[Rafal]

Hi All,

I have a macbook music server running snow leopard and upgraded memory. It's connected via M2Tech hiface USB to SPDIF converter to my dac in a Linn Akurate. I use this laptop to only play music so it should not be taxed at all but pretty often the cooling fan kicks in and runs very loudly screwing up my music listening expierience. Is there anything I can do tho my macbook to prevent that? Would switching to a different Mac computer get rid of this problem (I hope that this is not the only answer since I don't really want to get a new computer).

I would really appreciate your help.

Cheers,

Rafal

[ratso]

usually i wouldn't recommend buying something new, but seeing as how you mentioned it... if you do wind up not finding a fix/going down that road i was very concerned about this with my new mac mini i bought as i owned the original model mini and it too was pretty noisy. but the new mini is really to my ears completely silent when listening to music - i cannot hear it and i am really sensitive to fan noise (i hate it). i am pretty much convinced these mini's are the ultimate HTPC. cheap too.

[avta]

I agree with Ratso. I use a Mac Mini and also find it to be silent. Another option would be to try have external hard drive to store your music files. I don't have a massive collection so I use a small fanless usb drive. That would be inexpensive and would reduce but not eliminate some of the computer's work.

[Rafal]

Thanks guys for the suggestions. I will think about the Mac Mini but then I'll need all the peripherals too which ads up. I do have my music on the external hard drive (500gig about 60% full) but it's not solid state. Do you know if there is some maintenance/configuration I can do to my macbook to help it operate more quietly?

Cheers,

R.

[avta]

All I can think of is to be sure the permissions are verified. I use a program called Onyx on a regular basis. It's free. You could increase the memory but I'm not certain that would eliminate the problem completely. You may be running into the limitations of using a Mac Book.

[clearlight]

I wonder if applying the software mods used to make the mini a better music server would reduce the load on the macbook and keep the fan from running more often.

[SteveRB]

I've used a lot of Mac books through work over the past few years.  A couple of models really heat up depending on the processor inside. And then, the fans kick in... One quick fix was to simply get better air flow underneith. Try propong the MacBook up off the table surface, I found even an inch at the back works better. You could even use small heat sinks on the hottest parts as feet.


If you're extra clever, I remember that some people actually had a terminal command to control the fan speed, but I felt it put the hardware at risk.

[skunark]

Review what you have running in the background.  Even review which applications you have installed and remove the cludder.  Websites and applications running flash or java tend to be very inefficient on macs so don't have a browser window up on a page that uses either one.

I have had a few MacBooks and MacBook pros and never had a loudness issue with just iTunes running, but sure do something intensive and fans can get loud.   My HP laptop wins the loudness wars over the Apple laptops I've owned and that one I can blame a virus scanner and poor cooling design that collects dust   

[AllynW]

Also check position.  Is the MB in a hot position/location?  Laptops run hot. If you can elevate the unit, surround it with air.  If you do add a Mac Mini you can control all functions (except On/Off) wirelessly from the MB with screen sharing.

Good Luck.

[Rafal]

Thanks!

I didn't know that I can use my macbook to control Mac Mini. Is there a small cheap touchscreen available (other that Ipad) that can also be used to control Mac Mini over wifi or bluetooth?

I will check the cooling and see if that helps. right now my macbook sits on a shelf beside a tube amp. The amp gets pretty hot but I think the MB is far enough not to be affected.

Cheers,

R.

[skunark]

If you enable the IR remote, your an practically use any remote to pause, play, next and back functions, otherwise you can look at VNC/Remote Desktop solutions on any device like an android or iphone/ipod touch.   Logitech has the IR codes.   Of course you can use Apple's "screen share" to have your laptop view the desktop of your mac mini.     

I would probably encourage you to look for an old iPod touch, the remote app works on all versions of the hardware, and honestly I don't think you can find a better remote for iTunes than that and that works on Macs or Windows.

[won ton on]

to anyone that knows. i would like to use a mac mini,an i pad 2 ,and 2 external hard drives( one for backup ) and a separate cd/dvd drive as a music server.will i be able to rip and control everything with the i pad 2 or should i just get a 21 inch i mac..........thanks

[Rafal]

Hi All,

I have some new developments. I put my Macbook on the blocks to help with cooling and I thought that it helpd. For a while I had no fan noise. Yesterday the noise returned and I noticed that my CPU was at about 97% capacity. The only thing that was running was iTunes and the music was playing. Once I stopped the music (with the iTunes still open, the CPU usage dropped to less than 10% and fan stopped. I'm wondering why the iTunes takes up so much of my CPU capacity.  The set up I have is pretty simple and the music is stored on the external HD connected via USB.

Any ideas?

Cheers,

Rafal

[dmccombs]

Rafal,

   If you only have 2GB of memory this could lead to high CPU usage.  If your Macbook is having to swap music files to the disk a lot as the play, due to low memory, the cPU may have to work harder.

Darrell
Mach2 Music