Need advice (performace, cooling)

[Trazas2k]

Hi all,

I'm about to buy a notebook than I plan to use mostly at home for office applications, web browsing and some other basic tasks. I want it to be as quiet as possible but I ignore how some hardware affects noise level and overheating.

My biggest doubt is if choosing a laptop with a more powerful graphic card translates into more heat being disipated so the fans kick in more frecuently. As I'm not going to play too many games I prefer silence above performance so I wonder if going for an integrated intel 915 graphics card would mean less heat and, as a consecuence, less noise (and probably one less fan??)

Any advice on this subject?? Is there some brand or models that are known for being specialy quiet? Are plain business laptops usually more quiet than those with more powerful graphics cards.

Talking about an specific model I like the Toshiba Satellite A-80. I'm not sure if this model has been released in the US but basically is a Centrino 1.6Mhz, 512mb ram and 15" not glossy screen. For the graphic card there are some options that range from a an integrated Intel 915 card to a GF6200 or even a GF6600. The n-vidia cards look tempting but if that would mean a noiser behavour then I would go for the integrated solution or even the Toshiba Tecra A3 that features the same intel integrated card and is about the same price as the basic A-80.


Thanks a lot and excuse my poor english

 

[fbrdphreak]

Unfortunately there is no subjective way to say "This hardware configuration will result in no fan noise." Yes, discrete graphics will increase heat & thus require the laptop to run the fans more (in most cases); but even in a laptop with integrated graphics it may run the fan alot.

The reason is that not all laptops are created equal; some have very well implemented & effective cooling systems, while others have poorly implemented ones.
Example: IBM Thinkpad T43 14". Great machine; well built, high quality, I love it. But it makes produces a LOT of heat for a Centrino notebook. As a consequence, the fan runs more than I would expect and it is a much less than ideal situation.
Now take my personal Thinkpad T42 15". This uses the previous generation Centrino (400MHz FSB) which does run cooler than the current generation. My laptop runs around 40 degrees C almost all the time and I hardly EVER hear the fans. Compared to the 14" T43, it runs at 50 degrees C or more on a regular basis.

Now if you were to go buy a 15" T42, does that mean you will get a quiet machine like mine? Not necessarily. Manufacturers change up fan assemblies and manufacturing defects can result in worse heat dissipation than the exact same type.

My recommendation:
First, try to get over this noise obsession. This will help you cope with it if you do not get a super-quiet machine.
Second, go by people's first hand knowledge. This will help you narrow it down. Then try to investigate each "quiet" model in person if possible.

In general, I would recommend the following as a start to finding a quiet machine:

Centrino (Pentium M), preferrably the 400MHz FSB models instead of the new "Sonoma" platform which uses 533MHz FSB
Integrated graphics (produces less heat)
15-15.4" chassis (smaller chassis dissipate less heat, a well designed 15-15.4" chassis will help dissipate heat better than a comparable 12-14" chassis)

Hope this helps, and welcome to AT

 

[Trazas2k]

Hi, sorry for not replying earlier. Thank you very much for your answer, you've covered almost all the doubts I had about this topic. Very useful information. Thanks again.

It was my first post in this forum but, although I've not followed hardware news in the last few years, I've been visiting Anandtech and this forums since long time ago. Superb site IMHO (and what a surprise it was back then when I learned that what was probably the biggest hardware site in the web was run by a -then- teenager )

Bye