Laptop noise - just started

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Armistice
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Laptop noise - just started

Post by Armistice »

This is not my recording PC - just my everyday laptop. It's new.

As of this morning it's making a noise - I'd always assumed that the fan was mostly not on, because when it comes on you can definitely hear it - but I don't know if they run all the time anyway at a lower rate? Sounds for all the world like the fan hitting its casing or something...

It has an SSD.

Anyway, getting this noise pretty much constantly - and when the fan does audibly come on it gets louder/higher pitch. If it was a machine with moving parts I'd say it was just something that had come slightly loose and was vibrating - but, fan aside, do these things have moving parts?

Other thing is that I can pick the machine up and tilt it and the sound will cut out for half a second, and then start again.

Any thoughts?
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CrowsofFritz
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Re: Laptop noise - just started

Post by CrowsofFritz »

Could be a second, formerly quieter fan that was always running. From what I looked up, however, laptops usually only have one fan and a passive heatsink, so maybe it was always running and was only audible when it ran at faster speeds. The fan probably got dirty/something stuck in it. With an SSD, the fans should be the only moving parts in there.
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Tadpui
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Re: Laptop noise - just started

Post by Tadpui »

I've got an old laptop that has the same issue (which I have dubbed "Craptop"). It was the exhaust fan, which is the only moving part inside most laptops since SSDs came along. I ordered a replacement and swapped it out. Then in less than 6 months that fan started doing the same thing 😣

Depending on the laptop itself, it can be either easy or difficult to get inside of it. Mainly the challenge is opening it without cracking the plastic chassis. With the right tools and some patience (and a guide from ifixit.com if they have your specific model listed), you should be able to open it up, verify if the fan is the culprit, order a replacement, and swap it out.
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vomitHatSteve
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Re: Laptop noise - just started

Post by vomitHatSteve »

Depending on how powerful the video processing is, it could have a GPU fan. A CPU fan is also a possibility, tho I don't know how common they are on laptops these days.
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Armistice
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Re: Laptop noise - just started

Post by Armistice »

Thanks @CrowsofFritz , @vomitHatSteve and @Tadpui

Shortly after I posted I did a bit of online research and as a result applied the vacuum cleaner to the vents. That seemed to initially stop it but it quickly came back. I just did the same thing this morning before I started it up and so far, so good.

Will see how it goes! Damn thing should still be under warranty if it is a technical issue rather than a bit of debris in the fan, but the thought of sending my laptop off to be fixed is a bit too much. Need the damn thing on a daily basis. :mad3:
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