• ThinkPad X1 Carbon Model 3444FGU
• Windows 8 Pro 64bit (this is a fresh install with only the Lenovo Power Manager and System Update Application Installed)
• All Lenovo and Microsoft Updates Installed
• BIOS Up-to-Date

1st Problem:  Fan Always On

As the title says...  I am encountering some strange fan issues.  First the CPU fan is almost always on, even under very little to no CPU load.  For example for the last hour, while I sit in my office and the screen turned off according to my Power Management scheme, my X1's CPU FAN has not shut off (it is on at 100%).  There are no application running in the background and the CPU load is virtually 0%, according to Task Manager.  Why is this happening?  I have tried all 3 Power Management schemes in Windows (i.e. Balanced, High Performance, and Power Saver).  I have also tried arranging setting in the BIOS and it has no fixed the problem.

2nd Problem:  Incorrect CPU Speed

When I run CPU intensive tasks (i.e. Mathematic, Excel, Audio Encoding) the CPU speed according to Task Manager never exceeds 0.75 GHz.  In this scenario, I also have my Power Management scheme set at High Performance.  What is interesting is that I installed an application called HWInfo 64 and it shows my CPU speed as 800 MHz.  Again, as I run CPU intensive tasks, even HWInfo shows the CPU speed to be constantly at 800 MHz, it never increases based on my demand for more power.

In this case, I have tried adjusting the settings in the BIOS for Intel SpeedStep and Virtual Cores, and the performance actually got worse.  In this scenario the CPU speed never exceeded 0.60 GHz according to Task Manager, and the same with HWInfo.

My experience with Lenovo Technical Support via phone has been nothing short of embarrassing with the technical support simply not knowing how to troubleshoot the problem.  I even asked to be transfeered to a high level support and he told me he was the highest there was (is this true?).  Is there a higher level (i.e. 2nd level or 3rd level) technical support at Lenovo, or do they only have one level?  After hanging up with the technical support person he stated that he would call me back later in the day.  The return call never came, and the next day I received a knock on my door with a box from Lenovo for me to send my X1 Carbon back in.  Needless to say, that was not conveyed to me and I did not do it because I cannot be without my laptop right now.  What is going on with Lenovo quality lately?  This is my 3rd X1 Carbon, the first 2 had severe build quality issues.

Any help from Lenovo on this forum would be appreciated!

Regards,

Mike

Both should be easy adjustable... or sounds to me like a miss-configured power manager issue.

What you should have installed:

- Lenovo Power Management Driver for Windows 8 / 7

- Power Manager for Windows 8 / 7 (not necessary but easier access of some parts)

1.

Fan annoyance is not always easy to tackle with build in / Lenovo options... but possible.  What is the temp of the CPU when fan is activated? You can see that with tools like

- http://www.techpowerup.com/realtemp/

- http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/

- http://staff-www.uni-marburg.de/~schmitzr/cpu7icon.zip  (my favorite for every days use)

In my device (3448AW6 = i7 = very hot = big mistake) the fan generally starts about 43+ degrees C which is nearly always the case, pretty much what you describe was happening to me the first days, fan always running even at idling.

The fan behavior in general can be modified in the BIOS and several Power Man. options - but IMO only to activate the fan even earlier then later... or to say it differently, I don't know of any Lenovo supported method to quite down the fan.

Solution:

If you know what you do you can try "TPFanControl", which I grew to love on my old T4x0 series ThinkPads and also works with my the X1 Carbon. The default "SmartMode 1" works fine for my device and rises the activation point for the fan to ~64 degrees C (this is adjustable). As a result, it keeps my device quite for pretty much all the time. The downside, it gets quite warm underneath (not an issue on the desk but maybe on the lap).

Other profiles in that tool worked great with my other T4x0 devices but not so much with the X1 Carbon. Maybe it's different with yours (if you have an lesser power consuming i5).

Please read all the comments how to install / use that tool and be aware of the impact of potential rising temps in your device!

2.

CPU speed (and behanvior) is easy adjustable with the power manager and also with the Win7/8 config.

Use a tool to control real time CPU clock (eg.CPU-Z) and adjust the settings / used profile in Pow.Man. accordingly.