Will my T400 be quieter if I replace the HDD with and SSD?
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My T400, which I bought at Minifree, is making a lot of noise (sounds like fan noise) even when no intensive processes are running. Will it be quieter if I replace the HDD with an SSD?
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name at domain writes:
> My T400, which I bought at Minifree, is making a lot of noise (sounds
> like fan noise) even when no intensive processes are running. Will it
> be quieter if I replace the HDD with an SSD?
I would start by running `sensors' (provided by the lm-sensors package,
I think) and seeing what the temperatures are first.
--
"Cut your own wood and it will warm you twice"
> I would start by running `sensors'
All the temps are fairly low around 30-40 celsius, there was one thing that was 50 though.
I am a member!
name at domain writes:
>> I would start by running `sensors'
>
> All the temps are fairly low around 30-40 celsius, there was one thing
> that was 50 though.
>
Since sensors allows you to see the fan speed, can you now directly
correlate the speed of the fan being displayed with the noise?
--
"Cut your own wood and it will warm you twice"
> Since sensors allows you to see the fan speed, can you now directly
correlate the speed of the fan being displayed with the noise?
Says 2000 rpm and from I know about fans, 2000 rpm does indeed make some noise. So my guess it's the fans. But I don't understand why they need to be run this fast when the temps are this low though, that's strange.
I am a member!
name at domain writes:
>> Since sensors allows you to see the fan speed, can you now directly
> correlate the speed of the fan being displayed with the noise?
>
> Says 2000 rpm and from I know about fans, 2000 rpm does indeed make
> some noise. So my guess it's the fans. But I don't understand why they
> need to be run this fast when the temps are this low though, that's
> strange.
That is interesting, because the fan on my X200 is running just over
2000 when idle (X200 is a small machine that runs relatively hot), but
is almost completely silent; I can barely hear it (and not just because
the air-force destroyed my hearing...)
Perhaps it would be good for others who have running T400 machines to
provide input on how loud their fans are at the same speed.
Perhaps the fan has a faulty bearing, or maybe it is just fouled up with
dust, grease, etc.
If I remember correctly, the fans on T400 are not too hard to replace,
if you are the kind who likes doing stuff like that. If you end up
taking the fan out, you could clean it with a de-greaser spray, add a
lubricator and check again.
--
"Cut your own wood and it will warm you twice"
> That is interesting, because the fan on my X200 is running just over
2000 when idle (X200 is a small machine that runs relatively hot), but
is almost completely silent; I can barely hear it (and not just because
the air-force destroyed my hearing...)
> Perhaps it would be good for others who have running T400 machines to
provide input on how loud their fans are at the same speed.
> Perhaps the fan has a faulty bearing, or maybe it is just fouled up with
dust, grease, etc.
Well I do have very sensitive ears though, so it could be just that.
But when I put my ear close to the machine on different spots it seems like there's also some type of "electrical" noise like the display is "hizzing". So there's actually two separate sounds which in conjunction makes the machine kind of noisy (but not *very* noisy).
> If I remember correctly, the fans on T400 are not too hard to replace,
if you are the kind who likes doing stuff like that. If you end up
taking the fan out, you could clean it with a de-greaser spray, add a
lubricator and check again.
That would definitely be something to try out for sure! Thanks
Not trying to go off topic but when I ran sensors on Trisquel 8, I only recieved a readout for coretemp-isa-0000
running 'sensors -h' tells me that if I run the command without any input that it would list all the of the sensors but I'm only receiving the temps of my two cores. No rpm or other readout
commandline output:
$ sensors
coretemp-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
Core 0: +47.0°C (high = +105.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
Core 1: +45.0°C (high = +105.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
There are three parts present in T400 could make noise: the fan, the HDD, and the optical drive.
In addition to using SSD instead of HDD, you can also try to improve its heat dissipating.
> you can also try to improve its heat dissipating.
How does one go about to achieve this? :)
I guess he is recommending one of those boards you put underneath the laptop, that have cooling fans. I do have one of these and in my experience makes more noise than the internal fan of the T400. HOWEVER, having the laptop merely on top of it (wihtout turning it on) seems to help cooling it down (better airflow).
Now I don't know about you but my T400 doesn't make all that noise. It's important to notice that the screen also makes a little "hiss" sound, which you will notice the difference when the monitor goes to sleep.
I recommend the SSD because of the improved speed, battery lasts more, and makes machine lighter. I also removed the optical drive (mine was malfunctioning and I don't need it anyway). All this makes the machine lighter to carry around, and helps in terms of airflow. Remember to clean it well every once in a while.
> I guess he is recommending one of those boards you put underneath the laptop, that have cooling fans. I do have one of these and in my experience makes more noise than the internal fan of the T400. HOWEVER, having the laptop merely on top of it (wihtout turning it on) seems to help cooling it down (better airflow).
Now I don't know about you but my T400 doesn't make all that noise. It's important to notice that the screen also makes a little "hiss" sound, which you will notice the difference when the monitor goes to sleep.
Ahh, yes it do actually make a slight hizzing noise. I think it's that noise together with the slight fan noise that makes up the total of the noise that's annoying me. Is it any way to make the hizzing noise lower? It seems be lower the brighter the screen is I have noticed.
> I recommend the SSD because of the improved speed, battery lasts more, and makes machine lighter. I also removed the optical drive (mine was malfunctioning and I don't need it anyway). All this makes the machine lighter to carry around, and helps in terms of airflow. Remember to clean it well every once in a while.
Right! Thanks"
I believe you might be more sensitive to sounds than me. My fan is running at 2000rpm and I can't say I notice it. Or maybe your fan is not operating correctly. Maybe take the machine to a technician and ask for a thorough cleaning and a check-up on the fan.
As for the screen, there is nothing that can be done. Minifree used to have a page explaining the issue, but the site is kinda gone. Try using the Archive to access it.
But for the most part, take the HDD out and replace with an SSD, you will be glad you did it. Keep in mind the board actually has a speed limit lower than SSD, so don't spend too much to get extra fast drives, just get a good brand and you will be good to go. The optical drive will be an option if you don't need it. Also, the fan is the main culprit most likely, take care of that and you will be good to go.
Thanks"
You could put it directly in front of an AC vent for example to decrease the ambient temperature. Or even just make sure that the grills on the computer are clean to ensure better airflow.
No idea if an SSD would help with the noise or not, but it will make your OS work much more efficiently. I highly recommend it, particularly for keeping older PCs usable.
Thanks for all the helpful tips :)
I'm quite late for the discussion, but here's `sensors` output from my T400 bought from Minifree with HDD (running Devuan):
coretemp-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
Core 0: +33.0°C (high = +105.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
Core 1: +36.0°C (high = +105.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
acpitz-virtual-0
Adapter: Virtual device
temp1: +35.0°C (crit = +127.0°C)
temp2: +40.0°C (crit = +99.0°C)
thinkpad-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
fan1: 2669 RPM
temp1: +35.0°C
temp2: +40.0°C
temp3: +31.0°C
temp4: N/A
temp5: +28.0°C
temp6: N/A
temp7: +28.0°C
temp8: N/A
temp9: +38.0°C
temp10: +44.0°C
temp11: +34.0°C
temp12: N/A
temp13: N/A
temp14: N/A
temp15: N/A
temp16: N/A
Some non CPU-heavy programs are running in the background (between 10% and 20% usage of each core).
And it is _very_ quiet. Roommate once even asked me if I have a fan in laptop at all :P
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