which heatsink and fan for my Penryn

[neindanke]

Hello,

during the last year I head big problems with my noisy fan. The genius in the apple store explained that I would need a new mainboard to fix it. I asked him if a dusty fan could be the reason but he negated - 100% sure. Of course I didn't want to spend 500€ for this 2 year old macbook. So I got used to the noise.

Since December 2010 the macbook began to get overheat (turned off) from time to time and two month later it crashed quite every time I streamed a movie. So I cleaned the fan - without success. Fortunately I didn't give up and removed the heatsink the next day. Big surprise: a big chunk of dust that stopped the whole airstream. To make it short: the macbook is running stable right now.

Unfortunately the fan isn't as quiet as in the beginning. For me the muted fan was one of the best features of my macbook when it was new.

Now I want to try to replace the old fan + heatsink to get a more quiet system.

Problem is, that I cant't find the compatible part. I really don't get the difference between vertical and horizontal connectors. There has already been a similar discussion in 2008 (https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/483504/) but I still don't understand which part is the connector.

I suppose that I have horizontal connectors, but I contacted an ebay-vendor (http://cgi.ebay.de/MacBook-A1181-He...715?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5641086933) and sent him a picture of my open macbook. He told me that he doesn't have the part that I need for my macbook.

I would be grateful for a link to the compatible part or the correct name of the item.

Thanks in advance!

Best regards,
Philipp

 

[ryannel2003]

From what I've read the original MacBook, late 2006 and Mid 2007 all have the same heatsink. For the best explanation, go to iFixit.com and read the take apart guide on the MacBook's and in the pictures it shows the difference between the heatsink designs. For comparison, here is a picture of my Mid-2007 Merom MacBook.

 

[logana]

You should be able to get the fan on its own - it is connected by sticky tape to the heatsink.

The later Santa Rosa/Penryn MacBooks have basically the same fan as the earlier MacBooks but with a different connector to the logicbord.

What you need for the Penryn is the horizontal (flatblade) type.

similar to this one http://cgi.ebay.com/APPLE-MAC-CPU-FAN-DELTA-BSB04505HA-ADDA-AB5605HB-RBB-/400120350624?pt=Apple_Laptops&hash=item5d290807a0

The fan is cheap enough but postage to Europe (where are you located - Germany ?) is not cheap....

 

[neindanke]

temperature sensor

Hi,

my macbook is an early 2008, as far as I know.

I learned from ifixit how to remove the heatsink, but they talk only about differences regarding the number of temperature sensors (Step 15):
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/Installing-MacBook-Core-2-Duo-Heat-Sink/524/5

Is this the "connector"?

If so, it looks like I have the horizontal one, but I'm wondering why the ebay-vendor won't offer me his item.

Thank you so far for your quick reply.

Cheers,
Phil

 

[neindanke]

fan only

Hi logana,

yes, I'm located in Germany. Apparently the accent is obvious. ;-)

I was thinking about changing the fan only, but as the price for the whole fan+heatsink unit is quite the same as for the separate fan, it seemed to be easier to change both parts at one time.

Taking the shipping costs into account the wohle unit is even cheaper than the fan only. Strange world.

Thanks anyway!

Phil

 

[logana]

Since you are not in the USA then this one is way cheaper.....

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/New-Apple-13-3-13-MacBook-Santa-Rosa-Penryn-CPU-fan-/250785164566?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a63f5ed16

The photo is better - you can see the flat connector better and it even says that it is the correct fan for Penryn models.

Presumably the fins on the back of the heatsink were covered in dust....

I would just change the fan - that way you do not need to apply any more thermal paste.

The ifixit.com link is for the earlier MacBook but there is nothing wrong with the method they are using.

 

[neindanke]

Thanks!

I just bought it.

 

[logana]

Well it was cheap enough.....

 

[anotherarunan]

OP - How easy was it to take the case off your macbook and clean out the fan? Thinking of doing it myself but scared I might break something! I have replaced the RAM on my macbook several times so not scared of screws or anything but just worried!

 

[neindanke]

easy

Hi anotheraruan,

don't worry, it's not really difficult. I followed the instructions on ifixit: http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/I...eat-Sink/524/5 and it was done in about 30 minutes.

As I couln't find a plastic spudger, I used the metal screwdriver to remove the temperature sensor. Perhaps not the perfect way to do it, but it worked in my case. What you definitely need is thermal paste when you replace the heatsink.

Good luck!

Find attached a picture of the removed dust bunny.

Best regards,
Phil

 

[neindanke]

new fan

Hi,

two days ago I changed the fan. Unfortunately there is no difference with the new one. Perhaps my memories regarding the fresh quiet macbook I had two years ago are just glorified.

What definitely helped was cleaning the heatsink. I'd recommened this to everybody who has fan noise problems with a macbook.

Best regards,
Philipp