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iWrite · Jul 11, 2003, 11:49 AM

Question is simple enough: Does the fan run on your Powerbook? If so, how often? And also tell us which model you have.

I have the Titanium 1Ghz and the smaller quieter fan runs pretty much all of the time, but it can't be heard unless I put my ear up to the case (maybe it's just the machine working and not a fan after all?)

I've had the regular fan turn on maybe three times in total. I use the Cyber3 Tibook Tote and Tilt from DrBott.com and I really love it because I think it keeps the system cool due to the fact that it lifts it up in the back about an inch allowing air to circulate underneath.

I have no complaints at all about fan noise or heat -- the system is cool as a cucumber. Just put a temperature strip that I use for our son to take his temperature (it is put on the forehead) that is self-sticking on the bottom of the system where it's the warmest and it's reading 99.2f. That's pretty cool, I think.

Anyone else?

DigitalEl · Jul 11, 2003, 11:55 AM

No. My day-old 12" PowerBook doesn't run at all anymore.

For the one hour it did run, it was quite hot before I shut it down. That was under 10.2.3, however. I understand it runs cooler under the 10.2.6 update.

Great idea about the forehead temperature strip for the bottom of your 'Book, by the way.

juanpacolopez · Jul 11, 2003, 12:17 PM

Originally posted by iWrite:
Question is simple enough: Does the fan run on your Powerbook? If so, how often? And also tell us which model you have.

I have the Titanium 1Ghz and the smaller quieter fan runs pretty much all of the time, but it can't be heard unless I put my ear up to the case (maybe it's just the machine working and not a fan after all?)

I think there are three fans actually. The small one that's on all the time is over the CPU... then there's one main fan that blows out the back (notice the slits in your port cover) and then another that blows out the right hand side that both kick on when it works hard.

I'm just going by where the sound is coming from here

My small fan is on most of the time... the larger ones only come on when I play 3D games or render video or some such.

iWrite · Jul 11, 2003, 12:59 PM

DigitalEl:

That's terrible about your Powerbook. What are you doing about it now?

Crusoe · Jul 11, 2003, 01:10 PM

Mine only turns on after about 1 hour of DvD use for about 5 minutes or if playing 3d games it's on 50% of the time. It's barely audible.

I have a TiBook 500Mhz on a coolpad.

scb · Jul 11, 2003, 02:10 PM

I have a 500 MHz TiBook and my wife has a GHz TiBook.

The fan on my TiBook runs only when I load up the CPU. On my wife's, though, the fan runs constantly if MS Word is open, even if the machine is sitting there not doing anything. It drives me crazy enough that I put it to sleep often just to get it to pipe down.

This is yet another reason to wait for the next gen 15" powerbook before upgrading.

nayr x · Jul 11, 2003, 02:20 PM

My fan will only turn on when it is really thinking hard, wich is actually pretty often while Im @ work. The rest of the time the fan doesn't usually come on. Except when it's unplugged from the wall i notice the fan comes on a lot more fro some reason, which seems stupid, because that must drain power...

__________
R.Stover
"Nature's President"

djjava · Jul 11, 2003, 02:24 PM

hardly ever....

using iMovie, iDVD...

jaxxe · Jul 11, 2003, 03:18 PM

When I first got my 12" PB in May, the fan came on periodically when it became hot, but soon after installing the 10.2.6 update it rarely comes on anymore. It's all good.

wolfen · Jul 11, 2003, 04:36 PM

I have a Ti 1Ghz. It depends. Room temperature is a variable with a huge impact. The Neverwinter Nights demo immediately sends my laptop into "titanium frying pan" mode.

1) Plugged in, battery fully charged, and set to 1ghz --> If I've got Photoshop, iTunes, and Safari running at the same time...or something like that. A 3D game will immediately send it into FAN HELL, and only divine intervention rescues the system.

2) Plugged in, battery needs charging, and set to 1ghz --> As soon as I plug it in, regardles of what I'm running, and constantly. It stays on until it sleeps, it's done charging , etc. There are variables I haven't figured out, but I'm sure room temp has something to do with it.

3) Not plugged in 1Ghz --> Not immediately. I can get away with light processing. If I do get the fans kicking, they cut off a lot easier than in situations 1&2.

When I'm running with reduced processing (667), the fans do not come on nearly as much. I rarely *need* 1Ghz. It's just nice when I've got a lot going on at once or am playing with iMovie, etc.

Again, room temp is a big factor. In winter the room is about 69 or so and it's fairly quiet. Lately the room has been getting to 76, and they come on more easily. I've been running reduced processing as a result.

wolfen

tritonus · Jul 11, 2003, 04:54 PM

Originally posted by djjava:
hardly ever....

Same here. What an improvement compared to the TiBook G4 867 I had.

tdvorak · Jul 11, 2003, 05:17 PM

I have a 15" 800 and my fan only comes on occasionally. Especially when I have many apps open and am working with some kind od intesity, ie...video or Photoshop.

slffl · Jul 11, 2003, 06:45 PM

It all has to do with CPU usage which causes the most heat. Just get a CPU monitor. The fan in my 17" PB will always come on within 4-5 min of 100% CPU usage depending on conditions.

mrmister · Jul 11, 2003, 07:41 PM

It came on more when I first got it, right when they came out in November. I have no idea if updates to the OS made the difference, as it is warmer now and I should have more problems, not less. Nevertheless, it has gotten quieter.

If I run NWN or UT2003 the fans do their thing with style, but otherwise it is fine, and i always run on 1Ghz when plugged in.

gauchogirl · Jul 11, 2003, 08:09 PM

My 12" fan runs rarely, mostly when I use it on my lap and it gets really hot; but even then it doesn't stay on all that long, and it's not too loud which makes me happy

TheBum · Jul 12, 2003, 12:09 AM

My 12" PowerBook's fan runs in only two situations: when playing 3D-intensive games or when encoding DVDs. The former is likely due to the heat generated by the 3D part of the nVidia chip; the latter is likely due to the Altivec unit kicking in. Within several seconds after ceasing either of those activities, the fan turns off.

DigitalEl · Jul 12, 2003, 01:27 AM

DigitalEl:
That's terrible about your Powerbook. What are you doing about it now?

All better now, thank you. Exchanged it out for a new and working unit.

Updated to 10.2.5 and it's hot as hell after about an hour and a half of use. No fan yet, though. Interesting to see if it runs at all cooler under 10.2.6, as I believe I heard somewhere.

mousehouse · Jul 12, 2003, 11:25 AM

i have a tibook/1G and experience regular fan activity... for the last few months i've played with the settings a bit and found that there are a few variables that have a big influence,

(a) room temperature. right now it's in the high 80's and i makes the small fan come on pretty quick. because i'm only using safari now it stays off...

(b) apps. some apps use CPU cycles even when doing nothing. one of those apps is the intensely stupid MS Word. when not active and no marcos running it still eats up as much as 30% of my G4!

(c) heat circulation. when i have the bottom lifted somewhat the fans don't come on nearly as much. the bottom half of the tibook radiates a lot of the heat. using it on a wooden desk isolates the heat and makes the fans come on instantly.

(d) charging. when i charge the battery while using the tibook, both fans will come on eventually.

i dislike running the tibook at 667MHz, because i payed for a 1G G4... not a 667. but, i now find myself running it at that speed more and more.

i don't find the small fan bothersome, but when both fans are on it sounds like my old desktop that it replaced, which i hate.

stevesnj · 07:46 PM

NO joke I heard it go on in my Pismo about 5 times in 3 years...the heat disipation is good on the PowerBooks though the heat ends up on the bottom or the wristrest on the newer PB's where it is not wanted.

My Al 17" goes on just under heavy usage

javabeans · Jul 13, 2003, 01:05 PM

My 17" PB's fan seem to be running more often in the summer time when I don't have the AC turned on. Pretty much everyday when I used it for more than 2 hours continuously.

In the winter, I hardly hear anything!

Toutgood · Jul 13, 2003, 02:04 PM

My fans are on a lot lately, but it is pretty hot in this apartment.

I mean, this is a common laptop problem. I really push my pb, it is afterall a workhorse. I expect it to huff and puff a bit. And besides, the thing is an inch thick, and flat on the desk. How else is heat from the processor supposed to escape, people? I may try the lift and tilt method, but it's really just a question fo the ambient temperature and the kind of work I'm doing. In the cooler months the fan rarely came on, and for only short intervals.

If it can't take the heat, it shouldn't be in the damn kitchen!

Toutgood · Jul 13, 2003, 02:05 PM

oh by the way it's a 15" ti 1 ghz

ae86_16v · Jul 13, 2003, 02:58 PM

I have a PB G4/800 and the fan rarely comes on. The funny thing is that it turns on more often when it is just idling than doing work. Other times when I am playing games it comes on after about 30 mins or so. When I am just surfing the web or just writing in Word, it never comes on.

By the way, it is on my Wooden Desk.

ae86_16v · Aug 6, 2003, 03:01 PM

Since 7-13, I brought a 17" and sold it. The fan was even better than the 800mhz I had before, and it almost never came on.

Now I have a 867MHz and it seems like the fan is always on. What's up? I thought the fan was only always on on the TiSDs?

The Placid Casual · Aug 6, 2003, 03:36 PM

Originally posted by ae86_16v:
Since 7-13, I brought a 17" and sold it. The fan was even better than the 800mhz I had before, and it almost never came on.

Now I have a 867MHz and it seems like the fan is always on. What's up? I thought the fan was only always on on the TiSDs?

I found there is a lot of fan activity on my 867 too. Bizarrely the machine never seems that hot though...

It is too good a machine to worry about though, I think that is just the way it is... After my MDD powermac experience, this thing is damn near silent!

Flash2000 · Aug 6, 2003, 03:40 PM

Mine has come on twice, when I had my 12" Pb plugged in, running a second monitor, and while on ichat, itunes, surfing the web, and playing a streaming video. But 90 percent of the time its not on. Heat not bad either for a 12" PB

schmoe · Aug 6, 2003, 05:16 PM

My Ti 15" @ 1ghz, sitting on an iCurve, only has the high fan come on when the system load is fairly high. I think the low fan is usually on but it is so quiet that other household noise drowns it out.

Link · Aug 7, 2003, 08:17 AM

Hey iwrite where did you get that thermometer? I've been looking for those for years now and haven';t seen them for quite a while o_O

yoyoman · Aug 7, 2003, 10:12 AM

Originally posted by Crusoe:
Mine only turns on after about 1 hour of DvD use for about 5 minutes or if playing 3d games it's on 50% of the time. It's barely audible.

I have a TiBook 500Mhz on a coolpad.

Does that cool pad really work.

cambro · Aug 7, 2003, 02:01 PM

Ghz TiBook, Gig Ram, 10.2.6

The fan is on very frequently when on power adapter. When running on battery (and thus reduced preformance mode), the fan comes on consistently only when connected to net via modem or when doing really intense things.

There are at least 2 stages of fans and they are not quiet but tolerable.

Fan noise on the Ti's is, IMO, less than ideal. Hopefully fan noise is reduced in the next iteration of PB.