I don't have an answer for you, just an anecdote:

I use my notebook for music editing and recording, and the fan has been a thorn in my side. Unfortunately I waited too long after purchasing to find this out, so no return is possible. As per the request of an ESL support guy, I sent it in to have the fan replaced, all the while very sceptical of this solving the problem. They replaced it, and must have noticed that it is every bit as loud, and sent it back.

It sounds like a hair dryer for crying out loud.

Is there anyone else out there who uses their 250n for music?  I need someone to talk to...

laz22

I use it for music recording too.

I bought a laptop soundcard, though.

I cleaned the heatsink two weeks ago.

Stuntman

Thank you for your reply. 

I hope you don't mind my picking your brain:

Has the fan been an issue with your music? I do a lot of editing and recording at night with low volume. Sometimes I don't realize how loud the fan is until it periodically shuts off, and suddenly I can hear every crickett outside.

What do you mean by "laptop soundcard"? Is it just an external soundcard? And how has that affected the issue?

What is the heatsink, and did cleaning it help?

laz22

I record sounds directly in my soundcard from samplers, keyboards so the noisy fan is not a big issue for me.

I sometimes record voices or guitars but far enough from the laptop so the fan won't disturb the sound.

I bought a Laptop soundcard PCMCIA : Echo Indigo IO. It contains all ASIO drivers needed to run Cubase properly and the input/output signals are very very clean. I advice you to buy a soundcard and to clean the heatsink every 6 months. I cleaned it cause I had the shutdown syndrome.

cleaned heatsink = good air cooling = less fan noises.

cheers

Christian / stuntman5 - Paris

I just got my SmartStep back from Dell. Had to have motherboard replaced as the USB port broke.

I looked at the steps to clean out the heatsink and noticed that the fan blades are pretty odd designed. The blades are almost perpendicular to the hub and not angled like most desktop case fans. From an Aerospace Enginnering major's point of view, the fan's won't do that well. I can see where they had to design it that way as to push air out, as angled blades would push air down. A fan grate on the bottom of the computer would be helpful, but half of the RAM blocks the fan.

I don't know how to replace it since the housing is circular.

Don't have an answer to the question about the fan's name or specs, but in a related topic, I feel obligated to warn anyone buying a laptop for audio-related purposes, STAY AWAY FROM THE SMARTSTEP!! (I don't even know if they are still being sold).  Aside from the noisy fan, there are myriad other problems, not the least of which are:

1. a completely disruptive and disabling noise apparently from the power supply. Hence I have to do any audio work on battery.

2. MIDI playback and recording: the tempo will stall (slow down) about every 30 seconds for about a second or 2. Unbelievable.

3. The soundcard has no line input.

Good luck

laz