The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    MacBook mysteriously crazy fan speed

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by dyancuevas, Mar 25, 2009.

  1. dyancuevas

    dyancuevas Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    27
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    My MacBook has been acting weird lately. Its fan speeds just go up to as high as 5k while I'm surfing the web (Firefox), 3k on average. No embedded flash videos, etc. I've searched the net for solutions and none of them work for me. I tried checking my Activity Monitor, and the app that uses the highest CPU % is Firefox at 12% at most. I happened to see Quicksilver go up to 97% for a second then it disappeared. I tried looking for any hidden Print Jobs but I had none. I have 1 stuck process according to Terminal, but that's basically it. What could be the problem? I have a 2.4ghz white MacBook, 10.5.6.
     
    dyancuevas, Mar 25, 2009
    #1
  2. Colton

    Colton Also Proudly American

    Reputations:
    1,253
    Messages:
    2,086
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    Is there something blocking the fan/vent from circulating air? There might be some dust, or some particles that are not allowing the proper air to get around in there and cool it off. There might be something near your CPU that is only triggering the fans when something CPU intensive occurs.
     
    Colton, Mar 25, 2009
    #2
  3. namaiki

    namaiki "basically rocks" Super Moderator

    Reputations:
    3,905
    Messages:
    6,116
    Likes Received:
    89
    Trophy Points:
    216
    Is there a way that you can check the CPU core temperature?
     
    namaiki, Mar 25, 2009
    #3
  4. Colton

    Colton Also Proudly American

    Reputations:
    1,253
    Messages:
    2,086
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    iStat Pro could do that for you, as a dashboard widget or as a menu bar option. ;)
     
    Colton, Mar 25, 2009
    #4
  5. fastrandstrongr

    fastrandstrongr Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    146
    Messages:
    517
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    which macbook version do you have? the intel x3100 macbook runs incredibly hot and ive noticed that the fans are frequently on... things to consider: hot gpu, poor thermal paste application, something blocking the vent/dust (as suggested).
     
    fastrandstrongr, Mar 25, 2009
    #5
  6. joshuaLX

    joshuaLX Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    182
    Messages:
    535
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    My X3100, 2.4GHz Pennryn sits in the high 30s, low 40s when just web browsing. HDD temps are usually in the mid 20s. iStat pro won't tell you the core temp. You need an app called hardware monitor for that.

    [​IMG]
     
    joshuaLX, Mar 25, 2009
    #6
  7. fastrandstrongr

    fastrandstrongr Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    146
    Messages:
    517
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    that's interesting. maybe it means that the one ive had experience with had poorly applied thermal paste...
     
    fastrandstrongr, Mar 25, 2009
    #7
  8. dyancuevas

    dyancuevas Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    27
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Colton: There seems to be nothing blocking the air vents. Besides, the fan speeds go haywire even when I'm using Firefox only. CPU A temp is 60deg on average, at 1800rpm.

    fastrandstrongr: WHat do you mean by thermal paste application? I tried searching the web for any other causes, such as ATSServer going crazy, font cache problems, etc. They don't seem to be the causes.

    joshuaLX: We have the same model, but my unit is typically 60degs (accdg. to iStat Pro) on average. Why is that?

    [​IMG]

    --> This is from when I'm only surfing the web, at 1800rpm.
     
    dyancuevas, Mar 26, 2009
    #8
  9. Luke1708

    Luke1708 Notebook Virtuoso NBR Reviewer

    Reputations:
    352
    Messages:
    3,799
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    105
    download smc fan control (a simple google search will give you a download location) and force the fans into 2000rpm. I have 3 profiles: default(2000rpm), medium(3800rpm), high (6200 rpm).
     
    Luke1708, Mar 26, 2009
    #9
  10. fastrandstrongr

    fastrandstrongr Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    146
    Messages:
    517
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    apple has been known to slather on thermal paste on the processor. its not an efficient way - nor the correct way - to apply thermal paste and it will cause your machine to overheat.
     
    fastrandstrongr, Mar 26, 2009
    #10
  11. joshuaLX

    joshuaLX Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    182
    Messages:
    535
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Try resetting the SMC.
     
    joshuaLX, Mar 27, 2009
    #11