[ltp] X61 or X61s (loud fan)

[Henrique de Moraes Holschuh]

On Wed, 20 Aug 2008, Christian Fromme wrote:
> Lenny and I am quite happy with it. The only drawback is a very loud fan
> under the upper left side of the keyboard. Not only does it run almost the
> whole time, but it also is quite loud and makes pitch noises every 5
> seconds. In a quiet room it is *really* annoying. A friend who owns a X61t
> does not have this problem and his fan is also much more quiet.

Which kernel version?  If it is 2.6.26 or later, you have a broken kernel
that makes thermal issues worse...  it causes the X60 to overheat easily if
it has either one of the more powerful CPUs or not-so-good thermal sink (the
kernel is not downclocking the CPU when it gets too hot).  I wouldn't be
surprised if it also causes problems for the X61.

> I wrote my supplier and they told me I could exchange my X61 for another
> Thinkpad (X60, X61s) or call Lenovo and ask to change my fan.

The X61s should be a LOT more silent (but it has a less powerful CPU)...
but you might have a X61 that has an especially bad fan (or badly seated
thermal sink), and replacing them might be enough (instead of replacing the
entire laptop).   Ask your supplier about it.

> But what about noise and heat? I read the X61s does not get as hot on the
> handrest as the X61. Is that true? Anyone here owning both who can share
> some of his experience? Also the X61s is a bit lighter and battery life is
> said to be better.

The X60s and X61s have ultra-low-power CPUs, they really draw less power,
and therefore they have less heat buildup.  They are supposed to be more
silent because of that (unless the fan or thermal sink is bad in a
particular X60s/X61s).

But you really need to stay on 2.6.25.y on thinkpads right now, or you need
2.6.26.3 + ACPI thermal fix patch (which should be in 2.6.26.3, but isn't.
I suppose it will be on 2.6.26.4).

-- 
  "One disk to rule them all, One disk to find them. One disk to bring
  them all and in the darkness grind them. In the Land of Redmond
  where the shadows lie." -- The Silicon Valley Tarot
  Henrique Holschuh