I recently purchased a new laptop that is great in most respects, but I can't stand the fan! I couldn't find what I wanted local, so I took a chance with a mail order. The laptop in question is a an Asus B43F. Here is the run down:

Asus B43F
i5-560M
2GB RAM
360GB 5400RPM
802.11 b/g/n
integrated graphics
14" screen
DVD R/W
Win7 64bit
$500

I thought this was a pretty good deal, esp since it is a "business" model. Unfortunately the fan is just a little too loud for my taste (prob wouldn't bother most people). I've played with all the power settings, tried 3rd party utilities, but I just can't get it to slow the fan down. CPU's are showing about 30 degC. I'm probably going to return this otherwise very nice laptop.

Which brings me to my question - what is a reasonably priced i5 based laptop that is nearly silent? For work I have an HP Elitebook 8440p that is nearly silent. Even in a quiet room you need to place your head near the keyboard to hear the fan. Unfortunately these are not cheap laptops....over $1k, and most come with 32bit OS...so factor in an OS upgrade.

Any recommendations for a nearly silent and rugged i5 laptop with a 14" (or so) screen?

Thanks!
Mark

was sitting here in a dead quiet room using my 8440p....could hear the fan but not at all annoying, very quiet. I decided to fire up the B43F....yep, that fan is way louder, and has a high freq component that is very annoying. This is very unfortunate as the B43F is otherwise an amazing deal. I've upgraded the bios (sadly no bios switches that control fan operation) and scoured the web for any software that might help me turn the fan down a bit....nothing.

So I'm resigned to a ~$1k laptop that is more or less the same spec as the B43f....2x the cost just to kill the fan noise. Here is what I've considered:

HP Elitebook 8440p:
Pro: I have one (for work) and know it is quiet, no issues.
Con: Comes with 32bit OS, replaced by 8460p, and for some strange reason, the 8440p's cost more than the 8460p's! Approx $1200 online.

HP Elitebook 8460p:
Pro: sandybridge version of the 8440p
Con: what reviews I can find suggest the 8460p is louder than the 8440p! Arrrrggghhhh!

Lenovo Thinkpad T420:
Pro: It's a thinkpad! 3rd party "Thinkpad fan control" program available.
Con: check the Lenovo forums. there is a very long thread detailing issues with fan noise on the T420. Appears to be a HW defect in some of the fans. Not everyone has it...and some that do have it are satisfied by using the fan control program, others are not. If I'm going to spend $1k to get a quieter fan, I'd like a little more re-assurance than that.

Any suggestions?