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squish · Feb 2, 2003, 03:34 PM

how are people finding their newly purchased tibooks? how are your fan problems? Does the second (the one in the middle) fan run constantly for no good reason? please explain in detail.

CyberPet · Feb 2, 2003, 03:43 PM

I did have a fan problem with the secondary fan running constantly and never turned off... ever.

I had an Apple Center take a look at it and they decided to replace the logic board. At the same time they did replace the DC-in card since it was having problems with charging the battery.

Now the fans are first of all running normal, the secondary fan only starts when the machine is working hard and turns off when it's not needed anymore. But the main plus is that the fans are running a lot more silent, I can hardly hear the primary fan and the secondary fan isn't at a level where it's annoying.

schk · Feb 2, 2003, 05:42 PM

i bought my tibook this month and have had no abnormal fan problems. while using ac power, the side fan will turn on and off, but the noise from it is minimal. the middle fan (the noisier one) comes on periodically but always shuts off after a while as well.

cambro · Feb 2, 2003, 07:51 PM

Originally posted by schk:
i bought my tibook this month and have had no abnormal fan problems. while using ac power, the side fan will turn on and off, but the noise from it is minimal. the middle fan (the noisier one) comes on periodically but always shuts off after a while as well.

My experience exactly (Ghz Combo, gig RAM, 10.2.3, purchased in Nov.), but doing heavy work on battery will also cause fan to come on low. Battery life is still excellent.

Lefty1ghz · Feb 2, 2003, 09:50 PM

You will see all different opinons about the noise levels. For those people who say there center fan doesn't run all the time, are you talking about when it kicks into a higher speed. My center fan runs whisper, quite all the time. Hardly noticeable. Will speed up under heavy use. My right side fan seems to be one speed only. It will come on after 20 to 50 min of even light work. It is louder than the center fan. Can be heard across a small quite room, but I would say it is not any louder than the hard drive in my 500mhz Pismo.
Hope this helps.

petek · Feb 2, 2003, 11:36 PM

I hardly ever notice the fan on my 1 GHz TiBook I bought in Dec. and even when I do it isn't objectionable.

schalliol · Feb 3, 2003, 12:02 AM

I bought mine in late Dec. It's not that loud, but they're on quite a lot.

iBorg · Feb 3, 2003, 03:10 AM

I got my 1 GHz Ti (with Superdrive and 1 GB 'o ram) in early December - it had to go to Apple's Powerbook Repair Center in Houston, TX early this month for a video distortion problem, and got the logic board replaced, which fixed that problem. I was hoping that, as others posted, my fans would be quieter, too.

Since then, however, my fans have been on a bit more, perhaps a little louder, but not bad, just noticeable (after the silence of my Pismo 500 with the whisper-quiet IBM Travelstar 48 GB harddrive!). Keep in mind that my Ti remains cool to touch, all the time, on keyboard and palm rests, and only luke-warm on the bottom! (that's much cooler than my Pismo felt, although it's fan almost never came on!) My electric blanket is way hotter than the bottom of my Ti!

There are 2 fans:
1. "primary fan" is the rear-center fan - this comes on periodically, is supposed to have 3 speeds, but mine is either on or off, at a fairly low volume. I don't have to push the processor much for it to come one, even surfing the internet makes it run periodically.
2. "secondary fan" is the right-side fan, which runs constantly while plugged into AC, whether the battery needs charging, or not. This is louder, but not bad - reportedly has only one speed. On battery, this only comes on when the Ti heats up.

I'm going to take my Ti to "my" Apple Store, for the "Genius Bar" folks to look at, and compare to demo unit fan noise levels. While my "fan noise" is a bit distracting, it doesn't sound "like a hairdryer," and if it's necessary for my Ti to keep cool, that's OK.

For now, I've found that my fans run a lot less since I picked up a $20 "Cool Pad" (made by Targus, got it at Best Buy), which is small, light, portable, and lifts up the Ti at a small angle, and allows air beneath it. It's made a tremendous difference, and my Ti runs more quietly now. I'm still jealous of the many Ti owners that claim a "silent" powerbook - this may only be a subjective difference, and maybe my hearing is more acute than others, I don't know .......

iBorg

squish · Feb 4, 2003, 07:27 PM

when i get my powerbook, i'm going to elavate it, then get a handheld (whisper quiet) fan and blow air across the underside of the machine. can somebody do this and tell me if it works well?

schalliol · Feb 4, 2003, 07:32 PM

So, are you hoping that this will eliminate the need for the fans? Even without the fans the 1GHz here stays cool most of the time (plugged in and fans are off now).

squish · Feb 4, 2003, 07:41 PM

but i've heard SO many people on this board claim the noise is a real issue. are you saying there isn't a noise issue, that would be awesome (i'm serious). I've never used a 1ghz Ti in a quiet environment (only an apple store) what is your experience with it?

schalliol · Feb 4, 2003, 07:48 PM

Mine arrived on 12/23 from direct shipment from production. It seems ok to me, but when all fans are going full blast it's not quiet. It seems ok to me though. I just guess it depends on how much you care. I find that one fan is often on, but if you have a cool spot for it, it may not go on (like right now it's on my desk flat and fine.

I also understand that it depends on how hard you use it. I'll often have both it and my desktop going so it may sit idle then. Just checking my email, etc.