X31 and X32 (Banias and Dothan) heat/noise

[miggy]

I'm going to buy a x31 or x32, I've read about the differences between these machines, CPU being the only one noticeable.
I'd like to know if the Dothan CPU allows the system to work less noisy (if it's a case in x3*s) and stay cooler OR they work basically the same in terms of noise/heat (negligible)?
x31 is just much easier to spot...

Thanks in advance.

[uux]

From my experiences with a 1.4GHz X31 (Banias) and a 2.0GHz X32 (Dothan), the X31 is the quieter machine. The fan barely ever comes on with normal usage. With a quiet hard drive, you can hardly notice it's on in a silent room. The fan comes on more often in the X32, but it stays rather quiet . They can use the same fans, so I imagine they're equally noisey when pushed. My X32 seems to stay a bit cooler, but I'm guessing it's due to the fan being on more rather than a Dothan vs Banias.

[proaudioguy]

There is a 1.8GHz X32 on ebay right now. It's listed as 1.7GHz in the headline. My first 1.7 came as a 1.8. Apparently the system board had been swapped out. I had an issue caused by my own negligence and had the system board replaced under warranty and noticed a real difference between the 1.8 and the 1.7 they replaced it with. I have noticed less of a difference between the 1.8 and the 2.0 but the 2.0 runs hotter in my case. YMMV. By contrast my P4ms run quite a bit cooler which makes no sense to me. Perhaps it's just a better heatsink.

[chronage]

I use TPfancontrol on my X31 1.7, so my fan stays on constantly. Definitely not the coolest-running or quietest laptop, but I like it anyway

[dr_st]

My girlfriend used an X32, with the 1.8GHz Dothan, for the past 3 years.

The machine has always been very cool, never getting warm. Fan would go on sometimes, but only in the past year or so, it developed this annoying buzz/whim sound. Not too loud, and only noticeable in a quiet room, but still there.

[proaudioguy]

I must agree that with normal internet usage my X32 stay quite cool. If you are watching a bunch of you tube videos it will ramp up to full clock and start to get warm. The fan comes on. At work I use some very CPU and GPU intensive software. When that's running the cpu gets very hot and the fan runs full speed constantly.

[miggy]

Thanks for replying. I'll be a x32 user in a day or two :)

Any oppinions on additional purchases, like HDD (in terms of heat/noise, versus performance this time)?
I had to check some reviews and benchmarks before I make a purchase, but there are three options: ST Momentus 5400.3 / WD Scorpio / 32GB CFx233. CF might be a problem due to life expectancy (I'm a XP user and I always turn the pagefile off, but the overall file i/o is still very high because of software I use) and high price, but not because of capacity..

[uux]

The quietest hard drive I have ever used is a Samsung MP0402H (40GB). Next in line would be a Samsung HM121JC (120GB). I couldn't hear either in the X31 case. I'm currently using a pair of Samsung HM160JC (160GB) in the X32 and a T41. I can hear them, but they are relatively quiet. My experience with Seagate is that they are quiet, but not as quiet as Samsung, and do not have any acoustic settings (at least in the ones I own). I haven't really noticed any difference when it comes to heat.

A CF or SSD would be absolutely silent, AFAIK. There are no moving parts. The only sound I could think of those making would be some kind of electrical whine, but I've never heard anyone complaining about something like that before.

I don't think I would bother with CF in the X32. You can probably find a SSD for a comparable price.

[miggy]

Yesterday, I bought a 160GB ST Momentus 5400.3 drive, it's almost dead silent for now.
The fan in my x32 is sometimes audible, usually when the bottom side of the computer overheats (ventilation), but it's not annoying and doesn't occur very often.