And if you are going by your ear......then I doubt you would hear the diff between the fan running at 5000 vs at the highest level around 6200 rpm so what might sound to use as jumping to highest level might in fact be less like 5000 rpm for example.
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2015 13 rMBP fan activation
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And if you are going by your ear......then I doubt you would hear the diff between the fan running at 5000 vs at the highest level around 6200 rpm so what might sound to use as jumping to highest level might in fact be less like 5000 rpm for example.
Mostly my ears are telling me something is not right. I only purchased iStat after noticing this just so I could see the actual rpm. The fan jumps to a high speed and is quite loud. But it doesn't happen every time when repeating the same task. It seems inconsistent.
In comparison, my old MBP never acted like this. The fan would just slowly ramp up in speed and remained very quiet most of the time. Even if it went to a high speed, it would ramp up to that speed instead of jumping to it.
Maybe this is completely normal on the new machine. I'd just like to know for sure either way.
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I admit that I don't know for sure that its really "full speed".
But what I'm finding strange is how it jumps straight to a high speed (whatever that really is) and then slowly ramps back down to a lower speed.
Other times it will slowly increase in speed until it gets to the speed required (this is what I'm used to on previous machines).
I'm questioning why the fan jumps first to a high speed then slows down. That is what doesn't seem right, unless this is normal for the new machines.
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This is exactly what I'm experiencing. You described it perfectly.
I'd just like to determine if this is normal. And if not normal, is it hardware or software issue. If a software issue, perhaps an update will address it.
Well, I had the same experience as you, but that's not to say it's "normal".
You are understandably nervous about this after spending a reasonable sum of money on it. I would say you should at least contact AppleCare to get a case number, or even an answer directly from Apple.
I'm beginning to think more and more that this is just a "new normal," particualrly seeing as this is the first Broadwell MBPr available. The Haswell generation introduced some eccentricities of its own, so maybe this is just the way the cooling should work now.
Even so, I'm likely going to keep my appointment tomorrow at the Apple store to have them verify this.
In any case, OP, I'm not sure that returning your MBPr will solve the problem. This definitely isn't a unique thing. And as long as there haven't been any crashes or hardware failure that can be linked to heat, there might actually be nothing wrong.
Even so, I'm likely going to keep my appointment tomorrow at the Apple store to have them verify this.
In any case, OP, I'm not sure that returning your MBPr will solve the problem. This definitely isn't a unique thing. And as long as there haven't been any crashes or hardware failure that can be linked to heat, there might actually be nothing wrong.
Here's a short video that shows what I'm talking about. I couldn't figure out how to embed a YouTube video into this post so I'll just use a hyperlink:
rMBP Fan - Video
rMBP Fan - Video
For what it's worth, that's exactly what I experienced when importing ~1,000 photos to iPhoto.
I don't really want to return it as I really like the machine overall. Plus, I have a really good screen on this one.
But this fan behavior is not consistent. It sometimes ramps up slowly doing the same task in the video. In those cases, it doesn't jump up to that high speed. If it did the high speed jump every time, I would think it's normal. But because it seems to happen randomly, it makes me wonder.
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Thanks. Yeah, I used the Lightroom preview build as an example. But it can happen with anything that causes a load on the processor.
I'll be curious to hear what Apple says. It seems there are a few of us here seeing this behaviour.
This behavior happens to me too. When I'm processing code in Matlab, it will suddenly ramp up to full RPM from the fans being off and sound like a jet engine. On all my previous macs, the fans would ramp up slowly, but on the 2015 rMBP, the fans go from being idle to max RPM quite suddenly.
Honestly, between this issue and the issue with the intermittent lag in the interface with mission control, I'm pretty unhappy with the amount of glitches that this laptop has.
It seems like Yosemite is still extremely buggy, between all the hardware issues and inconsistent UI.
Honestly, between this issue and the issue with the intermittent lag in the interface with mission control, I'm pretty unhappy with the amount of glitches that this laptop has.
It seems like Yosemite is still extremely buggy, between all the hardware issues and inconsistent UI.
mine is very similiar. It only ever really turns on when gaming, and then its on 100% for a short while. I'm not too worried though.
If it does turn out to be a problem, I will keep my eyes open on this forum for solutions.
If it does turn out to be a problem, I will keep my eyes open on this forum for solutions.
I'd be very interested to hear how your appointment goes. If you can let us know, that would be great!
Well, I ended up returning the machine for a refund today. I'm just not comfortable with the way the fan was running. It may be that it's completely normal, but that is yet to be determined. Perhaps Apple will issue an update that will change the algorithms or perhaps not. Either way, it wasn't sitting right with me.
I also decided that I'm going to wait until the Broadwell 15 inch is available and then probably pick one up at that time. I'd like a larger screen and the ability to run FCPX and Lightroom/Photoshop with the extra horsepower of a quad core. Plus I REALLY enjoyed that new trackpad. I didn't realize how much I'd like it.
In the meantime, I'm back to my old but trusty mid-2010 for now. I may order an SSD drive upgrade and new battery from OWC just to breathe a bit more life into it until the 15 inch upgrade happens. It's just hard going back to the slowness and old trackpad. Oh well...
I also decided that I'm going to wait until the Broadwell 15 inch is available and then probably pick one up at that time. I'd like a larger screen and the ability to run FCPX and Lightroom/Photoshop with the extra horsepower of a quad core. Plus I REALLY enjoyed that new trackpad. I didn't realize how much I'd like it.
In the meantime, I'm back to my old but trusty mid-2010 for now. I may order an SSD drive upgrade and new battery from OWC just to breathe a bit more life into it until the 15 inch upgrade happens. It's just hard going back to the slowness and old trackpad. Oh well...
So, I had my appointment.
The TL;DR version is: Their opinion is that this is normal. The 2015 MBPrs have different internal configurations from previous generations, even down to different sets of diagnostics. Despite everything coconutBattery and iStat said, their tests show everything to be normal.
The longer version: The Genius reviewed the call notes, and initially said the same thing: No kernel panics, no crashes, no abnormal shutdowns pretty much indicates nothing's actually wrong. He plugged it into their network do their usual testing... only to discover the diagnostics they're used to running wouldn't boot up. After lots of reboots and buttons mashing, and turning off FileVault (which I wasn't too happy about, there's research data on this laptop and it's encrypted for a reason), he ultimately decided to take it into the back and try to remove the cover to see if the fans were actually moving.
Before that though, another, more knowledgeable Genius stopped him and showed him the new set of diagnostics that 2015 MBPrs (and presumably 2015 MBAs and the new MacBook) require. Different boot sequence, nothing needs to be plugged in, and they can now get real time diagnostic data on their iPads.
Among other things: the diagnostics test the fan... and test how quickly the fan goes from 0 RPM to maximum. The fan has to be able to do this in a very short span of time or the test fails. Mine passed. The battery, SSD, RAM and all other components passed with flying colors, too. The second genius, watching over the results with the first genius, remarked "Yup, looks exactly like a brand new computer."
As for whether a fan at 0rpm is normal: they didn't know for sure. But they decided that it either is normal, or iStat is giving false data. They were pretty sure that if the fan had a hardware issue, the diagnostics would've caught it.
The "rapid ramp up" test kinda hints to me that maybe this IS normal, and it's an expected use-case that the fans start at 0 or very low speed and rapidly kick in to a high level when the hardware thinks it's needed.
In any case, swapping out hardware is pretty much a non-solution at this point. If it IS a problem, it's software. Though again, the lack of any actual failure or problems, tells me it's probably not a problem.
Interesting, thanks for sharing. The bottom line, it sounded like both *cough* geniuses couldn't say with certainty whether or not the fan idles at 0 rpm. If I had to guess I would assume that the fan would NOT idle at 0 rpm. As I have stated on previous posts, istat menus is pending an update to make their app compatible with the new 2015 rMBP, especially when it comes to their temp and fan sensors do I would not give any weight to any information that istat menus is providing.
By the way, I would NEVER have allowed the genius to open up a new machine, who knows what new problems would be introduced. Good thing the other guy intervened in your case.
So after all that, did you keep your machine?
Yep. I have no reason not to. And even if I wanted to, I'm past the 14-day window anyway.
I just finished restoring from my time Machine backup, so I don't have to wait for the FileVault shutoff to finish to get FileVault BACK on.It looks like bjango just released the 5.1 update for istat menus that makes it 2015 13" rmbp compatible. Interesting enough, according to istat menus, the fan does indeed idle on 0 rpm according to the new 5.1 update.
Interesting. Although I no longer own the 2015, I'm still interested to hear how the fan works. I just didn't like the fan jumping from 0 to 6,000 rpm.
My older MBP fan idles at around 2,000 rpm and rarely becomes audible. And even when it does, it doesn't jump to full speed.
I think the new ones keep the fan off and let the CPU heat up and then the SMC "panics" and throws the fan on full speed. A firmware update is probably in order.
Interesting, my 2015 Retina get sometimes very hot when charging (battery temp >35C) in A/C room to 21C. Maybe it's a kind of pseudo-fabless design?
or
a bug
Nevertheless 99% is super cool and quite. Me like it!
I think they keep the fan off to help with battery life. But I don't like how the fan jumps to high speed like mine was. A fan should slowly ramp up in speed and only to point where it can hold an acceptable temperature IMO.
I've been watching the fan monitor and it went from 0 to around 1,200 - 1,300 rpm when I added quite a lot more tabs to my safari browser (with thinkorswim running in the background). Out of curiosity, I rebooted my computer to see where the fan would settle at with no apps running. After rebooting, the CPU proximity (according to istat menus) temp spiked to around 60*C and the fan spun at 1200-1300 rpm but once the temp settled down to its normal idle/low load temp of around 40*C, the fan speed went to 0 and is sitting there now with only a single safari tab open. Once I started up the thinkorswim app and added a dozen safari tabs (just pointing to the google search page), the CPU temp went up to mid 60's or so, and the fan spun up to 1200-1300. Once the cpu temp cooled down to around 42*, the fan went back to 0 (even with the dozen safari tabs and TOS running in the background).
*Update*
I just applied the 10.10.3 update and when my machine came back online, the cpu proximity temp was in the high 70's and the fan was spinning at around 2900 rpms so it certainly does seem like the fan spins up versus going from 0 to 6,200 or so.
*Update*
I just applied the 10.10.3 update and when my machine came back online, the cpu proximity temp was in the high 70's and the fan was spinning at around 2900 rpms so it certainly does seem like the fan spins up versus going from 0 to 6,200 or so.
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I'm pretty sure the new rMBP just has a very 'greedy' algorithm for temperature control in order to try to let the fan spin as little as possible.
As soon as the temperatures have been over a certain threshold for a few seconds, the fan spins at near-maximum RPM to lower temperatures to a safe region.
It makes sense on the Broadwell platform really.
It so efficient (e.g. little heat produced) at low loads that you can safely turn off the fan and run passively. Don't forget that the all-aluminum chassis helps dissipating the heat.
Only at higher loads, you would need an active fan to sufficiently cool the CPU.
It may seem disturbing to some but it makes sense really. I'm sure there could be some additional tweaking to let the fans spin up more gradually, but there is nothing wrong with your laptop as is.
As soon as the temperatures have been over a certain threshold for a few seconds, the fan spins at near-maximum RPM to lower temperatures to a safe region.
It makes sense on the Broadwell platform really.
It so efficient (e.g. little heat produced) at low loads that you can safely turn off the fan and run passively. Don't forget that the all-aluminum chassis helps dissipating the heat.
Only at higher loads, you would need an active fan to sufficiently cool the CPU.
It may seem disturbing to some but it makes sense really. I'm sure there could be some additional tweaking to let the fans spin up more gradually, but there is nothing wrong with your laptop as is.
I just use smcfancontrol and leave it at an idle speed of 1300rpm, just like my Haswell 13" rMBP.
At first, I thought it was a bug in iStat that caused readings to be 0.
At first, I thought it was a bug in iStat that caused readings to be 0.
I just leave it the way the apple engineers intended it to be (I'm assuming istat is accurate and that the fan logic is not a bug). I figure they know best.
