Laptop fan noise question

[flyscots]

Hi

 

I'm using a PC laptop, 1.5GHz Centrino with 768 MB RAM (512 + 256) The computer is very very quiet, but the fan makes a bit of noise.

 

I've just got ProTools M-Powered and I got it up & running no problem. I'm very happy wi' all that.

 

The thing is though, as soon as I open up ProTools and before I even open a session or anything, the laptop's fan kicks in and it doesn't stop until I quit ProTools. The CPU meter in ProTools shows that even with a few tracks & plug-ins running it is hardly bothering the CPU.

 

Obviously this isn't good if I'm recording something quiet, an acoustic guitar for example, in the same room as the laptop.

 

Anyone got any ideas or suggestions?

 

Thanks in advance

 

John Scott

[KenElevenShadows]

I know this guy who sticks his computer in to a cabinet and surrounds it with really thick acoustic foam, and it's shockingly quiet.

 

Someone will jump in here with replacement fans that are quiet.

 

Still another choice, although a little pricier, are those "boxes" that are advertised in the back of the recording magazines for just this purpose.

[flyscots]

Thanks Ken, I'm aware of that but it wont work for the laptop.

[where02190]

Use loonger mic cables and put yourself a greater distance from the source you are recording. You can run mic cabling for few hundred feet with no loss.

[Anoplura]

This is kind of timely. I just found out this awesome trick a couple of weeks ago and it makes me smile every time I think of it:

 

With the Pentium M (Centrino) you can adjust the core voltage independent of the clock speed. This means you can reduce the voltage – which reduces power consumption, and thus heat – without losing any performance at all. It's better than a free lunch because by running your chip cooler, you are actually improving reliability and longevity.

 

The default voltage settings were determined by Intel as a trade-off between power consumption (heat) and stability. Due to manufacturing tolerances, not all chips are equal. Most will run happily at lower voltages. Some may only let you go a little bit lower before you start getting errors, but in other cases, you can make a huge difference without any ill effects. I was able to reduce the power of my 1.8GHz chip by over 30%. It runs cooler than my desktop in low power mode, and at ~53C at full power/full load with no fan. (Typically, this would be closer to 65-75. Pentium Ms are designed to run hot.) This has also reduced my case temperature significantly, and keeps my hard drive (and lap) cooler.

 

Go get these two (free) programs:

 

Centrino Hardware Control, available here: http://www.pbus-167.com/chc.htm

 

Prime95, available here: http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft.htm

 

CHC allows you to adjust the voltage at each clock rate. Typically, you will be running at 1/3 speed in “Battery” mode and full speed in “Performance” mode, and you'll have a lower voltage setting for the low speed mode.

 

Prime95 is used to test stability. It has a bunch of built-in torture tests that run your CPU at 100% utilization and check for errors. Run the test that uses the Cache. This will increase the heat ever so slightly.

 

You want to lower the voltage one step at a time, and use Prime95 to verify that it's running without errors. You can keep P95 running as you adjust the voltage. If you get any errors, you obviously want go back to the next highest setting. After I found the lowest setting that worked, I let P95 run for 9 hours to verify that it is stable.

 

If you go too low, it's likely that your computer will lock up completely, requiring a restart. So keep an eye on it, and make sure that you aren't running CHC automatically at start-up until you are sure that your machine is stable. Keep in mind that the Pentium M has built in protection against over-heating, and will run safely at temperatures well above 75C, so all of this is safe to do without worrying about blowing anything up.

 

...And if you are feeling brave, there is another tweak you can make to reduce heat. Most, if not all laptops, use phase-change pads as the thermal interface between the processor and heat sink. These are great for mass production because they are almost impossible to install wrong, but they aren't nearly as efficient as properly applied thermal paste. I replaced the pad on mine with a teeny bit of paste and reduced the temperature by another 3 degrees C. This is a lot more dangerous of course, but if you are familiar with electronics and proper static precautions, and have experience installing heat sinks you could give it a try.

 

Thanks,

 

Ben

[flyscots]

Wow thanks a lot Ben! I'll have a look at those two programs. Thanks so much for taking the time to type all that out!

 

Where - yeah I'm considering that, but the fan noise could also be annoying when doing things like fiddly edits so that's why I'm hunting for a solution. Thanks though.