Your Fan Control settings?

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Hey guys,

I was using smc for my MBP's fans but I didn't like the idea of it being a program that had to be started on its own (or at log in). I decided to go with Fan Control because I really like how it goes into the System Prefs. Makes it feel like it's part of the system.

The thing I really can't stand about either apps is a detailed explanation on the settings. Yes I understand it is to set the minimum fan speed, but what about the lower threshold and upper threshold?

I'm assuming the lower threshold is the minimum temperature to aim for? Right now mine is set at 2400 RPM base speed with a lower of 48'C and upper of 70'C

It seems to me that the fans are trying to get the temp down to 48 as much as possible, so the RPM's read at about 2800-3000.

Is the 3000 range acceptable? Does it drain too much battery life? What are the exact definitions for the lower and upper thresholds? It seems like a great program, but to someone who has never had to worry about fan tweaking until now, it seems a little ambiguous. And the lack of any sort of help or explanation for both Fan Control and smc is a little annoying.
 

???


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I use this program at is great.

The thresholds are like limits. below the lower threshold the fans will stay at base rate. As the book gets hotter the machine adds more fan speed to cool down. Once it hits the high threshold the MBP will give it everything it has to cool the book down. But mine has never got there.

This is my set up now, it seems to work.

 
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The problem here isn't the program, the problem is Apple selling laptops that get this hot and doing nothing about it. I keep reading these laptops are suppose to run cooler, not hotter. My wife just started her Macbook up, was on it 5 min. and it's 60C or 140 F My PB has been on since 5 AM and is 39C. I just don't get it. When doing things her Macbook isn't any faster, wheres the speed difference?
 

???


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well she probably isnt using software that supports multi threading. The intels are much faster. But hotter.
 
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she may be running programs through rosseta which requires a constant usage of the cpu when performing various tasks. the chips inside may also run hotter but im not sure about that.
 
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I downloaded a fan control program, and it says my right fan is running at -1. My computer hasn't gotten any cooler, so I'm assuming my right fan is broken. My macbook is a few years old, so I'm not entirely sure what's going on right now.
 
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Hey guys,

I was using smc for my MBP's fans but I didn't like the idea of it being a program that had to be started on its own (or at log in). I decided to go with Fan Control because I really like how it goes into the System Prefs. Makes it feel like it's part of the system.

The thing I really can't stand about either apps is a detailed explanation on the settings. Yes I understand it is to set the minimum fan speed, but what about the lower threshold and upper threshold?

I'm assuming the lower threshold is the minimum temperature to aim for? Right now mine is set at 2400 RPM base speed with a lower of 48'C and upper of 70'C

It seems to me that the fans are trying to get the temp down to 48 as much as possible, so the RPM's read at about 2800-3000.

Is the 3000 range acceptable? Does it drain too much battery life? What are the exact definitions for the lower and upper thresholds? It seems like a great program, but to someone who has never had to worry about fan tweaking until now, it seems a little ambiguous. And the lack of any sort of help or explanation for both Fan Control and smc is a little annoying.

The best advice you will get is to not even mess with the fans at all, and let your computer control itself. Fans don't start for a reason, your computer is made to handle heat, and when it thinks it needs to cool down, the fan speed will pick up. Any fan speed above the idle speed will drain battery prematurely if you set the speed higher than it needs to be. As for your worrying part, you are worrying for nothing!!
 

bobtomay

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And if ignoring it burns your leg/lap/hand?

The best advice you will get is to not even mess with the fans at all, and let your computer control itself. Fans don't start for a reason, your computer is made to handle heat, and when it thinks it needs to cool down, the fan speed will pick up. Any fan speed above the idle speed will drain battery prematurely if you set the speed higher than it needs to be. As for your worrying part, you are worrying for nothing!!

I was watching an ESPN video (live) and my MacBook got so hot I thought I'd burn my leg (lap) or hand, on the left side.

Now granted maybe the MacBook (Intel, duo-core, 2+gigHz processor, with 8G RAM, running on battery as I was watching, and now as I write this) can handle the heat, but personal injury?

Shouldn't the fans turn on earlier to keep the extra 6Gig from melting itself (not the 6Gig, the book)?

Since I stopped watching the video (face it, graphic displays take power) my book has cooled easily. I'm also down to 37% battery, so have to shut down.
 
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This is why they're not marketed as "laptops", and I am being serious. Use a lap pad. You'll find that the uses manual even states not to use on your lap.
 
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My Macbook has always been comfortable on my lap, except sometimes when I have been wearing shorts. I have always thought that the cool running was a feature of Macs.

My wife's Compac actually burnt her leg. She has a fan cooled lap cushion to overcome this problem.
 
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Normal and sometimes not

Normally I use a tray table so I don't notice it. My son uses the arm-rest of the couch I was sitting on at the time. Now I know why.

But I think part of the problem is that I added more RAM (6 Gig), which might be used for ESPN live video in addition to the video RAM, so maybe the extra RAM contributed to the heat. Plus using the battery, which I don't normally power from, (usually AC) didn't help either.

Right now I'm on battery, doing basically the same as when I was watching ESPN, but the book is comfortable on my leg. The left side is warmer than the right, but by less than 10degrees F. The warmest is near the lid, opposite the battery.

I guess what I want, is sometimes just to ramp up the fan. My son used to play old Mario games via an emulator or some interface and when he had this book the fan would run like crazy to keep it cool. Sometimes I just would like it a bit cooler, like if I'm on a train and didn't bring a lap protection pad.
 
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I have also increased the RAM in my Macbook from 2G to 6G recently. However, I did notice an increase in case temperature. Perhaps the games I play on it don't stress the CPU.
 
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I have also increased the RAM in my Macbook from 2G to 6G recently. However, I did notice an increase in case temperature. Perhaps the games I play on it don't stress the CPU.

Correction: I did NOT notice an increase in temperature after the RAM upgrade.
 
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I assumed you meant "not" or "didn't".

Depending on the game, it should use CPU if processing intensive, but I haven't checked if MacBook has a video/graphics processor to handle the graphics or not or if it has RAM for the graphics. The RAM I added is likely for CPU intensive tasks, like searching within large documents, algebraic computations, even text editing especially when having to recompute the page numbers or chapter/section numbers when something is added in front of the items needing renumbering.

My son ran emulators or simulators to mimic whatever processor Mario games originally used, and that is CPU intensive.

My old PowerPC rarely got hot. Those chips and early Apple products were designed to not have to use fans. Intels are different beasts and almost always seem to require extra cooling.
 
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The Macbook doesn't have either a graphic card or dedicated graphics RAM. The Macbook Pro has both but not in the small screen base model.

I only want a small laptop. An 11" Macbook Air would probably suit me even better than my 13" Macbook. Perhaps that would run even cooler as well.
 
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As integrated circuits get smaller, and faster, they run hotter. The current chips are simply much faster, and much denser than the chips of 10 years ago. So the normal operating temps have raised. The chips themselves (the intel processors) are thermo protected, and will shut down if the operating range is exceeded. The fan speeds are also controlled based on temperature. Now, this is always a fine balance. There are power usage requirements within the product design that will influence what is considered an acceptable operating temperature. This is especially true on mobile devices, which is why no one markets them as "laptops” anymore.
 

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