June 27, 2006 12:30 PM PDT
MacBook Pro 17-inch SMC Firmware Update released
Apple has released an SMC (System Management Controller) firmware update, which adjusts fan behavior in the MacBook Pro 17-inch.
Though Apple is not clear about the improvements brought by this update, it appears to increase fan activity in an attempt to reduce excessive heat.
The update is available via this download link:
After downloading and installing the firmware update package, the updater application will be installed in the /Applications/Utilities folder and will launch automatically after restart.
Apple provides the following instructions, which are to be enacted after downloading the update:
- Quit all other open applications.
- Click Restart in the MacBook Pro SMC Firmware Update window and wait for your computer to restart.
Please let us know your experiences after applying this update. Is your MacBook Pro running cooler?
Resources
sensitivity?
This update has nothing to do with the AirPort card. It updates the OS
independent SMC firmware to lower the overall operating temperature of the
MBP 17" (so fans will come up more earlier/more often).
- by donrichardsoth June 27, 2006 10:56 PM PDT
- I ran a before and after test for this firmware update on my MacBook 17? -
- Like this Reply to this comment
-
(4 Comments)processor load was Parallels running XP and performing an AVG full scan plus
OS X running Quicktime playing a movie.
In both runs the temperature topped out at around 83 degrees C.
Verdict has to be that at that load there is no change in temperature control. I
was not aware of any change to fan behaviour - it was just coasting in the
background at idle speed so far as I could tell.
There is a lot of concern ?out there? about the operating temperature of the
Intel MacBooks, but I cannot find any information as to what is ?normal or
acceptable? for this product. In other words are we (MacBookPro owners) all
worrying unnecessarily ? apart from the discomfort of some lap users. The
app Hardware Monitor and Temperature Monitor set a Warning Limit (Trigger
Alarm) of 75 degrees C as its default temperature ? but this is used as the
default for both the Disk and the Cores, so perhaps it is only arbitrary
anyway. Surely there is an Apple spec somewhere?