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MacBook fan runs at 6200 RPM HELP!!!

C

conor ordan

macrumors member
Original poster
I want to leave my MacBook (Black) running overnight to finish a big download but it is just so loud I cannot sleep. I checked using smcFanControl and the fan runs between 5500 rpm and the maximum speed of 6200 rpm while doing this simple task of downloading. No other application is open and Activity Monitor shows that Vuze (the download client) is only using ≈ 8% CPU. Please help, this speed is surely not normal for this level of activity, what can I do?

Thanks, Conor
 
Reset your SMC if it isn't related to your CPU load.

Vuze is known for it's high CPU usage in general.
 
Is there something else hogging the CPU? Is there enough ventilation?

FWIW, I've found that software kicks up the fans anyway even if it's not doing anything.
 
Mine seem to kick in when I'm watching a flash video etc for a few minutes,
but not continuously.
 
skye12 said:
Mine seem to kick in when I'm watching a flash video etc for a few minutes,
but not continuously.
Click to expand...

Normal because Flash is such a resource hog in OS X. Adobe engineers are aware of the issue but it's not a very high priority IIRC.

OP, in Activity Monitor change the drop down menu from "My processes" to "All processes" and see if there's anything in there hogging CPU cycles.
 
One of my fans is broken and only spins -1 , so the other one works over time at 6200 RPMs... its a pain.

Reset the SMC, and see if that fixes it. And check if all your fans are working.

-Omi
 
yoyo5280 said:
One of my fans is broken and only spins -1 , so the other one works over time at 6200 RPMs... its a pain.

Reset the SMC, and see if that fixes it. And check if all your fans are working.

-Omi
Click to expand...

What kind of laptop do you have? MacBooks only have 1 fan, same with the 13" Pro...the 15/17" models are the only ones with two fans.
 
NewMacbookPlz said:
What kind of laptop do you have? MacBooks only have 1 fan, same with the 13" Pro...the 15/17" models are the only ones with two fans.
Click to expand...

Eh? I am a blackbook? So that might be why my right fan always spins -1 RPM... so why is my fan literally always at 6200 RPM from the second I log on. And the computer heats up waaay hotter than my moms whitebook.. I am afraid its a fire hazard! :s
 
yoyo5280 said:
Eh? I am a blackbook? So that might be why my right fan always spins -1 RPM... so why is my fan literally always at 6200 RPM from the second I log on. And the computer heats up waaay hotter than my moms whitebook.. I am afraid its a fire hazard! :s
Click to expand...

Sounds like an SMC reset and PRAM reset may help out. The only other thing I can think of is if you have a process hung up in "All Processes" in Activity Monitor or your temp sensors aren't sending the signal properly.

But yeah, only 1 fan in the MacBooks.
 
NewMacbookPlz said:
Sounds like an SMC reset and PRAM reset may help out. The only other thing I can think of is if you have a process hung up in "All Processes" in Activity Monitor or your temp sensors aren't sending the signal properly.

But yeah, only 1 fan in the MacBooks.
Click to expand...

I have done SMC and PRAM reset, and it still happens after fresh restarts etc... I think it may be the temp sensor for heat sink A. that has always been highest and I look at it now, it says -1...
 
yoyo5280 said:
I have done SMC and PRAM reset, and it still happens after fresh restarts etc... I think it may be the temp sensor for heat sink A. that has always been highest and I look at it now, it says -1...
Click to expand...

Yup, that'll do it. CPU and Heatsink A are just about the same thing (on die vs heatsink) so if one is dead that'll probably send the fans crazy.

It shouldn't really run too hot then, just the fans going nuts. I guess you could install SMC Fan Control and pull the fans down to a more reasonable speed for light use (2000-3000rpm) and then manually turn them up if you start doing something CPU intensive.
 
SMC fan control doesn't have anything to reduce the maximum fan speed.

Is there any way I can fix this?
 
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