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My new MBA

I

is2myMBA

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 25, 2009
8
0
You've heard it once, probably a thousand times but sorry you'll hear it again.
I GOT MY MBA! and most importantly i love it. I'm indeed a child with his new toy. I've been admiring it all day, glazing upon it as i walk in and out of my room, embracing it within my arms grasping to feel its featherweight attributes. Ok. haha i'll stop. But the little thing is so amazing, so portable! Though I'm a first year uni student and my bank account now has almost nothing in it, it was well spent. I got the bottom line 1.6Ghz 2GB, 120 HD, nevertheless its very nice.

One question for you folks though, i went over to my friends place the other day and he installed various programs and one of them was 'fan control'. Is there a way i may utilize this software to maximise the fan's potential in regards to noise minimising etc?

Thanks in advance!
 
alphaod

alphaod

macrumors Core
Feb 9, 2008
22,183
1,245
NYC
Well 'Fan Control' lets you set the minimum fan speeds of your computer in order to control the temperature; as the fan spins faster, the noise level will increase. You can't drop the fan speed below certain thresholds.

Therefore, you can't really control noise levels beyond the defaults of the computer. If you want a computer that isn't noisy, you pretty much just need to cool off the computer.
 
M

musicpenguy

macrumors 68000
Oct 29, 2006
1,824
734
Here is what I have done -

Install SMCFanControl

Then run the attached script by simply putting it on your desktop and double clicking on it and hit continue - this will when you want to turn down the fans - make the maximum speed 4000RPMs - it will resume normal speeds after sleeping or things such as that. It has worked like a charm for me!

Hope this helps
(SMCFanControl does not need to be running for this to work but must be installed)
 

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G

Gadgetman99

macrumors regular
Sep 1, 2009
164
0
Congrats! I know you are probably caressing it's silky smooth surface right about now. Probably closing it, picking it up and marveling at it's thinness... Seriously, the "bottom of the line" 1.6 with 120g is pretty sweet. Looks the same as the others, and is plenty capable. Enjoy!
 
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is2myMBA

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 25, 2009
8
0
Thanks

Thx for the responses guys!
Also one more thing! Is it okay if i constantly hibernate the laptop? As in, i use it for the whole day, (connected to the adapter) and then when i sleep i just close the laptop allowing it to hibernate (connected to the adapter) etc. I'd like to deter from activities that might hinder the MBA's battery performance or well, anything at all.
Thanks again,
 
L

LAS.mac

macrumors 6502
May 6, 2009
363
0
Mexico
is2myMBA said:
You've heard it once, probably a thousand times but sorry you'll hear it again.
I GOT MY MBA! and most importantly i love it. I'm indeed a child with his new toy. I've been admiring it all day, glazing upon it as i walk in and out of my room, embracing it within my arms grasping to feel its featherweight attributes. Ok. haha i'll stop. But the little thing is so amazing, so portable! Though I'm a first year uni student and my bank account now has almost nothing in it, it was well spent. I got the bottom line 1.6Ghz 2GB, 120 HD, nevertheless its very nice.

One question for you folks though, i went over to my friends place the other day and he installed various programs and one of them was 'fan control'. Is there a way i may utilize this software to maximise the fan's potential in regards to noise minimising etc?

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

Glad for you.

However, I'm sure that as soon as Scottsdale will see this thread, he'll start ranting about your mistake to not buy an SSD MBA...:p
 
R

Rai Saix

macrumors member
Jan 17, 2009
89
0
LAS.mac said:
Glad for you.

However, I'm sure that as soon as Scottsdale will see this thread, he'll start ranting about your mistake to not buy an SSD MBA...:p
Click to expand...

He has an extremely valid point though!

Neverthless, congrats on your new toy!
 
iBookG4user

iBookG4user

macrumors 604
Jun 27, 2006
6,595
2
Seattle, WA
is2myMBA said:
Thx for the responses guys!
Also one more thing! Is it okay if i constantly hibernate the laptop? As in, i use it for the whole day, (connected to the adapter) and then when i sleep i just close the laptop allowing it to hibernate (connected to the adapter) etc. I'd like to deter from activities that might hinder the MBA's battery performance or well, anything at all.
Thanks again,
Click to expand...

As long as you do the monthly calibrations you should be fine in that respect. I rarely shut my MacBook Air off and any time I'm not using it, the computer goes to sleep.
 
C

couto27

macrumors 6502
Nov 10, 2008
264
0
lisboa,portugal
congrats for your new air
warning for you and all mac users , be carefull when playing with fan control , if for some reason you use fan control and something burn or goes wrong in that moment , the apple warranty dont cover you.

fans are very important, if you increase the fans to 5000 , of course they will never stop , but also you never no is something is wrong
i have that experience in black screen of death last year. i just increase the fans to maximum and everything would seem ok(apparently)
 
M

musicpenguy

macrumors 68000
Oct 29, 2006
1,824
734
I simply monitor the temperature and what I have found at 4000 RPMs it is pretty much as effective as it is running full blast. The temperatures are always very good.

So I don't think there is an issue running fans at 4000 - if you need to rev em up simply shut the lid and that will undo the script and rev em up to do whatever heavy task you may be doing.

Any other thoughts from others?
 
Scottsdale

Scottsdale

Suspended
Sep 19, 2008
4,473
283
U.S.A.
Congrats... MBA is true love while a MBP is lust at initial power, then realize an MBA could have done it all and been so much more fun... true love.
 
I

is2myMBA

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 25, 2009
8
0
LAS.mac said:
Glad for you.

However, I'm sure that as soon as Scottsdale will see this thread, he'll start ranting about your mistake to not buy an SSD MBA...:p
Click to expand...

Hey Scottdale didnt rant!:Dhaha
Yeah, i would've gotten the SSD over the HDanyway however, as a uni student myself my financial capabilities are quite low so i had to go with the bottom line MBA:cool:. Nevertheless, i love it. I appreciate all of you guys input! I think i'll just leave the fan as it is to avoid any problems.

Thankyouall!
 
R

Rampant.A.I.

macrumors 6502a
Sep 25, 2009
579
9
is2myMBA said:
Thx for the responses guys!
Also one more thing! Is it okay if i constantly hibernate the laptop? As in, i use it for the whole day, (connected to the adapter) and then when i sleep i just close the laptop allowing it to hibernate (connected to the adapter) etc. I'd like to deter from activities that might hinder the MBA's battery performance or well, anything at all.
Thanks again,
Click to expand...

If you're actually going to be messing with the fan settings that cool the chip and motherboard because it's noo noisy, I'd say sleeping the machine is the least of your worries.

But, it's a good idea to put it to sleep, and only shut down when you're going to be leaving it for an extended period.

Glad you like your new Air!
 
D

dwd3885

macrumors 68020
Dec 10, 2004
2,131
148
is2myMBA said:
Hey Scottdale didnt rant!:Dhaha
Yeah, i would've gotten the SSD over the HDanyway however, as a uni student myself my financial capabilities are quite low so i had to go with the bottom line MBA:cool:. Nevertheless, i love it. I appreciate all of you guys input! I think i'll just leave the fan as it is to avoid any problems.

Thankyouall!
Click to expand...

should've gotten the MBA refurb. SSD and 9400 graphics for $1249
 
Scottsdale

Scottsdale

Suspended
Sep 19, 2008
4,473
283
U.S.A.
The absolutely CRITICAL component to the MBA IS the 9400m. The SSD just makes the experience much faster. The 9400m makes the MBA incredibly capable at all levels. I realize not everyone can afford the top of the line. And, the only time I criticize buying HDD is when someone buys new for $1499 over a refurbished for $1349 with SSD. Some people make poor decisions based on new, some make poor decisions based on ignorance, but when people make a decision based on what is right for them or what they can afford, I NEVER criticize. If someone buys the original, with Intel and Merom combo, then I might criticize that us original owners learned our lesson so new buyers don't have to.

As I said before, best wishes with your MBA.
 
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