Fan noise on new MBA

[kungfuslippers]

I just got a new MBA, 4GB 256SSD which runs pretty snappily.

However I've noticed that:-

a) The fan is pretty noisy even if I'm doing something simple like only using firefox or chrome. Maybe 4000 rpms

b) If I plug the charger in - the rpm ramps up to 6k and of course the fan noise goes up as well

c) CPU temp is normally around 76-80 celsius most of the time

d) Battery life doesn't seem great. I get maybe 2.5 hrs after just surfing.

Is this normal ?

I've had a macbook white for while and the fan on that only ever got comparably noisy if I was doing something a bit intensive like compiling in XCode or video editing.

 

[tbobmccoy]

I just got a new MBA, 4GB 256SSD which runs pretty snappily.

However I've noticed that:-

a) The fan is pretty noisy even if I'm doing something simple like only using firefox or chrome. Maybe 4000 rpms

b) If I plug the charger in - the rpm ramps up to 6k and of course the fan noise goes up as well

c) CPU temp is normally around 76-80 celsius most of the time

d) Battery life doesn't seem great. I get maybe 2.5 hrs after just surfing.

Is this normal ?

I've had a macbook white for while and the fan on that only ever got comparably noisy if I was doing something a bit intensive like compiling in XCode or video editing.

Make sure Flash isn't running, but if it's not, that's an unusually short battery life for your stated use. I'd take it in (or return it and wait a week or 2 for the refresh).

 

[aristobrat]

If there's a process running that's using a lot of CPU, that will cause C, which in turn causes A and D.

Try running the Activity Monitor app (in your Applications/Utility folder). Click on View > Dock Icon > Show CPU History. This should change the dock icon for this app to a visual history of how much of your CPU is being used.

Whenever you notice the CPU usage look significant, double-click on the dock icon (which brings up the Activity Monitor window) and then look at the CPU tab. If you have it set to show All Processes, and then sort by clicking the % CPU column, it should pretty quickly show you which process/app is causing the problem.

 

[nowstime]

I used to have the 13 inch ultimate model and the fan noise was killing me. I think there's not much you can do...others say it's bearable but for me it was a bit too much...

 

[aristobrat]

IMO, the fan should only make noise when the system is hot, and the system should only get hot if there's a program that's really cranking the CPU.

 

[eagandale4114]

Post a screen shot of activity monitor the next time it does this.

 

[kungfuslippers]

Post a screen shot of activity monitor the next time it does this.

Screenshot as requested

iStat Pro reports CPU Temp - 84 celsius, Fan Speed - 3.8k, sounds noisy
Running Chrome showing this page
Running Firefox showing my browser home page - http://www.google.com

After switching on from full charge I initially had 100%/3.5 hrs battery time left (initial CPU temp 40), then after maybe 20min of light surfing this dropped to 77%/2.25 hrs battery time left (final CPU temp as above - 84)

 

[merrickdrfc]

Your dock is doing strange things causing the high cpu usage which is causing the fans to ramp up, never seen the dock do that before

 

[kungfuslippers]

Your dock is doing strange things causing the high cpu usage which is causing the fans to ramp up, never seen the dock do that before

Yeah, I thought it looked pretty strange, but I didn't have my macbook white to hand to compare.

So anyway I killed the Dock process and rebooted. Its now using a more sensible 0.1% CPU time and Fan speed is around 2k. I guess the docks parent process doesn't spawn a new process with a reboot?

Thanks for the tip!

 

[Resqu2]

Your dock is doing strange things causing the high cpu usage which is causing the fans to ramp up, never seen the dock do that before

My MBP did the exact same thing after the 10.6.8 update, something to do with Parallels. I think Parallels even posted an update a little while ago. Keep an eye on the dock and if it does it again do a search for "dock using 100 percent of processor" the fix is simple and I had to do it on both of my Macs

 

[kungfuslippers]

My MBP did the exact same thing after the 10.6.8 update, something to do with Parallels. I think Parallels even posted an update a little while ago. Keep an eye on the dock and if it does it again do a search for "dock using 100 percent of processor" the fix is simple and I had to do it on both of my Macs

Yes, you were right. I had Parallels 6 installed with 10.6.8

For others who have the same problem, the link to the fix is here:

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_...ter-os-x-10.6.8-update-for-parallels-6-users/