Question T430 is Loud. CPU Fan is 0rpm. What is making the noise?

[the_rabbit]

Spec:
8gb RAM
Lenovo T430
CPU: I5-3320M
GPU: HD 4000
HDD: 320gb

I'm trying to figure out what noise this could be. I thought it was the CPU fan all this time, but as TPFanControl says that my fan is at 0rpm I might as well fix it and have silence.

I believe that the only moving part other than the CPU fan is the HDD. The case is also just as hot above the HDD as it is underneath the CPU, if not more. In fact, the Temp readout is always 40-46C for the HDD and 30-42C for the CPU (despite the fan being off 90% of the time).

It would seem to be the HDD (meaning I need to upgrade to an SSD) but I really wanted to be sure before I buy one.

 

[onespeedbiker]

The fan is the only thing that would make noise. The fan exhaust vent is on the upper left of the body of the laptop and if you place your left next to the vent, you will feel the heat. Regardless of what TPFanControl says, if the fan is not running all the time, any laptop will overheat and turn itself off. I would disassemble your PC and clean the fan. https://www.myfixguide.com/manual/lenovo-thinkpad-t430-disassembly-clean-fan-and-remove-screen/

Regardless I would still upgrade to a ssd. I put one in my X230 and it easily boots 2-3 times faster.

 

[the_rabbit]

The fan is the only thing that would make noise. The fan exhaust vent is on the upper left of the body of the laptop and if you place your left next to the vent, you will feel the heat. Regardless of what TPFanControl says, if the fan is not running all the time, any laptop will overheat and turn itself off. I would disassemble your PC and clean the fan. https://www.myfixguide.com/manual/lenovo-thinkpad-t430-disassembly-clean-fan-and-remove-screen/

Regardless I would still upgrade to a ssd. I put one in my X230 and it easily boots 2-3 times faster.

I opened it up with it switched on and the fan is actualy not spinning at all. The temps in my room are around 8C though. It's all coming from the HDD bay. I just ordered an SSD. The fan is tolerable at 2500rpm, the lowest setting.

 

[hang-the-9]

For a system as old as the T430 I would re-do the heatsink with new thermal paste while you are cleaning things up in there. As well as check the vents, keyboard, etc... They are easy to take apart enough to clean it all out.