Is my MacBook Pro fan running?

WBHovis wrote:

OK, I kept trying and finally got this:

Fan: 1253.57 rpm

CPU die temperature: 57.33 C

So the fan is running. Still wondering why I never hear it or feel any circulation around the vent...

thanks very much!

I do not see an issue here—

temps and RPM look normal.

Under a heavy load your fans can ramp up to 6000rpm— believe me you would hear the fans at that point sounds like a jet engine sitting on the tarmac just prior to take off.

The fans are always running, if your Mac is on the fans are on, they idle about 1000—1200 rpm.

Keep your Mac notebook within acceptable operating temperatures

 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201640

There's also 'macs fan control' to semi manually control fans, through selective use

of fan sensors & choice of speeds; variables exist in Macs with more fan than one.

• Macs Fan Control | crystalidea.com

https://crystalidea.com/macs-fan-control

And ideas with Activity Monitor can be useful:

• Activity Monitor User Guide [ Table of Contents ] - Apple Support

https://support.apple.com/guide/activity-monitor/toc

WBHovis wrote:

I hear a lot of comments about fan noise, but when I use software like Photoshop and Lightroom on my MacBook Pro (mid 2020 Intel) it gets quite hot, but I don't hear the fan or feel any air flow at the vents. Is there some diagnostic I can run to tell if the fan is working alright?

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 11.3

From the Terminal.app copy and paste:

sudo powermetrics -n 1 --samplers smc | egrep -i "FAN|CPU die|GPU die"

enter your psswd (will not echo on screen, type it in anyway)

it should return output....this would be telling

Password:

Fan: 1832.16 rpm

CPU die temperature: 58.40 C

GPU die temperature: 35.00 C

MacBook-Pro ~ %

About fans and fan noise in your Apple product

WBHovis wrote:

Oddly enough, right after I posted this I got a notice that a Big Sur update was available, so I told it to go ahead and install. The MacBook was sitting on a table next to me while it was going through the install and restart process, and I suddenly heard the fan running loudly for the first time since I’ve owned it (apparently the install process gets it really hot). I guess the fan has been running at a lower than audible level all along.

Yes.

I will add—if it ain't broke, don't fix it 😉