Fans kicking on way too much

[xkmxkmxlmx]

I have a new 2011 i5 13" MBA. The fans kick on far too often.

At first I thought it was ventilation, or the content I was using. But for instance, it just kicked on and ran at full speed just from synching my phone. (stat had the cpu at 97).

This is my second 2011. My first had a previous issue and had to be returned. I don't think I have ever heard the fan on that thing not even ONCE.

I have tried everything on this page:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964

At this point I don't know what to do.

I have to consider this a defect as it happens way too often and it did not happen with my last.

It is upsetting because in the last few months I have had issues with every single one of my apple products.

This is my third iPhone 4. My second MBA. And I just shipped my iMac in for repair yesterday... :/

*edit*
Since posting this, I restarted and closed every program and disconnected my phone.

I went back to finish browsing this forum with ONLY safari open and nothing else. I am in a well ventilated area. Fans are once again running at about half speed (judging by sound).

 

[Adidas Addict]

Have you checked activity monitor to see if something is running wild?

 

[ZBoater]

Fans are once again running at about half speed (judging by sound).

I'd suggest iStat so you can have an objective view of your fans.

At 6000RPM I can barely hear them. No, I am not deaf. But I guess different folks have different tolerances for noise. I sleep with a big fan every night because I like the "whoooooosh" sound. Don't bother me one bit...

 

[xkmxkmxlmx]

I have checked activity monitor, yes. Barely a process running at the time.

I do use iStat, just didn't grab the numbers when I heard it earlier.

I will have more time over the weekend to get all the stats and such and evaluate what to do about it by Monday.

Thanks for the help, guys.

 

[unixperience]

try an smc reset.... i don't know how to do it on computers with permanent batteries, but im sure apple does

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3964

the smc is in charge of a few things, one of which is fans, and temperature monitoring, it might be worth a shot

EDIT which is exactly what you tried.... well now I feel silly :-/ heres another though, check for any print jobs, this is a little demon, sometimes when you try to print something and the printer isn't plugged in osx keeps the job in the queue and it wreaks havoc on yoru system, high temps, and fan speeds, slow performance, slow sleep and shutdown

 

[misterneums]

I have checked activity monitor, yes. Barely a process running at the time.

I do use iStat, just didn't grab the numbers when I heard it earlier.

I will have more time over the weekend to get all the stats and such and evaluate what to do about it by Monday.

Thanks for the help, guys.

Could be that you have gobs of thermal paste. That's an issue.

 

[thewalkman]

I'd suggest iStat so you can have an objective view of your fans.

At 6000RPM I can barely hear them. No, I am not deaf. But I guess different folks have different tolerances for noise. I sleep with a big fan every night because I like the "whoooooosh" sound. Don't bother me one bit...

wat

No offence, but if you really can't hear the fans at 6000rpm you are most definetly deaf. They are like a turbine at that rate.

 

[minnus]

wat

No offence, but if you really can't hear the fans at 6000rpm you are most definetly deaf. They are like a turbine at that rate.

Agreed.

As to OP - the moment this machine is pushed, it gets into the 90s C. The only thing this air can do is initiate lift off.

I'm inclined to believe that all Airs are thermally poorly designed...but if you say that you first one was good...hmmm

 

[ZBoater]

wat

No offence, but if you really can't hear the fans at 6000rpm you are most definetly deaf. They are like a turbine at that rate.

I didn't say I didn't hear them, I said I could barely hear them. And with the AC, fan, and music/sound coming out of the MBA, I can barely hear them at 6000rpm.

Yes, in a completely silent room with the MBA muted, I can clearly hear them. But coming from high performance PCs I'm used to it and it doesn't bother me. If you want to push your CPU, this is part of the game...

----------

Agreed.

As to OP - the moment this machine is pushed, it gets into the 90s C. The only thing this air can do is initiate lift off.

I'm inclined to believe that all Airs are thermally poorly designed...but if you say that you first one was good...hmmm

Either that, or the chip is designed to do that. I wonder what Intel says about this...

 

[drew0020]

I hear my fans at 3500rpm, but im usually not listening to music. They rarely kick on, but they tend to come on more in my computer room (where I dont have a ceiling fan) instead of my living room where a ceiling fan is almost always on. So I think environment can be a factor, but I still wouldnt expect 6,000 for what you are doing.

Good luck!

 

[minnus]

Either that, or the chip is designed to do that. I wonder what Intel says about this...

Yes ZBoater, Apple is the only one smart enough to save money on providing a better cooling solution by allowing it to go 5-8C within throttle range. Sony, Dell, Lenovo, etc, are all wasting precious resources in maintaining temperates 20-30C below throttle range when it is clearly not needed.

 

[ZBoater]

Yes ZBoater, Apple is the only one smart enough to save money on providing a better cooling solution by allowing it to go 5-8C within throttle range. Sony, Dell, Lenovo, etc, are all wasting precious resources in maintaining temperates 20-30C below throttle range when it is clearly not needed.

Show me which Dell, Sony, and Lenovo laptops have the same footprint as the MBA with i5/i7 processors and temperatures 15-22C below the MBA, and then you'll have a point to make. If someone can make a better MBA than Apple, that would be fantastic.

 

[minnus]

Show me which Dell, Sony, and Lenovo laptops have the same footprint as the MBA with i5/i7 processors and temperatures 15-22C below the MBA, and then you'll have a point to make. If someone can make a better MBA than Apple, that would be fantastic.

Why are we comparing footprints? Why does that matter? I have an Air because it has the smallest footprint, yes. It is a very nice computer, yes. It is a computer whose CPU runs significantly HIGHER than the rest. Once again, just stating facts. The form factor makes these temperatures okay? Okay for those that do not care I suppose. Haven't you noticed a TON of threads that speak of the temperature? And every time, you go in and say that ITS OKAY, BETTER THAN PC AND IT IS NORMAL.

 

[KPOM]

Show me which Dell, Sony, and Lenovo laptops have the same footprint as the MBA with i5/i7 processors and temperatures 15-22C below the MBA, and then you'll have a point to make. If someone can make a better MBA than Apple, that would be fantastic.

Exactly. We'll get a better sense when the Ultrabooks start coming out next month. First on tap is the ASUS UX21. The 11" notebook will pack the 1.7GHz Sandy Bridge i5 that Apple uses in the 13" MacBook Air. If ASUS somehow manages to keep the temperatures down under comparable use, then we'll know that Apple has cheapened out on thermal protection. I suspect we'll see similar temperatures, though.

Sony does have the Vaio Z running a full voltage Sandy Bridge processor in a 2.5 lb package, though. I'm not sure how they pulled it off, considering that the standard battery is rated for 8 hours. If someone has one of them, perhaps we can see how they managed the heat.

 

[calvol]

Why are we comparing footprints? Why does that matter? I have an Air because it has the smallest footprint, yes. It is a very nice computer, yes. It is a computer whose CPU runs significantly HIGHER than the rest. Once again, just stating facts. The form factor makes these temperatures okay? Okay for those that do not care I suppose. Haven't you noticed a TON of threads that speak of the temperature? And every time, you go in and say that ITS OKAY, BETTER THAN PC AND IT IS NORMAL.

Yes, the price of the beautiful Air form factor is a weaker case cooling design because there are no bottom vents to pull the air with the flow of heat as it rises from the cpu. As it is, the air flows through the keyboard, across the top of the cpu, and carries the flow of heat rising from the cpu out through the back of the unit. In effect, it is indirect forced air cooling as the fans do not directly blow air onto the cpu, and the air is flowing tangential to the heat rising from the cpu. Apple also relies on heat transconductance from the aluminum chassis, but this is a passive heat sink, and doesn't perform as well as an active forced air cooling system. As an example, my Dell Latitude with i5/540M chip never runs over 55C when I load it up with Skype and a couple of applications, whereas my 2010 Air goes to 80C with Skype (73C w/ Coolbook). The Dell has huge bottom vents, larger fan, and airflow aligned with the flow of heat. The Air's compromised cooling is the tradeoff for a beautiful design, and is really not a good match for Sandy Bridge with a peaky heat profile with TurboBoost, but I expect in the next major refresh, that Apple will move to a unit with bottom vents and improved case cooling.

 

[KPOM]

The Dell has huge bottom vents, larger fan, and airflow aligned with the flow of heat. The Air's compromised cooling is the tradeoff for a beautiful design, and is really not a good match for Sandy Bridge with a peaky heat profile with TurboBoost, but I expect in the next major refresh, that Apple will move to a unit with bottom vents and improved case cooling.

Ivy Bridge is moving to a 22nm process (from Sandy Bridge's 32nm), so it promises lower energy consumption and heat generation. Haswell (following on in 2013) should go a step further. Intel has committed to lowering the TDP of its mainstream processors. That's why other manufacturers are putting out Ultrabooks or plan to do so.

Why are we comparing footprints? Why does that matter? I have an Air because it has the smallest footprint, yes. It is a very nice computer, yes. It is a computer whose CPU runs significantly HIGHER than the rest. Once again, just stating facts. The form factor makes these temperatures okay? Okay for those that do not care I suppose. Haven't you noticed a TON of threads that speak of the temperature? And every time, you go in and say that ITS OKAY, BETTER THAN PC AND IT IS NORMAL.

Because that's part of the engineering compromise. If you cram the same components into a smaller space, all else equal they will run hotter. If they wanted to put in a better heat sink or air cooling system, they'd need to change the form factor.

 

[minnus]

Ivy Bridge is moving to a 22nm process (from Sandy Bridge's 32nm), so it promises lower energy consumption and heat generation. Haswell (following on in 2013) should go a step further. Intel has committed to lowering the TDP of its mainstream processors. That's why other manufacturers are putting out Ultrabooks or plan to do so.



Because that's part of the engineering compromise. If you cram the same components into a smaller space, all else equal they will run hotter. If they wanted to put in a better heat sink or air cooling system, they'd need to change the form factor.

You seem to miss my point. I KNOW why it is hotter and the limitations of the form factor. My point is that the form factor doesn't make the temperature situation okay. It runs way warmer than it should.

And comparing the cooler vents and lower fan speeds on larger laptops - thats perfectly okay. My point is that why are they even implementing such thermal solutions when according to people here, 92-95C is perfectly normal? Why won't the fans of these thermally advantaged machines just kick on less to save on power? Why waste weight on a heatsink? The "dells" would be half a pound lighter and clearly, that has its marketing advantages.

I wish I had the balls to open up this 1.7k machine to take a picture of innards.

 

[brentsg]

As an example, my Dell Latitude with i5/540M chip never runs over 55C when I load it up with Skype and a couple of applications, whereas my 2010 Air goes to 80C with Skype (73C w/ Coolbook).

It should also be noted that Skype's latest OSX clients suck, even on my 6 core Mac Pro. They are horrible compared to the Windows equivalents.