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My colleagues have been complaining about my computer making too much noise, and they're constantly asking me to do something about it.

On my Linux, I used to set a lower CPU frequency to avoid overheating during summer. Is there a way to do this on a Mac ?

I'm running a MacBook Pro (15'' early 2011) on Yosemite.

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  • Please give the exact model of Mac. It makes a lot of difference.
    – Tonny
    Jun 9, 2015 at 11:10
  • It's a MacBook Pro from 2011 and it's running Yosemite. Jun 9, 2015 at 11:21
  • Not a direct answer, but one possible reason why the fan speed is too high is if there is too much dust inside the Mac. Did you try opening and cleaning it?
    – PierU
    Nov 14, 2022 at 20:39
  • You could also try a utility that allows controlling the fan speed, e;g. setting a limit speed. The CPU will tend to overheat and will be automatically throttled by the system to cool down. "Mac Fan Control" has free version (I don't know what limitations it has). There's also iStat Menu (no free version).
    – PierU
    Nov 14, 2022 at 20:42

1 Answer 1

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You should be able to adjust CPU throttling (make it more aggressive and therefore quieter) using the command-line utility pmset.

I'm on Windows and don't have my Mac handy at the moment so I can't give more detail.
Try man pmset for more info on the command and it's parameters.

EDIT
I never got around to checking my answer and, as Václav Slavik pointed out to me, I should have because you can control most powersave settings with pmset but NOT the CPU throttling.

It seems the only way to do this is with messing with the plist files of the kernel extension that controls the CPU throttling.
That is tricky business and not something to average user should ever try to do.
For those that want to try anyway: Look for "CPU throttling" on the Apple StackExchange Site and will be several questions and answers that can point you in the right direction.

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    pmset has no such capability. Sep 14, 2018 at 8:05
  • @VáclavSlavík You are right. I never got around to checking my answer and you can indeed not control it with pmset. Will edit the answer (as comments can get lost) to make that clear. It seems the only way to do this is with messing with the plist files of the kernel extension that controls the CPU throttling. Not for the faint of heart. (And there is a good question with answer about that on the Apple.SE site.)
    – Tonny
    Sep 14, 2018 at 18:50

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