Fan coming on for very light tasks

[VZade]

I got my new hades canyon nuc and had my hopes high for the much improved fan but found out that the fans ramp up for very simple tasks like extracting a zip or opening 5 tabs in chrome. The fans also have some sort of throbbing noise to them.

any solutions regarding this? I want my nuc to be quiet for such light tasks.

[martmann]

Not much help, I know, but since you aren't getting any replies:

I have a NUC8i7HVK and it doesn't do that, in fact, I've only heard the blowers become audible (but still pretty quiet) 1 time throughout the entire setup/customization process.

I loaded all the latest drivers and BIOS, right after loading windows 10, and left the BIOS at default settings.

[n_scott_pearson]

On a separate PC, I opened the network in File Manager, causing it to poll the subnet for the Windows machines connected. This caused the fans on the HV NUC to spin up for a short time.

...S

[VZade]

Thanks for the reply. I'm suspecting that I got a defective unit. I changed the cooling scheme to quiet (oddly in fan-less mode the fans spin much more frequently) and the fans spin less, but I noticed that there is also electrical noise emitted from the case especially when playing video. (room ambient noise level ≈ 26db)

1) out of curiosity, did you install ALL the drivers? I only installed the graphics driver (for some reason windows update didn't find it) because I thought other stuff will be installed automatically via windows update.

2) can you report your room's noise level? I measured using an app on my phone.

[n_scott_pearson]

You should install all drivers found on the HV downloads page (here: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/126143/Intel-NUC-Kit-NUC8i7HVK Downloads for Intel® NUC Kit NUC8i7HVK) that are marked "Latest". Do not rely on the Windows installer or on Windows Update to get this right.

My office is a bit of a disaster for testing like this; I have a couple of older desktop systems running all the time. It has an ambient level of ~33db. With sensor 1 meter from the HV, I ran of the Intel Processor Diagnostic Test. Over its duration, I saw an average of 37db with spikes as high as 41db.

...S

[martmann]

I installed all current drivers, starting with chipset.

Fairly quiet room, during setup, the PC was about 2 feet from my head. The PC being replaced by this Hades Canyon, is a Skull Canyon, the HC is much quieter overall.

[VZade]

I returned my skull canyon for the sole reason of being extremely noisy, but a "fairly quiet" room is very subjective that's why I was wondering if you could give me a decibel measurement. and I agree the HC is much quieter.

[VZade]

Just received my NUC8i7HNK and this one is even worse. Fan is on all the time. It seems that intel can't get it right. Now there is also a ticking noise kind of like how an HDD would sound if it was near death.

[VZade]

I received my NUC8i7HNK today and there are somethings wrong with it.

1) The fan kicks in and stays on very frequently (even in quiet mode but less) when the processor is basically under 0% load.

2) There is this weird noise coming out of the case. The kind of noise a teapot makes when water boils like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DgNoEumqV4cQ Teapot Whistling Sound Effect Tea Kettle Boiling Steam Whistle 10Min SFX Steaming Water Noise - YouTube

recording from the NUC: https://vocaroo.com/i/s1TYxvcbHFYW https://vocaroo.com/i/s1TYxvcbHFYW

it's rather hard to pick up the noise with my phone's mic, so you might need to wear headphones or max out the volume to be able to hear it.

This is the 2nd NUC I received. The 1st one being the HVK model and that one had a high-pitched and resonating fan problem also mentioned in another thread. Here is how that one sounded: https://vocaroo.com/i/s1aSkYsLJFSu https://vocaroo.com/i/s1aSkYsLJFSu

I would like to ask an Intel employee to weigh in and let me know if this is indeed the problem (the fan and the noise) with ALL HNK models then I am going to return this NUC for good and never look back.

BTW, I am on latest bios dated 5/13.

[idata]

Hello

Thank you for your response. I have sent you a private to request information of the unit and contact information. Regards,Leonardo C.

[idata]

Hello backslash

Thank you for your response. Have sent you a private message to request contact information please review your private inbox. Regards,Leonardo C.

[idata]

Hello backslash

I was checking your case and would like to know if you need further help. If so, please do not hesitate in replying back. Regards,Leonardo C.

[GPasz]

I am having the same problem with my new nuc8i7hvk. The machine is quiet on idle but any small task like starting an app kicks the fan into crazy speeds that it's uncomfortable for my wife sleeping next door!

I Updated the bios and set the fans to quiet. Barely any change.

Can you help?

[VZade]

Honestly there isn't much you can do. The fan will come on even for very light tasks. I just gave up on the NUC line. One thing you could do is switch to skull canyon and get one of these fanless cases:

http://www.akasa.com.tw/update.php?tpl=product/product.list.tpl&type=Fanless%20Chassis&type_sub=Fanless%20NUC

[GPasz]

Thanks Vzade. That's a little disheartening. Now that I have the problem I can see a few forums mentioning it. I am fortunate that the company I bought it from has a good/easy return policy, but I'd like to avoid that if possible. It looks to me like a software calibration issue. I was wondering. An earlier poster recommended you install the driver bundle. Did you do this? And still no difference? I'll try a few more things tonight but if it doesn't work I'll return it tomorrow .-( all the best, G.

[VZade]

Yes I tried with the latest bios and drivers and still no difference.

[RMala5]

I am having the exact same issue. Some Reddit users claim the same problem. Is this you second unit?

[GPasz]

I came home today after leaving the computer on all day... Silence... :-) Fingers crossed, but hopefully it stays that way. I'm definitely going to watch it closely over the coming weeks. Thanks!

[GPasz]

For me it was the first unit. As I mentioned earlier after 24 hours on my desk the crazy fan noise went down. It still kicks in for some tasks or when I start up some apps but it seems OK. Not as quiet as I expected when I bought it, but ok. I did set the bios fan settings to quiet, but what made the change was 24 hours being on on my desk.

[n_scott_pearson]

Try this configuration:

Also, remember that, by default, the BIOS' Primary Power Settings has Max Performance Enabled checked. I always uncheck this and check Balanced Enabled instead. At the same time, within the Windows Power Options Control Panel applet, the default is to use the High Performance Power Plan. I always change this to the Balanced Power Plan - but this is mostly to garner lower power usage when the system is relatively idle.

Hope this helps,

...S

[GPasz]

strange thing just happened. Just for fun (and to see if I could make it more quiet) I tried your settings scott and the computer on startup went crazy! (very noisy). I went back to the default "quiet" settings and now it is fine again. I don't understand why...