Solved! Is it really true that there is no negative impact on the laptop if I undervolt the CPU using XTU?

[modeonoff]

Will undervolting also slows slow down the computer?

 

[USAFRet]

Why would you do this?

 

[jaguarskx]

I suppose you are trying to lower temperatures.

Generally speaking no. The worst that can happen is the laptop crashes because the CPU is not getting enough power. It should not cause any permanent damage. Though if the laptop crashes too often, then that can cause Windows to become corrupted because you are not allowing the laptop to shut down properly.

 

[modeonoff]

Why would you do this?

I have a Thinkpad X1 Extreme with i7-8850H for three weeks. It has noisy fan issue. Even idling, sometimes fan noise is loud. When watching full screen 4K videos on 4K TV via HDMI 2.0, I can also hear the noisy fan noise. Even I am just replying to your quesion, I can hear fan noise. In Linux, the situation is even worse. I want to see if I could solve this issue using XTU before deciding whether or not to return it for a refund.

Do modern laptops with 8th gen Intel CPU have this issue? If I exchange for another model with lesser CPU, say the i5-8400H, will the fan noise be lower and noisy fan happens less often?

 

[USAFRet]

Then that is an issue of a bad fan.
Yes, if you were to undervolt, the system may generate less heat, and therefore cause the fan to spin a bit slower.
Undervolt far enough, and it will crash.

But it is still a bad fan.

Fix the actual problem.

 

[clarkjd]

Why would you do this?

I have a Thinkpad X1 Extreme with i7-8850H for three weeks. It has noisy fan issue. Even idling, sometimes fan noise is loud. When watching full screen 4K videos on 4K TV via HDMI 2.0, I can also hear the noisy fan noise. Even I am just replying to your quesion, I can hear fan noise. In Linux, the situation is even worse. I want to see if I could solve this issue using XTU before deciding whether or not to return it for a refund.

Do modern laptops with 8th gen Intel CPU have this issue? If I exchange for another model with lesser CPU, say the i5-8400H, will the fan noise be lower and noisy fan happens less often?

Would you only run your car at 40 MPH because your engine gets louder at faster speeds? As has been said : fix the problem.

 

[modeonoff]

How to fix the problem? Return it within the return period for a refund and buy the same model or get one with i5/Xeon E-2176M CPU? It seems that other users of X1E and P1 also have fan noise issue.

 

[USAFRet]

How to fix the problem? Return it within the return period for a refund and buy the same model or get one with i5/Xeon E-2176M CPU? It seems that other users of X1E and P1 also have fan noise issue.

Then the issue would seem to be the overall design of that laptop.
Send it back, and choose one of the dozens of other similar level devices.

 

[jsmithepa]

All modern laptops will have a temp-dependent fan and should turn slowly when idled, u not pushing it. If it does I would return it, 'cuz too me that's unacceptable.

If u are curious I would download any one of the free hardware monitoring app and see what the fan is doing, is it able to slow-down/speed up. If your fan is not following a temperature curve, undervolt may not do anything.

By comparison my fan idles at 2,000 rpm and I can't hear it until it hits ~3,500 rpm, and of course not surprisingly roars like a jet when CPU is maxed out, hitting 70+ C, topping out ~6,000 rpm.

 

[modeonoff]

According to TPFanContro when 4K video is being play on external 4K TVl, fan speed is either 0 rpm or over 2K rpm. Is this possible? Isn't the fan(s) always running but the speed changes according to the temperature? In most cases, either dead silent (0rpm) or jet engine like fan noise (even at around 2K rpm). Occassionally, I heard some noise from under the keyboard in between these two states.

A more detailed of the test: I noticed that the fan speed was 0rpm when cpu was 38c. When I connected the Thinkpad to 4K monitor to played full screen 4K video, temp jumped to 63c and fan speed jumped to about 2700rpm and I heard noisy fan. After a few sec, temp 52c, speed became 0rpm but I heard some sound from under the keyboard. About 1.5 minutes later, temp became 50c and 0 rpm and dead silent. Then, temp suddenly jumped to 70c and noisy fan got activated for a few sec. temp became 54c, fan speed 0 but heard some sound from below keyboard. Then, laptop became dead silent and repeat. Does this sound normal?

I heard that TPFanControl only controls one fan but there are two fans in X1E.

 

[jsmithepa]

At this point I think u need to visit some Thinkpad-specific forum and ask people who have actual experience with this laptop. At Toms, we have generic knowledge only. Fan jumping like that can be normal, but I don't really know how a X1 E "suppose" to sound like.

 

[modeonoff]

Actually I asked those forum already. Basically, users reported about fan issues similar to mine. I cannot get info on whether using i5 would be better and if other laptops with 8gen cpu also have this issue. So, I want to ask users here to get generic knowledge.If I return the machine, need to do it by tomorrow.

 

[jsmithepa]

Well if this is a "known" issue, and there is no known fix, I would avoid this particular model.

Cooling is not about the chip, Intel sells the chips to everybody but it's up to the laptop makers, to build the proper cooling around it. Am saying is Lenovo's fault.

 

[modeonoff]

Is it a good idea to adjust the fan speeds using TPFancontrol?

I was checking Lenovo forum about X1C6 and X1Y3. Looks like they also have so thermal issue. In the case of X1Y3, some have the opposite effect of too hot and not enough fan.

Do we expect Intel 9th gen CPUs have better thermal and lower TDP?