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New MacBook Pro owner, some fan/heat questions

CPU Heat and Fan issues

For those of you who like I struggle with the 2011 Macbook Pro heat and fan issues I may have a solution for you to try, it has worked perfectly for me. I am using a early 2011 model MBP 17" and I run multiple business apps and a boat load of Google Chrome browser windows.
The CPU fans run almost constantly and i have never been able to get more than a hour to hour and a half off the battery.
I have been off AC power for 20 minutes now and Im still at 3:31 battery life with everything still open and running a secondary monitor.
I happen to be connected to a Belkin wireless router capable of USB Print & Storage. If you look at your Mac Activity Monitor and select the %CPU tab you will see that the wireless router can be using the Belkin (or whatever model) USB Print & Storage at 100.1% of CPU.
Simply select Quit Process and within one minute your fans will stop and your battery life will be normal.:)
 
Okay guys,

turns out after some research - it's not the fans at all. It IS the hard drive. I found this thread with 11 pages of people complaining about the loud whirring and occasional clicking of the hard drive in the 2010-2011 MBP's.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2766458?start=0&tstart=0

Seems like Apple is aware of this and doesn't see it as an "issue". It's kind of a shame... I mean, I can get used to it and I'm glad it's "normal", but for $1600 I would like it to be dead silent when I'm simply surfing the web.

Anybody else with a newer 2010/2011 MBP notice this loud hard drive noise? Seems like the 5400-7200 rpm TOSHIBA's are just generally noisy. And the aluminum casing is doing nothing but amplifying the noise through vibration.
 
I've got a '11 MBP 15", with the BTO 500GB 7.2K drive and it's so quiet, I think it's not even on sometimes. I mean I very occasionally here a tiny HDD activity, but even now, I'm running a Win7 VM with a number of tools open, plus Mail, Chrome on the OSX side, can't hear a thing[?] Maybe a very (I'm talking VERY) faint hum.
 
D.T. said:
I've got a '11 MBP 15", with the BTO 500GB 7.2K drive and it's so quiet, I think it's not even on sometimes. I mean I very occasionally here a tiny HDD activity, but even now, I'm running a Win7 VM with a number of tools open, plus Mail, Chrome on the OSX side, can't hear a thing[?] Maybe a very (I'm talking VERY) faint hum.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry but what exactly is BTO? Is that the brand of the drive? Did you buy that drive separately and install it yourself??

My 13" MBP has a TOSHIBA 750gb 7.2k drive (the stock drive that comes with the 13" MBP) and the spinning noise it gives off is very noticeable. Not "loud" but noticeable enough to be somewhat annoying when I'm in quiet environments (my house, the office, etc.).
 
tectactoe said:
I'm sorry but what exactly is BTO? Is that the brand of the drive? Did you buy that drive separately and install it yourself??

My 13" MBP has a TOSHIBA 750gb 7.2k drive (the stock drive that comes with the 13" MBP) and the spinning noise it gives off is very noticeable. Not "loud" but noticeable enough to be somewhat annoying when I'm in quiet environments (my house, the office, etc.).
Click to expand...

Built To Order. That's when you customize a Mac on the apple online store.


Some hard drives are quieter than other, even within the same model of the same brand, it's just how things go when you mass produce stuff.
 
BTO = Build To Order (a computer ordered customized with upgrades/ changes not prebuilt and bought off the shelf, like at the Apple store or Best Buy, ordered through the website, sometimes also referred to as CTO = Configured To Order).
 
snaky69 said:
Some hard drives are quieter than other, even within the same model of the same brand, it's just how things go when you mass produce stuff.
Click to expand...

True that. Also, a particular pitch from any given electric motor might be more noticeable to some than to others. Still, if you're worried about it, I'd take it in to have it looked at.
 
ThunderSnake said:
BTO = Build to order. S/he opted for a faster drive at time of purchase.
Click to expand...

*Checks pants*

Definitely a he :D

Thanks, didn't mean to drop a mysterious acronym, just wanted to point out that my drive was installed by Apple (and that some astute members might have pointed out my machine wasn't offered through normal retail with a 7200RPM drive).

FWIW, my drive model: Hitachi HTS725050A9A362

When I get my machine really tasked up, like I'm running my VM hard and I'm running iTunes, Mail, iCal, Chrome, I do of course get some audible fan noise when it kicks into the "medium" fan speeds.

I suppose there's also some subjective tolerance threshold, I mean, I walk into my server closet and there's no question it's very loud, so relatively speaking I think my MBP is very quiet.

The wife's MBP13 has never had the fans kick on as far as I know.
 
Wow, everyone here is so helpful, haha. Definitely not used to that! :p

From that website like I posted earlier where many people are complaining about the relatively noisy whirring of the TOSHIBA HDDs, it seems like Apple store people are checking the machines, seeing that everything is fine, and basically saying you have to put up with the noise because thats just what they do. Which may be true, but it's still going to annoy me.

I'm afraid that I'll take it to the Apple store to get looked at and it's usually very crowded and loud in there so of course they won't be able to hear it like I hear it at my quiet house, and they'll do a quick diagnostic test, say that everything is fine and send me on my way.

Is there any chance of getting the HDD replaced for a different model/kind that doesn't make this noise? Like the HITACHI? I know it sounds like I'm just being pedantic here, but this noise is driving me nuts, especially when I'm sitting alone doing work. It's too noticeable, especially having paid so much money for this machine. I love the MacBook Pro so far, but this is the one thing that I am not liking.
 
Chances of getting it replaced aren't good unless it is not functioning correctly. Unfortunately Apple has no spec on how loud the drive is to be. Without it clicking or failing, they have no reason or cause to replace it. There is no guarantee that the new drive won't be just as loud. Play music or turn the tv on when on your computer and you won't notice it.
 
Maybe I'll see if I can return it or pay for an SSD upgrade. I don't know if I'll ever be able to stand that noise in quiet environments.
 
You should either return it or by a third party SSD. The upgrade price (which Apple won't do. I know as I tried.) for your model would be way over the price of what you can purchase an SSD for from someplace like Newegg and in order to do the upgrade, you would have to return that one and buy a BTO model. They don't have the SSD models in store (of course you could buy a MBA instead as they only have SSDs).
 
thundersteele said:
Yeah, actually, why don't you return it and buy the 13'' Air?
Click to expand...

I'd like something a little more robust and powerful I guess.

I have a question about SSD's, is there any model that is recommended for use with MBP's? Also... I have installed some software (MS Office, etc) that uses registration keys on this HDD already.... Will I be screwed if I decided I want to install a new SSD or is there a way to transfer?

Thanks
 
If you buy an aftermarket SSD then you can just clone your had drive, test it works, and then install in you MBP in place of the original HDD.

On a side note, I wouldn't sell the MBA short. If the little noise produced by the MBP bothers you and your fans aren't ramping up (which are way louder than the HDD) then you aren' taxing the MBP and probably a high end MBA would more than likely suit your needs. Now if you are taxing the system, then that is something else.
 
squeakr said:
If you buy an aftermarket SSD then you can just clone your had drive, test it works, and then install in you MBP in place of the original HDD.

On a side note, I wouldn't sell the MBA short. If the little noise produced by the MBP bothers you and your fans aren't ramping up (which are way louder than the HDD) then you aren' taxing the MBP and probably a high end MBA would more than likely suit your needs. Now if you are taxing the system, then that is something else.
Click to expand...

Well I tax it at times. Not all the time, though. Sometimes while running Safari, iTunes, and Vectorworks (CAD program) all at the same time.

Either way... what is a recommended SSD? I'm clueless as to what all these terms mean.. SATA and stuff... What's the best SSD to get for the money that works well with MBPs?

Thanks again
 
Is the taxing due to CPU usage, or due to the bottleneck of transferring data?

Safari and iTunes aren't processor intensive (couldn't speak for the CAD software as I don't use it)? If the answer is no then the MBA would probably suit your needs find. It has a dual core like yours just a lower clock speed. but the SSD and architecture within seem to make up for that.

There really is no wrong. Generally the consensus, seems to be the Crucial m4, Intels, Or the Samsung 830, although people are running other without issue. I have a Corsair and it has been running fine for several months without issue. Most out there today will be fine, as long as they have the most current firmware installed. There is a sticky at the top dedicated to this and the best place to go read and find out about these.
 
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tectactoe said:
Well I tax it at times. Not all the time, though. Sometimes while running Safari, iTunes, and Vectorworks (CAD program) all at the same time.

Either way... what is a recommended SSD? I'm clueless as to what all these terms mean.. SATA and stuff... What's the best SSD to get for the money that works well with MBPs?

Thanks again
Click to expand...

In geekbench numbers, the 13'' MBP is maybe 20% faster than the Air (high end models both). The Air is limited to 4 GB or RAM however, so that might be an issue.

Look at the SSD guide on top of this forum. Crucial M4 and Samsung 830 seem to be the most popular models currently, and seem to work without problems for most people.

The other option is to return your MBP and order one with the 128 GB SSD. That one is a bit slower than the above models, but you don't have to worry about installing it and you will benefit from the usually very good Apple service.
 
Bear in mind if you opt for the Apple supplied SSD (one of my options) the price is $100 extra, whereas a faster SSD from new egg will run you roughly the same price (maybe 20-30 more) but then you get to keep your current HDD for external use, backups, etc, so you get a HDD for either nothing extra or 20-30). It is your choice though (and the aftermarket drives will generally have 3-5 years warranty and the Apple one only has 1 year, unless you buy AppleCare then it is covered for the full 3).
 
Okay. I will just deal with noise for now and look into a new SSD for the near future.

Thanks again for all your help!!
 
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tectactoe said:
squeakr said:
The hard drive would make noise the entire time it is running. Unless a drive is parked, the platters are always spinning, so it would be a constant sound. The area you are talking about is next to the optical drive and the battery resides there. You may hear the sounds resonating out of the optical slot??
Click to expand...

It's possible that it's just resonation. When I place my palm on the lower right part of the laptop, the sound muffles a bit, so it could be resonating.

So I shouldn't be worried about my HDD making this light spinning/blowing noise then? Like I've said, when any other sound is in the room, I can't hear it. But when I'm using my laptop at night in my room, it's actually quite noticeable. I do have pretty good hearing, though :p

Thanks!
Click to expand...

It probably is resonation, my MacBook Pro is noticeably quieter on a stand than on, say, a wooden table.

My PowerBook G3, on the other hand, sounded like a helicopter about to take off. That was mostly the CD drive, but still...
 
You could open it up and tighten everything down to see if that helps (as the drive is shock mounted within the bay, so if not fully tight it could cause a vibration to be more noticeable.
 
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