Loud Fans on Macbook Pro?

[BlowingBubbles]

When I play sl on my new 13 inch Macbook Pro 2011, i-7 the fans are constantly spinning loudly. Is this okay?

Other than that the game plays smoothly and the graphics are great. I am a new mac user and worry this would fry my macbook over time.

Anyone else play on a 13 inch MBP and have the same loud fans?

*edit*

Thanks for your answers. The fans seem normal, not grinding, they are probably just loud to me. When I played sl on my boyfriend's older pc laptop the fans are not audible but I also can't play on anything else but low settings on there. So it took me by surprise to hear them them rev up on my macbook.

I lowered the graphics before but it didn't make much of a difference with the fans. sl is mostly quiet for me so the fans are noticeable but i'm getting used to it. I can get used to the fans which bugged me at first as long as I know my laptop won't get too hot, so I'm going to get a laptop cooler thing too.

[Rolig Loon]

Be glad that your fans speed up.  SL puts a heavy demand on your graphics card, which then generates a lot of heat.  I have four sturdy fans in the tower on my desktop -- cheap insurance against overheating -- but laptops don't have room for extra fans, so it's easy to fry one. You might actually want to buy a simple cooling stand or something to lift the Macbook off the table so it gets good air circulation under it.   Worry if your fans don't spin loudly while you are in world.

[Paladin Pinion]

It's usually okay, but the advice to keep the bottom of the Mac off a table is good. There are a number of stands available. That said, my older MacBook doesn't rev up its fans that way, so it may be that your graphics settings are too high. You could try setting them a little lower in preferences and see if that helps. I generally run graphics on High instead of Ultra. Unless you're doing photography, the difference isn't going to hurt the SL experience.

[Peggy Paperdoll]

I'm not sure what you mean by "loud".  If it's just the fans spinning and slapping air due to the speed of the rotation, then I agree with Rolig........it's a good thing.  But if it's a grinding, grating sound (like bearins or bushings rubbing against each other, that's another story..........a precursor to a fan failure.

 

A cooling pad is something well worth the $35 to $40 USD that they cost..........laptop computers are just not made for heat producing programs.  Graphical and computational intensive program work your CPU and GPU to their max..........that makes them heat up.  SL is one of the most GPU intensive (and, to some degree, CPU) programs available to the general public.  You need to constantly think about heat............or you're likely to burn something up.  Desktops, since they have more room for fans and cooling devices, aren't as prone to frying themselves (though that happens to them too).

[Luc Starsider]

As have been said, it is normal that the fans spin fast when you are in SL, and you should be glad they do. There is always a chance somethings overheat inside your Mac; there are a lot of components inside a tiny space.

My advice to you, as have been adviced by others, is to get a cooling stand/pad to rest your mac on while you are in SL. They don't usually cost very much, has a fan built in, and helps, as Palading said, to raise your mac up so you get some air circulating around it. They do help, so it is well worth investing in.

- Luc -