[Solved] New fan in Thinkpad X201, too fast on low level

xiliyi · 2017-02-14 08:08:48

Hi everybody.

I’m running Arch Linux on a ThinkPad X201 (model 3323A2G with an SSD instead of an HDD) and replaced the fan with a new one from Toshiba. I use thinkfan to control fan speed.
/etc/thinkfan.conf (from the German ThinkPad-Forum, as mentioned in the X201 article on ArchWiki)

#lvl    low     up
(0,    0,      47)
(1,    42,     57)
(2,    44,     59)
(3,    50,     65)
(4,    54,     70)
(5,    60,     73)
(6,    62,     83)
(7,    65,     88)
(127,  70,     32767)

This laptop used to be very quiet. But now, fan noise is either non-existent (when the fan is off, below 47°C, as indicated by /proc/acpi/ibm/thermal) or very loud (at level 1 and higher, 46°C and above or until it has cooled down to 41°C). I first thought it would turn at full speed, but there is a difference in loudness and air flow between echo level 1 > /proc/acpi/ibm/fan and echo level 7 > /proc/acpi/ibm/fan, albeit a minor one. So, even at level 1, the fan is unbearingly loud. It’s like the constant on and off of a hair dryer.
Previously, levels 1 and 2 were were silent, while keeping the laptop cool during office work. Levels 3 and 4 were noticeable, but would cool the laptop when watching movies on it.
Is there anything I can do to slow down the lower fan levels?

Thank you

Last edited by xiliyi (2017-04-09 08:53:13)

R00KIE · 2017-02-14 14:27:46

You have learned the hard way that you should replace old parts with the exact same model or equivalent, otherwise these kinds of things can happen.

I don't have experience controlling fan speeds but I'd guess that the new fan reports the speed differently (if it reports speed) and that will make the fan controller misbehave. The only way I can see you working around that problem without changing the fan is if you can set the speeds directly or if you can change the pwm duty cycle for each level.

xiliyi · 2017-02-15 06:46:13

The fan I had previously installed was already a replacement, and it worked well.
As to the new one: I found the part number on lenovo.com and bought the same model. Judging from the photos on the website, it is the same. Lenovo also uses Toshiba fans. I am sure I installed the correct fan model.

Last edited by xiliyi (2017-02-15 06:48:21)

xiliyi · 2017-02-15 10:32:01

For levels 0-7 (echo level x > /proc/acpi/ibm/fan), using cat /proc/acpi/ibm/fan produced these values:

level:    0      1      2      3      4      5      6      7
speed:    0      3700   3633   3611   3633   3650   3782   4226

This indicates that levels 1 to 6 are actually the same. Could someone explain to me what that means, or how I can actually get fan speeds around 2000?

R00KIE · 2017-02-15 13:04:06

Can you retry the same tests with the old fan and see what you get?

If you got the exact brand and model of fan that lenovo specifies I wouldn't discard the possibility that your new fan is defective and I would retry with the old fan and see if it works just to make sure the problem is not somewhere else.

Regarding setting speeds or manually controlling the fan I can't help, the automatic control works well enough for me and I've never bothered fiddling with that.

xiliyi · 2017-04-09 08:52:51

Marking as solved. I ordered another fan. It’s working now, with abovementioned configuration. I’m really sorry for the inconvenience I caused, R00KIE, as it was my fault.
The solution: There are many different X201 Thinkpads (mine being a 3323a2g), and most of them use the same fan, but my specific model requires a different one. This is not visible from the lenovo webpage. I believe they removed the info page on my model some time ago (or at least I couldn’t find it): entering the machine number only brings up the page for a different device.
Anyway, I got it working again. Thank you for your help!

Arch Linux

#1 2017-02-14 08:08:48

[Solved] New fan in Thinkpad X201, too fast on low level

#2 2017-02-14 14:27:46

Re: [Solved] New fan in Thinkpad X201, too fast on low level

#3 2017-02-15 06:46:13

Re: [Solved] New fan in Thinkpad X201, too fast on low level

#4 2017-02-15 10:32:01

Re: [Solved] New fan in Thinkpad X201, too fast on low level

#5 2017-02-15 13:04:06

Re: [Solved] New fan in Thinkpad X201, too fast on low level

#6 2017-04-09 08:52:51

Re: [Solved] New fan in Thinkpad X201, too fast on low level

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