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MBP fan speeds

Scott6666

Scott6666

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Feb 2, 2008
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You all in the MBP world may not be aware but there is quite a riot going on in the MBA world regarding fan speeds. Just wondering, what does iStat show the MBP fan speeds are under light load (say surfing, writing) and under moderate load (say 30% steady CPU utilization like watching a video stream or installing an application)? How about with gaming (although the MBA doesn't really game)?

The MBA is 2500 rpm/50C and inaudible when it is behaving and 6200/70C+ and loud when it is not behaving. What's it like in your world?

PS Penryn models in particular.
 
Scott6666 said:
You all in the MBP world may not be aware but there is quite a riot going on in the MBA world regarding fan speeds. Just wondering, what does iStat show the MBP fan speeds are under light load (say surfing, writing) and under moderate load (say 30% steady CPU utilization like watching a video stream or installing an application)? How about with gaming (although the MBA doesn't really game)?

The MBA is 2500 rpm/50C and inaudible when it is behaving and 6200/70C+ and loud when it is not behaving. What's it like in your world?

PS Penryn models in particular.
Click to expand...

Usually 1995 to 2000 for normal running unless intense programs are being run
 
are we talking old mbp or the penryn cause on the old i hve to run the fan at an audible 3000-5000 to keep it cool
 
I've only had mine for a few days so I haven't been able to do any serious tasking. Now that I've got some of my audio programs on here, soon I'll be pushing it pretty hard. But, either way, at normal use (web, word, and adium all at once) I'm running consistently around 2000rpm.

I'll update when I get hard-core processing going.
 
Scott6666 said:
Is that audible?
Click to expand...

To some yes, to Me personally in a super quiet room , yes I can hear the left fan, just went through all this at the Apple store yesterday. We actually went around and listened to the fans on other MBPs and mine matches all of those. My HD is silent, and the palm rest does not get HOT like the 2nd MBP I had, and according to the Genius's the yellow tint was fixed with the driver updates.

Did not mean to steal the thread was just on a roll.:)
 
7200 speed drive

Anyone know if the 7200 rpm higher speed drive causes more heat or noise, either from itself or from the fans?
 
I use smcFanControl running the fans at 3000rpm when charging and at 2000rpm when runnning of battery. Keeps the computer cooler and the speed difference is barely noticeable. Average heat is 55°C - 60°C running at 3000rpm and charging.
 
Scott6666 said:
Anyone know if the 7200 rpm higher speed drive causes more heat or noise, either from itself or from the fans?
Click to expand...

I had a 5400 RPM drive in my SR 2.2, and a 7200 RPM drive in my new MBP. I haven't noticed any difference in noise, and the heat is lower in the newer model (but that's due to the Penryn change more than anything).
 
Yea I'm usually right around 2000, though I have seen it jump to 3000 when I was doing DVD and HD intensive tasks (and the temperate was rising as a result). I'm considering getting a program to bump the fan speeds up a bit to maybe provider better cooling as I use my 17" on my lap exclusively, I'd trade some fan noise for not burning my crotch. ;)
 
Mines a MBP SR... (the one before the Penryn) and according to smcFanControl's default. Mines hovers around 2200-2250rpm...

So are you sure yours are at 2000rpm? Maybe it's changed?

As far as sound goes, i hear the HD more...
 

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I keep my default fan speed at 1500rpm (~52C avg.) using smcFanControl. If I am doing design work and have Illustrator, Photoshop, Flash and/or InDesign running I will bump that up to 3000-4500rpm (~58C avg.) depending on ambient room temp. I'll boost it to 6000rpm (~65C avg.) if I am encoding video, doing intensive Flash work, or disc burning

As for sound, I don't notice sound until I get above 4500rmp when I am in normally 'noised' rooms and in a quiet environment I can hear them whizzing at around 3000rpm.


-temps in () are where I like to keep the temp when doing the processes mentioned, the fan speeds help do that fairly well
 
Yea 2000rpm isn't very noticable. I can't even actually head my HDD at all. My MBP is extremely quiet and thats what I love about it. Now I just need a mouse that is silent when I use my MBP at home. hehe. I usually keep mine at 2000rpm throughout the day, any time that it goes around 55C-60C I like to turn it up to about 3500rpm to keep the temp under 50C. When I encode video I put the fans to 4500rpm to keep the temp around 60C (CPU is at 100%).

-JoE
 
fans not responding to load?

I received my penryn 2.4 mbp yesterday. The fans have been running at around 2000rpm at all times. They are only noticeable really close to the computer, and even then ambient noise drown them out. Today I Tried to let Iphoto import my photos (30 Gb of files, some raw). Both processors maxed out, and after five minutes or so the temps were up around 70 C, but the fans were still at 2000 rpm. I aborted the import, but this can hardly be normal?
 
My usually stays at 2k. If it gets really hot it jumps to 6k, but only for a few minutes.
 
My new MBP 2.5 Penryn idles around 45°C with fans at 2000 rpm. At full load it has gotten up to the lower 60s, but if I turn the fans up to 4000 it brings the temp down to the upper 50s. It's early spring here so the ambient temp in my house is around 18°C.

The fans are fairly quiet though the right one is slightly louder. I have the Hitachi 200GB 7200 drive and it's reasonably quiet. My 4-year-old P4 desktop sounds like a jet engine compared to my MBP.
 
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