I watch videos on Hulu and stream ESPN3 often and wouldn't be able to full screen on my 24" display that I hook my Air up to because the fan is just too obnoxiously loud. Fine, so I wouldn't watch them full screen, no big deal. Fan didn't bother me then. Now I try watching Hulu in it's normal window and the fan is too loud to even enjoy watching the video. Anyone else have this problem?
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Anyone having loud fan issues?
- Thread starter jkim3691
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It's normal...don't let it bother you too much.
Kind of hard to when the fan is so loud it's difficult to hear the video. It's pretty obnoxious. If you have the ability to just ignore it, I applaud you. But to me it's pretty stupid how loud it is. And yes, I've done an SMC reset. It only happens when I'm watching Flash videos. As soon as I close the tab, the fans begin to quiet down. The problem is that it didn't use to make so much noise when it wasn't it full screen. Now it's just unbearable.
The thing that's bugging me is I never had to use fan controls or a dumb cooling pad before. Just yesterday the fan started acting crazy when watching Flash videos. Before even watching videos on Youtube the fan wouldn't make much noise, but now it's gotten noticeably louder. I haven't changed anything or played with any setting.
The Intel processors used in Macs are designed to automatically shut down to prevent damage if they truly overheat. CPU Tjmax = 105C, GPU Tjmax = 100C on i3, i5, i7 processors. (Source: Intel) iStat Pro will give you accurate readings of your temps and fan speeds, among other things.
Unless there is a rare defect in a Mac, most temps are well within the normal operating range, considering the workload being put on it. Websites with Flash content, games and other multimedia apps will put higher demand on the CPU/GPU, generating more heat. This is normal. If you're constantly putting high demands on your system, such as gaming or other multimedia tasks, expect temps to rise and fans to spin up accordingly. It's just your Mac doing its job to maintain temps within the normal range.
It is also quite normal for your Mac to become extremely hot to the touch during intensive operations. The aluminum body transfers heat more effectively than other materials used in computer casings, so you will feel the heat more. This doesn't indicate that it's overheating and will not harm the computer to be hot to the touch.
Your fans are always on when your Mac is on, spinning at a minimum of 2000 rpm (for MBPs) or 1800 rpm (for MBAs, MBs and minis). iMacs have 3 fans with minimum speeds in the 800-1200 range. They will spin faster as needed to keep temps at a safe level. If they're spinning up without increased heat, try resetting the SMC. (PRAM/NVRAM has nothing to do with these issues, so resetting it will not help.)
The intake and exhaust vents are in the back of the computer near the hinge on all Mac notebooks. The iMac vent is a slot on the back near the top of the computer. Make sure the vents remain unblocked to allow your computer to perform at its best.
Learn about the fans in your Mac
Apple Portables: Operating temperature
For Flash-related issues:
- Find your Flash version and make sure it's the latest version available.
- Install ClickToFlash (Safari), Flashblock (Firefox) or FlashBlock (Chrome) to control which Flash content plays on websites.
- Use the YouTube HTML5 Video Player to watch YouTube videos, when available. (May impact fullscreen viewing. See link for details.)
did you just apply latest lion update?
could you have installed something that is running in background? (check system activity)
My model is 2011 MacBook Air 13" i7.
When I watch ESPN3 I get temps around 70º to 80º celsius the fans usually stay on around 4000RPM. If while I'm watching time machine starts backing up to my NAS then it heats up to 90º celsius or higher and the fans ramp up to 6000RPM.
All of that is to say it is normal, or at least my laptop has always done that.
When I watch ESPN3 I get temps around 70º to 80º celsius the fans usually stay on around 4000RPM. If while I'm watching time machine starts backing up to my NAS then it heats up to 90º celsius or higher and the fans ramp up to 6000RPM.
All of that is to say it is normal, or at least my laptop has always done that.
I generally boot to windows or use noise canceling headphones if I know I'll be watching a lot of flash videos on my MBA. Windows 7 has proven to get much better battery life with flash too.
Is spotlight indexing?
No. I've done all the logical stuff. Got the latest version of Flash, no software updates for OS, checked Activity Monitor, etc.
Since i did the latest Lion update my fans are much louder as before watching movies too. Never had it before.
I ve an ultimate 2010 macbook air
I ve an ultimate 2010 macbook air
Flash (along with video watching, to some degree) uses a lot of processing power. When your processor is used, it produces heat. This heat needs to be expelled from your computer somehow: it transfer heat to a heatsink (ie: radiator) and the fan spins up to moves the air out of your computer (ie: fan on radiator). The more processing power is uses, the more heat is produced, the faster the fans needs to spin to keep your computer cool.
flash on mac does, flash on windows doesn't use as much cpu.
heck using two virtual machines in fusion uses less cpu than flash.
ivy bridge will do more with less heat, if you can't stand the current MBA noise return it and get one with ivy bridge when they come out.
I know all of this. What I'm saying is that the fans have been running more in situations where before they weren't as loud. I haven't done anything different to my laptop so I don't see why this would happen.
Some have said the recent Lion update had the fans run a little faster, i wonder if because the cpu is a little hotter or something else.
Was it before or after the update that you started noticing? if you haven't updated yet, have you updated flash or chrome if you use that?
I don't use mine that much (turns out i'm not as mobile as i thought i was), and they changed the topcase (bum T key) so i think they reapplied thermal paste since it was actually running a little cooler.
My one teensy complaint about my lovely macbook air 2010 is that it doesn't cope well with flash video from youtube or crunchyroll.com - it plays it fine, but can get hot (particularly if plugged into the mains, as it normally runs a few degrees hotter then) and the fan can then kick in, noticeably - particularly if I'm watching video in bed and the other half is trying to sleep.
Playing videos with itunes, quicktime or VLC is fine.
Playing videos with itunes, quicktime or VLC is fine.
It's dust building up in your computer over time, I think.
Either that or something is blocking the vent in the back.
Or the thermal paste has decided to give out.
There are many reasons why a Mac would heat up while playing Flash, or otherwise something else. But I've found that when it happens, and if you want to make it quiet again, best bet is to open it up, clean out the inside, and put it back again. Depending on what you clean out, your warranty may be void so take extreme caution.
Personally, it happened way too often with my MacBook Air. The only remedy was to use Coolbook, which seems to no longer be updated and doesn't support Core i CPUs anyways. So... tough luck.
Either that or something is blocking the vent in the back.
Or the thermal paste has decided to give out.
There are many reasons why a Mac would heat up while playing Flash, or otherwise something else. But I've found that when it happens, and if you want to make it quiet again, best bet is to open it up, clean out the inside, and put it back again. Depending on what you clean out, your warranty may be void so take extreme caution.
Personally, it happened way too often with my MacBook Air. The only remedy was to use Coolbook, which seems to no longer be updated and doesn't support Core i CPUs anyways. So... tough luck.
Shockwave flash kept crashing in Google Chrome when the fan was running loudly. Could this possibly be the culprit? Anyone with some insight?
I could still watch videos and stuff, but I'd have that banner at the top of my pages saying it crashed.
I could still watch videos and stuff, but I'd have that banner at the top of my pages saying it crashed.
Same Experience
jkim3691 I have the same problem. My MacBooK Pro is one week old. I was using a MacBook Pro in my previous job, and the fans never ramped up like this one (that MacBook Pro was purchased in 2010), even when rendering in Blender . . . Both computers running the latest version of Lion, same memory, diff processors and graphics cards.
jkim3691 I have the same problem. My MacBooK Pro is one week old. I was using a MacBook Pro in my previous job, and the fans never ramped up like this one (that MacBook Pro was purchased in 2010), even when rendering in Blender . . . Both computers running the latest version of Lion, same memory, diff processors and graphics cards.