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Fan Settings for 2011 MacBook Pro

M

macpro12

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 27, 2013
2
0
Hello, I am using a program called Fan Control (32-bit) on a Late 2011 MacBook Pro (2.4 GHz, 8 GB memory, OS X Lion 10.7.5.

The base settings on the fan control program are this:

Base Speed: 1500 RPM
Lower Threshold: 50.0 C
Upper Threshold: 80.0 C


These are the default settings, is there anything I should change?

I am having a program with my fans getting loud without me even doing anything other than connecting my HDMI adapted to a Samsung monitor. Just by doing this my fan speed goes from around 2000 RPM to 3500-4000 RPM.

Thanks for any help!
 
I just don't know how to solve my issue then I figured it had to be this.

When I run my Macbook Pro with nothing open it uses about 2000 RPM. As soon as I connect to my monitor (Samsung via a HDMI converter) the RPM justs to 3500-4000 even though I have neither applications running on both and my fans kicks in really loud.

Any ideas?
 
first of all you do not need a fan control software unless you need to keep your mac cool. try not to fidget with the minimum rpm as much as possible though the smc will control it to what apple set its min rpm to.

When you connect an external monitor the discrete graphics powers up, the discrete graphics puts out a considerable amount of heat and to keep it cool the fans spin faster. On my retina when the discrete graphics is on fans are at 3500 rpm. If you would like to try and get the fans down a bit do open up the mac and clean the fans and heatsink, there would be lots of dust if it has never been cleaned in 2+ years
 
When you plug in the HDMI you are activating the discrete graphics card, this in turn will generate more heat. There is no option to stop this as it`s how Apple designed the system.

Try elevating the rear of your MBP, this will aid air flow in general, or use a passive cooler like Rain Designs iLap or Mstand. If you want to use a software solution try UltraFan it`s designed to control temperature not just fan rpm`s and is a smarter solution than most around presently.

Ultimately Mac portables tend to run hot, some more so than others, so short of opening the system up, there is not too much you can do about it other than reduce the load, most PC orientated powered coolers don't add up to much and the few powered coolers for Mac`s tend to be far more expensive and are just marginally better.
 
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Been meaning to open mine up and re-apply compound myself, the noise and heat this machine generates (MBP 2011) is a bit of a joke, as is the continual fan noise.

In every other respect I love the machine. In terms of noise and heat, it's the worst laptop I've ever used - and I've used plenty, including using Dells and HPs since 1999.
 
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yusukeaoki said:
Your base rpm is 1500?
Thats pretty low.
It should be around 1999~2001rpm.
Click to expand...
Indeed, 1500 rpm is very low for a MacBook Pro. Try another software just to know how fast the fan is really spinning.

throAU said:
Been meaning to open mine up and re-apply compound myself, the noise and heat this machine generates (MBP 2011) is a bit of a joke, as is the continual fan noise.

In every other respect I love the machine. In terms of noise and heat, it's the worst laptop I've ever used - and I've been plenty, including using Dells and HPs since 1999.
Click to expand...
Unless you're familiar with the process, I would discourage you to do so. Parts are extremely close from one another, providing zero margin of error if you were to stick compound on components not supposed to receive it, for example. Only a few Macs had issues with the thermal compound anyway.

And I doubt you really used any other PC for any significant length of time. All the Macs I operated were by far the quietest machines I ever ran. I would rather have a look at the software running on your machine if I were in your shoes. Notably, Firefox (when many tabs are open and you have many extension) and Flash can make a machine run hot.
 
Cubytus said:
Unless you're familiar with the process, I would discourage you to do so. Parts are extremely close from one another, providing zero margin of error if you were to stick compound on components not supposed to receive it, for example. Only a few Macs had issues with the thermal compound anyway.

And I doubt you really used any other PC for any significant length of time. All the Macs I operated were by far the quietest machines I ever ran. I would rather have a look at the software running on your machine if I were in your shoes. Notably, Firefox (when many tabs are open and you have many extension) and Flash can make a machine run hot.
Click to expand...

This machine is quiet when it's idle, sure. Fire up something that uses the GPU, and its a joke.

And i've been using PCs since 1989. Building them since 1992. Other computers before that (going back to about 1983-1984).

Worked in the PC industry doing PC repair (amongst other things) between 96 and 01. Get a new work laptop 1-2 times per year in my line of work (I develop/maintain our company's SOE so any new model we purchase ends up with me to build/adjust/test our SOE on it - tend to keep a work machine 6 months on average).

I've used plenty of PC hardware (for extended periods of time) thanks.

This isn't a software problem.
 
Have a look at the link posted earlier by another user. If it's true that the heatsink is not properly polished, that may explain the rise in temperature. On the other hand, there's nothing much you can do about it, unless you have a polishing machine.

As for your comparison with PCs, I do reiterate my point that none of the PCs I used (not close to your lentghy experience) were as quiet as the Mac, side for the netbooks, and even then. True is when you run the discrete GPU, even running heavy apps on a 13" will make the fan make noise. But either on my previous Sager, HP g6, LG R510, Compaq and many others (including a gamer's machine handed over to me by a newly Mac convert), the fan(s) was audible. This is not to say my MBP is perfectly silent (it isn't, by any means), but quiet enough. I can only hear the hard drive most of the time as I installed the fastest HDD available back then.

I never experienced a truly silent computer that had the required power, and I believe they may not exist anytime soon. Small form factor can only go so far.
 
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