Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Do you use a Fan Control Program?

I have an early 2.0Ghz MBP and boy was it hot when I first got it. Far too hot to have it on my lap and even on a desk it was painful to touch the bit above the function keys. With a firmware upgrade it became a little better but it was still too hot for me as it would idle around 65C and when working hard I had seen it go up to 93C. I installed Fan Control and set the min speed to 1500 (up from the default of 1000) and dialled down the startup temps and lowered the max. Now the machine idles at about 45C and never gets much above 60C even when working hard. Yes, the fans are loud when it is busy but at normal operating temps they run around 2700 which is close enough to inaudible not to bother me. Battery life seems about normal for a CD MBP (3.5 hours) and it is possible to sit with it on my lap for as long as I like without it getting too hot.

Apple should add an option like Fan Control by default. It seems silly if the fans are there to keep it cool to let the thing cook.

Incidentally, my PowerBook seems to have two fan speeds. Close to off and gale force. Any time I make it do anything remotely CPU hungry the fans fire up and run at 5000+ which is mental loud. Pity there isn't a Fan Control for PPC 'books.
 
If your fan does break from having it run faster all the time will Applecare cover it? or would it be better to just uninstall smsfancontrol and not mention that part?
 
I use smcfancontrol (1.2.3) on my MacBook pro and I have it set to 4000 RPM, I can barely hear it at that speed (in a rather quite room) and it keeps my MacBook pro nice and cool when it's not running demanding applications.
 
Sussman said:
If your fan does break from having it run faster all the time will Applecare cover it? or would it be better to just uninstall smsfancontrol and not mention that part?
Click to expand...

exactly. well I wrote apple scripts a while ago and probably am one of the first to do this on his Mac and I know quite a bit about this stuff. These fans can go up 6000 from the software, probably much faster after that, and anything under 6000 is designed to be ran at, so while it might shorten the life of your fan but that fan will out live the computer as a whole by far.

BTW I run at 2000-3000 as normal and when I play wow I bump it up to 5000.
 
Didn't know this was possible. :eek:

But no, I won't use any fan controlling software. Fans isn't something the end user of a laptop should worry about. If he's not an enthusiast of course. :)
 
smcfancontrol issue

Hey everyone. I read your topic because my mbp lt runs @ about 120-170f w/both fans going at 1000rpm's. i downloaded the smcfancontrol, but when I double click on the application it doesnt do anyting. Next to the apple it doesnt show the application name like it would others. I also looked in the panel that you press ctrl+tab and its not listed as well. It is also not shown in the doc. So any help or suggestions? Greatly appreciated. =):apple:
 
Fearless Leader said:
, so while it might shorten the life of your fan but that fan will out live the computer as a whole by far.
Click to expand...

I have been through two sets of fans on my powerbook G4, and I expect I'll go through a couple more since I kept it at Tiger to keep some unique classic apps alive.
I extend fan life by using a chill mat, it helps keep the RPM of the fans down and pulls heat off the book very effectively. I don't see a real difference in lowing the internal temps...10 degrees maybe, but I notice in using istat my fans are running at much lower speeds and I don't have heat build-up in the case.
I don't use a fan control..yet. But now that I have a MacBook Pro, which has been running very cool so far, I may try it. I have a chill mat under it too.
Click to expand...
 
iBookG4user said:
I use smcfancontrol (1.2.3) on my MacBook pro and I have it set to 4000 RPM, I can barely hear it at that speed (in a rather quite room) and it keeps my MacBook pro nice and cool when it's not running demanding applications.
Click to expand...

I have 3 settings set up on mine. Default, Higher RPM (4500), then "Super-Hyper Speed" (6000) for when I'm in parallels playing games, or working on an insulated surface, etc.
 
DaLurker said:
Not true, if your fan goes, your CPU will gradually overheat, causing a crash. This will happen long before your CPU will burn itself up.

Your CPU will only burn up in seconds if you remove the heatsink all together (which is improbable in this situation).
Click to expand...

Actually, Intel CPU's will throttle down their clock speed in order to try to reduce temperature. If that does not work, eventually when it gets too hot, the computer will shut itself down.

It _should_ not crash period from heat. If the computer does not slow down, you are within normal operating parameters of the cpu and there is nothing to worry about, even if that means it is running at 90C.
 
I use SMCFanControl and can't imagine using my MBP without it. Whenever I know I will be using a highly CPU/GPU intensive program I set the fans on max a bit before to keep it cool. Also when it's really quiet in my room I have to have it a bit higher than the minimum because my HDD is a bit loud.
Just don't be scared to use it, it's really great!
 
smcFanControl it`s easier to keep it cool, than try to cool the MBP down, an extra 500rpm makes a tremendous difference to the system temperature. My fans ramp up 80C plus, SMC lets me preempt any intensive work, keeping the MBP cooler longer.

I also have a version of FanControl specifically designed for the MBP, although as yet have not used it, the principle of the software automating the ramp points of the fans appeals, however I want to know more on how its interacting with firmware before I try it out. From my observations the MBP cooling system is a little more complex than solely CPU & GPU temperatures and this holds me off installing the software.

Anyone running this version on the MBP? Good or Bad
MBpFanControlGC.png


Link: MacBook & MacBook Pro Extended Fan Control

2.4 Penryn, built September 08 OS X 10.5.7 SMC 1.27f2
 
This app is awesome! If you are gaming on your MBP you will need this.
 
i have a problem. on my mbp i loaded smcfancontrol and when i double click the app it dosent come up. but the computer says its running when i try to delete it. and so i restarted, and deleted and reloaded it. still the same problem. does any one know of how to fix/get it to work or of another good fan control program that would work w/mbp 2.16ghz tiger? thanks.
 
bigkito said:
i use the same thing, i keep my fans at 2300rpm and it stays cool, obviously the fans work more as i open more applications but i dont really care for the quietness, i always have music on lol
Click to expand...

i have it set at 1600rpm when im idling (mail, forums..) :D at 44 degrees celsius.

one question for techies:
why doesnt apple undervolt CPU's by default, if its only BETTER as it says on the site.
no performance loss, longer life, less battery consumption, i mean, seems like apple's setting is just wasting battery and fans?!
 
i use it all the time, especially when i am using my mbp closed with an external monitor
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back