Fan Control - 1.2

I've generated 2 new versions of Fan Control, one for the Intel-based iMacs and one for the MacBook/MacBook Pro which has some extended control capabilities over the original Lobotomo Fan Control version. For screenshots and (free) downloads (with source code) see:

iMac Fan Control

Extended MacBook/MacBook Pro Fan Control

The iMac version allows separate sensors to drive the control of each of its 3 fans and the extended MacBook/MacBook Pro version allows fan-control via the CPU and/or GPU temperatures (useful if you play games on your laptop). There are also some other minor enhancements (see the ReadMe files).

I've also tried to make it easy to adapt the source code for other systems ... e.g., a version for the Mac Pro that uses different sensors to control different fans (or groups of fans).

Hope these are useful to others.

I just upgraded to a new (2/2008) MacBook Pro with the latest 2.4Ghz Core 2 Duo "Penryn" processor. I had a 5 year old PowerBook G4 that was very quiet. I almost never heard the fan. With the new MacBook Pro the fan noise was noticeable although the computer didn't feel that hot. I tried using smcFanControl which worked but ONLY allows you to increase the fan speed, not decrease or adjust the "graph". The Apple default setting is 2000 rpm and that is the lowest limit smcFanControl allows on the MacBook Pro. Fan Control 1.2 allowed me to greatly decrease the background noise and further tweek fan speed settings. Even 1800 rpm was quieter. Now I can get down to 1200 - 1500 rpm and can only hear the hard drive noise! I'm sure this tweek will save on battery use as well. HEY, I know what you are going to say.... But Fan Control allows me to set the "graph" so if the temp starts climbing above 50˚C (I set mine to 48˚C) then the fan speed ever so gradually climbs. Seems very smooth and not noticeable. Heck, if your a serious power user, you can set your fan speed minimum to up to 3500 rpm if you choose. I have only had the computer for a day, but I appreciate having the ability to control the fan speed specific to my use and liking! I also installed it on my older iMac with the Core Duo to quiet it down as well. It runs cool with the fans at 1000 rpm. Now if I could only set the processor speed lower to max out battery life....

Before taking decision to buy MacBook Pro I was browsing forums to get familiar of what shell I expect from this piece of HiTech.
Moustly I get the message that MBP is getting quite hot. The reason for this was named that manufacturer have defined big treshold before fan starting works. To adjust this was recomended to use Fan Control.
I would say that this is moustly true if you are loading your Mac quite highly. In case you are doing some web surfing or documents/spreadsheets editing it is Ok to use default manufacturer settings.
Please keep in mind that Fan eats you battery :)
In general Fan Control is small, nice and working software. If you know what you are doing you'll find it really usefull.

Regards,
Sergey

Easy to use and for most of us, you just leave it alone. However, it's nice to have an ability to control the fan for special computing needs. Fan Control works well with the Mac mini and appears to be very accurate in its temperature and rpm reporting. I especially like its threshold graph. Does a nice job of monitoring and controlling the temperature of my CoreDuo mini. Does not corrupt Apple's cooling fan limits. The only minor issue I have is that I'd like a working RESET and Enable/Disable buttons.

I in initially loved this app, being that it allows the user to tweak the fan's base speed, and the temps at which the acceptable limits are.

However, at some point after initially setting it up, I checked the pref pane, and noticed that it wasn't working properly. The graph shows a single red line at the top, the sliders are all set to the extreme left, and the fan RPM values are strange.

If the dev reads this, anything you could tell me that would help?