MBP temps

I just had my MBP really hot.

I put it on Best Performance in the battery tab and the fans spun up to max and the proc. showed 71 Degrees C.

I put the infrared thermometer on the bottom and it showed 119 degrees F. Thats crazy.

Does better performance really just ruin this machine like that?

 

Well I don't think it should be getting that hot.

I don't know for sure, but other frequent Mac users (like cashmonee) will comment on this.

 

Well, its hot, but won't hurt the internal components. The components can withstand much higher heat without damage.

Anyways, its not normal at all. Try not to set it at Best Performance. Normally in average tasks your MBP should only be around 45-60 C. If you want to keep cooler, try using SMCFanControl to adjust fan speeds.

 

45-60 C? Right now I am running two high level computing applications, converting movies for my iPod, and I have iTunes, Firefox with multiple tabs, and Google SketchUp open, and my temperature reading is 84 degrees F, which is around 30 degrees C

The Macbook Pro seems to have the same heat problem as the previous generation Powerbook G4's did. I use a Powerbook G4 at work and it heats up to around what the OP said. Often times over 140 degrees F during average use, and not unusual for it to go above 150 degrees F.

 

Yes, the MacBook and MacBook Pro run hotter than comparable PCs, because Apple designed them more for passive cooling rather than large, loud fans. So instead of using large fans to cool down the computer, Apple designed it so that they would rather cool down the computer by using its casing to dissipate heat.

To clarify, in case someone gets confused: the Macs do have fans. They're just not as loud as other average PCs.

 

I know they're not close to failure temps, but they're still ridiculously high.

And 84 degrees is crazy low, only ten degrees above room temp? You have a magic chip


Needless to say 120 degrees isn't very lap comfortable. I wasn't needing best performance and wasn't really doing anything intense. I just wanted to see it. Didn't expect that.

 

The temperature problem is THE reason I returned my MBP last year. The thing is just too hot for practical use. When I called Apple, they said that the MBP was a notebook, not LAPtop, therefore, not suitable for use on laps. If temperature is a big concern for you, I'd suggest you get another laptop.

 

I wouldn't say it's a "big" concern. This was one incident where it was out of control though.

Stupid that apple would play the semantics game with notebook/laptop. Same difference as they say

 

In my MBP the temp goes to 70C only when im doing intense things like transferring 5000+ images into iPhoto or 30 gigs of music into iTunes. Otherwise the temp is below 50C.

 

I'll ask a related question here-how practical is it to run the CPUs at full blast all the time, running Folding @ Home? I wouldn't think twice on a Windows system, but am concerned about shortening a Macbook Pro's life because it seems like it's almost designed to NOT be run at full blast all the time.

 

I don't see why the MBP would be any different from a PC with regard to CPU running at full blast. Its the same CPU!

 

Yes, but the case is super thin, etc.

 

It seems like the case is a massive heat sink at times. If you are running your CPU at full blast the fans will be running at full blast and the case will get a little hot, but if temps are really high the CPU will shutdown. It is the same CPU max temp threshold for PCs as it is for Macs...

But i still don't think running a CPU, any CPU at max capacity all the time is a good thing, in a PC or in a Mac. Can you show me otherwise?

 

For a macbook pro ... i wouldn't advise running the cpu at full blast all the time.. the tight packaging means that most components will be bearing the brunt of the heat signature of the cpu .. and that's bound to have an effect on the components at some point ... notebooks aren't designed to run at full tilt for too long ... desktops have much more of a buffer zone regarding this thanks to devices being spaced out and there being much better heat sinking capabilities with desktops ... stronger fans.. liquid cooling ... arctic cooling .. what not!

but then i digress... you've asked about whether it's any different running a windows machine at full tilt vis a vis a mac system...
in that comparison .. i have to say .. neither is advisable .. (not for prolonged periods of time)

 

I assume you're just talking about notebook, right? It's nothing at all to run it full blast in the average Windows desktop.

I'm not sure what to think. The head of the Folding @ Home project actually uses a MBP as his main system, and lots of people run it, but...

I wouldn't have the same worries on a Dell, where it's got a lot more space for the components (although possibly the metal case actually does help dissipate heat too just by being metal...)

 

+1 here

just surfing arouns/typing -> 38-42 C
using Eclipse (compiling, running, etc) -> 55-60

Week 31 MBP btw... Veeeeery happy with it! =D

 

Surfing with itunes and ichat and bittorrent = 50 C

That one time doing nothing more than that was 71 and bugged me.

How are you guys getting by with the 38-42? Which MBP?

 

I actually almost wanted the slower 2.2GHz CPU thinking it might help keep the thing cooler. Finally went for the better model only because of video RAM.

 

Do you have to run it at full blast? I thought Folding was all about running in the background?

In any case, congrats on the MBP!

 

I think it has something to do with the ambient air temp in the room too.

 

It does run in the background, ordinarily making sure 100% of your CPU is used. Sounds like using your hardware to it's fullest makes it loud, at the least.

I'm really, really conflicted on this MBP...

 

Of course it does . I just guess 75 for a room temp.

In my room right now it's about 76 or so and the proc is at 58 C.

I'm not even doing anything stressful. I might bump up the fan speed a bit.

 

Ambient temperature is about 77-79 (college class/commons rooms). Model is a 2.2, week 31. Just surfing/reading stays around those temperatures

 

Damn. 2 things.

1. You're college is hot.

2. I have a 2.4 week 37. And it's hot. Do you use SMC? Or just let the mac control temps.

 

I have seen mine go to 90c when it was converting video.

 

um ouch i had my mbp hit 155 f today...im guessing that aint good....not sure why its that high but everything seems to be working finee

*imthinking my hgh temps have something to do with limewire.


normally mines at 40-50'c at my 3600rpm and thats the reading from smcfancontrol

 

155° Fahrenheit is approx. 68° Celsius.

That's completely normal for a MBP.

 

Well, it going 68 C isn't too bad (compared to other MBPs). As long as it doesn't stay at that temperature for a long time. 68 C is not enough to damage the components.

Before I used SMCFanControl, my MacBook would always hit 70 C every time I watched a YouTube video.

 

well mine hits the 68-70'c only when im on like 2 dif web pages..limewire..itunes and aim running...


right now its at 49 with lime wire..internet..and aim running...


im very impressed with this computer on how much it can run at a time.. if ths was my gateway it would have frzen 300000000 times already



i love ittttttttt

 

As I said, it may have to do with the webpage using a lot of Flash animation...whether that be YouTube or others. It really heats up the notebook.

So don't worry about the MBP going about 70 C. Its not good to have it consistent there, but it won't hurt it. 80 C won't either.

 

Web Browsing with iTunes: 47-50
Gaming (Warcraft III): 81(CPU)/82(GPU)

With my cooling pad (active):
Web Browsing with iTunes: 42-44
Gaming (Warcraft III): 80(CPU)/81(GPU)

With my cooling pad (active) + smb fancontrol (3000rpm):
Web Browsing with iTunes: 36-40
Gaming (Warcraft III): 67(CPU)/70(GPU)


Generally, I think smbfancontrol has greater effect than my usb cooling pad. However, when combined, they give a huge cooling effect!

 

I don't know what the deal is with Flash. It, and slow web pages ramp up my Dell too. I mean I can play a game, have Folding at Home running, and do media conversion, and it stays fairly constant. But Flash can instantly make the thing noticeably louder (and this is on a desktop!)

 

I have a 2.2ghz mbp that I bought last December and the temps that I'm getting right now when idle is about 55C. When I'm surfing the net and watching videos it generally goes up to around 62-66C. Thats when the fans kicks in and they lowers the temp to less than 60C. I used to get lower temp before I added an additional gig of ram and the ambient temp doesn't help (I live in Puerto Rico. ave temp fluctuates at around 90F). the notebook does get hot but I'm not worried, It has held up pretty well for the time being.

 

I found that a restart lowered temps 10C. I had some system processes running ~50% CPU.