I installed iStat Menus, and the fans start when the highest temperature has been 50C, but like now it is 70C and the fans aren't above normal (cant hear them).
This graph below shows part of watching a 1080p movie, the middle is the Fan speed, the top and bottom are the CPU and GPU.
What is the typical temperature for a retina MacBook Pro? 70C (CPU Die) seems very high for only browsing the web?
This is my 3rd rMBP, and the other 2 have only ever turned the fans on while playing Civilisation V on the highest graphics settings (understandable). So this makes me thing something is wrong. I've tried resetting the SMC and it has reduced the number of times the fans turn on, but still they turn on at low temperatures.
Also do the fans turn on based on temperature, or based on something else?
(Also I've actually swapped the machine 4 times at the Apple Store (display issues), and the Manager told me this is the last time I can do that, so is there anything I can do without going to the Apple Store, like email someone at Apple?)
Best Answer
That's due to the new asymmetric fan blade spacing apparently spreads the noise across a higher range of frequencies. source: http://appleinsider.com/articles/12/12/20/patent-filings-detail-retina-macbook-pros-quiet-asymmetric-fans