09-10-2009, 03:09 AM

Hi there

I got the new macbook pro 15 inch last month.

Recently i downloaded smc Fan Control app, which allows me to make my fans run faster and keep my mac cooler.

Anyhow, I noticed that on smcfancontrol, it only shows one fan, labeled as "leftside" which i have set to run at 5000 rpm. (i'm doing some serious video converting and my activity monitor is fully green for cpu)

Shouldnt there be a "rightside" as well ? Is my right fan not working ?

09-10-2009, 04:01 AM

honestly I don't think it's nessasary to tweek fans manually, but that's just my opinion .. maybe some1 can prove me wrong

anyway try different apps like iStat to check the state of your fans, I'm not sure if the system itself provides this info as I've never looked into the matter that much

09-10-2009, 05:10 AM

Coming from a background of a hardware enthusiast and overclocker for well over 10 years before I got my first Mac, I did that when I first got mine also.

My suggestion, get rid of SMC fancontrol. I really feel it's not needed in OS X. If you're doing a bunch of video work, both fans (assuming the new machines have 2 fans as mine does) are going to be cranking up around 6000 rpm when you start revving up the CPU/GPU. There's no need for you to manually set them at 5000 rpm.

As suggested by scathe, you can grab iStat, either the dashboard widget or the menus to see what your fans are doing.

09-10-2009, 08:01 AM

I tend to disagree. Heat is the enemy of all notebooks/laptops or even desktops. I would rather know my computer is running cool than thinking that the computer's fans will kick in when it gets hot enough. I would much rather replace cheap, swappable fans, which don't really wear down as you guys have mentioned in the past, than have something go wrong due to heat.

Back to topic. Do you have the basic macbook pro? the one with only the 9400m card? Because I do believe that that only has one fan.

09-10-2009, 08:05 AM

Originally Posted by idrinorbarsaku

I would much rather replace cheap, swappable fans,

Incorrect assertion. The fans are neither cheap, nor easily swappable.

Not sure what your definition of "cheap" is, but at $50/fan, I wouldn't call them that. And the process to replace in most models require a complete disassembly of the machine.

which don't really wear down as you guys have mentioned in the past, than have something go wrong due to heat.

Absolutely they do. Having supported literally hundreds of laptops in my time in IT, I can tell you this is the second most common hardware failure, behind hard drives. Not only do the bearings wear down, but it is further exaggerated by the additional dust pulled into the machine and eventually sticking to the fan blades and pulling it out of balance.

To each his own, of course, but if Apple couldn't properly control heat in their machines, I don't think they'd have quite the reputation they do for reliability.

09-10-2009, 08:18 AM

I first began overclocking my rigs with the AMD 100Mhz CPU some years ago. Working strictly with air cooled rigs, manual manipulation of the fans was an integral part of that.

In my own experience, the # 1 failure in those systems - fans - by at least a 4-1 margin over hard drives.

09-10-2009, 08:41 AM

I won't continue on his post. Maybe a specific, fan related topic would be a better place to talk.

I do believe you might have the new MBP 15" with only the 9400m graphics card(one fan according to reviews) and not the hybrid SLI that comes with 2 fans.

09-10-2009, 08:47 AM

Originally Posted by idrinorbarsaku

I won't continue on his post. Maybe a specific, fan related topic would be a better place to talk.

I do believe you might have the new MBP 15" with only the 9400m graphics card(one fan according to reviews) and not the hybrid SLI that comes with 2 fans.

I know you have strong opinions on the subject and that's fine. Where I disagree with you is when you make assertive statements like "I would much rather replace cheap, swappable fans, which don't really wear down as you guys have mentioned in the past, than have something go wrong due to heat.".

Your premise in general is correct, heat is the enemy of computers. Let's just agree to disagree on how/if it's OK to intervene in what is normally controlled at a low level by the system. No need to rehash this argument yet again.

09-10-2009, 09:31 AM

Originally Posted by cwa107

To each his own, of course, but if Apple couldn't properly control heat in their machines, I don't think they'd have quite the reputation they do for reliability.

I think that is exactly the whole point and I might be only naive, but I do trust the Apple engineers that my computer won't overheat just because the fans aren't spinning fast enough seems silly, to me anyway ... just pay attention to the speeds throught out a day of working on the computer, it does change ...

and why would I need to listen to those 5000rpm when I'm only browsing atm?

09-10-2009, 09:47 AM

I tell ya though, these conversations make me glad that none of the stuff I work on is user serviceable, so our engineering work isn't continually questioned


FWIW, if you're truly worried about heat use the thing on a stand. preferably something that cools too... although, since I hate the additional fan noise I use an iLap.. and whatcha know, a big chunk of aluminum under and aluminum notebook does act as a heat sink

09-10-2009, 02:20 PM

I'm currently (for another week) working for a firm that repairs communication equipment. On the repair floor there is a whole shift of guys whose sole job is to repair fans used to cool the units and not only is he always busy, but there are three full shifts so they're busy 24/7. That tells me that fans wear out whether they're the little ones in our notebooks or the big ones that sit in racks.

Having said that I let OS X handle the fan speed and load. My old Macbook YouTube would get the fan audibly spinning, while my MBP I don't think I've heard the fan since I got it.