Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Penryn MBP owners, let's talk about our fans

M. Malone

M. Malone

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 11, 2004
677
2
Hello, so I have my new MacBook Pro, so far so great, but I have this to say about the fans:

1. Left Fan: I put my ear to it, and I hear "wooooooooshhhh" (air blowing) I can only hear that when my ear is an inch away.

2. Right Fan: when I am using it in a fairly quiet room, I can hear it, not only the air blowing sound, but also a "bzzzzzzzzzz" sound, like I can hear the "engine" that drives the fan. I really wish it was as silent as the left one.

what about the rest of you out there, let me know what you have going on? compare both fans
 
Jericho2550 said:
Hello, so I have my new MacBook Pro, so far so great, but I have this to say about the fans:

1. Left Fan: I put my ear to it, and I hear "wooooooooshhhh" (air blowing) I can only hear that when my ear is an inch away.

2. Right Fan: when I am using it in a fairly quiet room, I can hear it, not only the air blowing sound, but also a "bzzzzzzzzzz" sound, like I can hear the "engine" that drives the fan. I really wish it was as silent as the left one.

what about the rest of you out there, let me know what you have going on? compare both fans
Click to expand...

The Penryn fans appear to run at around 2000RPM standard no matter what. I can definitely hear my fans in a silent room or if I hold my ear to the device, but other than that, it's okay. I was a little disappointed by this as my PB was completely silent, but I guess you just need to keep these new processors cool! :)
 
sjb said:
The Penryn fans appear to run at around 2000RPM standard no matter what. I can definitely hear my fans in a silent room or if I hold my ear to the device, but other than that, it's okay. I was a little disappointed by this as my PB was completely silent, but I guess you just need to keep these new processors cool! :)
Click to expand...

thanks :)

but! and I hope you don't think I'm a freak, the sound your fans make, are they quiet blow of air, or a very quiet bzzzzzz :eek:
 
My fans are really silent, no joke, I hear my external more clear than my MBP. I know there working bc it never really gets too hot!! I was designing on it for over 2 hrs and it was nothing at all... I was impressed. This is my second MBP as the 1st on had washed screen, but I know that one got hotter faster and was hotter in general. The only time my comp is loud is when I am running a CD.
 
mine seems to run between 55 and 65 degrees...fans from 1990-2000 rpm...and it is quiet like a ninja. I wouldnt even know fans were there if not for istat pro.

got it upto 69 degrees last night and it was still silent.
 
Vedhead said:
mine seems to run between 55 and 65 degrees...fans from 1990-2000 rpm...and it is quiet like a ninja. I wouldnt even know fans were there if not for istat pro.

got it upto 69 degrees last night and it was still silent.
Click to expand...

Exactly the same for me :) Damn it's a nice notebook :) It's cool (very much cooler than prev. versions) and it's quiet as a ninja as you said :)
 
well my Penryn MBP fans are diverse.

1. one nurse from the ED
2. Tom, from the cafeteria
3. jill another Resident
4. brad a 3rd yr medical student..

:D seriously, both of them are running , 2000 rpms on a regular use.
haven't really stuck my ears to listen, i'd say there's not loud at all. i don't want to use silent coz we all have different definition of silence... and our ears differ as well.
 
Why are there so many threads about Penryns fans?? From what I've read and heard is that the fans run quieter than the previous gen mbp.
 
My first MBP (Penryn) had a noisy right fan. It buzzed all of the time while the left fan was silent. I had to exchange the machine for other issues and the replacement doesn't have any fan issues. Both fans are silent until they ramp up if the system is stressed.
 
Jericho2550 said:
thanks :)

but! and I hope you don't think I'm a freak, the sound your fans make, are they quiet blow of air, or a very quiet bzzzzzz :eek:
Click to expand...

This is a hard one to answer. All of these threads are making me wonder if they shouldn't be heard at all!

I would call the sound more of a 'whoosh' than anything else. In all honesty, unless I'm in a dead silent room, I don't hear them at all. Even when I'm in a silent room, it is normally with the laptop very close to me that I can actually hear the fans running.
 
duffyanneal said:
My first MBP (Penryn) had a noisy right fan. It buzzed all of the time while the left fan was silent. I had to exchange the machine for other issues and the replacement doesn't have any fan issues. Both fans are silent until they ramp up if the system is stressed.
Click to expand...

Lol, that just means that the previous mbp had a right fan issue, problem solved.:apple:
 
Actually my right fan does exactly what you described! I figured it was a random occurence but its funny that its happening to many of us.

I got used to it though, but its still annoying
 
What app do you guys use for measuring fan speed, processor temp. etc.?

For the record... I can barely even hear my machine and I had to listen pretty close to hear any fans. Dead quiet, like my Mac Mini I would say. Pretty chuffed with it.
 
f1400 said:
Actually my right fan does exactly what you described! I figured it was a random occurence but its funny that its happening to many of us.

I got used to it though, but its still annoying
Click to expand...

excellent! at least one person is like me, anyone else?

is there anyway to shut this thing up? my PowerBook was quieter!
 
On a new 2.6GHz 15" 200GB 7200rpm MBP, I'd say the fans sound a bit noisier at the base 2000 rpm than previous models. I do have a faint buzz like noise from the right, but I have a bit more overall vibration than a previous generation 2.4GHz 17" with the same drive. Not sure if the vibration is the drive or fans. I will say this it takes extraordinary effort to the fans spinning more than the default. The fastest I've ever been able to get them is 3500 rpm right after running the extended hardware diagnostics for an hour. The reduced heat is very impressed compared to any previous Apple Intel-based laptop.

Still not sure about the screen on this thing, seems like a bit of yellow tint at the bottom. Might or might not keep it at this point.
 
Jericho2550 said:
excellent! at least one person is like me, anyone else?

is there anyway to shut this thing up? my PowerBook was quieter!
Click to expand...

I had a bad buzzing coming from a new MBP and exchanged it and the replacement is good. There is a different sound than from the left fan and I think it is the fan not a circuit buzzing. It doesn't bother me (and I am anal). I would have never given it a thought had I not read the various threads around here.
My first one was clearly defective though - it actually gave me a headache after 20 mins or so - the Apple store agreed and switched it out.
 
jjahshik32 said:
Why are there so many threads about Penryns fans?? From what I've read and heard is that the fans run quieter than the previous gen mbp.
Click to expand...

Perhaps some of us have come from the Macbook Air sections in search of a machine quiet enough to tolerate. We're exercising out our anxieties before we spend even more money with Apple.
 
Scott6666 said:
Perhaps some of us have come from the Macbook Air sections in search of a machine quiet enough to tolerate. We're exercising out our anxieties before we spend even more money with Apple.
Click to expand...

I haven't seen a MBA in a quiet environment, but I find it hard to believe they are that loud. Is it just a bad batch or are all of them that way? I think I'll head over to the MBA forum in a bit.....
 
My computer has lots of fans. A couple thousand I should guess. It's very famous. :p

No seriously, the fans are pretty quiet and if they get loud they usually are synchronized.

Yes the MBA is loud at times.
 
sjb said:
I haven't seen a MBA in a quiet environment, but I find it hard to believe they are that loud. Is it just a bad batch or are all of them that way? I think I'll head over to the MBA forum in a bit.....
Click to expand...

The MBA can be quite annoying if you're in a semi quiet environment.
 
duffyanneal said:
The MBA can be quite annoying if you're in a semi quiet environment.
Click to expand...

Only if the fan is running at max. With the SSD model it's silent normally. My fan is only running that fast maybe 1% of the time or less, the MBP with a hard drive and two fans is much louder.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back