[ibook_steve]

Fans in this 2010 MBP and my previous 2007 MBP have been the bane of my existence. I know I push my system sometimes, but naively (perhaps), I think that if the 4 cores usage percentage is low, my fans shouldn't be running at full speed.

My typical setup at work (where the fans bother me the most) is connected to an external display and running Parallels and Chrome. Granted Parallels is a CPU hog and Chrome is a memory hog and I can understand heating the CPUs and GPU up when I'm using them, but if I'm idle, my fans are still spinning. I've attached a Temperature Monitor snapshot.

Any suggestions? Do I just have to live with this? (I'm guessing yes)

Steve

[jmiddel]

This might help: iMac Fan Noise Fix | iMac HDD Fan Control

[ibook_steve]

Is that really applicable to an MBP?

Steve

[P]

I think you probably have to live with it, yes. Things are running rather hot from that screenshot. Not that things are going to burn out, but they will scorch your thighs if allowed to run any hotter. I'll repeat my perennial advice, though - clean those fan vents! They clog up with dust over time if the fans keep sucking. If the MBP is flat on a desk, it can also help to lift it an inch or so with a couple of erasers in the back.

You say 4 cores, but you don't actually have 4 cores - you have 2 cores with Hyperthreading. This means that if you have 2 cores loaded to max, the CPU is running flat out despite showing only 50% usage. This also means that it's probably a good idea to keep Parallels restricted to 2 cores.

There are stands with cooling fans included that you might consider. The idea is that the bigger fans in the cooling stand are quieter and help the included fans run slower, but I haven't tried them myself.