New Monitor Causes The Fan To Be On Often

[Smallwheels]

Last week I got a new 23" monitor from Dell and connected it to my Mac Book using an adaptor to VGA. It has the resolution of 1920 X 1080. I'm loving it for several reasons: the first is the size, the second is the matte screen doesn't cause eye strain, and third, I can almost view two browser windows side by side (not quite).

It is great for me to be able to have a video conference on one side and text edit on the other side for taking notes.

In the past I used just the Mac Book screen. Sometimes I would attach a 15" (1024 X 768) monitor to use as a secondary screen, meaning both were in use. Sometimes the fan would come on when doing that, but not for long.

Lately I've been using the 15" matte screen with the Mac Book in clam shell mode because of a new eye strain problem. The fan would rarely come on using it.

The thing that usually got the fan to come on was watching a DVD.

Since using the larger screen I've noticed that the fan comes on very often compared to when I used the built in screen or the 15" screen. Is this common or has something changed that should concern me?

The fan noise isn't really noticeable because I have a room fan and an air cleaner with a fan in the same room. Their sound masks most of the sound of the Mac Book fan.

Though the Mac Book is in clam shell mode I do not fully close the lid. When it is fully closed it gets hotter and the computer runs a little bit slower. The lid is kept open about two inches at the front to let the air circulate over the keyboard. The Mac Book screen is off.

By the way the monitor cost only $169.00 and the price just dropped to $159.00. It is a basic VGA or DVI-D monitor with no frills. It tilts up or down. There is no height adjustment, camera, or USB hub. The model number is S2309W.

Having such a large size monitor really makes my days on the computer so much more enjoyable. I recommend one to anybody who wants a better computing experience no matter the brand.


Smallwheels

www.MrMoneyHelper.com
http://DoNotDieYet.blogspot.com
www.MySpace.com/Beninate

[salmi]

I am having a similar problem with my Mac Mini (intel). I just bought a 23" HP display with a recommended resolution of 1920x1080. At that setting, I get occasional loud noise (fan? motor?) when using spotlight, when turning the mini on or off, and every few hours for no apparent reason. When I set the monitor resolution to 1680x1050, the problem disappears, but the image is no longer acceptable (everything seems to be too wide).

I am considering returning the monitor and getting a 22" display instead, although I am very happy with this monitor.

Any suggestions?

[salmi]

As mentioned in my last post, I was experiencing a similar problem with a new 23" (1920x1080 resolution) monitor and a Mac mini. Fan revving up when I did a Spotlight search, and about every 2 hours for no apparent reason.

Today the issue seems to have cleared up. I downloaded smcFanControl, and set so that the temperature is hovering around the low- to mid- 50s C,
Also cleaned up my desktop. Not sure which if either of these did the trick.