X220 - fan constantly on / revving up and down

[Kruger]

So do we have to live with the whining noise or is there going to be a fix for it too in the near future?

[Crmb]

Since 1.21, after some games, sometime the fan will spin down but stay at 3000rpm (39°c) and never go under even after reboot (need to completely stop/start the computer to get back the non-whining 1900rpm at idle)

(It stay at 3500 for a few minutes before going down to 3000, but stay at 3000 for indefinite time, with 0% CPU)

(Fan speed : balanced, PM : 3.62)

[hunterr]

I have had this same problem for a while and not much seems to help.

How dangerous would it be to try and open it up and check out exactly what's going on / clean it?

[JNavas]

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Kruger wrote:
So do we have to live with the whining noise or is there going to be a fix for it too in the near future?

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The fan in my X220 isn't completely silent, but it is quiet, quieter than comparable machines (e.g., Sony VAIO Z).
If yours is much worse than that, then you should be able to get it fixed under warranty,

but if you're expecting a completely silent machine, that's probably not going to happen (IMHO).

p.s. Use of non-Lenovo drivers (e.g., display adapter) may exacerbate fan noise and is not recommended.

[Kruger]

I have no issues with fan noise but I do have with this whining. I'm sure everyone here know what I mean. Now that the pulsing is gone it is much more tolerable but still annoying.

[luigig]

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Crmb wrote:

Since 1.21, after some games, sometime the fan will spin down but stay at 3000rpm (39°c) and never go under even after reboot (need to completely stop/start the computer to get back the non-whining 1900rpm at idle)

(It stay at 3500 for a few minutes before going down to 3000, but stay at 3000 for indefinite time, with 0% CPU)

(Fan speed : balanced, PM : 3.62)

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It does not happen in my case (same config as yours).

It takes a while for the fan rpms to go down but eventually it goes down to 1950 if the CPU temp stays below 50C for 5-10 minutes.

Are your Power Mgr system settings like these?

• System Performance: Balanced
• Optimize Fan Control to: Balance all parameters

[Crmb]

Yes i have tried with various settings and (with/without battery).

I doesnt happend everytime

[Ythan]

Well it took a little while, but yeah, the pulsing is definitely fixed. Seems like such a minor issue, but it makes such a big difference in my enjoyment of the system. This is the BIOS update I've been waiting months for. Please thank your engineers for saving me the hassle of reselling the computer.

[audioenthusiast]

Seems to have worked for me, too. Still have the whine, but, as I said elsewhere, this makes the whine more tolerable.

Now...if only the microphone jack actually worked and the trackpad didn't have about a mile of play in it...!

When I get back into the country next year, I'll send it back to get those things fixed.

[jaakkos]

Uh oh. My X220 whine drew quite a bit of attention from fellow students on a university lecture today, to the point where I had to do 'watch "echo level 2 > /proc/acpi/ibm/fan"' to not disturb the lecture. And the computer was virtually idle.