The organization in which I work has deployed a great many Optiplex models
of different vintages and configurations. A few locations have SFF GX-620's
running XPSP@ and I consistently notice they produce excessive fan noise.
The fan seems to be going at full blast all the time, and is loud - I mean,
vacuum cleaner load. Not only is it distracting, but it is pulling so much
air through that some of the desktop machines have accumulated so much dust
on the front grille that air flow is now certainly impeded.
I've checked a couple of these and, based on Task Manager, they do not seem
to be excessively CPU loaded as they're idle most of the time. I mentioned
this to one of our IT guys and he just shrugged (as long as they don't
crash, this is a non-issue for them).
I Googled "GX-620 fan noise" and was surprised to read a recurring blurb
that the BX motherboard runs cool without producing excessive fan noise
(!). Why are ours different?
"Mike S." <retsuhcs@xinap.moc> wrote in message
news:g4iua2$9ur$1@reader1.panix.com...
>
>
> The organization in which I work has deployed a great many Optiplex models
> of different vintages and configurations. A few locations have SFF
> GX-620's
> running XPSP@ and I consistently notice they produce excessive fan noise.
>
> The fan seems to be going at full blast all the time, and is loud - I
> mean,
> vacuum cleaner load. Not only is it distracting, but it is pulling so much
> air through that some of the desktop machines have accumulated so much
> dust
> on the front grille that air flow is now certainly impeded.
>
> I've checked a couple of these and, based on Task Manager, they do not
> seem
> to be excessively CPU loaded as they're idle most of the time. I mentioned
> this to one of our IT guys and he just shrugged (as long as they don't
> crash, this is a non-issue for them).
>
> I Googled "GX-620 fan noise" and was surprised to read a recurring blurb
> that the BX motherboard runs cool without producing excessive fan noise
> (!). Why are ours different?
>
>
Mike,
Just to verify the specific chassis, are we talking the chassis 2nd from the
right in this picture or the chassis on the far right (end) ?
The machines could simply be full of (cumulative) dust, making the situation
worse. Are they in an already 'warm' environment or do they have plenty of
ventilation? A good cleaning might be in order, or you could simply have
some bad fans - but that sounds unlikely given the number of systems you
seem to indicate with the problem.
In article <CA9bk.9924$CC.9195@bignews9.bellsouth.net>,
S.Lewis <Gossamer@interesting.com> wrote:
>
>"Mike S." <retsuhcs@xinap.moc> wrote in message
>news:g4iua2$9ur$1@reader1.panix.com...
>>
>>
>> The organization in which I work has deployed a great many Optiplex models
>> of different vintages and configurations. A few locations have SFF
>> GX-620's
>> running XPSP@ and I consistently notice they produce excessive fan noise.
>>
>> The fan seems to be going at full blast all the time, and is loud - I
>> mean,
>> vacuum cleaner load. Not only is it distracting, but it is pulling so much
>> air through that some of the desktop machines have accumulated so much
>> dust
>> on the front grille that air flow is now certainly impeded.
>>
>> I've checked a couple of these and, based on Task Manager, they do not
>> seem
>> to be excessively CPU loaded as they're idle most of the time. I mentioned
>> this to one of our IT guys and he just shrugged (as long as they don't
>> crash, this is a non-issue for them).
>>
>> I Googled "GX-620 fan noise" and was surprised to read a recurring blurb
>> that the BX motherboard runs cool without producing excessive fan noise
>> (!). Why are ours different?
>>
>>
>
>
>Mike,
>
>Just to verify the specific chassis, are we talking the chassis 2nd from the
>right in this picture or the chassis on the far right (end) ?
>
>http://www.colindiponio.com/images_wp/gx2.jpg
Actually, now that I see all of them, I was mistaken. It isn't the SFF,
it's the 2nd from the LEFT in that photo.
>The machines could simply be full of (cumulative) dust, making the situation
>worse. Are they in an already 'warm' environment or do they have plenty of
>ventilation? A good cleaning might be in order, or you could simply have
>some bad fans - but that sounds unlikely given the number of systems you
>seem to indicate with the problem.
There's a reasonable amount of space behind them, and the front grill is
sitting free facing the front of the desktops. There are plenty of other
models of Optiplexes working in tigher quarters around there, and they
don't sound like vacuum cleaners.
It's tough to tell whether the dust is the cause or the result. In any
case, also by analogy, there are other Optiplex models (starting with
GX240's and ending with 755's) some of which have been running for more
than 4 years in the same basic environment that haven't shown this problem.
I doubt I'm going to convince our IT guys to clean them out (unless, of
course, they fail; as I mentioned in my original post). Just wondering
what might be 'different' about this model.
In any case, thanks for the ideas. I had been wondering instead if there
was something obvious - like a BIOS update or missing Dell utility that
might govern the fan speed.
"Mike S." <retsuhcs@xinap.moc> wrote in message
news:g4jn6j$lme$1@reader1.panix.com...
>
> In article <CA9bk.9924$CC.9195@bignews9.bellsouth.net>,
> S.Lewis <Gossamer@interesting.com> wrote:
>>
>>"Mike S." <retsuhcs@xinap.moc> wrote in message
>>news:g4iua2$9ur$1@reader1.panix.com...
>>>
>>>
>>> The organization in which I work has deployed a great many Optiplex
>>> models
>>> of different vintages and configurations. A few locations have SFF
>>> GX-620's
>>> running XPSP@ and I consistently notice they produce excessive fan
>>> noise.
>>>
>>> The fan seems to be going at full blast all the time, and is loud - I
>>> mean,
>>> vacuum cleaner load. Not only is it distracting, but it is pulling so
>>> much
>>> air through that some of the desktop machines have accumulated so much
>>> dust
>>> on the front grille that air flow is now certainly impeded.
>>>
>>> I've checked a couple of these and, based on Task Manager, they do not
>>> seem
>>> to be excessively CPU loaded as they're idle most of the time. I
>>> mentioned
>>> this to one of our IT guys and he just shrugged (as long as they don't
>>> crash, this is a non-issue for them).
>>>
>>> I Googled "GX-620 fan noise" and was surprised to read a recurring blurb
>>> that the BX motherboard runs cool without producing excessive fan noise
>>> (!). Why are ours different?
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>Mike,
>>
>>Just to verify the specific chassis, are we talking the chassis 2nd from
>>the
>>right in this picture or the chassis on the far right (end) ?
>>
>>http://www.colindiponio.com/images_wp/gx2.jpg
>
> Actually, now that I see all of them, I was mistaken. It isn't the SFF,
> it's the 2nd from the LEFT in that photo.
>
>>The machines could simply be full of (cumulative) dust, making the
>>situation
>>worse. Are they in an already 'warm' environment or do they have plenty
>>of
>>ventilation? A good cleaning might be in order, or you could simply have
>>some bad fans - but that sounds unlikely given the number of systems you
>>seem to indicate with the problem.
>
> There's a reasonable amount of space behind them, and the front grill is
> sitting free facing the front of the desktops. There are plenty of other
> models of Optiplexes working in tigher quarters around there, and they
> don't sound like vacuum cleaners.
>
> It's tough to tell whether the dust is the cause or the result. In any
> case, also by analogy, there are other Optiplex models (starting with
> GX240's and ending with 755's) some of which have been running for more
> than 4 years in the same basic environment that haven't shown this
> problem.
>
> I doubt I'm going to convince our IT guys to clean them out (unless, of
> course, they fail; as I mentioned in my original post). Just wondering
> what might be 'different' about this model.
>
> In any case, thanks for the ideas. I had been wondering instead if there
> was something obvious - like a BIOS update or missing Dell utility that
> might govern the fan speed.
>
You might check for BIOS updates, but:
1) The I/T nazis would kill you if you attempted to install it, and........
2) I'd generally rather suspect dirt/dust on the fan and heatsink itself.
Pick one of the machines and have I/T (or do it yourself) blow the machine
clean with a can of compressed electronics air with the machine unplugged.
I'd focus on the CPU heatsink first (two screws of the fan shroud will need
to be loosened to access it), then the CPU fan itself, then the FRONT vents
and then the back. * I believe this model PULLs air from the back vents and
exhausts it over the heatsink and out the front grill.
3) In theory, if the cleaning doesn't work on the sample client system, it
could just be a fan failure or fan controller failure on the system board.
Optiplex GX-620 fan noise 
Linear Mode
