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quickmac

macrumors 6502
Feb 22, 2011
272
14
Glad you're using it. :)



I'll do some research about the hardware and raise the upper limit a little bit.
Would you find it useful? Do you think 70°C is a bit too low?

Thanks, it's a simple quality program.

I know in other threads you said you didn't let the upper limit be set too high because that could be dangerous (i.e. letting people set it to 200C) since the fans wouldn't kick up quick enough and the temp could creep up.

But I do think 70C for the upper limit is a bit low. If you want to play it safe I'd say make it 80 to 90C, for those that work their Macs hard my fans are full blast on full load when trying to get to the 70C mark...they never reach it on full load and manage to reach 84-85 under full load full blast fans. Playing it totally safe maybe even just a bump to 80C. I'm fine with mine hitting the low 90s once in a while during high loads and a higher upper limit might give the fans a small break.

I think 40C should be 50C only because again under even moderate load the program will force the fans into high speed to get say a 70C computer down to 40C and idling my computer sits around 65-70C anyways with your program. For heavy users.

It depends, maybe different setting recommendations for different users. For those regularly pushing their Macs to high temps and high usage, allow a higher upper limit target. Without your controller for example my laptop would easily hit 104C on the cores with full cpu loads, with it it stabilizes 6100RPM at between 84-88C. For light users maybe a lower upper limit and slightly lower lower limit.

As long as your fine program doesn't override Apple defaults (i.e. the fans will still rev up per Apple specs when the temps start hitting mid 80s) I think it would work well for heavy users and give the fans a slight break at times.


Overall this program has kept my CPU cores between 84-89C with 6100RPM fans under heavy load for hours and hours. I do stop my heavy load from time to time to give them a break and with your program I can keep it idling at under 68C which is nice for the fans and the CPU. In the end I'd rather burn out the fans and have the computer shut down do to that then have the CPUs running at over 100C temps for long lengths of time.

Long winded post aside I think yes a slightly higher upper limit would be helpful. But you're the programmer so I'll trust your judgement on that one.
 

LostSoul80

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jan 25, 2009
2,136
7
I've set the upper limit to 80°C with revision 8, but will consider upgrading it to 90°C after some tests.

To visually provide feedback to the user, when setting high targets the level indicator becomes red.

If you find any bug or missing feature, post here. :)
 

Queen6

macrumors G4
For me 80C is a good number, matches Apple`s default value for the fans to spin up. I prefer to set a slightly lower value as it`s always easier to keep a system cool than cool down an already overly hot machine.

One of my MBP`s blew a fan recently and until I can find the time will need to continue running on the one. It`s an old machine running a 2.4 C2D UltraFan is certainly helping to manage the systems temperature, preventing the machine building up too much heat.

The iCore`s are very different rapidly ramping up past 90C and I some times feel that Apple`s own algorithm is a little slow to spin up the fans, so 90C may be appropriate for some. My own i7 2.4 I set up for 70C, initially preferring a more aggressive cooling regime, that in general prevents temperature building up.

For those that doubt the usage of aluminum cases, my crippled MBP 4.1 can still sustain heavy loads as long as I run an external USB powered fan which helps considerably in reducing overall system temps by dissipating heat via the case, of course a new set of fans will be the cure :)
 

Riverrun

macrumors regular
Jul 11, 2007
145
1
~
Needs a little more refinement

So I downloaded UltraFan today to try it out in place of smcFanControl (which I uninstalled) and set the target for 60º C. I feel that potentially it's very promising but does not suit a Mini (2.7 GHZ i7, Radon 6630, TS SSD and 8GB of ram) user such as myself as yet.

The mid range Mini idles at 1800 rpm but not once did UltraFan decrease the fan-speed to the default level despite the core temperatures being a comfortable 45º C for most of the time. I felt that the increased fan-speeds (245 rpm or so above the default) at those modest temperatures were unnecessary. UltraFan should have reverted to 1800 at that stage, I felt, and I must admit that it worried me a little that UltraFan did not. I quickly concluded that the default fan-settings for this application were around 2045 rpm as UltraFan seemed to hang at around those speeds.

What made me change my mind and go back to smcFanControl was after I 'test-quit' UltraFan; I then found that the Mini did not revert to it's normal speed but stayed spinning at a rate of 2045 or so. Even completely removing UltraFan and logging out did not do the trick, the Mini was still revolving at the same UltraFan speed.

Eventually, I had to shut down and reset the SMC and that resolved the issue.

Like I say, this is a very convenient piece of software but I do regard the behaviour which I've described above as a unacceptable to me and hence I won't be using the present iteration again. Maybe the next revision will iron out this particular bug and I can use it then.

I would like to try it again provided that default fan-speeds of 1800 rpm could be achieved in the mini when there is no need for higher speeds; is there any chance that this might happen in the mid-term?

What I really liked about it was the fact that one didn't have to check the heat monitor all the time to ensure that the mini was running nice and cool and the sensible philosophy behind the application which I would characterise as "prevention is better than cure." However, I think that the balance is still a little out, the default speed a fraction on the high side, and this is enough to prevent me from using it for now.

Mind you, there are those that say: "Don't worry, you're computer is not overheating, the mini can handle temperatures of 105º C before it shuts itself down." I do not like to run any of my computers above 65º C, period. The first Mac I ever had, a black Macbook had graphic card failure after two and a half years and I blame the high temperatures for that.

BTW, I can live with the 'emerald green' colour in the Menu Bar but I'd prefer not to. To tell you the truth, it's a little brash, something less brassy, a cool blue or even black might be in order here.
 

Ronin64

macrumors member
Mar 3, 2012
42
0
This is a nice app, but I'm having a problem with it.
I can set the temp I want and it works fine, but if I restart my Mac it will ask for my password, then after entering my password it will not save the temp I entered before the restart. So I need to enter my desired temp every time I turn on my Mac.
Is this a glitch or is it the way this app works?

Also I have a 2010 15inch MacBook Pro running the latest version of Lion. If you need to know.
 

LostSoul80

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jan 25, 2009
2,136
7
So I downloaded UltraFan today to try it out in place of smcFanControl (which I uninstalled) and set the target for 60º C. I feel that potentially it's very promising but does not suit a Mini (2.7 GHZ i7, Radon 6630, TS SSD and 8GB of ram) user such as myself as yet.
[snip]

UltraFan relies on the temperature sensor(s) available (since you're on a SSD, chances are SMART is not reporting the correct data perhaps).
Every speed set is strictly based on Apple's specifications (the same your Mac follows).

Was the temperature of 45°C reported by UltraFan itself, or you read it on other software?
If the temperature was 45°C and the target 60°C the fans should have been set to the minimum speed (exactly the same Apple's SMC uses).

Also note that UltraFan does set the fans speed to automatic (system managed, as default) whenever you click Cancel or quit the application.
I'm telling this because I've conducted a series of tests on different Macs (including a Mini), and have coded it to always revert everything to default behaviour if necessary. This never fails, unless you force-quit the application.

Since UltraFan, once you quit it, re assigns the fans management to the system, what you report may not be linked to the software itself.
I'm going to investigate more into this, but I doubt that's caused by UltraFan. :)

This is a nice app, but I'm having a problem with it.
I can set the temp I want and it works fine, but if I restart my Mac it will ask for my password, then after entering my password it will not save the temp I entered before the restart. So I need to enter my desired temp every time I turn on my Mac.
Is this a glitch or is it the way this app works?

Also I have a 2010 15inch MacBook Pro running the latest version of Lion. If you need to know.

Yes, I've checked and that's a thing I missed in changing the UI.
I'm going to fix that with the next revision (which I'll upload within hours). :) Thanks for reporting this.
 

LostSoul80

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jan 25, 2009
2,136
7
Revision 8.1 issued.


The mid range Mini idles at 1800 rpm but not once did UltraFan decrease the fan-speed to the default level despite the core temperatures being a comfortable 45º C for most of the time. I felt that the increased fan-speeds (245 rpm or so above the default) at those modest temperatures were unnecessary. UltraFan should have reverted to 1800 at that stage, I felt, and I must admit that it worried me a little that UltraFan did not. I quickly concluded that the default fan-settings for this application were around 2045 rpm as UltraFan seemed to hang at around those speeds.

Checking through the code I've found the reason behind this.

It's a technical reason basing on the at times wrong reports of minimum speed by the SMC. If you want more details, I can provide them, but there's no big deal about it.

Note that UltraFan is thought as a cooling means.
If you set a target which is too high, then you don't need it in that moment perhaps? :)
 

Riverrun

macrumors regular
Jul 11, 2007
145
1
~
Hi LostSoul,
Thank you for responding.

UltraFan relies on the temperature sensor(s) available (since you're on a SSD, chances are SMART is not reporting the correct data perhaps).

That's a possibility for sure but the mini is a new 2011 model and less than a month old so I do think that it's unlikely.



Was the temperature of 45°C reported by UltraFan itself, or you read it on other software?
If the temperature was 45°C and the target 60°C the fans should have been set to the minimum speed (exactly the same Apple's SMC uses).



In answer to your question, both UltraFan & iStat Menus were reporting the same temperatures throughout the period during which I tried UltraFan.

If the temperature was 45°C and the target 60°C the fans should have been set to the minimum speed (exactly the same Apple's SMC uses).

This is what I expected would happen but it didn't which led me to believe that the default fan-speed for UltraFan was higher than the minimum set by Apple.
ATM, the Mini is not doing an awful lot, I'm listening to iTunes while writing this and the temperatures and speeds are normal. With UltraFan the speeds were always 245 rpm higher.



It's a technical reason basing on the at times wrong reports of minimum speed by the SMC. If you want more details, I can provide them, but there's no big deal about it.

Bottom line: The SMC is announcing the wrong speeds? Hmm, when I reset the SMC things returned to normal.
 

Riverrun

macrumors regular
Jul 11, 2007
145
1
~
Rpm and temperatures a few moments ago.
 

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LostSoul80

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jan 25, 2009
2,136
7
Please, read also my last post.

Bottom line: The SMC is announcing the wrong speeds? Hmm, when I reset the SMC things returned to normal.

Wrong meaning "not the actual ones", referred to safe vs minimum speed (it's quite technical). UltraFan sets thresholds so that the minimum and maximum speeds are never really reached.

While normally you shouldn't encounter that ~200 rpm difference, it's nothing to worry about.
As I said in my last post, it's a cooling helper, so doesn't make much sense if used with much higher targets than the actual temperature. :)
 

The-Pro

macrumors 65816
Dec 2, 2010
1,453
40
Germany
Great App, Well done!

THis is also the first app that can actually control the rpm on my 2010 i7 MBP. smcfancontrol, and istatmenues fail at controlling the rpm. The fans ramp up the the specified rpm and then drop a second later to system controlled settings. I tried many things and they have never worked.

Your app controls them perfectly though. Respect. Also im amazed that it can run the fans at 1600rpm, while the lowest the system sets them at is 2000. I have an even more quiet MBP now when i do nothing intensive

cheers
 

Riverrun

macrumors regular
Jul 11, 2007
145
1
~
Please, read also my last post.
While normally you shouldn't encounter that ~200 rpm difference, it's nothing to worry about.
As I said in my last post, it's a cooling helper, so doesn't make much sense if used with much higher targets than the actual temperature. :)

Hi Lost,

That output can't have been very useful to you, is there something I'm missing?

BTW, UFan seems to be working the way I expect since I reinstalled as the image below shows.
 

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LostSoul80

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jan 25, 2009
2,136
7
Great App, Well done!

THis is also the first app that can actually control the rpm on my 2010 i7 MBP. smcfancontrol, and istatmenues fail at controlling the rpm. The fans ramp up the the specified rpm and then drop a second later to system controlled settings. I tried many things and they have never worked.

Your app controls them perfectly though. Respect. Also im amazed that it can run the fans at 1600rpm, while the lowest the system sets them at is 2000. I have an even more quiet MBP now when i do nothing intensive

cheers

Yes, that's the result of UltraFan efficiency. :)

Hi Lost,

That output can't have been very useful to you, is there something I'm missing?

BTW, UFan seems to be working the way I expect since I reinstalled as the image below shows.

Glad it works as expected.
 

Ronin64

macrumors member
Mar 3, 2012
42
0
I tried version 8.1 and I'm still getting problems. I set my temp and its fine, but when I restart my mac it asks me to enter my password to make changes. Then after I enter my password an error message pops up saying the temp I entered was invalid.
 

LostSoul80

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jan 25, 2009
2,136
7
I tried version 8.1 and I'm still getting problems. I set my temp and its fine, but when I restart my mac it asks me to enter my password to make changes. Then after I enter my password an error message pops up saying the temp I entered was invalid.

Revision 8.2 solves that along with a couple of minor glitches.
Let me know if works as expected.
 

SimeonAS89

macrumors newbie
Dec 12, 2011
5
0
Phoenix, AZ
I've had my Mac for a few weeks now and so far I love it!
I had noticed my computer got really hot in certain areas with basic apps like Chrome and iTunes, so I figured I'd look around for something to help regulate the temp. That led me to SMCFanControl and it worked as expected. Since I came across this and read different comments, it seems like SMC isn't a very good application, so I've decided to give this a whirl.

I've got the app installed and I noticed the temp to be right around 40-41C.

So my question is, whats a good target temp for a early 2011 13" MBP 2.3ghz with 8gb of RAM? I know it varies from computer to computer, so I'd like to be able to get this right.
 

LostSoul80

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jan 25, 2009
2,136
7
I've had my Mac for a few weeks now and so far I love it!
I had noticed my computer got really hot in certain areas with basic apps like Chrome and iTunes, so I figured I'd look around for something to help regulate the temp. That led me to SMCFanControl and it worked as expected. Since I came across this and read different comments, it seems like SMC isn't a very good application, so I've decided to give this a whirl.

I've got the app installed and I noticed the temp to be right around 40-41C.

So my question is, whats a good target temp for a early 2011 13" MBP 2.3ghz with 8gb of RAM? I know it varies from computer to computer, so I'd like to be able to get this right.

There's no Apple technical specification on this, so I can only suggest from experience.
Any temperature between the range 35-80°C is fine (although I recommend setting high targets only if needed).
40-50°C is probably the preferred range of targets, although higher and lower ones are perfectly fine. :)
 

SimeonAS89

macrumors newbie
Dec 12, 2011
5
0
Phoenix, AZ
There's no Apple technical specification on this, so I can only suggest from experience.
Any temperature between the range 35-80°C is fine (although I recommend setting high targets only if needed).
40-50°C is probably the preferred range of targets, although higher and lower ones are perfectly fine. :)

Ok. I set it at 50C and I noticed the fans kicked on immediately after awhile. I do have 4 tabs open as well as my iTunes so thats probably why. So I adjusted to 55C as a target range.

I'll just play around with it, see what I come up with, and post results.
 

Ronin64

macrumors member
Mar 3, 2012
42
0
Working now, but there is a little annoying thing with it.
When I shutdown my Mac a little window pops up saying it needs to be launched at startup to remember the desired temp. Thats not a problem really since its only there a second. But when I startup my mac I have to enter my password every time for the app to launch. This is a little annoying to me since I shutdown my mac every night. That aside this is a great app. I used smcFanControl but every time I launched an game I would need to turn up the fans manually so my computer doesn't heat up to much.
 

LostSoul80

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jan 25, 2009
2,136
7
Working now, but there is a little annoying thing with it.
When I shutdown my Mac a little window pops up saying it needs to be launched at startup to remember the desired temp.

That's not precise.
When you check the "Open at login" item and quit the app, you have to already have set a target, so that UltraFan can start automatically at the next start up.
If you don't set a target, yet check the "Open at login" item and quit the app, you'll be asked if you want to set a target for the next start up, or if you want to remove UltraFan from the login items.

That is a choice in the design. Feel free to suggest anything.

But when I startup my mac I have to enter my password every time for the app to launch.

That has to do with UltraFan's permissions.
I'm doing this to give the user the ultimate knowledge of what's running.

I could make it automatic though. What do you think?
 

Queen6

macrumors G4
Have an issue with my 15" late 2011 MBP 2.4 i7 every time the MBP sleeps UltraFan 8.2 will not resume due to to being able to read the temperature sensor & S.M.A.R.T. state. Only fix to quit and restart the app

MBP is standard barring 8Gb of RAM, on 10.7.3, thx in advance
 

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LostSoul80

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jan 25, 2009
2,136
7
I'm thinking to offer the automatic launch without password as an option.
That's mainly because 10.5 users wouldn't benefit from it, as there's no standard way to do that apparently.

Have an issue with my 15" late 2011 MBP 2.4 i7 every time the MBP sleeps UltraFan 8.2 will not resume due to to being able to read the temperature sensor & S.M.A.R.T. state

That's interesting. Probably the SMC needs some time to wake up.
If it's ok with you, I'm going to PM you a "beta" version to fix this. :)
 

Queen6

macrumors G4
I'm thinking to offer the automatic launch without password as an option.
That's mainly because 10.5 users wouldn't benefit from it, as there's no standard way to do that apparently.



That's interesting. Probably the SMC needs some time to wake up.
If it's ok with you, I'm going to PM you a "beta" version to fix this. :)

Ok Thx, I believe it is the same and UltraFan simply needs a delay before executing
 
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