that ran really hot and went kaboom. so i'm a little paranoid.

Check your BIOS for a CPU temperature control. It can beep to warn you or shut down if CPU gets too hot. The external fan just helps to cool the innards and should be tied to temp. The CPU has a fan of its own, else it would last less than 5 seconds when you powered on the computer.

[[[smoke]]]

D-Fuse ft Jes Brieden - Living the Dream (Matthew DEkay Mix)

Posted by TranceFantasy2k on Aug-02-2005 02:51:

You sure? Cause i changed a motherboard in my dell and it only had one fan, which was attached to the heatsink and only came on occasionally.

Posted by kypez on Aug-02-2005 03:25:

TranceFantasy,

This is what I would do with my laptop (Sony VAIO)

Control Panel | Performance and Maintanence | Power Options | Power Management..

Fool around with those settings. With my laptop I can switch between "Quiet" and "Performance" .

Posted by AnomalyConcept on Aug-02-2005 12:58:

Okay, I'll bite.

In laptops, there usually is only one fan, which is attached to the CPU heatsink. The fan will only spin when necessary, to keep the CPU cool.

I have a 1.7GHz Pentium-M (Banias), and the fan doesn't spin (audibly) unless I'm doing something intensive, like playing games or doing some graphics development.

One possible reason as to why the fan doesn't spin up as often when on battery power is the power saving features; for example, it might require a higher processor usage threshold in order for the operating system to bump up the clockspeed of the processor. Operating at a lower clockspeed saves power, which is directly proportional to the amount of heat that is generated, which will cause your fan to not need to spin as much. Hopefully that made sense to you. (Disclaimer: I'm a EE, and I tend to over-elaborate.)

Generally, it's a good idea to let the processor bump down clockspeed automatically, even when plugged in. I think Windows does this by default. In any case, I use SpeedSwitchXP [http://www.diefer.de/speedswitchxp/] to control power settings, and MobileMeter [http://www.geocities.co.jp/SiliconValley-Oakland/8259/] to monitor stuff. In the odd chance that you're using Linux, I would recommend cpufreqd, which is really the only program I've used. Not sure about *BSD, but I'm willing to think that there's a port for it.

In summary, it's nothing to worry about, and your computer will complain or shut itself down if it gets too hot. I've sustained 67C on my CPU before.

Posted by Zenchowdah on Aug-02-2005 16:56:

quote:
Originally posted by AnomalyConcept
I've sustained 67C on my CPU before.

amd?

Posted by djkoolaide on Aug-02-2005 17:01:

what's wrong with a 1.6ghz pentium M? pentium M is the best mobile processor that's out right now (actually it's even better than pentium 4)

Posted by kypez on Aug-03-2005 00:47:

quote:
Originally posted by djkoolaide
what's wrong with a 1.6ghz pentium M? pentium M is the best mobile processor that's out right now (actually it's even better than pentium 4)

says who?

Posted by smokeape on Aug-03-2005 01:00:

quote:
Originally posted by TranceFantasy2k
You sure? Cause i changed a motherboard in my dell and it only had one fan, which was attached to the heatsink and only came on occasionally.

Right. Do you have a problem with overheating or not? If not, then why are you bothering us to begin with? Just because you like to hear a fan running?

[[[smoke]]]

Posted by Ibizadreamer AG on Aug-03-2005 01:04:

So are there any apps out there that tell you how hot your computer is?

Posted by smokeape on Aug-03-2005 01:09:

quote:
Originally posted by Ibizadreamer AG
So are there any apps out there that tell you how hot your computer is?

It's called CMOS...push delete key when you boot and go into CMOS. Temperature warnings should be in there.

[[[smoke]]]

CJ Stone - Satisfy My Love (Club Mix)

Posted by Ibizadreamer AG on Aug-03-2005 01:09:

Sweet, thanks!

Posted by Jocker on Aug-03-2005 06:44:

one of Pentium M's specific features is extended battery life. thus the power savings at all times possible. your screen should also dim just a little bit when you unplug - but that's on all laptops, actually.