Macbook A1278 - Hot CPU, Loud Fan

[ryetronics]

I own a aluminum unibody Macbook (a1278), and my CPU runs hot basically anytime I run Flash in a browser. Chrome, Safari and Firefox all spike the CPU usage to upwards of 75 to 100% when even viewing a simple YouTube or Hulu clip, though sometimes, such as now, it runs hot when Flash isn't running.

Since I've noticed this, my fan has been progressively getting worse. You can hear the ball-bearings making noise and rattling when the fan gets up to and above 3000rpm's. When the fan is at it's normal speed of around 2000 rpm's, you can still hear the rattling, though it's not making the jet engine sound it does when running faster.

I have since ordered a new fan for replacement, which I will be doing myself. My questions are...

1. Will replacing the fan myself void my warranty?
2. Why oh why does a YouTube clip spike my CPU temps so high? Are there settings or tweaks I could be making to avoid this?
3. Am I an idiot and overlooking some other fatal flaw in my system?

Thanks everyone!

Specs:
Macbook (a1278)
320gig HDD
4gig RAM
Snow Leopard

 

[spinnerlys]

1. Yep.

2. HTML5 beta or ClickToFlash

3. Maybe, as you didn't state the process of your over-clocking methods.

Btw, Activity Monitor might be of help on those occasions, when Flash is not involved.
And may be a Fan Control software.

Ah, MRoogle is also a good source for information, as this topic comes up every once in a while (daily to weekly).

 

[ryetronics]

Thanks spinnerlys.

HTML5 in YouTube is already making a HUGE difference. I didn't know the beta was live...

As far as Fan Control systems are concerned, can you recommend any free options? And I assume the objective of a FCS is to lower the fan speed whenever it gets out of control (5500rpm and up), but isn't the fan running that fast for a reason? Logic tells me that lowering the fan speed in those situations could put the CPU at risk, unless the user is willing to constantly monitor the CPU temp, which I am not.

And in situations where CPU temps spike and I am NOT using Flash, it is almost always attributed to a process in Chrome or Firefox. In those cases, I just shut the browser down for a few minutes until everything cools down.

 

[spinnerlys]

SMC Fan Control

Fan Control for Mac


iStat Menus (to observe CPU temps in the Menu Bar)