Question to 15" MBP 2017 owners about fan speed

[aevan]

Then I had to said you are not an expert. Common knowledge. LOL.......WTH......LOL.

I shudder at the strength of your data-backed, information-filled arguments.

 

[vjobs]

Got to email Apple engineer for this. The only fact here is not just me. But a lot 13" user report their fan not always kick in. What proof still need to provide. Check the forum see how many forumer mention about his 13" fan.

If this is the case, it is a malfunctioning software driver or hardware defect rather than designed. As some stated earlier, the processor series in the MacBook Pro 13" HAS to be cooled.

 

[aevan]

If this is the case, it is a malfunctioning software driver or hardware defect rather than designed. As some stated earlier, the processor series in the MacBook Pro 13" HAS to be cooled.

Lost cause man, let them believe what they want.

 

[vjobs]

Lost cause man, let them believe what they want.

I feel you.

To all: it simply isn't possible to design a MacBook Pro equipped with a 'PRO-processor' that has passive cooling. Technology developments aren't that far yet, it is something to be innovated in the future.

I actually don't understand the need to have a passively cooled MacBook Pro. While doing simply to moderate tasks (mail, Safari, FaceTime, Photos and so on), it will be nearly to impossible to hear the fans spinning. At heavy tasks, you will hear the fans, luckily. Without them, the MacBook Pro would start throttling and become uncomfortably hot.

If really insisted on having a passively cooled notebook, there is the MacBook 12". But this will be very down in performance on heavy tasks compared to the MacBook Pro.

 

[bd4]

I doubt you'd be able to here a fan spinning at 2000rpm without the aide of a stethoscope... As I mentioned, iStat is a bit buggy, so make sure everything is working correctly. Try this https://wpguru.co.uk/2015/12/how-to-check-the-fan-speed-on-your-mac/ at idle and compare it to iStat.

Also as you asked, the 12" uses a 4.5w processor specifically designed to be ran without a fan. The MBP uses 15w nTB, 28w TB, these are designed to be more powerful and so require more cooling.

I did the spindump as described (bypassing iStat Menus and potential driver issues) and got this result:

$ sudo spindump
Sampling all processes for 10 seconds with 10 milliseconds of run time between samples
Sampling completed, processing symbols...
Spindump analysis written to file /tmp/spindump.txt

$ cat /tmp/spindump.txt | grep "Fan speed"
Fan speed: 0 rpm

So I would think that macOS itself reports the correct value.

Yes, it's a CPU with 15 watts TDP, but this is the highest possible value with full load on CPU and iGPU. Why shouldn't passive cooling be possible at idle? When I plug all USB devices off and turn the display brightness to the lowest value, iStat Menus is reporting a System total power consumption/DC in of 2 to 3 watts. There is not much heat to be dispensed at idle. The 12" MacBook manages 6 watts TDP with passive cooling only.

 

[vjobs]

I did the spindump as described (bypassing iStat Menus and potential driver issues) and got this result:



So I would think that macOS itself reports the correct value.

I don't want to imply that these reports are wrong. I believe they are correct. However, I am sure that even at low power usage the fans are meant to keep running at minimum speed. There should be something wrong, either with hardware or (what I believe more) software, since more people experience this. Could even be a bug in the drivers of the fans.

 

[joefoong79]

I don't want to imply that these reports are wrong. I believe they are correct. However, I am sure that even at low power usage the fans are meant to keep running at minimum speed. There should be something wrong, either with hardware or (what I believe more) software, since more people experience this. Could even be a bug in the drivers of the fans.

You really something. I hope you are a sportmen. Guaranteed will win Olympic medal. LoL

 

[Queen6]

Are you certain? First time I heard of a "U" series i5 that runs fanless. In fact, I'm convinced they do not. The latest Surface Pro is lauded for having a fanless i5 Kaby Lake - and that is a "Y" series 7W CPU. MacBook also has a Y series i5.

Categorically, my Huawei MateBook X (MB-X) has i5 7200U 15W CPU with option for i7 7500U, as does the i5 Surface Pro, (i7 SP is actively cooled). Believe me the performance differential is significant. Forget the synthetic benchmarks, real world use the MB-X decimates my M5 rMB, significantly so.

I didn't purchase the MB-X solely for Windows 10, I bought it as it's a better product than what Apple currently produces; 13" 3:2 display, duel uSB C ports, keyboard with reasonable travel, top class audio & display, outstanding build quality, it's spill resistant, and a usable dock in the box. Most impressively is this is Huawei's first clamshell notebook, give them a couple of generations and they will very likely be exceeding Apple, in some aspects they already have, given the MB-X is marginally bigger than the rMB.

Believe the new Surface Pro is also a full i5U, Microsoft offers the base model in M3 Y series CPU...

Q-6

 

[vjobs]

You really something. I hope you are a sportmen. Guaranteed will win Olympic medal. LoL

I see that as a compliment, thanks!

 

[Mike Boreham]

As a recent new owner of a 2017 13" MBP I found this old but unresolved thread after noticing that iStat menus reports zero rpm on both fans at low load.

The only contribution I can add to the controversy is what the Notebookcheck.com review says about this subject:

"System Noise
The fan control is one advantage of the small 13-inch MacBook Pro. The two fans don't run while the device is idling or with light workloads, so the system is silent. This is also a big advantage over the 15-inch models, where the fan is always spinning (albeit hardly audible)."