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Alu Macbook heat and fan noise

H

hailst0rm

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 19, 2008
84
11
Hi,

I currently own a white C2D 2.16GHz Macbook. For those that have the new Macbook I'm curious how have you found the heat output and noise from it. My current Macbook always feels boiling hot underneath and the fan is usually running most of the time. I usually use it for web browsing, email and downloading torrents.

CPU is running at about 60-65℃. Fan is at around 5000-5500rpm. I used iStat pro dashboard widget to get the information.

Please share your results if you can.

Thanks
 
all powerful laptops get hot and the fans in the MacBooks have more fins than other laptops moving more heat at lower rpm and so remaining quiet. ive heard the new MacBooks are very quiet when idling and as it made entirely out of Aluminium it acts as a conductor and so emits heat making it feel hotter.
 
err yeah that I already know. I'm after some impressions and figures from those who actually own the new Macbook.

The CPU in the new Macbook is also 45nm so that should also contribute to less heat and noise.
 
I've been hammering my new "glassbook" pretty hard (2.0GHz model) and have found it to be noticeably cooler and quieter under load than the previous gen MacBooks. (I've owned a first gen MacBook, a last gen BlackBook, a last gen iBook, and a late-2007 MBP...this one is by far the quietest and coolest-running of all of them)
 
compared to my aging powerbook 12", the heat and noise are practically non-existant.
 
Thanks for the feedback. Sounds like a definite improvement. Look forward to upgrading.
 
I have a last gen blackbook. It is very quiet and idles at 44C. The only time the fan gets loud is when you do something with imovie or watch a video on hulu for more than 20 or 30 minutes. So considering that, the new macbooks should run cool and the fan should be quiet.
 
Compared to my PB Rev D (15") there is less heat but there is still heat. Running YouTube to run down the battery caused a bit of heat, running a movie while plugged in made it as hot as I think it'll ever become. Comparing the two machines, the MB was easier to touch. :)

Fans? Maybe mine didn't come with any because I've never heard them. ;)
 
My new MB is silent. Couldn't be happier with it. When I was looking at them on the Apple Store, I had 6 YouTube movies running, was exporting a movie in iMovie and had a dozen apps running and fans never went above 2,000 rpm. Mine has also remained very cool although I have spent most of the time running it on my marble kitchen countertop which is always pretty cool.
 
someone needs to encode something with handbrake or something else the cause the cpu load to get to 100%... running youtube videos is not going be telling of the noise this thing is capable off.
 
Running spore on my new 4gb 2.4 aluminum MB I felt it get warm for the first time. I have had it around 24 hours now and have experienced no high noise fans, no overheating (unless gaming with the laptop on my lap in bed, blankets were covering the vents, but I am sure it will get hot when gaming anyway).

Otherwise, there is zero heat-gain that I have seen so far.
 
I just bought a stock 2.4 from best buy, and I find it to be quite noisy. The fan does not go slower than 1999rpm, and there is a steady (albeit quiet) "fan" noise from start up to shutdown...My previous macbook (2.0, 2gigs ram) ran silent unless I pushed it to it's limits. It's fans averaged 1599rpm.

Has anyone gotten their macbook's fan to run slower than 1999rpm?

Also, I have noticed that my hard drive makes a crackling sound when seeking...isn't that unusual for a new computer? I am seriously contemplating bringing this thing back.

What do you all think?
 
I have a 2.4 MB Aluminum. It's quieter and cooler than my 2.2 black MacBook. The black MacBook would often get pretty hot and I could feel it on my lap -- even running on battery power.

I can barely feel the warmth from the Aluminum MacBook even with the power adapter on and running the processor pretty heavily.
 
southerndoc said:
I have a 2.4 MB Aluminum. It's quieter and cooler than my 2.2 black MacBook. The black MacBook would often get pretty hot and I could feel it on my lap -- even running on battery power.

I can barely feel the warmth from the Aluminum MacBook even with the power adapter on and running the processor pretty heavily.
Click to expand...

do you know what rpm your fans are moving at? I think this macbook is louder than my older macbook...there is a constant fan sound. my old macbook did not make any sounds unless i was doing something that would cause the fans to speed up.

I am concerned I have a dud...ugh, I would hate to go through the hassle of a return.

right now my fan is running at 2001rpm and my CPU is at 112 degrees. I only have safari running.

What should I do?
 
wesleyJ said:
do you know what rpm your fans are moving at? I think this macbook is louder than my older macbook...there is a constant fan sound. my old macbook did not make any sounds unless i was doing something that would cause the fans to speed up.

I am concerned I have a dud...ugh, I would hate to go through the hassle of a return.

right now my fan is running at 2001rpm and my CPU is at 112 degrees. I only have safari running.

What should I do?
Click to expand...

F° or C°? everyone here is measuring in C° .

I'm at 49° with the fan at 1608.
 
Draddy said:
F° or C°? everyone here is measuring in C° .

I'm at 49° with the fan at 1608.
Click to expand...

those numbers were in F°...i am at 47C° and my fan is still running at 1999rpm! it has NEVER gone below that. I think I have a dud!

Should I return this? I would hate to do a swap at Best Buy...all of my information is on this computer...

If I back it up on an external hard drive, do you think I can restore all my information back on a new macbook?

Sorry for the novice questions, but I am extremely frusterated right now.

Thanks in advance.
 
is the "fan noise" coming from the bottom right of the computer ie right of the track pad. if so that is the HD i can hear mine as well it is just a little too loud

i have found that the fan noise of the alu MB is much quieter than my previous gen MBP however the HD is actually louder i can hear it and even feel it spinning on my lap

took it to the apple store had a genius check it out they said that it was perfectly normal

52 degrees at 1533 RPM just posting here
 
I think it always stays at 2000rpm just to always keep air circulating. Don't stress about listening! You should hear my late 2006 macbook fans at 6200rpm with just firefox, itunes, ichat and transmission open :eek:
 
Dairyman said:
is the "fan noise" coming from the bottom right of the computer ie right of the track pad. if so that is the HD i can hear mine as well it is just a little too loud

i have found that the fan noise of the alu MB is much quieter than my previous gen MBP however the HD is actually louder i can hear it and even feel it spinning on my lap

took it to the apple store had a genius check it out they said that it was perfectly normal

52 degrees at 1533 RPM just posting here
Click to expand...

this is the fan making noise, not the hard drive. I put my ear to where the hard drive is located, and I hear a noise, but not the whirring (almost like a hair dryer) sound i am complaining about. My machine is now running at 2004rpm with only safari open. I have not seen it drop below 1999rpm. I will bring it to my local apple specialist (I live in VT, no Apple stores in this state!) and see what they say. Again, I would like to avoid at all cost exchanging this thing at Best Buy.
 
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