macbook pro temperature

my macbook pro gets pretty hot. i downloaded the widget and it shows 63 C on CPU and 44 C on hard drive.
is this normal? or i need a usb cooling pad?

 

Those are within the normal range, although a little on the high side. My MBP is 2 years old now and the CPU temp stays at about 50 C. I have my fans constantly running at 3500 rpm, the default is 2000 rpm.

Try downloading an app called smc fan control. Get the latest version. This program allows you to manually control the speed of the fans from the minimum of 2000, to the max of 6000 rpm. Try setting it a little higher and see if your temps go down a bit.

 

hehe after i stopped the DVD, it goes back to 57C
okay i downloaded the SMC fan control. it is better to turn on fan a lot and stronger to cool notebook? or that might get too many dust in the notebook? so... i should keep it 57 at idle temperature?

 

Dust isn't an issue. I have used SMC since i got my MBP and no problems with dust. I heard that too much heat can cause a shorter lifespan of a computer.

I think you should turn it up anyway to maybe 3000 rpm. It's not that much louder, and your laptop will run cooler to the touch as well, which is kind of nice for your hands.

 

so. 3k for default and 5k for higher rpm?
sounds good? it seems like 3k~4k goes to 50C

 

The best fan control software is one aptly named "Fan Control" (NOT smcfancontrol). There's a version specifically for the MBP actually. Here's the link.

 

I'm also using "Fan Control" and it works fine! I set it up to run the fans at an idling speed of 2,500rpm. This good thing about this utility is its gradually increases the fans speed as temperature rises. Without this utility, the fans would run at 2,000rpm until temperatures hit ~70C, and then they would speed up. I was using a standard cooling pad and just bought a Moshi Zefyr Pro cooling device. Works great and ultra silent. Although it's kind of expensive, it's worth the money because of its design and quietness!

 

Does this program work on the MBA? I have a friend who complains about her MBA temperatures.

 

ok i downloaded the program. I see current temperatures, but i cannot set it on the bar right?
here are my settings:
I put slowest left/right fan speed 2,500 rpm
lower temp 38c
upper temp 88c

so.. if i lower the upper temp to 65, it will keep my macbook pro temp always 65 and below?

 

if you want to see the temperature on the bar, download iStat Menu.

If you set the upper temperature to 65C, the fans will run at 6,000rpm when the temperature reaches 65C.

 

I have SMCFanControl, but I just use it to watch temp/fan rpm. The lappy does a pretty good job at controlling the temperature. Everything in the 50-65 range is perfectly fine.
And it's not like it will spin the fans at 6,000 rpm once the temp reaches 70; you'll see a gradual increase in the rpms, as deemed necessary.
Yes, the casing gets hot, especially while gaming/compiling/etc, but remember that's the way it is supposed to be. Metallic case = _big_ heat dissipator.
Unless your room temp is above 80, you really haven't much to worry about, just enjoy your high quality notebook!
I'm a software engineer and graduate CS student; I use my machine pretty heavily and my min rpm is the default 2,000. No problems whatsoever for me (touches wood).

Just my 0.02