smcFanControl: Cool Your Laptop Without Being a 1337 H4xx0rz

I posted a few days ago about how to force your fans to run faster and earlier thus cooling your computer. I also said I did not have the balls to mess with my system files; however, reader Paul directed me to a nice little application called smcFanControl which does the same thing without the hacking. It seems to work quite well and has cooled my computer by 6ºC by doubling the fan speed.

smcFanControl is a menu bar application much like Caffeine. They both do simple tasks and they both do them quite well. Although there are preset settings (Default and Higher RPM) you can make the fans run as fast as you desire (be warned, this may break your fans and will decrease battery life).

Product Page: eidac

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Written by Michael Zhao on January 5, 2008 at 4:04 am - smcFanControl: Cool Your Laptop Without Being a 1337 H4xx0rz has 7 comments - Categorized in Cool OS X Apps, Hardware Tips, Intermediate Tips

7 Responses to “smcFanControl: Cool Your Laptop Without Being a 1337 H4xx0rz”

1. 
   Brad Jasper
   How loud do the fans get when you crank them up?
   
   That would be my only concern as I think they'd get annoying if they were very loud and running all the time. January 5th, 2008 at 11:25 am
   
   
2. 
   Michael Zhao
   I didn't notice any real difference in sound running at 4000 rpm January 5th, 2008 at 11:59 pm
   
   
3. 
   Michael Zhao
   Well it's no worse than a desktop, and quieter than my brother's Vista. If you're listening to music or watching TV you don't really notice it January 6th, 2008 at 2:23 am
   
   
4. 
   James
   What temperature are you getting? February 2nd, 2008 at 1:16 pm
   
   
5. 
   Michael Zhao
   it tends to keep itself at around mid-high 30's when running at 4000 rpm. if you put it on your lap, it'll run about low 40's February 2nd, 2008 at 3:49 pm
   
   
6. 
   James
   Ah cool, I was a bit weary upping my fan speed. I get the same result as you with 3000rpm. 4000 is just too noisy for me =) February 3rd, 2008 at 6:15 am
   
   
7. 
   blargumentor
   I run between 2500 and 3000 and it stays between 40-45. If I'm running heat intensive programs, I up it to 4k... March 10th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
   
   

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