What is the fastest recommended fan RPM?

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Level 1

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What is the fastest recommended fan RPM?

Hi there,

I have a Macbook Pro 13 inch Core2Duo at 2.4ghz (the base model from 2010). I am in a country where it is very warm and the room I am using my Macbook in is very hot and this causes my Macbook to also get hotter much more quickly when I'm simply internet browsing or listening to iTunes (low CPU usage).

I don't really have a problem with the temperature, but I have downloaded smcFanControl and I was just wondering, what is the highest recommended fan speed I can set without causing any damage to the fan itself? It lets you put it upto 6200rpm but I was curious if that may be too intensive for the fan on the highest setting and may cause any damage?

Thanks in advance

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7)

Posted on Aug 6, 2011 2:57 PM

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Answer 1

Kappy

Level 10

362,007 points

Aug 6, 2011 3:02 PM in response to louiscobs

The fans normally idle at 2000 RPM and have a maximum speed around 6000 RPM. Be sure to elevate the rear of the computer at least 3/4" to allow adequate ventilation. It's better to use an external fan than to run the computer's fans at high speed. You should get something to monitor the computer's temperatures before trying to increase fan speed because the computers SMC will elevate the fan speed normally as the computer gets hotter.

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Answer 2

louiscobs Author

Level 1

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Aug 6, 2011 3:10 PM in response to Kappy

Thankyou for the fast reply, and I like the point you made about elevating the laptop for ventilation - I already use an app to monitor the computers temperatures and it just seems that in this heat (I would really appreciate some rain sometime soon) the inbuilt SMC can't really 'keep up' with the sudden increase in temperatures, and that's why I downloaded fan control app, just to keep it even a bit more cooler when I am using the CPU more intensively. Thanks for your information Kappy.

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Answer 3

Kappy

Level 10

362,007 points

Aug 6, 2011 3:24 PM in response to louiscobs

If you use 50ºC as a target idle temp, for example, then you can experiment with increasing the fans' idle speeds using SMC FanControl. The software only impacts on the idle speed. Normal increases in fan speed above idle are still under the control of the SMC in the computer.

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Answer 4

Apr 18, 2016 3:24 AM in response to louiscobs

What part of the wortld do you live in?

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Answer 5

Apr 18, 2016 5:07 AM in response to louiscobs

Hi LouisCobs:

Here is a YouTube video where they talk about SmcFanControl and fan settings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn3Xwb4v8W4

Kim

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