NUC8i5BEH fan constantly around ~3650rpm

[Mathijs]

Hi there,

I just bought a new NUC8i5BEH and experience some troubles with the fan. It's constantly spinning around ~3650rpm which drives me crazy. It doesn't matter what fan settings I enter in the BIOS, it's constantly spinning at the same speed.

I've tried to:

• change the fan control mode / fan settings in the bios
• disable turbo boost
• update the bios to the latest version
• do a bios recovery
• reset the default bios settings

It all doesn't make a change.

What am I missing / doing wrong?

[LeonWaksman · Accepted solution]

Your NUC has hardware failure. Replace it in the palace you bought it (preferred solution) ,or open a ticket to replace it by Intel.

Leon

[Mathijs]

Thank you, I got a replacement and the problem is gone now

[LeonWaksman]

Enjoy your NUC.

Leon

[Trial-Member]

Hello @Mathijs,

I also have a NUC8i5BEH.

Although I can't exclude that your NUC has a defect (according to your description it seems so, because at least switching off the Tubroboost should have an effect), but in general I want to say: If you are looking for a quiet PC, Intel's NUC are not a good choice in my opinion.

The design seems to make decent cooling practically impossible. That's why the fan quickly increases its speed even for small things.

[RvD]

Hi, 

we recently bought 3 NUCs and all of them have the fan constantly on at full power. Just as @Mathijs I tried different settings and bios updates but nothing helps. If it is a hardware fault is it a component we can exchange our selves (e.g. the fan?) since I rather have the systems running instead of returning them and waiting for a replacement. 

[ALand]

@RvD did you get replacements to solve this?  Thanks.

[n_scott_pearson]

No! No! No! Do not waste your time getting replacement units! There is nothing wrong with the hardware that you have. There is a bug in the firmware causing this. They are currently validating a fix. It is hoped that the updated BIOS providing this firmware will be released next week.

...S

[Angy]

Hello. I have this intel NUC8i5BEH with this bios version: BECFL357.86A

My fan are always on at full power. I tried to change everything in bios, but I don't found any solution.

What I can do? Thanks

[RvD]

I just updated my bios to version BECFL357.86A.0085.2020.1007 and changed fan mode to quite and now it indeed turns off completely or spins slowly. 

The release notes of this bios version indeed list the fan speed fix. 

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/29959/BIOS-Update-BECFL357-86A-?product=129701

@Angy I guess you should check the exact bios version and update again if needed

@n_scott_pearson thanks for the heads-up on this update 

[Angy]

Thanks a lot. Fixed

[GregW2]

I am on the more recent BIOS 0087. I had noticed the fan being always on as well, and followed recommended BIOS settings from n_scott_pearson and LeonWaksman to no avail. Fan remained at high level. I cleaned out the case with compressed air - no improvement. I have a NUC10i5 set to "quiet" in the BIOS and the fan definitely is quiet most of the time. It seems like the problem has resurfaced in the NUC8i5. I ended up disabling Turboboost on the NUC8i5 and setting the fan to Fixed 40% duty cycle which has made it quiet with idle temp around 38 and temp under high stress maxing at 82. Does Intel need to revise the BIOS again?

Also question - what is the best windows program for monitoring temperatures and fan speed on NUC? I am only able to monitor temps, but Speedfan and Core Temp were giving different readings. Core Temp seems to match the BIOS measurement the closest, whereas Speedfan seems to underestimate by 15-20 degrees.

[LeonWaksman]

Hi @GregW2 

Did you updated BIOS to ver.0087 using BIOS Recovery method? If not, please try to do it:

1. Prepare USB stick fully formatted to FAT32 (disable quick format option during format). Format your USB on Windows machine (rather than Linux or MAC). Save the Bios file BE0087.bio on this stick and insert it into front USB slot with amber color (NUC shall be OFF). You may use also one of the rear USB ports (do not use front blue USB port, since sometime the USB stick is not recognized during boot process).
2. Press and hold Power Button for about 3 seconds. Count 1001, 1002, 1003,1004. Release the Power Button. NUC should reboot into Power Button Menu. You should release the Power Button before 4-sec shut down override or when the Power Button LED changes color from blue to amber.
3. Press F4 and the recovery shall start (it can take up to 30 seconds for messages to appear on the screen).
4. When the recovery finishes, press on Power Button and hold it, until NUC switches OFF. Pull out the power cord. Remove the USB stick.
5. Replace the power cord and press Power Button to switch the computer to ON.
While you see the Intel NUC logo, enter Bios setting by pressing F2 during boot process.
Press F9(followed by "Y"), to set Bios to default settings. Press F10 (followed by "Y"), to save the settings and exit to O.S. Let the NUC fully reboot.
6. If before update, you have customized bios settings, you can enter again to Bios setting to change the necessary settings. 

Leon

[n_scott_pearson]

To answer the secondary question, I consider the AIDA64 application to be top notch. This is a paid app if you stick with it, however (though I think it well worth it).

If you want to stay in the free realm, my secondary choice is HWiNFO64. I do not know if they have the sensor logging capability that AIDA64 offers, however.

I can't provide you with a third choice. These are the two apps that appear to keep up with the changing hardware better than any of the others.

Hope this helps,

...S

[GregW2]

Leon thanks for suggestion. Will try this when I can find the time this weekend. So updating the BIOS through Windows sometimes doesn't work properly?

Scott will try your recommendations. Looking forward to getting good data.

[GregW2]

So I tried to run the BIOS recovery using the method you described but after I pressed F4, it boot back into windows instead of using the disk. So I instead used the disk to reflash the bios after booting directly into the bios. 

I am happy to report that I can now hear the fan speed changing speeds when the temperature ramps up and down in the HWINFO64 program. Wow, never knew it was supposed to be like this. In fact, all I did was just disable Turboboost because I did not like seeing the temps at 100 during stress testing, and now with Turboboost off and the Balanced plan, temps are in 40s and 50s during regular use, and I hear nothing. The whole experience makes me think I never should update bios through Windows again. Amazing.

Thanks

[n_scott_pearson]

I certainly don't recommend using the Windows-based method. It should be the same but clearly there are differences.

...S