Hi, I just received my first mac, a 17" i5 macbook pro. I'm really impressed, it looks and works great. However, I am wondering whether it is normal that the fan is always running, even if I am only browsing the web with Firefox. No flash sites. The fan noise is fairly unobtrusive. But shouldn't it switch off when there is almost no load on the CPU ? Is there a software commonly used that lets one check and control fan speed ? Or is this even integrated within OS X ?
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MBP fan always running - is this normal ?
- Thread starter stefankr
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Yes, the fans run all the time, as designed. Their speed will automatically increase, as needed, when greater demands on the system create more heat. The fan control is built into Mac OS X. Some choose to override the system settings with smcFanControl, but I've never found a need for it.
iStat Pro will help you monitor many indicators of your system's state.
iStat Pro will help you monitor many indicators of your system's state.
Thanks for your replies! I just installed istat pro, and it says that both fans are running at around 2000 rpm. It's not loud, but it's definitely audible. I don't think I will override the fans either, I've heard other notebook fans that were far wose, hehe... I just didn't know what to expect from a MBP 
Thanks again for your help !
Thanks again for your help !
Thanks for your replies! I just installed istat pro, and it says that both fans are running at around 2000 rpm. It's not loud, but it's definitely audible. I don't think I will override the fans either, I've heard other notebook fans that were far wose, hehe... I just didn't know what to expect from a MBP
Thanks again for your help !
2000rpm is quite normal.