Optimus Fan Noise (not under load) - a caution

A year and a bit ago when I got my Optimus, I was so happy to have a gaming laptop I didn't mind the noise. Besides, I was gaming all the time and fan noise was to be expected. But as I've begun to use it for more usual stuff like browsing or light office applications, the noise has just become too much.

bios is default, and updated as much as it can be now Clevo seems to have stopped updating, inside is clean, temps are low (50s), GPU isn't in use. Tweakers and fan controllers don't seem able to see the fans.

Apparently this mb is just known for the fans going full belt a lot without load. Ugh. For web browsing and typing a letter, the noise is unacceptable, actually. Just so you know, if you're thinking of getting one.
 

Jamie0202

Enthusiast
I understand your frustration mate. I bought the 17.3" Optimus V just over a year ago from the review section and had the same issue. I did have major success by changing the bios to the Premamod bios.

https://biosmods.wordpress.com/

If anyone is thinking of doing this it is done at your own risk and will probably invalidate the warranty. Also be absolutely 100% sure that you are flashing the CORRECT BIOS for your chassis.

After flashing the Premamod BIOS the fans ran much quieter and smoother. There's also lots of different settings available in the new BIOS although I never tinkered with any of them.



Sadly I had a completely unrelated fault in October last year. The flex cable for my LCD display had a short in it and damaged the Nvidia GPU so I sent it back under warranty. As the GPU is part of the motherboard this meant a full motherboard replacement. The laptop came back fully functional but what I noticed is that the fan profile is still completely fine, even though the new motherboard has a new BIOS.

Although I started talking about using a modified BIOS the best solution is probably to phone PCSpecialist and see if they will send you the new updated BIOS (this will keep warranty intact). I know you've mentioned that you have the latest Clevo BIOS but the BIOS I currently have may not be available in the download section so it's definitely worth a phone call. I would also guess that new Optimus laptops do not have the fan issue of old since they will all be flashed with the new BIOS which I have in my new motherboard.
 
Update: I used the Premamod BIOS. Right now my machine is running at <50c as it always has, but the fan hasn't come on full blast once. My god, it's a relief. When I push-test it up to 60c to 70c, the fan comes on at a *sensible* speed, and stops when stuff is cool. Thank you.
 

Marco1227

Active member
I had the same problem and addressed it the same way, Prema Mod. The best thing I have ever done. My Optimus V runs silent in any condition.
 

hugojolliffe

New member
I had the same problem and addressed it the same way, Prema Mod. The best thing I have ever done. My Optimus V runs silent in any condition.

Do you think anyone could please write some instructions how to install the Prema Mod BIOS update. I don't even know how or what to download?!
I've been living in pain with the laptop noise for over a year so would love to get it fixed!
 

Jamie0202

Enthusiast
Do you think anyone could please write some instructions how to install the Prema Mod BIOS update. I don't even know how or what to download?!
I've been living in pain with the laptop noise for over a year so would love to get it fixed!

All information is available in the link I posted above.
https://biosmods.wordpress.com/

Instructions.
https://biosmods.wordpress.com/flashing-guide/

Files are downloaded in .rar format and are password protected. It's easy to miss this information on the Premamod home page. The Password for all files is: premamod.com or biosmods.wordpress.com

I repeat again though.
If anyone is thinking of doing this it is done at your own risk and will probably invalidate the warranty. Also be absolutely 100% sure that you are flashing the CORRECT BIOS for your chassis. If you mess up the flashing of the BIOS then bricking your laptop is a real possibility.
 

hugojolliffe

New member
Thanks for the message Jamie.
I did the Prema bios update and it has worked a treat, the fan speed is now consistent and quiet!
PCS were completely unhelpful when I asked if there was anything that could be done, so I would definitely recommend doing the update as described to anyone else wondering how to fix the issue.
What a relief!
 

keynes

Multiverse Poster
Thanks for the message Jamie.
I did the Prema bios update and it has worked a treat, the fan speed is now consistent and quiet!
PCS were completely unhelpful when I asked if there was anything that could be done, so I would definitely recommend doing the update as described to anyone else wondering how to fix the issue.
What a relief!
To be fair they rely on Clevo to get that sorted and they wouldn't be able to recommend a bios update not supported by Clevo.
 

Marco1227

Active member
I fully understand your point and I fully understand PCSpecialist's point but nobody seems to understand our point. A guy with a bit (actually quite a lot) of IT skills fixed a problem that one of the biggest PC producers in the world could not even recognize.
My laptop is now what it should have been when I bought it and I cannot say that the PCSpecialist guys were any bad, on the contrary, I was happy with the service I received apart from this issue.
I do honestly believe that this way of doing things is wrong. The issue was there (at least in my laptop) and I believe for what I paid, I had the right since the very beginning to get the laptop I have right now. It is obviously possible to do it...as Prema proved.
Again, no negative feedback on the service PCSpecialist provided, price was great and delivery quick enough. Components were top quality, still, this issue was handled in the wrong way by the relevant parts involved. My opinion, obviously.
 

painty

Member
I understand your frustration mate. I bought the 17.3" Optimus V just over a year ago from the review section and had the same issue. I did have major success by changing the bios to the Premamod bios.

https://biosmods.wordpress.com/

If anyone is thinking of doing this it is done at your own risk and will probably invalidate the warranty. Also be absolutely 100% sure that you are flashing the CORRECT BIOS for your chassis.

After flashing the Premamod BIOS the fans ran much quieter and smoother. There's also lots of different settings available in the new BIOS although I never tinkered with any of them.



Sadly I had a completely unrelated fault in October last year. The flex cable for my LCD display had a short in it and damaged the Nvidia GPU so I sent it back under warranty. As the GPU is part of the motherboard this meant a full motherboard replacement. The laptop came back fully functional but what I noticed is that the fan profile is still completely fine, even though the new motherboard has a new BIOS.

Although I started talking about using a modified BIOS the best solution is probably to phone PCSpecialist and see if they will send you the new updated BIOS (this will keep warranty intact). I know you've mentioned that you have the latest Clevo BIOS but the BIOS I currently have may not be available in the download section so it's definitely worth a phone call. I would also guess that new Optimus laptops do not have the fan issue of old since they will all be flashed with the new BIOS which I have in my new motherboard.

I thought the GPU & CPU on the Optimus was separate (unlike the defiance) so you could upgrade or replace at a later date if required?
 

jsimenko

Member
I have the same problem. I noticed when I put my optimus V in POWER settings on Power saver the temperature is around 56C, on balanced around 66 and on high performance around 80C while just being in desktop doing nothing ??? Fan is quiet only on power saving mode. I contacted PCS and they have send me a newer version of bios but it didn't resolve the problem.

Any solutions that will not cancel the warranty?
 
I have never had this problem but i have read for very long that many people have had this problem. I bought my laptop August 2014 never touched the bios and the fans do not go beserk. I am a heavy gamer and it only goes loud when i play games that use my GPU
 
T

Theimpliedidea1

Guest
sorry if resurrecting this old thread but I have become extremely frustrated with the fan noise with my Ultranote II.

So much so, that I am considering selling it.

The inside has been cleaned with compressed air, freshly pasted thermal paste.

4712MQ CPU temperatures around 50-60 degrees

Even when under practically idle (light applications open) like reading a plain text document, the fan will rev up for a while and stop.

Will the premamod Bios work with the ultranote II, or alternate bios?

I purchased this in late 2015, so warranty is not something I am worried about
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
sorry if resurrecting this old thread but I have become extremely frustrated with the fan noise with my Ultranote II.

So much so, that I am considering selling it.

The inside has been cleaned with compressed air, freshly pasted thermal paste.

4712MQ CPU temperatures around 50-60 degrees

Even when under practically idle (light applications open) like reading a plain text document, the fan will rev up for a while and stop.

Will the premamod Bios work with the ultranote II, or alternate bios?

I purchased this in late 2015, so warranty is not something I am worried about

Have you contacted PCS for some help? I would advise doing that.
The Ultranote is not a clevo chassis, so there is no PremaMod bios for it.
 

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
One thing that nobody has thought to comment on in all this is why Clevo run the fan as fast as they do in the stock BIOS? I have no insider information, but Clevo are not stupid, nor are they deliberately producing laptops and a BIOS just to annoy people.

My guess is that Clevo believe that to achieve proper cooling across the range of CPUs and GPUs that can go in that chassis, and given that these processors will likely be pushed quite hard, they have configured the fan profiles to ensure adequate cooling at all times and under all conditions. It may be that, given the CPU and GPU you have installed, you can get away with slower fan speeds but for others that may come at a cost and that cost will be a reduced lifespan of the hotter components.

I'm not suggesting that flashing a non-standard BIOS is always a bad idea, but there is no such thing as a free lunch, and IMO you need to be very sure that the slower fan speeds you can achieve with a non-standard BIOS are still cooling your laptop properly.
 
T

Theimpliedidea1

Guest
Motherboard Model: CLEVO W54_55SU1,SUW

fair point, but the compromise is too much for me. I should have researched this problem properly beforehand.

isn't it possible for a bios to run the fan all the time but slower. The problem for me is how it goes from
silent to aggressive and then to silent again.

Or would an alternate CPU/fans/mod make a difference?
 
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