How Noisy Should a MacBook Be?

[superspartan]

I have the grandaddy of all Macbooks - a 1.83 Core Duo - that I've been ignoring for some time. But recently, I decided to extend its life a bit by upgrading to an SSD (a great decision BTW).

The MB still serves my needs well, but there's one thing that bothers me -- the noisy fan during high CPU loads. I've been monitoring when the fan kicks in and it's usually related to Flash or app installs, which is all to be expected. The thing is, I've had this thing since '06 and it just seems more noisy than before. However, its also possible that I just forgot what the noise level was really like.

The noise at full RPMs doesn't sound like a noisy fan really, more like a blower. It's definitely annoying while watching flash videos. I actually ordered a new $6 replacement fan from eBay, but I'm not sure I want to open the case again if my existing fan is fine.

 

[vincenz]

Have you ever opened the MacBook before? Cleaning your fans might help with the noise. Either way, it was a good decision to get the new fan. Even cleaning an old one might not help since it's been spinning at 75 MPH for years and years. Mechanical parts need to be changed at some point.

 

[superspartan]

Yeah, I've had it opened several times (had to replace a speaker, superdrive, and top case). The inside has always been surprisingly clean and I've used compressed air on the fan.

I always struggle getting the top case to fit flush with the bottom, so I'm really not looking forward to opening it up again.

Have you ever opened the MacBook before? Cleaning your fans might help with the noise. Either way, it was a good decision to get the new fan. Even cleaning an old one might not help since it's been spinning at 75 MPH for years and years. Mechanical parts need to be changed at some point.