ConceptD CN715-72P - Fans Always Running at High Speed

Bacchinif
Bacchinif Member Posts: 63 Devotee WiFi Icon

Hey everyone,

I'm hoping to get some advice on an issue with my Acer ConceptD CN715-72P (out of warranty, after 3 years). I recently had a keycap replaced at a repair lab, and during that process, they cleaned the fans and applied new thermal paste.

Since getting it back, I’ve noticed that the fans are running almost constantly at full or close to full speed (around 70%) whenever the laptop is plugged in, even during low CPU and GPU usage.

Here’s my current power plan setup:

  • Turn off display: 20 minutes on battery, 30 minutes plugged in.
  • Put PC to sleep: 45 minutes on battery, never when plugged in.

Alongside other tasks, I use this laptop for 3D rendering, often overnight, so I need it to stay awake when plugged in.

In light of that, I would like to know if there's a solution that lets me keep my power settings but reduces the fan noise, or at least allows me to manually control the fan speed.

Unfortunately, Acer has discontinued this line, and their proprietary software (ConceptD Palette and Acer Care) is outdated and barely functional at this point. I’ve heard some people suggest controlling the fans via PredatorSense, but I couldn’t get that to install or work.

Any suggestions

Answers

  • Joe_Kingsley
    Joe_Kingsley Ally Posts: 111

    Excess heat can cause the fans to run faster and continuously which can potentially damage internal components and reduce the performance of the computer. Your computer may contain one or more fans to keep the internal components cool.

    There are a few different ways you can control the fan speed on a Windows laptop without having to make permanent changes to the system.

    Here are a few options:
    Adjust power settings: You can also try adjusting your laptop's power settings to reduce the workload on the CPU and other components, which may cause the fans to spin less frequently or at a lower speed. You can do this by going to Control Panel > Power Options and selecting a power plan that is optimized for battery life or reducing the performance of the system.
    Clean the laptop's fans: Over time, dust and debris can accumulate inside your laptop's fans, causing them to spin faster and louder than necessary. If your laptop is out of warranty, you can try opening it up and cleaning the fans yourself using compressed air or a soft brush. Be careful not to damage any components while doing this.

    Cheers!!!

  • Bacchinif
    Bacchinif Member Posts: 63 Devotee WiFi Icon

    Thank you very much for your reply, however I am puzzled this might be a ChatGPT-like response in light of the fact that you clearly haven't read / had a look at the content of my message or the images I have uploaded.

    1. You're recommending to change the power settings, while I am clearly stating that I need those being set up in a certain way due to the high performance I want to maintain while using heavy software products.
    2. Why should I be cleaning the fans if they have recently been cleaned up by a technician?

    Cheers!

  • Alejandro_AC
    Alejandro_AC ACE Posts: 13,314 Trailblazer

    HI @Bacchinif in my humble opinion, the workshop may not have carried out the process of placing the thermal paste correctly. As you know, an excess of thermal paste has the opposite effect and dissipates less heat. I would contact the workshop again and tell them about the problem.

    Regards.

    • Haga clic en "Me gusta" si mi respuesta fue útil o márquela como solución si se resolvió, ¡gracias!
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  • Bacchinif
    Bacchinif Member Posts: 63 Devotee WiFi Icon

    Hello Alejandro,

    there are a few issues:

    1. The PC is out of warranty. Warranty ended on August 31st. They would probably give me a middle finger.
    2. I can't repaste myself (despite having thermal paste at hand) since this PC's internals are quite complex.
    3. Reaching out to the lab and sending the PC is quite a hassle. I stayed almost 1 month with no PC having to deal with the carrier, the repairing time and so on.

    Are there any other solutions or other things I could do?

  • Alejandro_AC
    Alejandro_AC ACE Posts: 13,314 Trailblazer
    edited October 6

    I still think that if the problem is the thermal paste, there is no solution, unless I am wrong and I could be, since the issue of excess thermal paste is just a supposition, in any case I would try a couple of things, the first is to change the power mode from high performance to moderate or balanced, the second step would be to reduce the processor consumption to, for example, 75% from the Windows options.
    This, logically, reduces the rendering speed, but you do not lose anything by testing if with these settings the fans reduce their speed, but keep in mind that the rendering process consumes all the possible energy, as does a demanding game and the excess heat produced by the CPU is inevitable, but the test that I suggest can serve to know if what I said about the thermal paste is correct and in this way the fans should not spin excessively at least in a low use of the CPU and GPU.

    Greetings-

    • Haga clic en "Me gusta" si mi respuesta fue útil o márquela como solución si se resolvió, ¡gracias!
    • Colaborador pro bono, no trabajo ni hablo en nombre de Acer
    • Please click "Like" if my answer was helpful or mark it as solution if it was solved, thanks!
    • Pro bono contributor, I do not work or speak on behalf of Acer
    • MVP de MSFT (2003-21) & Windows Insider & (alezmvp)
  • Bacchinif
    Bacchinif Member Posts: 63 Devotee WiFi Icon
    edited October 6
    1. I can try to put the power option back to "balanced" and use the PC for 1h. Let's see if the fan speed goes down.
    2. How do I reduce the processor consumption?

    I am now back on balanced, let's see:

  • Alejandro_AC
    Alejandro_AC ACE Posts: 13,314 Trailblazer

    Go to control panel - power options - change plan settings - change advanced power settings - processor power management - maximum state (it should be at 100%, reduce it).

    • Haga clic en "Me gusta" si mi respuesta fue útil o márquela como solución si se resolvió, ¡gracias!
    • Colaborador pro bono, no trabajo ni hablo en nombre de Acer
    • Please click "Like" if my answer was helpful or mark it as solution if it was solved, thanks!
    • Pro bono contributor, I do not work or speak on behalf of Acer
    • MVP de MSFT (2003-21) & Windows Insider & (alezmvp)
  • Bacchinif
    Bacchinif Member Posts: 63 Devotee WiFi Icon

    Okay. I can try.

    Just a quick question: How many power plans can I create? I would like to leave the High Performance like it is now and maybe create a new plan with the tweakings.

  • Alejandro_AC
    Alejandro_AC ACE Posts: 13,314 Trailblazer

    You can create the ones that appear by default and also, you can create personalized ones and alternate them manually according to the use of the equipment.

    • Haga clic en "Me gusta" si mi respuesta fue útil o márquela como solución si se resolvió, ¡gracias!
    • Colaborador pro bono, no trabajo ni hablo en nombre de Acer
    • Please click "Like" if my answer was helpful or mark it as solution if it was solved, thanks!
    • Pro bono contributor, I do not work or speak on behalf of Acer
    • MVP de MSFT (2003-21) & Windows Insider & (alezmvp)
  • Bacchinif
    Bacchinif Member Posts: 63 Devotee WiFi Icon

    I have kept my laptop on the balanced profile for 1h now and the fans were a bit less loud, but still quite noisy. I wish I could just control the fan speed, which is something I can't figure out.

  • Alejandro_AC
    Alejandro_AC ACE Posts: 13,314 Trailblazer
    edited October 6

    I don't know if the fan can be controlled by an app as is the case with the Nitro or Predator series, in any case, the procedures I have mentioned are not the solution, they are just a way to reduce the problem, you would have to find out what is causing it, especially if everything started after the technical service team arrived.

    Kind regards.

    • Haga clic en "Me gusta" si mi respuesta fue útil o márquela como solución si se resolvió, ¡gracias!
    • Colaborador pro bono, no trabajo ni hablo en nombre de Acer
    • Please click "Like" if my answer was helpful or mark it as solution if it was solved, thanks!
    • Pro bono contributor, I do not work or speak on behalf of Acer
    • MVP de MSFT (2003-21) & Windows Insider & (alezmvp)
  • Alejandro_AC
    Alejandro_AC ACE Posts: 13,314 Trailblazer

    I have reviewed the service manual for the computer and I see that the processor has Turbo Boost technology. I don't know your computer, but I'll see if you have the option in BIOS to disable this function.
    I also notice that you are running Windows 8. Have you installed a higher-end system? If this were correct, systems like Windows 10 would consume more, with the consequent increase in resources and temperature.

    I also leave you a screenshot where the temperature ranges that regulate the fan speed appear.

    Kind regards.

    • Haga clic en "Me gusta" si mi respuesta fue útil o márquela como solución si se resolvió, ¡gracias!
    • Colaborador pro bono, no trabajo ni hablo en nombre de Acer
    • Please click "Like" if my answer was helpful or mark it as solution if it was solved, thanks!
    • Pro bono contributor, I do not work or speak on behalf of Acer
    • MVP de MSFT (2003-21) & Windows Insider & (alezmvp)
  • Bacchinif
    Bacchinif Member Posts: 63 Devotee WiFi Icon

    Predator or Nitro apps cannot be installed. I have already tried everything in the past. I could try again, but I am unsure it will work now. There's just no way to control the fans, apparently.

  • Bacchinif
    Bacchinif Member Posts: 63 Devotee WiFi Icon

    I am not running Windows 8. I am on Windows 11.

    What should I do with the table chart?

  • Alejandro_AC
    Alejandro_AC ACE Posts: 13,314 Trailblazer

    Yes, I know, I was referring to third-party applications.


    Regards.

    • Haga clic en "Me gusta" si mi respuesta fue útil o márquela como solución si se resolvió, ¡gracias!
    • Colaborador pro bono, no trabajo ni hablo en nombre de Acer
    • Please click "Like" if my answer was helpful or mark it as solution if it was solved, thanks!
    • Pro bono contributor, I do not work or speak on behalf of Acer
    • MVP de MSFT (2003-21) & Windows Insider & (alezmvp)
  • Alejandro_AC
    Alejandro_AC ACE Posts: 13,314 Trailblazer

    The graph is just so you can see the normal temperature ranges at which the processor works and the fan speed according to that temperature, that is, in normal use it should not activate the fan at a higher speed than necessary.
    Yes, the screenshot says it comes with Windows 10, but working with Windows 11 is not a problem, on the contrary, it performs better.

    Regards.

    • Haga clic en "Me gusta" si mi respuesta fue útil o márquela como solución si se resolvió, ¡gracias!
    • Colaborador pro bono, no trabajo ni hablo en nombre de Acer
    • Please click "Like" if my answer was helpful or mark it as solution if it was solved, thanks!
    • Pro bono contributor, I do not work or speak on behalf of Acer
    • MVP de MSFT (2003-21) & Windows Insider & (alezmvp)
  • Bacchinif
    Bacchinif Member Posts: 63 Devotee WiFi Icon

    Thank you very much. In light of everything discussed so far what do you recommend me to do?

  • Alejandro_AC
    Alejandro_AC ACE Posts: 13,314 Trailblazer

    As I told you at the beginning, I would contact the technical service that carried out the repairs, these also have a warranty period, tell them about the problem.

    Regards.

    • Haga clic en "Me gusta" si mi respuesta fue útil o márquela como solución si se resolvió, ¡gracias!
    • Colaborador pro bono, no trabajo ni hablo en nombre de Acer
    • Please click "Like" if my answer was helpful or mark it as solution if it was solved, thanks!
    • Pro bono contributor, I do not work or speak on behalf of Acer
    • MVP de MSFT (2003-21) & Windows Insider & (alezmvp)