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MacBook fans out when watching video

post #1 of 11
9/29/07 at 8:34pm
Thread Starter 
I have a new MacBook Core 2 Duo 2.16 GHz with 1 GB RAM. I have noticed that the fan really takes off when I watch a video, like this one on the FSJ Blogspot.

When I go into Dashboard to check it out using iStat Pro the CPU is running in the 60s and the fan is up around 6000 rpm. Normal seems to be around mid-50s and 1800 rpm.

Is this because of the GMA video chip for Intel?

Would more RAM help?

I have been thinking about upping it to 2 GB (OWC is only $69 USD).

Thanks for all help.
"Too much of a good thing is great." Mae West
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post #2 of 11
9/30/07 at 3:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by donebylee View Post

I have a new MacBook Core 2 Duo 2.16 GHz with 1 GB RAM. I have noticed that the fan really takes off when I watch a video, like this one on the FSJ Blogspot.

When I go into Dashboard to check it out using iStat Pro the CPU is running in the 60s and the fan is up around 6000 rpm. Normal seems to be around mid-50s and 1800 rpm.

That doesn't seem right. Does the fan kick in like that if you do other stuff that brings your CPU above 60%? For example encoding a movie, does it kick in straight away?

Quote:
Originally Posted by donebylee View Post

Is this because of the GMA video chip for Intel?

Nope.

Quote:
Originally Posted by donebylee View Post

Would more RAM help?

Not likely - I doubt that the video is making safari max out your ram.

Also, what version of flash do you have? Just right click the movie to see.
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post #3 of 11
9/30/07 at 3:46pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marvin View Post

That doesn't seem right. Does the fan kick in like that if you do other stuff that brings your CPU above 60%? For example encoding a movie, does it kick in straight away?

I don't have any video to encode. I have had this happen three times so far and each time it has happened while playing back video, and I think all of the videos have been on You Tube.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Marvin View Post

...what version of flash do you have? Just right click the movie to see.

The Flash version is 9,0,47,0 (which Adobe's site says is the latest) and I'm running the beta of Safari version 3.0.3 (522.12.1)

BTW, I just played the video again and watched the system through iStat Pro and though the CPU temps reached 68, the fan never got above 2100 rpm (CPU was at 35%).

Weird that. No fan run up this time although the other night it did it repeatedly.

Thank for your help, by the way, I appreciate it.
"Too much of a good thing is great." Mae West
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post #4 of 11
9/30/07 at 4:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by donebylee View Post

I don't have any video to encode. I have had this happen three times so far and each time it has happened while playing back video, and I think all of the videos have been on You Tube.

Yeah Flash video can be a bit of a resource hog. Even Flash adverts these days get a bit ridiculous. I've seen single CPU G4s max out there CPU visiting a site with Flash ads.

Quote:
Originally Posted by donebylee View Post

Weird that. No fan run up this time although the other night it did it repeatedly.

You didn't have it sitting on your lap or on bed covers or something did you? I find that if you have a laptop on those kind of things, it tends to heat up more. Also avoid blocking any of the vents.

What I used to do with laptops was get a hardback book and sit it underneath the laptop and this usually kept things a bit cooler.
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post #5 of 11
9/30/07 at 4:47pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marvin View Post

Yeah Flash video can be a bit of a resource hog. Even Flash adverts these days get a bit ridiculous. I've seen single CPU G4s max out there CPU visiting a site with Flash ads.

You didn't have it sitting on your lap or on bed covers or something did you? I find that if you have a laptop on those kind of things, it tends to heat up more. Also avoid blocking any of the vents.

What I used to do with laptops was get a hardback book and sit it underneath the laptop and this usually kept things a bit cooler.

Actually, I had it in my lap. I usually sit with my knees somewhat apart so the edges of the laptop are held in place by my legs, but I may have gotten lazy and let it sit on my lap. I will try the book trick, sounds like something that would easily work for me.

Thanks.
"Too much of a good thing is great." Mae West
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post #6 of 11
9/30/07 at 8:54pm
Thread Starter 
Here's a quick update: it may be the version of NetNewsWire I was running. Apparently there is a known bug that caused MacBook fans to run out of control. I am now running the beta which is supposed to have fixed this problem as well as a memory leak that I thought was iTunes, but may have been NetNewsWire.

We will see as I run this over the next few days.
"Too much of a good thing is great." Mae West
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post #7 of 11
10/11/07 at 8:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by donebylee View Post

Actually, I had it in my lap. I usually sit with my knees somewhat apart so the edges of the laptop are held in place by my legs, but I may have gotten lazy and let it sit on my lap. I will try the book trick, sounds like something that would easily work for me.

Thanks.


( I use a flat wooden breadboard.

someone I know said they used a defroster plate (with heat pipe iirc). )

QUESTION:

does anyone know how many fans there are in a MacBook?

I'm using the "Fan Control" plugin for System Preferences, and it reports :

"Left Fan: 3543 RPM Temperature 56.2 ℃
Right Fan: -1 RPM"

I'm guessing that the -1 either means the fan is not there, or is there but not working - no idea which.

The fact that the laptop always runs warm, even with a rather high fan speed, suggests that it is the latter - in which case it probably was not working from day one.

Any ideas please?
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post #8 of 11
10/11/07 at 1:28pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Greg Lewin View Post

QUESTION:

does anyone know how many fans there are in a MacBook? ?

iStat Pro reports 1 fan on my MacBook.

BTW, since moving to the beta version of NetNewsWire I have had no more problems so I guess that was it.
"Too much of a good thing is great." Mae West
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"Too much of a good thing is great." Mae West
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post #9 of 11
8/1/11 at 2:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marvin View Post

That doesn't seem right. Does the fan kick in like that if you do other stuff that brings your CPU above 60%? For example encoding a movie, does it kick in straight away?



Nope.



Not likely - I doubt that the video is making safari max out your ram.

Also, what version of flash do you have? Just right click the movie to see.

hi

i have exactly the same problem with my 13" macbook - its 4 years old, runs on OSX, and everytime i watch videos on youtube, the rpm climbs to speeds of 6000+. It starts to decrease the minute I close the page. I run Firefox btw.

Can someone help please?
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post #10 of 11
8/1/11 at 3:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marvin View Post

Yeah Flash video can be a bit of a resource hog. Even Flash adverts these days get a bit ridiculous. I've seen single CPU G4s max out there CPU visiting a site with Flash ads.



You didn't have it sitting on your lap or on bed covers or something did you? I find that if you have a laptop on those kind of things, it tends to heat up more. Also avoid blocking any of the vents.

What I used to do with laptops was get a hardback book and sit it underneath the laptop and this usually kept things a bit cooler.

What if the MBP was on top of a piece of glass sitting on a desk? Thanks
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post #11 of 11
8/1/11 at 4:10am
Quote:
Originally Posted by rumah View Post

hi

i have exactly the same problem with my 13" macbook - its 4 years old, runs on OSX, and everytime i watch videos on youtube, the rpm climbs to speeds of 6000+. It starts to decrease the minute I close the page. I run Firefox btw.

Can someone help please?

Are you watching them at a higher resolution e.g 720p? Also, have you tried using the HTML 5 version of Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/html5

Click join the trial (you can visit that page again to switch back). It will switch the videos to play using HTML 5 instead of the Flash plugin.

The fans shouldn't automatically jump to full speed though and you may have to reset your SMC, which controls the fans:

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3964

You can also use 3rd party fan control software such as:

http://www.lobotomo.com/products/FanControl/

This allows you to force the computer to ramp the fans up slowly based on the measured temperature.

Quote:
Originally Posted by marvfox

What if the MBP was on top of a piece of glass sitting on a desk? Thanks

As long as it's a hard surface, it will allow air to pass under the machine - the MacBooks aren't so good as they have a flat base but the Pro and Air have feet to raise them up a bit. You can use a perforated metal base for the Macbook.
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