Q: most quiet laptop fan?

jpr2 · Apr 8, 2018

what is the most quiet laptop fan ever released?

are there testing sites specializing and measuring this aspect as their priority?

jpr2

--
~
street candids (non-interactive):
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/qmusaget/sets/72157609618638319/
music and dance:
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/qmusaget/sets/72157600341265280/
B&W:
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/qmusaget/sets/72157623306407882/
wildlife & macro:
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/qmusaget/sets/72157600341377106/
interactive street:
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/qmusaget/sets/72157623181919323/
~

Tom_N · Apr 8, 2018

jpr2 said:
what is the most quiet laptop fan ever released?

The one that isn't present. There are some ultra-lightweight laptops that trade off CPU power for not needing fans.

jpr2 · Apr 9, 2018

indeed, nothing can beat a zero noise level of non-existing fan

.

Alas, my interest is just the exact opposite - to have a quietest possible (and smallest at the same time) laptop's fan, yet without an actual laptop = "a laptop-less fan".

jpr2

Tom_N said:
jpr2 said:

what is the most quiet laptop fan ever released?

Click to expand...

The one that isn't present. There are some ultra-lightweight laptops that trade off CPU power for not needing fans.

Kevin Coppalotti · Apr 9, 2018

A lot would depend on the type of laptop. A bleedin' edge gaming machine is probably gonna make some serious noise.

I think I remember Apple highlighting their quiet fan/cooling design a few years back.

Chris Noble · Apr 9, 2018

jpr2 said:
what is the most quiet laptop fan ever released?

That has a big influence on how noisy the fan is.

DavidC · Apr 9, 2018

You may get an answer here:

Loading…

www.silentpcreview.com

Tom_N · Apr 9, 2018

Kevin Coppalotti said:
I think I remember Apple highlighting their quiet fan/cooling design a few years back.

They still do. If you go to the MacBook Pro section on their site, and scroll down to the cooling section, they mention an "asymmetrical" "split fan blade design" that "reduces noise" on the 15-inch model.

If you dig, you can find "declared noise emission values", but they're for the "idle" and "wireless web browsing" cases – not for the case where you're pushing the machine hard and working the fan the hardest.

jpr2 · Apr 9, 2018

Chris Noble said:
jpr2 said:

what is the most quiet laptop fan ever released?

Click to expand...

That has a big influence on how noisy the fan is.

the application is a bit atypical (and not PC-oriented) a cable tuner/decoder, which after about 40-50 minutes gets too warm and starts to pixelize the output increasingly.

I already do have a working proof of the concept, as I've installed inside an old Fujitsu S7110 fan, that was lying around from some previous repair. It does work beautifully, but... it is about 12 years old, and was very heavily used while inside that notebook - hence the noise levels are certainly not comfortable. So, the next step would be to replace it with something much quieter.

The requirements aren't extremely tough: small to moderate airflow, and about 50x50x10 millimeters in size (perhaps 60x60x12mm would still fit comfortably). Hence the question posted here - as why not to seek a best/quietest fan while shopping around? The brand doesn't matter, I think any DC 3 to 5 V, 200mA fan will do.

jpr2

jpr2 · Apr 9, 2018

DavidC said:
You may get an answer here:

http://www.silentpcreview.com

thank you, a very interesting site, and I'd definitely study it in depth prior to my next desktop build (not anytime soon, though, as I'll need to wait till RAM prices stop to run crazy).

However, so far nothing much there on the laptop fans (or maybe I'm just very inept on looking well enough? ),

jpr2

Simon Garrett · Apr 9, 2018

jpr2 said:
what is the most quiet laptop fan ever released?

are there testing sites specializing and measuring this aspect as their priority?

jpr2

--

Dell XPS 15 is silent except at high load, and pretty quiet then. It's quite powerful (current ones have i7-7700HQ, but due to go to 8th gen soon). Obviously there are plenty of lower-power laptops with no fans and no HD (SSD only) so no noise at all.

Really need to try them out and see how loud they are to your hearing, IMHO.

Robert Zanatta · Apr 9, 2018

My daughter has a Zenbook, and the fan was not only noisy but would run almost constantly. Very poor design for heat dissipation. Fortunately their was an application called Notebook Fan Control that worked with the laptop and could be used to set the fan to only do up at higher temperatures.

DavidC · Apr 9, 2018

It's worth asking your question in the Fans and Control forum on that site.

CAcreeks · Apr 9, 2018

jpr2 said:
what is the most quiet laptop fan ever released?

are there testing sites specializing and measuring this aspect as their priority?

The Nvidia GTX 1050 is very noisy, when it is blowing, as it does during video and while visiting Yahoo BS-news (with zillions of ads and DRM).

However I have never seen it drop frames, as does onboard Intel HD graphics, after the main fan blows for a while and can't keep up.

I'm not sure if there is a quieter graphics card from AMD. Sorry for the negative post that does not answer your question.

I bet you could make a mesh contraption to put under a laptop that would improve ventilation.

ADMint · Apr 9, 2018

jpr2 said:
what is the most quiet laptop fan ever released?

I don't think anyone really knows the answer to that as we've not tried every laptop ever released up until now.

That said, I would guess the quieter laptops would be a fanless system with a low-end CPU (ex: i3). Do note however, Microsoft does make a fanless system in the 2017 Surface Pro tablet with an i5-7300U. So, if you want quiet there's the 2017 Surface Pro.

If you're looking for a "laptop" but are concerned about "fan noise" read this article by Ultrabook Review.com: A detailed list of fanless laptops and ultrabooks available in 2018

Note also the article states... You have to understand that a fanless computer is going to be built on a low-power hardware platform and will handle most everyday tasks to a point but won’t be able to cope with the more demanding ones you might want to perform on a modern laptop (editing videos and photos, running programming software or modern PC games, among others). At least for the time being.

So, there is a bit of a tradeoff between fanless and the more powerful fan systems with higher performing CPU's (ex: Intel i7). And that while the more powerful processors do require fans (noise) to control heat where lower powered system can get by without a fan, who's more heated? And what are the lasting effects of one vs. the other? This is where cooling efficiency and design comes into play... on both sides.

Anyway, when I first got my 2017 Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga, with its 7th gen i7 processor (i7-7600U), the fan would get pretty loud and ramp up for no reason. Shortly after though Lenovo released a BIOS update resolving the issue and now when the fan does run you barely hear it, and it still keeps the heat down.

In the end it depends on what you demand of your system as to which direction to go.

My two cents.

jpr2 · Apr 9, 2018

sorry, but my Apple products knowledge is rather severely limited - just very infrequent usage of some Macs in libraries and such where no other option is available. But no techno know-how etc. What web site you might have in mind?

Also, it seems that MacBook Pro fan series are all 4-wire and PWM controlled. Whereas all I can connect in my cable tuner/decoder application ... is limited to a simple 2-wire DC supply - wouldn't it pose a problem with a Mac fan?

thank you,

jpr2

Tom_N said:
They still do. If you go to the MacBook Pro section on their site, and scroll down to the cooling section, they mention an "asymmetrical" "split fan blade design" that "reduces noise" on the 15-inch model.

If you dig, you can find "declared noise emission values", but they're for the "idle" and "wireless web browsing" cases – not for the case where you're pushing the machine hard and working the fan the hardest.

--
~
street candids (non-interactive):
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/qmusaget/sets/72157609618638319/
music and dance:
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/qmusaget/sets/72157600341265280/
B&W:
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/qmusaget/sets/72157623306407882/
wildlife & macro:
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/qmusaget/sets/72157600341377106/
interactive street:
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/qmusaget/sets/72157623181919323/
~

Chris Noble · Apr 9, 2018

jpr2 said:
Chris Noble said:

jpr2 said:

what is the most quiet laptop fan ever released?

Click to expand...

That has a big influence on how noisy the fan is.

Click to expand...

the application is a bit atypical (and not PC-oriented) a cable tuner/decoder, which after about 40-50 minutes gets too warm and starts to pixelize the output increasingly.

I already do have a working proof of the concept, as I've installed inside an old Fujitsu S7110 fan, that was lying around from some previous repair. It does work beautifully, but... it is about 12 years old, and was very heavily used while inside that notebook - hence the noise levels are certainly not comfortable. So, the next step would be to replace it with something much quieter.

The requirements aren't extremely tough: small to moderate airflow, and about 50x50x10 millimeters in size (perhaps 60x60x12mm would still fit comfortably). Hence the question posted here - as why not to seek a best/quietest fan while shopping around? The brand doesn't matter, I think any DC 3 to 5 V, 200mA fan will do.

Your challenge is that high-performance fans (low noise vs. heat extraction) are (1) dynamic (fan level varies continuously with the level of generated heat) and (2) have inlet and outlet ducts that are designed specifically for the heat source, case dimensions and inlet/outlet locations and dimensions.

Tom_N · Apr 9, 2018

jpr2 said:
sorry, but my Apple products knowledge is rather severely limited - just very infrequent usage of some Macs in libraries and such where no other option is available. But no techno know-how etc. What web site you might have in mind?

The corporate Web site, www.apple.com.

However, now that we know that you are not looking for a quiet laptop – but for a fan to put inside a cable tuner/decoder box – I'm not sure how much information on laptops (including Apple laptops) is going to do you any good.

jpr2 · Apr 9, 2018

Tom_N said:
jpr2 said:

sorry, but my Apple products knowledge is rather severely limited - just very infrequent usage of some Macs in libraries and such where no other option is available. But no techno know-how etc. What web site you might have in mind?

Click to expand...

The corporate Web site, www.apple.com.

However, now that we know that you are not looking for a quiet laptop – but for a fan to put inside a cable tuner/decoder box – I'm not sure how much information on laptops (including Apple laptops) is going to do you any good.

Yes, from the very beginning the stress was on the quietest & smallest fans - hence the laptops/notebooks market, as it offers perhaps a most versatile selection of choices. And Apple is one of the leaders there in area of quietness (even if maybe not THE leader - to be verified

). In particular their fans' ribs shape is optimized towards silence.

However, I've learned since, by following your leads, that e.g. MacBook Pro series utilizes not just one... but two fans in their design architecture. Which obviously implies that each of such pair can in principle operate at much more favorable saddle point of their efficiency cost function surface: lower speed, less noise, etc. So, it is not yet clear how well a SINGLE such fan will cope within this particular little project confines?

Now, about the Apple's 4-wire fan connectors. Can we assume their design/specs share the same wiring schemes, operating voltages etc. as described within the standard PWM 4-wire PC fan specifications?

jpr2

--
~
street candids (non-interactive):
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/qmusaget/sets/72157609618638319/
music and dance:
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/qmusaget/sets/72157600341265280/
B&W:
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/qmusaget/sets/72157623306407882/
wildlife & macro:
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/qmusaget/sets/72157600341377106/
interactive street:
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/qmusaget/sets/72157623181919323/
~

Tom_N · Apr 9, 2018

jpr2 said:
Now, about the Apple's 4-wire fan connectors. Can we assume their design/specs share the same wiring schemes, operating voltages etc. as described within the standard PWM 4-wire PC fan specifications?

I would not assume that. They have the luxury of custom-designing their own parts – as the asymmetrical shape of the fan blades in the 15-inch rMBP fans illustrates. Since they are the main/only market for these parts, there is little need for them to conform to "PC" fan specifications (although it is possible that they might).

As far as your fan specification questions go, I would suggest that you ask Apple – after first checking to see if the parts are available separately.

jpr2 · Apr 9, 2018

Tom_N said:
jpr2 said:

Now, about the Apple's 4-wire fan connectors. Can we assume their design/specs share the same wiring schemes, operating voltages etc. as described within the standard PWM 4-wire PC fan specifications?

Click to expand...

I would not assume that. They have the luxury of custom-designing their own parts – as the asymmetrical shape of the fan blades in the 15-inch rMBP fans illustrates. Since they are the main/only market for these parts, there is little need for them to conform to "PC" fan specifications (although it is possible that they might).

As far as your fan specification questions go, I would suggest that you ask Apple – after first checking to see if the parts are available separately.

Availability of replacements fans for, say, e.g. the Apple Macbook Pro Unibody A1286 15" seems rather not to be a problem (lets put aside for a moment a question whether they're genuine Apple, etc.). However, the foremost question of dimensions doesn't look easy to answer:

Apple is rather secretive about the sizes (at least on the Web)

What might be the width of the flat outlet nozzle (at the bottom here), or the thickness, or the length from the flat one to the top of the curve (on top)?

jpr2

--
~
street candids (non-interactive):