14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 8.1 was initially supposed to be a bug-free operating system that shouldn’t cause too many problems to its first adopters. At least, not so many as Windows 8.
It turns however that many of the users who decided to make the move to Windows 8.1 are actually experiencing all kinds of issues, including a higher noise level coming from the CPU fan.
Consumers who have turned to Microsoft’s Community forums to report the bug explain that the CPU fan is generating more noise than before, most likely in an attempt to cool the processor. This means that Windows 8.1 is actually requiring more CPU power, hence a temperature increase and the need for more intense cooling.
Here’s what one of the users has posted on the forums:
“My laptop is a Sony VAIO and is less than 1 year old. I am referring to fan sound, I had no problem before the update to Windows 8. I called Sony and they told me to contact Microsoft. I noticed my laptop too hot on the side where the fan sound comes.
“I am not using my laptop on a flat surface, I usually use a little piece of wood in the back to have a 30 degree angle. The fan stop if I restart the laptop, couple minutes after, it started again at full power. When I explained this to SONY, they told me to contact Microsoft immediately, there's nothing wrong with the machine.”
At this point, no workaround seems to be available, but as far as users are concerned, there’s not much that can be done since Windows 8.1 requires more CPU power.
Here are the Windows 8.1 system requirements in case you want to see if your computer has what it takes to run the new OS:
Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster with support for PAE, NX, and SSE2 (more info) RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit) Hard disk space: 16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit) Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver