Being a laptop reviewer, it’s not unusual for me to see an otherwise excellent laptop let down by a noisy fan that becomes a distraction during work or play sessions.
There are many reasons that can be the case. The most obvious is that the laptop model is just built that way; it overheats easily, and the fan is forced to compensate. Then again, it may be built well, and the laptop is just under heavy CPU load (most laptop fans will go bananas when encoding or running heavy applications).
The fan can also get noisy when it’s broken or faulty. Or it could just be poor settings configurations causing the issue. The latter is a best-case scenario, because the problem can be fixed or reduced with a few minor settings tweaks.
Pexels: Foysal Ahmed
Whatever the reason, you can test to see if your laptop is a shouter or not with a decibel meter app on your cellphone. If it’s clocking between 30 to 45 decibels — you’re fine, most laptops fall into this range. If it’s above that level when you’re just running lightweight software or applications, then you should try to take the sound down a notch — the steps below will help.
Just a note, though: Your fan’s job is to keep your laptop cool, so I wouldn’t advise trying to control your fan’s noise if your laptop is just working hard under heavy load to cool your laptop — it’s meant to do that, especially in gaming or content creation laptops. Preventing it doing its job will throttle performance and could even damage your hardware.
1. Adjust the power settings in Windows
Your laptop could be on a power setting that’s too high for the tasks it’s performing, thus causing your fan to also work too hard. To change that, open Windows 11 Settings and navigate to Power & Battery and drop the power mode down one level. So, if it’s on Performance Mode, drop it down to Balanced, or if it’s on Balanced drop it down to Best Power Efficiency.
2. Close any unnecessary background apps
If you have a bunch of background apps running that you aren’t using, your laptop’s CPU could be under needless load, causing your fan to work noisily harder than it should. To close the ones you don’t need, type Task Manager in Windows Search, then right-click on the apps or processes that you want to close and select End Task.
3. Change the fan speed in the BIOS
The BIOS is the firmware that directs many of the basic functions that the PC runs off, including the speed of your laptop’s fan. Changing the speed could reduce your fan noise.
To enter the BIOS, restart your laptop and as it’s booting press the designated BIOS key (either F1, F2, F10, Delete, or Escape). Then navigate to either Fan Control or Hardware Monitor. Choose the fan control method that matches your laptop’s fan — either DC (3-pin) or PWM (4-pin). This can be found in your laptop’s manufacturer specifications.
Then, see what preset your fan is set at — usually, Standard, Silent, or Performance — and change the setting to silent. Alternatively, you can create a custom fan curve to set your fan spinning at lower RPMs at different laptop temperatures. The fan curve defines the fan speed according to temperature rises in key components. Once you’re done, save and exit BIOS.
4. Check the settings in your laptop’s companion app
Asus’s Armoury Crate companion app allows you to modify your fan settings.
Mark Hachman / Foundry
Fan settings in some laptop companion apps like Asus’s Armoury Crate and MSI’s Afterburner can override a laptop’s BIOS fan control and make the fan work harder than it needs to, thus making fans louder than they normally would be. So can the performance modes in these apps, especially modes like Turbo or Extreme Performance.
You have two options here: If you just want the BIOS to control your fan settings, then you should disable these settings in the app or uninstall it completely. Alternatively, you can do what I do and still use the apps, but just lower fan and performance settings when I don’t need the extra power.
Some apps like Asus’s Armoury Crate Fan Xpert 4 or SpeedFan also let you configure the laptop’s fan curve. Taking the time to do that can also do wonders to reduce the fan noise. You’ll need to search online for tutorials on how to do that specifically for the app you’re using.
5. Maximize airflow and cooling
Laptops need good airflow to prevent overheating, and most will automatically control their fan settings according to temperature rises. Ergo, if your laptop’s temperature rises, so will your fan speed and noise.
To give your laptop the best chance of airflow, use a good-quality laptop stand instead of placing it on a hard surface so that air can easily reach the vents. If your laptop overheats easily, a laptop cooling pad can help keep temperatures to a minimum and thereby also help keep your fan RPMs down.
Pexels: Eduardo Rosas
Dust and debris can also interfere with airflow and be a hidden cause of a noisy fan, so you should also wipe away any visible dust from on top of the vents with a wet wipe. Blow any more dust out of them with a compressed air blower.
If you feel confident enough, also open the laptop up from underneath and do the same around the fans. Just make sure the laptop is turned off and unplugged first.