I recently (within the past few days) received a framework 13 7040 that I really like! However my workloads make the fans sound a little bit like a jet engine. I think the fans actually need to be working this hard: the bottom does get very hot. It’s bad enough that I’m probably going to return the device.
Running windows 11, using the model with the newer screen bios etc is as shipped (which I assumed to be current given that I just got it a few days ago?)
Has this been fixed with the new heatsink? Is it just a matter of me replacing that component? If not, is this any better with the newer AI mainboards on the 13, or the new FW 16? Would love to replace it with another framework product if possible!
I’ve anecdotally heard that the newer heatsink on the 7040 would result in better temps. That being said:
What is your workload looking like? Video encoding, gaming, only typing in notepad, etc? Could give us a better idea of why the temps are spiking.
Have you confirmed your BIOS is updated properly, and have you made sure any post-setup steps have been followed for Windows 11? (driver bundles, bios, etc)
Since fan noise is a very subjective thing, help us out here: have you used other laptops before? Are you used to macs or other designs without fans? Have you used laptops for the same tasks as the ones which are causing this one to sound like a jet engine?
It could be anything. Could be you have bad luck and the thermal paste or heatsink aren’t sitting quite right. Could be 100% normal and just that you’re not used to laptops running relatively intensive workloads, or not used to the specific type of noise of thin fans that must be used in a thin laptop.
Thanks so much! My previous laptop was a Gen 10 Thinkpad Carbon X. For work sometimes I will have something like minikub open, downloading something, and have browsers with tabs open to several decks, google docs, etc. Often I’m compiling things as well. It probably could be more efficient on my end, obviously: having open 30 browser tabs is a lot!
It also spins up more than expected when running old 3D games, like MWO or everquest.
On my old laptop the fan would turn on sometimes but be much quieter.
I’m leaning towards just keeping the computer and trying the new heatsink/etc!
Bios is JFP30.03.16 , which I believe is current?
I was unaware of other driver bundles/etc. for windows 11! where can I find these instructions?
Ok, well given the workload, especially when compiling things it’s expected the fan ramps up. Could be worth running a stress test like prime95 and measuring temperatures and CPU clock speeds to compare with other users to make sure it’s not an issue with the heatsink.
For games, you might want to check settings and limit the frame rate to something reasonable if it’s unlimited, cause running an old game at 300fps is not worth the extra heat and noise.
I’ve also replaced the stock thermal paste with ptm7950 on my ryzen7640 framework 13, which gave a bit of improvement on the temperatures and fan ramp up too.
I have a 7840 FW16 (batch 6), running Fedora 42 at the moment. I found the fans to go from nothing to roaring quite quickly (compiling or especially when running my multi-node VM test k8s cluster). I did some tuning with ectool to have the fans start cooling at a lower temp (on the CPU from a 323K start to 311K start). found it starts a low fan that is not really audible and seems to keep things cooler and not having to ramp to the full bore unless I am doing the really heavy work.
since you are on windows, may want to take a look at:
I have also noticed the bottom of the laptop gets quite warm when charging the battery (I’ve seem similar reports in the forums). I normally have it plugged it, but if I have had it on battery for a bit and then plug back in I would notice it if actually on my lap and not on a table/desk/stand.