Apple silences MacBook Pro fans

Owners of 17in MacBook Pros have complained of overheating and excessive noise

Apple has released a firmware update for its 17in MacBook Pro notebook designed to silence the computer's noisy fans and solve overheating issues. 

A spokesman declined to provide vnunet.com with further details of the issues, saying only that the update promises to " adjust fan behaviour".

Users of the Intel-powered notebooks have complained about overheating and noise issues. With the processor running at full capacity, the units can become too hot to touch.

Cooling fans in some of the notebook also started making erratic noises that have been described as "mooing" or "whining".

Apple released a firmware update for the 15in MacBook Pro in May that addressed the fan and overheating issues in those models. 

The problems were blamed on the thermal paste that Apple used on the Intel Core Duo processor, graphics processor and northbridge on the unit's logic boards. 

While some users reported a temperature drop after reapplying the paste, this fix did not work in all cases. Opening up the unit would void the warranty in any case.

Users claimed that Apple did not take their complaints seriously, prompting one user to rally MacBook Pro owners to collectively call the firm's help desk last May. 

Apple pre-empted the protest with the release of its firmware update for the 15in MacBook Pro units.

Click the link for the firmware update for Apple's 17in MacBook Pro notebooks.