SP3 i5 users--when do you hear your fan come on?

[Zog1971]

As we have still yet to get any really good definitive comparisons between the i5 and i7, I am trying to get an idea as to the frequency of hearing the fan come on between the 2 units. So on this thread:

i5 users please post how often you hear your fan come on. What tasks prompt the fan to start? Are there certain applications where you notice the fan more than others. Has yours ever overheated and shutdown or given the thermometer error? Please note what kind of a user your are. It will make a big difference if you are simply surfing the web or if your always using pro apps.

Your input will help me and others. I am going to post a separate thread for i7 users to answer the same questions. Thanks!

 

[kristalsoldier]

I have a i5/ 4GB SP3. The only time I have heard the fan come on is when doing some (but not all) updates. Till date that is the only time that I have heard the fan. Also, the top left corner of the tablet does get warm from time to time. But just warm, not hot and that too quite infrequently.

 

[Zog1971]

I have a i5/ 4GB SP3. The only time I have heard the fan come on is when doing some (but not all) updates. Till date that is the only time that I have heard the fan. Also, the top left corner of the tablet does get warm from time to time. But just warm, not hot and that too quite infrequently.

Thank you. This is the type info I am trying to find out.

 

[kristalsoldier]

Thank you. This is the type info I am trying to find out. That has not been the case with my i7.

Of course, I should also have pointed out that I don't game on the SP3 and that my work on the SP3 is limited to using Office (which includes the use of the Pen), various apps and some non-intensive programs. Usually, when I use apps, I use the SP3 in tablet mode (which means the keyboard is off). All in all, I am a heavy, but not intensive, user of the SP3.

 

[Zog1971]

Of course, I should also have pointed out that I don't game on the SP3 and that my work on the SP3 is limited to using Office (which includes the use of the Pen), various apps and some non-intensive programs. Usually, when I use apps, I use the SP3 in tablet mode (which means the keyboard is off). All in all, I am a heavy, but not intensive, user of the SP3.

Actually, thanks for clarifying because this information is even more important for everyone to note. Your usage pattern is going to make a big difference.

 

[YKinase]

i5 8GB SP3. Fan was on heavily during set up. When syncing files across my LAN and particularly during the initial sync for OneDrive.
Other triggers:
Manual malware scan using Windows Defender
Playing FTL (Faster Than Light) - very simple game; 33% CPU utilization max
Daily "maintenance" the OS runs (though it never wakes the computer for this - usually first thing in the morning)
Intel Processor Diagnostic Tool test (Tmax @ 82C)
Occasional unidentified process where CPU utilization is > 30%

 

[Michael Lovett]

i7 here. Usually first thing in the am for a bit. If I'm running a virtual box (which I do eight hours a day, and it takes like 23% CPU utilization even when idle) and then do anything that requires a bit of graphics work, the fan will come on.

However, it doesn't stay on high long, which is great, because I find it a bit loud for a table device.

Michael

 

[JesseDiaz]

i5/256 Owner. I rarely hear the fan. I don't game too much on it but when I do here it is sometimes on updates or when Ive been watching HULU ( or other video apps ) in full screen on one of my other 2 external monitors. Usually Im working so I would have about 6-8 apps open

 

[Danielo290881]

I have i5, 8 GB RAM

Of course the same as already mentioned like a lot of updates. I also her the fan when converting a video or using my webcam for skype sometimes or in a chat that uses flash. I also often update huge excel tables that use a lot of data. Then i hear fan too. I am doing that all when SP3 is in a docking and attached to power supply. Oh, and there is one thing i hear it too: While playing microsoft sodoku - even when using it in battery mode But as i have read here this sodoku app seems to be a bad programmed app. Sorry for my english, german here, but i hope you can understand

 

[laestrella]

i5 owner here.

The biggest offender was chrome. I could be using it for 10 minutes, and the fan would come on. Uninstalling that not only improved my battery life but helped with the fan but it still wasn't enough.

The fan would still come on everyday at random times and I couldn't pinpoint the issue. Then I tried uninstalling some apps (Bluestacks and BatteryBarPro) and undervolting with success. After a while of experimenting I realized that it wasn't the undervolting that did the trick because my settings are back to stock. It was Bluestacks. Ever since I removed it my fan barely comes on. I've gone days without hearing it. And it wasn't even as though I was actively using Bluestacks when the fan came on either. So I don't know. But that worked for me. I eventually reinstalled BatteryBarPro and still no fan.

 

[Geneo]

i5 here.
I've never heard the fan. I do game once in a while and, like others, the top right corner gets warm, and it will throttle down some, but I've never heard the fan (really). I can fell warm air being blown out a little, so I know the fan is working. But the complaints about "fan noise"? Non-issue for me.

 

[bluegrass]

I guess you need to be in a perfectly quite room to hear the fan. I never heard it when I had my SP3 i5 nor now on my SP3 i7. I assume from what everybody is saying that it must come on some of the time but they must have done a super job of making it quiet because I just don't ever hear it.