no-noise laptop -which brand?

[Perix]

Hi, I’m new here. Hope my question is placed appropriate. (At least I think it is of general interest)

Can anybody rank computer brands according to their fan-noise level and frequency? In other words.....

1) Which laptop brand/model should I buy to ensure the fan is not running every single minute, and when running then with a pleasant silent humming and not a whining sound?

I had an Acer travelmate 292 with first generation of Centrino technology that I just loved. Now it's stolen! Then I bought an Acer travelmate 4152 (3'th Centrino generation)that is horrible noisy and which I'll return. The fan starts every second minute, and that's only by net surfing. If I clock it down from 'max performance' to 'max-batteri' mode, then the noisy fan runs every 3'th minute, so not much gained by that. From my research it seems like this is a very common problem by the new processors and chipsets, they are getting too hot (so why do they not restrict this equitment to multimedia and game laptops, which really need the high-power performance?)

My needs are: Word processing, connecting my TV-tuner(which doesn’t need advanced graphic cards, and shouldn’t take much power), listen a little to music, doing PowerPoint Presentations. Bus most of all: Silence!!!

It doesn't have to be the most light one (max about 3 kilograms), and the battery doesn’t have to endure for more than a couple of hours.

Available brands at my site in Europe are
ASER, ASUS, IBM/Lenovo, Toshiba, Fujitsu-Siemens, LG, and Hewlett-Packard.

My best guess for now is IBM/lenovo. When I've searched the net, it seems like there are fewest complaints about noise on IBM/Lenovos? According to my somhow restricted budget (about max 1500$ -) a R52 would be suitable (a T43 would be a bit too expensive).

What about the other brands, are there cheaper ones that also doesn't make much noise?

I hope someone can advice me

2) PS: any good experinces with laptop coolers? Are they too noisy, do they have any effect (i.e. preventing the internal fan from running by nomal usage)? Which db-level is acceptable? 20db? lower?

Thanks so very much!

[ZaZ]

Actually if you go over to ThinkPads.com forum you will see all kind of complaints about fan noise on the T43. Your best bet is probably a Dothan Pentium M, the second generation. They run the coolest of the three Pentium Ms so they will require the least fan usage, The T42 has the Dothan and you can still get them from Leveno. You might want to check out SilentPCReview.com. There is some good stuff over there in regards to quite hard drives and such. I have a T42 with the Dothan. I set it up so it runs on conserve battery all the time even when plugged in. I rarely hear the fan. Only when there is a virus scan or something CPU intensive. Usually runs between 38-43º. I think some of the R series are using the Dothan and may be worth checking out. You might be able to find a Asus reseller who will pop in a Dothan CPU. it is worth a look. Good Luck.

[Perix]

Thanks, zazonz, for the reply - and sorry for cross-posting the same question under the IBM/Leveno path.

Very useful information. It seems like I should go for the Dothan Processer no matter which brand. And right T42 is still available in my place

For those who do not know about the three Centrino genrations: check out Pulp´s usefull "Intel Centrino Guide" at the "Notebook Dummy Guide Articles" in this forum.

In short Dothan processers number ends with 5 : 715/725/735 etc. (except from 705 that is 1.st generation) Third generation ends with zero: 740/750 etc.

Have a nice day

[Charles P. Jefferies]

The Dell Latitude X1 is a fanless notebook, you could check that out.

[ZaZ]

As is the new Fujitsu P. The slow hard drive is a big turn off for me. I heard the X1 get a little warm.