Should get my new (used) Macbook Air Rev A tomorrow

[iGrant]

Hey,

I should be getting my new, used bought off of ebay, Macbook Air tomorrow!! This will be my 5 Apple laptop that I have owned. I don't remember what model my first one was . . . it came with OS 7 :eek, then I had a G3 iBook, G4 iBook, and a Macbook Rev A that literally died last week . . . may its motherboard rest in piece.

Is there anything ya'll could recommend me doing to Macbook Air, other than a full system install (which I will be doing), that will help MBA stay running cool and keep the battery life up.

My Macbook always ran hot, and I didn't feel comfortable keeping it on my lap, I'm hoping the Macbook Air will not be the same way.

I see CoolBook mention frequently in this thread, would ya'll recommend it for the Macbook Air?

Thanks
iGrant

 

[IgnatiusTheKing]

Coolbook makes the Rev A run cooler...as long as you're not running OS X 10.6.2. It doesn't seem to work at all on the latest update.

 

[iGrant]

Coolbook makes the Rev A run cooler...as long as you're not running OS X 10.6.2. It doesn't seem to work at all on the latest update.

I'm going to try to avoid coolbook as much as possible, I use smcFanControl on my old Macbook and Mac Mini which seem to work really well, so I was thinking of just using that to up the fan speed to 2000 rpm which I hope will keep the Macbook Air cool!!

-iGrant

 

[Abyssgh0st]

If you consider 50-65 C cool, then 2000rpm will do the trick. But you won't need smcFanControl for that, they're always on that.

 

[iGrant]

If you consider 50-65 C cool, then 2000rpm will do the trick. But you won't need smcFanControl for that, they're always on that.

I thought the stock fan speed was 1500 . . . and I hate using Celsius for the only reason is you tell me 50~60 and it means nothing to me. I love metrics but I can't stand Celsius.

I want this laptop to be quiet, if I set it to 3000 will it be too load? I know 3000 kept my Macbook cool and quite and it keeps my Mac Mini cool but I can hear the fan going . . .

Thanks
iGrant

 

[jrabbit]

I want this laptop to be quiet, if I set it to 3000 will it be too load? I know 3000 kept my Macbook cool and quite and it keeps my Mac Mini cool but I can hear the fan going . . .

I set my fan to 3200 when connected to power (for non-video stuff, temps stay below 50C), and 1800 when not (the fans will kick up higher as needed, of course). The 3200 setting is just barely audible, but it keeps the temps down; it's easier for the system to keep the temperature down than to bring it back down after a spike.

I have a Rev. A, and there's no way to avoid high temperatures when doing Flash or other video (games, etc.). I do recommend CoolBook, but it takes a lot of patience to find the right settings for your system (each CPU is unique in it's voltage envelope); CoolBook does *not* work with 10.6.2/Snow Leopard right now, though the developer has promised a fix by the end of this week.

Other things to recommend: Xslimmer (to reduce application file system size as well as RAM footprint), iFreeMem (to re-consolidate Inactive memory without rebooting), and QuickSilver (my favorite way to launch apps).

 

[timsutcliffe]

I've got a Rev. A, just the base spec one. I don't run Coolbook, and although I sometimes consider it, most of the time it runs just fine. When running normally the fans are at 2500rpm and I can only hear them if I place my ear close to the keys. Even when running at the max 6200rpm they're not particularly loud compared to my wife's MacBook.

I would recommend a Safari plugin called clicktoflash. I've only just come across it and it's great so far. It means anything flash will only play if you click on it, and YouTube videos are converted to H.264 meaning I can watch YouTube with my fans going crazy.

 

[iGrant]

I set my fan to 3200 when connected to power (for non-video stuff, temps stay below 50C), and 1800 when not (the fans will kick up higher as needed, of course). The 3200 setting is just barely audible, but it keeps the temps down; it's easier for the system to keep the temperature down than to bring it back down after a spike.

I have a Rev. A, and there's no way to avoid high temperatures when doing Flash or other video (games, etc.). I do recommend CoolBook, but it takes a lot of patience to find the right settings for your system (each CPU is unique in it's voltage envelope); CoolBook does *not* work with 10.6.2/Snow Leopard right now, though the developer has promised a fix by the end of this week.

Other things to recommend: Xslimmer (to reduce application file system size as well as RAM footprint), iFreeMem (to re-consolidate Inactive memory without rebooting), and QuickSilver (my favorite way to launch apps).

See I bought the Macbook Air so I could read websites with a smaller/lighter and quieter machine. I'm not talking about flash games, I do a ton of reading and forums.

I literally only plan to read websites, check gmail, and watch movies and tv shows streamed from my Mac Mini in my living room.

I have Xslimmer and it is a wonderful application. I need to look into getting iFreeMem and Quicksilver, I have not heard of either before . . .

Thanks for all the information!!!

I've got a Rev. A, just the base spec one. I don't run Coolbook, and although I sometimes consider it, most of the time it runs just fine. When running normally the fans are at 2500rpm and I can only hear them if I place my ear close to the keys. Even when running at the max 6200rpm they're not particularly loud compared to my wife's MacBook.

I would recommend a Safari plugin called clicktoflash. I've only just come across it and it's great so far. It means anything flash will only play if you click on it, and YouTube videos are converted to H.264 meaning I can watch YouTube with my fans going crazy.

Thank you for the information about clicktoflash, I will definately be installing when I get my Macbook Air tomorrow, I wish I had that for my Macbook, I bet it would have really helped!!!

All thanks for the information about the fan speeds, sounds like I will be setting it to about 2500ish!!!

Thanks
iGrant

 

[Thorbjorn]

Nice tip about clicktoflash, Tim. Just installed it and like what I'm seeing (or not seeing).

One thing I've done to try to free up CPU and minimize heat is to disable Dashboard via iStat Menus. I don't have Coolbook installed and haven't yet felt the need for it. Generally things run pretty well, even Hulu and YouTube, although fans will kick up.

 

[iGrant]

Nice tip about clicktoflash, Tim. Just installed it and like what I'm seeing (or not seeing).

One thing I've done to try to free up CPU and minimize heat is to disable Dashboard via iStat Menus. I don't have Coolbook installed and haven't yet felt the need for it. Generally things run pretty well, even Hulu and YouTube, although fans will kick up.

Isn't there a way to disable dashboard via terminal???

Thanks
iGrant

 

[alphaod]

Isn't there a way to disable dashboard via terminal???

Thanks
iGrant

Yes.

defaults write com.apple.dashboard mcx-disabled -boolean YES

Then

killall Dock

To reverse it, just change the YES to a NO

 

[iGrant]

Yes.

defaults write com.apple.dashboard mcx-disabled -boolean YES

Then

killall Dock

To reverse it, just change the YES to a NO

Thank you that is exactly what I wanted to know. I wish you could just enable and disable it in System Preferences, but oh well.

Its weird, a bit off topic here, but I have been using OS X since 10.3.3 and what a huge difference between 10.3.3 and 10.6.2 . . . its crazy!!!! 10.4 was huge, but 10.5 was even bigger!!!

-iGrant

 

[GeekGirl*]

Congrats with the A I have done all the Airs, A is the best.