Cooling pad for Macbook

Depending what overseas you're talking about, I have [this one|http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=370982] that goes on sale for $20us quite often. The usb fan helps cool things down and the white color compliments my WhiteBook. I use it when I'm in bed and on the sofa. For desk/office use, I use a [Griffin Elevator|http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/elevator] -GDF

I wasn't meaning anything other than the fact that the products that I was mentioning might not be available everywhere. These are ones that I'm familiar with in the states which could of been the overseas destination. Since he's in Hong Kong instead, they might have an entirely different set of offerings but I imagine that they would have similar products.

I'll second that nice belkin coolpad as a suggestion.

Let's make sure it's not overheating and is just doing its job!
Here's some more information to consider:

~I've noticed on my machine running 10.5.6 that the fan kicks in at a slightly lower CPU temp than it did before. Not sure if the same holds true for 10.4.11 as I only have that on my iBook.

~How warm does your machine actually run when idle? How about when running several low-key processes?

~The fan in a MacBook WILL run more frequently than the fan in a PowerPC-based computer like the iBook. The processors used in MacBooks run a bit hotter than the ones in previous computers; this means the fan will kick in sooner than you may expect.

~I can't say if an external cooling pad will make an extreme difference in temperatures. On my iBook, it's enough to keep the internal fan from kicking in but I've yet to try it with my MacBook. It certainly won't hurt to have one though.

~If you're doing anything processor intensive (editing video, running software like Photoshop, or many games that take up all/most of the screen), the fan WILL turn on and I don't believe the cooling pad will stop it. Like I've already said, it certainly won't hurt though.

~Lyssa

Are there any other processes eating up CPU in Activity Monitor? If not I'm stumped as to why your computer's so noisy. Perhaps Tiger is partly to blame--that's just a thought, I've no way to prove it.

~Lyssa

Hmm. Those items in the dock aren't all running, are they? Just convenient shortcuts, yes?

Maybe the fan in your machine is quite a bit different from the one in mine. That might explain the RPM issue. I wouldn't advise lowering the rpm speed too much without confirming how low it can safely go.

Not sure if it tests a fan, but you might want to give the Apple Hardware Test a try. Pop the Install Disc 1 into the drive and reboot, holding down the D key while booting.

~Lyssa

What's the minimum speed that smcFanControl lets you choose? You may as well adjust the speeds and see which one gives you the best results.

Also, for the thread you've got going about BootCamp, repost in the BootCamp forum. You should be able to get more answers there.

~Lyssa

Not sure if you can control that. A quick look through FireFox preferences doesn't show me anything. What mail site brings up that spike? I'll test it on my machine and see what results I get.

~Lyssa