[Ti] Running Cool - additional suggestion

[Bill Planey]

One thing that I've been using since 2002 is a Kamas powerbook stand, so my
machine is always elevated (at home at least) and the underside breathes
well.  Even so, the fan comes on occasionally, especially when doing
something like burning a DVD or saving a huge photoshop file.  (My machine
is a TiBook 400 with 768 mb RAM and a 7200 RPM drive.)

A certified Apple technician friend of mine suggested the additional step of
opening up the keyboard and leaving it open while working.  This works for
me because I use an external keyboard most of the time.  It is unsightly,
and you should not do it if you are clumsy in a drink-spilling way, and you
need to be careful of the fragile ribbon cable attached to the keyboard...
But when I do this the fan NEVER comes on no matter what is being processed,
no matter how warm the ambient room temperature is.  I am sure that this
precautionary step is one of the reasons I've never had a problem with my
TiBook.

It only takes a second to snap it open or closed (I don't bother tightening
the clear screw that has the Num Lock light in it anymore).

Bill Planey


On 12/18/04 3:54 AM, "John Lyon" <jelyon at mac.com> wrote:

> I've relegated <gasp!> my TiBook 550 to the role of iMovie/iDVD/iTunes media
> creation/distribution hub, and, as has been discussed previously, when under
> load (say, pulling songs from iTunes in the living room and playing songs
> locally from iTunes - or just using creating a DVD with iDVD) the fan kicks
> on.
> 
> While I would expect the fan to come on when the TiBook is compressing video
> in iDVD, I'd not expect it to come on when it's just playing and serving
> music via iTunes.
> 
> I'm curious about any long term effects due to the fan running at high speed
> for several hours at a time, and what products y'all have used to keep your
> TiBook running cool as cucumbers.
> 
> I put rubber feet (rubber?) on it several years ago - when I determined that
> the feet that came on it were...maybe not next to useless, but close.
> Supposedly they help with air flow, but I doubt they do very much.
> 
> Save sitting it on an ice pack when creating DVDs, or only burning DVDs
> during the winter while sitting out on the front porch, what's a poor boy to
> do?
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> John
> 
> (P.S. Don't tell me to "get a job"!)
> 
> 
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