CPU Fan is ON ALL the Time

[BryanF]

Hi there. I have a PH521 Lifebook. I noticed the fan is running ALL the time. My concern is to maximize power savings. The BIOS fan settings only have "normal" and "silent". Changing the settings seems nothing has changed. Is the ran running all the time normal? Are all Fujitsu notebooks like this?

[BryanF]

I never know my inquiry was so hard to answer, (even for mods).

[Caretaker]

Hi BryanF,

is the installed BIOS version the latest one? Update it to see if the problem is fixed with it.
I think you didn't received an answer as your device is not a european device and not known here. Have you bought it in Asia or in USA?

[BryanF]

Thanks for the reply Mod. I think this model is only in Asia-Pacific; I bought in Taiwan. The BIOS is the latest based on the website (version 1.16), and I have even re-flashed. So is it conclusive that having the fan running all the time NOT NORMAL? (even when system is on standby, LCD OFF)?

[Caretaker]

If the system is in standby the fan cannot be active, otherwise the system seems to be not in standby mode.
I would recommend you to contact the Taiwan/Asian support regarding this problem to ask if there is a problem knowen.

http://ww3.fujitsu-pcap.com.hk/contactus/index.html

For phone numbers click on "Beyond Asia Pacific"

[BryanF]

Please correct me if I'm wrong. Standby means the notebook saves power by turning OFF LCD/Hard Disk, but the keyboard/mouse remains active. At this point, my notebook's fan is still RUNNING.

I think the Fujitsu Taiwan has a hard time understanding my concern. They only advised to update AMD drivers (which I know & already did). They also said something like it's normal since AMD CPUs are a bit hot. I'm not really satisfied by the explanation.

I notice though that the CPU fan responds accordingly when the CPU gets loaded (I can hear it) and spins down when it needed to. So I just concluded that that the CPU fan was designed the way it is right now. I am not sure if this was overlooked by Fujitsu. Notebooks should have maximum power saving options. Why leave the fan running when the system is on standby? Besides, the notebook is Energy-star compliant. (Hello Energy-star, how do you certify notebooks?)

I just wish Fujitsu can update the BIOS soon. This is my first Fujitsu notebook so I have no idea how active Fujitsu is when it comes to BIOS updates.

Is there anything we can do (as consumers) to request Fujitsu for a BIOS update?

If we ca suggest, here are my inputs:
1. BIOS fan setting (Normal & Silent) almost has no difference, needs to be fixed
2. Auto turn-off of fan during standby mode
3. Fujitsu is more than capable of releasing a Fan control utility (just like HP, et. al.), so even if BIOS is not updated (which I consider delicate), users can still maximize power savings with regards to the CPU fan.