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We all love when our laptop fan doesn’t make any unnecessary noise or buzzing, especially during gaming. However, after using your laptop for a while, you may start to hear it making noise and wonder, “Why is my laptop fan so loud?”
Relax! There’s nothing to worry about since this is something fixable.
Our article answers this question and provides various ways to fix this problem. Why don’t we get right into it? Let’s go.
Why the Laptop Fan is loud: The Answer
It’s normal for your laptop fan to become loud occasionally, especially during startup or when using software or apps (such as gaming or video-editing software) that demand a lot of power. If your laptop wasn’t noisy initially but starts to become louder on a regular basis, it could be as a result of several hardware or software reasons.
Hardware reasons include:
- Obstructed air vents
- Dust on the vents or laptop fan
- Inadequate ventilation
- A damaged or faulty laptop fan
- Damaged internal components such as the CPU, RAM, or Graphics Card that are currently overheating since they are overworking to keep up with the laptop’s performance
Software reasons could include:
- An outdated BIOS
- Operating demanding apps or software such as gaming software
- Presence of a system malware/virus
How Does a Laptop Fan Work?
Before we can explain how you can solve this problem, it’s important that we understand how a laptop fan works.
Generally, laptops will have one or two fans placed on the bottom of the laptop or at the top, close to the display. The main role of the laptop fan is to keep the internal components (these include CPU, GPU, battery, and the RAM) of the laptop cool.
When performing regular tasks such as browsing or typing a word document, your laptop normally will spin at a regular speed. Hence, you might not hear any noise coming from it.
However, during power intensive tasks such gaming or software updates, components such as the processor and the graphics card heat up quickly. At this point, the laptop fans will spin faster to eliminate excess heat that can damage these components.
But…
Is it Bad if Your Laptop Fan is Loud All the Time?
New laptops do not have loud laptops fans. They only become noisy when:
- The fan is faulty out of the box, or
- You keep running power intensive tasks on the laptop most of the time that cause it to overheat
Therefore, it’s sufficient to say that a laptop fan shouldn’t be loud all the time, unless you are using your laptop for gaming or to run power intensive apps all the time.
How Do You Fix the Issue of Your Laptop Fan Being Loud
1. Close Down any Background App/Software That You Are not Using
Before you open up the laptop to clean the fan, close any app of software that seems to be demanding a lot from your laptop to see how the fan reacts.
For instance, if you are gaming, shut down gaming app or lower the settings on it to see if the fan will stop making noise. Remember, a higher setting means that your laptop will need more watts to deliver the demands of high resolution for gaming and a sharper audio.
You should also close down any app/software working on the background by pressing CTRL + Alt + Del on your keyboard. Click on Task Manager, then click on any app that you are not using currently. Also, close down any tabs you couldn’t be using on your browser.
2. Clean the Air Vents
A laptop’s air vents are located on the laptop’s underside in most cases.
When the laptop fan blows out hot air from the internal electric components, these air vents ensure that the air goes out of the device. Hence, keeping the laptop cool.
If the air vents have dust or any type of debris (which accumulates over time) on them, the laptop fan will become loud since it’s working hard to eliminate all the excess heat.
So, you can start by cleaning these vents if you notice any dust or debris buildup after inspection.
To clean it, shut down the laptop and then blow canned/compressed air into the vents. Power on the laptop to see if the fan is still noisy once the vents become clear of any dirt.
3. Clean the Laptop Fan
If cleaning the laptop’s air vents doesn’t solve the problem, you can now open up your laptop to clean the laptop fan.
Of course, there are many ways you can use to clean the laptop fan. But the safest method we found in our research is using compressed air.
According to Dell, you shouldn’t:
- Use a vacuum or a blower to clean the fan or the vents
- Blow the dust with your mouth as moisture from your mouth can land on electrical components surrounding the fan
Here’s a video you can refer to if you want to learn how you can clean your laptop fan:
3. Upgrade Necessary Software & Drivers
Generally, a faulty software or driver can cause a laptop fan to become loud because they could be having bugs or malware that could cause the processor and the RAM to overwork, which cause the fan to become loud.
Updating software such as the BIOS, device drivers, the Operating system, and the gaming software can solve the problem if they have bugs, viruses, or malware that could be causing this problem to occur.
Note: Dell suggests you should upgrade the following device drivers:
- Chipset drivers
- Thermal chipset driver
- Video card (GPU) driver
4. Replace faulty fans or components
If cleaning the laptop fan doesn’t do the trick, you need to replace the fan since it could be faulty.
Also, an old or faulty RAM, processor, or GPU could also cause overheating. Hence, you should take time to find out if there’s a problem with any of these components and look for a quick replacement. A faulty RAM, processor, or GPU will cause:
- Laptop freezes
- Unnecessary reboots
- The laptop will show the blue screen of death randomly.
Also read: How Long Does a Gaming Laptop Last?
5. Reapply Thermal Paste
A thermal paste is a chemical solution/paste used to help the CPU eliminate heat into the heat sink efficiently. It’s normally applied on the processor before connecting the heat sink to it.
The paste normally reduces with time, causing the laptop to overheat and the fan to overwork in eliminating heat from the processor. Hence, you should try reapplying thermal paste to see if the fan will become quieter.
6. Buy a Laptop Cooling Pad
A laptop cooling pad is a laptop stand fitted with 3 or 4 fans to help the laptop’s fan dissipate heat efficiently. These accessories are ideal to people who use their laptops for power intensive tasks such as competitive gaming or video editing.
Here’s a laptop cooling pad we can recommend:
They can also be useful if you want to use the laptop while placing it on your legs.
7. Move to a Less Hotter Workspace
Did you know that laptops overheat during the summer or hot weather? And it could be one of the main reasons why your laptop fan is loud.
Ensuring that your workspace is suitable for your laptop is essential. Some of the things you can do include:
- Place your laptop on a flat and hard surface
- Keep your laptop away from direct sunlight
- If the weather is hot, try adjusting your A/C
- Don’t leave your laptop inside a closed vehicle
- Ensure that your workspace is clean to keep dirt and debris away from the laptop fans
FAQ
Why is my laptop making a buzzing or grinding noise?
The buzzing or grinding noise you hear is as a result of a problem with the bearings, or the blades of the fan are clogged. Removing the dust could solve this problem. However, for the faulty bearings, it’s best for you to find a replacement rather than repairing them since your laptop fan could end up not working at all.
Why is my laptop fan loud when charging?
During charging (or when the laptop is plugged in), the laptop operates at a higher performance than when it’s not plugged in. The processor, therefore, pushes for more wattage, causing the computer to overheat and a noisier fan.
Also read: Laptop plugged in but not charging
What are the signs of a faulty laptop fan?
A defective laptop fan will be worn out, looks clipped, and the bearings produce a buzzing sound. Finding a replacement is the best solution to this problem.
Wrapping it Up
There you have it! Feel free comment and share with your friends if you find this information helpful. Till next time. Cheers!
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