Got a DELL Precision M4800 notebook for $5

John from PA wrote in post #19058410
So, just to clarify the "hoops" you refer to, and my suggestion of the Startup folder...

The link I provided earlier, https://www.howtogeek.​com …for-cool-quiet-operation/, did you scroll way, way down near the bottom to the section titled "Step Four: Set SpeedFan to Start Automatically" and try what is outlined there?

Yes. Been there, done that. No joy on a Dell, no matter what's attempted.
They're a tough nut to crack, those Dell computers.

The article you reference is far too generic for Dell computers, laptop or desktop, anyway.
I've far better control over my desktop's fans than I can obtain over the Dell portable.
There's nothing yet out there to control Dell fans without jumping through big hoops.

Well, I could choose to run nearly any program as an embedded service,
while I'd rather not jump through those hoops, too.

I reread this entire topic, and wonder what the basic need is for a fan control? Is it a desire to reduce fan noise or increase cooling? I also find that there may be two fans in the Dell Precision M4800 Mobile Workstation, one for the GPU and one for the CPU, the GPU fan being the smaller of the two. It isn't clear on line if the fans are ball bearing type fans which are more expensive but are quieter. If they are sleeve bearing units, a "glorified" bushing, then a drop of oil might reduce the noise considerably.

The attached picture is the CPU fan. I notice two mounting tabs. If noise is an issue, I'd slip some rubber shimming under those mounting tabs.

Should you need them, fans (and other parts) are available for about $40 at https://www.parts-people.com …=142&subid=457&​refine=fan.

The manual pages that cover fan replacement are as follows:

CPU fan = https://www.dell.com …4-2d1e13af22bc&lang=en-us

GPU fan = https://www.dell.com …c-9276f4c4eb47&lang=en-us

Early on I think I gave you the link for the full manual.

I checked out my Dell, and am pretty sure the fans are ball bearing. The ventilation is also quite adequate. Since the laptop is a thicker workstation, I haven’t encountered throttling, and only have heard higher fan noise when doing intensive 3D renders. If one is experiencing unsatisfactory fan noise or throttling, I would first look at dusting out the older laptop. The internals of the Dell are very easy to access for maintenance and upgrades.

Well, the fans are clean and function just fine.

My issue is that Dell's fan controllers have been notoriously poor
in function approach for a very long time.
Reportedly, Dell's logic says there shall be off, medium, and full-on cyclone.

In function, medium seems to be non-existant. All or nothing.
Thusly, the desire by a large portion of Dell laptop users
to be always on the hunt for a way to exert control over
the actual fan speeds.

Are most the complaints Dell laptop users or specifically users of Precision MXXX users? Not all Dell laptops are made the same, and peering under the hood of my M4700, I can see these workstations did have a lot more ventilation then any recent laptop I've seen (including current Dell Precision/gaming laptops).

davesrose wrote in post #19059802
Are most the complaints Dell laptop users or specifically users of Precision MXXX users? Not all Dell laptops are made the same, and peering under the hood of my M4700, I can see these workstations did have a lot more ventilation then any recent laptop I've seen (including current Dell Precision/gaming laptops).

It's pretty well an across-the-spectrum thing with Dell.
Not only laptops/notebooks, but desktops as well.

Dell apparently has a closed-source setup for their cooling/fan-control,
which is why you can so easily find numerous complaints and discussions
about Dell fan speeds.

Their desktops aren't as bad, while the laptops are really over-the-top
in aggressive fan speeds and control regulating.

I've even had Dell desktop machines years ago, second-hand,
where I thought their fans ramped-up far more than necessary.
Their laptop systems are FAR worse in this regard.

Well Dell has a different service and support for their Precision workstation line (as it's considered "business" class vs "small business" or "home"). My last job, I had a Dell dual Xeon desktop workstation and also a Dell blade server for rendering. Now the server could sound like a banshee at times (since it was designed for being in a data center...and server UEFI settings do tend to just have medium or high with sever boards). The desktop workstation, though sounded quieter than other workstations I've had. Ditto with my M4700: with the extra ventilation, fans don't kick in until I'm doing full renders.

With new laptops getting slimmer and having less ventilation, I'm always surprised when I hear high fan speeds even at random times when the cores/GPU aren't ramping up.

The XPS and Precision lines are current hotspots for discussion, while other series
of laptops are also cause for energetic discussions.

My own 4800 will ramp-up the fan(s) seemingly randomly, even while it's
powered on but not being used. The XPS series seems to suffer this
much more often.

What I'd like to actually do is set a quiet but active fan speed,
while Dell's BIOS/motherboard/contr​ol doesn't actually allow this
as far as has been yet determined.