A technology company I regularly talk to told me about this cool little tool that can really help keep your Mac Pro cooler by increasing the Fan RPM's inside the box. What's really nice is that the change in RPM is completely silent.
It's freeware called SMS FanControl and it's up to version 2.1.2. After installation you simply set the RPM you want for the various regions of the machine. In the case of the Mac Pro there are four regions and the default for these regions are 500 - 600 RPM. The folks suggested I set everything to 1100 RPM and within 5 minutes, my Mac Pro dropped from 95 degrees internal temp to 76 degrees internal temp. I know this because the tool also displays the current temperature at all times in the Mac toolbar along with actual RPM of the fans. As the day goes on my machine seems to hover between 76 and 82 degrees.
As we all know, heat is a killer of computers and I wonder if excessive heat is causing some of the unexplained crashes and problems some folks seem to experience with the Mac Pro. According to the website this also works on MacBook Pro's but I'm only running it on the desktop machine. Very neat little tool and wanted to pass it along.
wow ... i hadn't really thought about using my macbook pro in the kitchen .... our toasted sandwich maker has just died so the MacBook Pro doubles as a great toasted cheese and tomato sandwich maker .... I've found a heavy 3D render produces a 'well done' finish, whilst some internet browsing achieves a more 'lightly toasted' finish......
seriously though... this is a great app .... i just started an encode and watched the temp skyrocket! the fan kicks in and speeds up accordingly
While I do indeed like bacon and eggs, my all time favorite G5 cuisine is "G5 Wire-Wrapped Chicken." Truly yummy! Whereas many people on television warn viewers "not to try this at home," I thought Alton Brown hit the nail on the head when he gutted a G5, wrapped the wire around a chicken, plugged the G5 back into the socket and let her cook. Tender, braised and seared in all the right places for that carmelized brown that melts in your mouth. Only a G5 can generate the heat needed to roast flesh like that.
Yum!
For the complete cooking instructions, send $47.50 in unmarked bills in a Self-addressed, stamped envelope to:
Good Eats Attn: Wire-Wrapped Chicken Recipe 2750 Anystreet Rd. Anytown USA
Have you not tried G5 Fried Eggs yet? Once we found out the Quad runs at 145 degrees it was a no brainer. I mean if you can fry an egg on a sidewalk, why not on the G5 Quad? Add a little chedder cheese, a slice of bacon and Yumo! You have G5 Fried Eggs!
I think that my G5 does run at boiling point. I swear that Apple missed a selling point for the G5s when they forgot to mention that they could also cook meals when production deadlines loom. I think Walter said that they used G5s over at Good Eats to keep the foods hot and ready to serve.
Glad to hear the tool is so useful to everyone. Our G5 Quad is running at 145 degrees. Wish there was a control like this for G5's, but so far, we can't find one.
My MacPro desktop was running at 120+ degrees Fahrenheit. I raised the fan speed to 900 and it dropped it to 104 for most of the day. I just raised it to around 1100 RPMs and we'll see where it goes from here.
Professional Video Editor, Producer, Director since 1990.
Credits include multiple Emmys, Tellys, Aurora and CableAce Awards.
Owner / Operator of Biscardi Creative Media, a full service video and film production company with about 65% of our work in HDTV. The show you know us best for is "Good Eats" on the Food Network. I developed the HD Post workflow and we also create all the animations for the series.
Favorite pastime is cooking with pizza on the grill one of my specialties. Each Christmas Eve we serve the Feast of the Seven Fishes, a traditional Italian seafood meal with approx. 30 items on the menu.
If I wasn't in video production I would either own a restaurant or a movie theater.
