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Stinkysteve · Dec 30, 2002, 11:35 PM

I have a Pismo 500 and I'm not sure if the fan is coming on. I will use it for 3 to 6 hours at a time with the hard drive set not to sleep. Am I supposed to hear the fan click on? I have just about 8 months of Apple Care left and would like to get it fixed under coverage if there is a problem.

TazmanDman · Dec 31, 2002, 12:08 AM

its normal for the fan in the pismo to not come on unless it gets really hot in there. the only time mine ever comes on is if i'm in a 75+ temp room playing Diablo II for a couple of hours....then you'll hear it.

consider it a blessing that you don't hear it...sounds like a mini blow dryer when its on

just my .02

Stinkysteve · Dec 31, 2002, 12:51 AM

So if the fan is broken and does not come on, can I expect some flakey things to happen with programs, freezing, and locking up, (like my old 486 would do before installing a fan on the chip)? I can't remember hearing the fan for the past few months. Thanks.

shadowplay · Dec 31, 2002, 01:25 AM

My Pismo fan never turns on, and I have a slower CPU than you (the G3 400). Not even when i used to play Quake 3, which should have taxed the hell out of my processor.

You'll know if it's on if you hear a whine from the middle left side of your PowerBook's keyboard. The heatsink for the CPU is there, and so is the fan. If you hear the whine from the back right of your keyboard, that's not the fan, it's just the hard drive.

In fact, the only noise coming from my Pismo was the hard drive whine. The original Pismo's came with pre-liquid filled bearing hard drives, and those things are loud as hell, as loud as a cooling fan. Damn thing was so annoying that it felt like sonic torture, so I bought an IBM 40GNX, and the thing is whisper quiet now. Much easier on my nerves.

If your fan is broken, it will be hard to tell unless you really stress your processor. Then you can expect everything from sudden and extreme slow downs to spontaneous shut downs. Trust me, if your system is overheating, you will know.

seanyepez · Dec 31, 2002, 05:38 AM

Even if your fan were broken, it wouldn't necessarily cause any problems. The Pismo is a very cool design.

Fans circulate air to prevent overheating. The Pismo's CPU doesn't generate very much heat. Even my overclocked Pismo's CPU under full load doesn't need its fan.

Your PowerBook's fan has never needed to come on. I don't think you have a problem.

seanyepez · Dec 31, 2002, 05:42 AM

Remember that your CPU is safe until it gets to about 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Then you have to start worrying.

seanyepez · Dec 31, 2002, 05:44 AM

I'm sorry. I won't edit my posts. I'm on 46,667 baud from Santiago in South America, and I'm not willing to take the time to go through the agonizing process of navigating the forums more than I have to.

Anyway, I also want to say that your CPU will not necessarily be damaged by overheating. The first symptoms of overheating are system instability and crashes. That'll tell you something's wrong immediately.

tooki · Dec 31, 2002, 06:18 AM

My 400MHz Pismo's fan has never come on.

It's unlikely that your fan would fail, since in pismos, they aren't used much, if at all. And even so, a fan's not an expensive part to replace.

tooki

seanyepez · Dec 31, 2002, 06:25 AM

While the fan itself is very inexpensive without markup, www.pbparts.com wants over $40 for it!

CyberPet · Dec 31, 2002, 07:56 AM

I wouldn't worry at all. My Pismo (400 MHz) has never turned on its fan in 3 years, and I use my laptops pretty extensivly. I.e. 12-16 hours a day (almost non stop) and I run applications such as Photoshop and iTunes at the same time. Stuff that makes the fan on a 667 MHz TiBook come on in 5 minutes.

The Pismo is a great machine, it gets a bit hot on the bottom, but not extremly hot. So if you can't stand the heat you could always have a binder or something else under it to protect your legs from the heat (I never use anything).

SwarmyCurve · Dec 31, 2002, 09:25 AM

Initially, I was unsure if it even had a fan or if it was always on or something, but that was before I really heard it!
When it comes on, watch out! Its very loud, luckily it only came on like maybe 5 times in a couple years.

legionare · Dec 31, 2002, 10:43 AM

Play Beach Head 2000 for two straight hours...

Paul S · Dec 31, 2002, 02:01 PM

My wife has a Pismo 500 and it only comes on when she's sitting in bed or on the couch with a blanket over her and the computer over that. The blanket sometimes bunches up when she moves and covers the air vents partially or completely, then the fan kicks in after a while. It's very loud compared to the normal sound of the machine. When that happens, she knows to move the machine so the vents are open and also lifts the computer up and rests it on something else so heat can dissipate from the bottom. The blanket usually makes the bottom very hot as well. That's the only situation that has ever caused the fan to come on.

seanyepez · Dec 31, 2002, 02:23 PM

You could get a CoolPad. See my review at reviews.macnn.com.

How do you play Beach Head 2000 for two hours straight while maintaining your sanity?

legionare · Dec 31, 2002, 02:49 PM

You don't. I was washing dishes afterwards while the following was going on in my head, "I gotta keep the tap water running slow or I'd run out of the 200 bullets really fast..."

dvd · Dec 31, 2002, 05:21 PM

yep when i had a 400mhz pismo, the fan never came on, i always played with it maybe it would get started up. my pismo got real hot during the summer, so i usually use those portable fans and place it on the left side haha. oh well. At least the pismo was quieter than my tibook now.

angelmb · Dec 31, 2002, 05:21 PM

I only 'hear' the Pismo (500) fan once, when I almost close the lid and Pismo was playing a DVD and other stuff. Never again.

So the noise I hear (original A revision Pismo with an IBM 12 GB) is the hard disk!?, after all it is not really annoying for me.

One question, lately I have the Pismo runing folding@home app. for long time, at least 16 hours daily... and the desk under my Pismo is very hot, so you can figure how the Pismo is. Could you tell me about an app to measure the CPU temperature under Mac OS X?

Stinkysteve · Jan 3, 2003, 11:17 AM

Thanks for all the help. I get better results from this forum.
I was getting paranoid with all of the G4 PowerBook posts about heat and fan noise.I will get a cool pad or that podiun thing in the future. I think I'll stick with the Pismo for a few more years, it's a real nice machine for my needs. Thanks again.