PowerBook G4 1.67 Overheating

fronep said:

I just bought a new powerbook, and it heats up so much that it feels like it is going to burn a hole in my leg, when I rest it on my lap. This occurs when it's plugged in or using its battery power. Does anyone else have this problem? Is there a solution?
https://forums.macrumors.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=78#

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That sounds normal for the powerbook. It radiates heat through the case.

That would be normal for most every notebook on this earth. I've actualy never seen one that doesnt get quite warm when sitting on the lap. It shouldnt "burn a hole" but yes, hot enough to make your legs sweat is pretty much considered normal for most systems.

As for a solution, well if you want it to generate less heat; run it with less speed. Every watt the system uses, creates a watt of heat (it's the whole equal or greater reaction to every action thing). Just check your power settings if you wish to scale your cpu down to run at a lesser speed. You would atleast want it to do that when using battery power; so you don't drain your battery quicker than you really need to.

fronep said:

I just bought a new powerbook, and it heats up so much that it feels like it is going to burn a hole in my leg, when I rest it on my lap. This occurs when it's plugged in or using its battery power. Does anyone else have this problem? Is there a solution?
https://forums.macrumors.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=78#

Click to expand...

My 1.67 GHz 17" PowerBook G4 gets hot too when its resting on my legs. My processor stays around the 120 F or less for most things I do. Currently mine is at 98 F. Its most likely nothing to worry about. If you would like, you can download Temperature Monitor from http://www.versiontracker.com and do a search for Temperature Monitor. This will tell you the CPU temp on both top and bottom, power supply temp, trackpad temp, battery temp, and HD temp. You can even set it to warn you when it gets over a certain temp.

The PowerBooks do seem to run very hot and apparently this is perfectly normal. I use mine on my lap most of the time and it was getting very uncomfortable... which is why I invested in an iLap. It matches the aluminium design of the PowerBook whilst keeping your lap cool, also has a nice velvet cushion at the front which is really comfortable for typing.

The powerbooks use the case as a heatsink so yes they do get rather warm. As others have said you could try lowering the power setting. I have mine set to 'longer battery life' (or whatever it's called) on battery and 'highest performance' with the adapter and the difference in heat output between the two is very noticeable.

17" PowerBook overheating

Hi guys,
my 17" PowerBook G4 overheats to the point that it can't possibly be normal. It is almost too hot to touch - and that includes the keyboard. You say this is not uncommon in Macs, but i certainly don't think this is normal.
As for running it with less speed - doesn't that kind of defeat the point of buying a powerful laptop in the first place. I bought it with the intention of having a fast and effective machine - which it is, but it comes at the price of burning me.
I am reluctant to use it at the moment as i fear it is going to melt the insides of the laptop and i will lose the contents of my hard drive.
i know there was a recall for certain batteries, but this did not include any 17" models.
can anyone suggest what i should do? should i contact Apple and have them look at it?

mikelawrence03 said:

Hi guys,
my 17" PowerBook G4 overheats to the point that it can't possibly be normal. It is almost too hot to touch - and that includes the keyboard. You say this is not uncommon in Macs, but i certainly don't think this is normal.
As for running it with less speed - doesn't that kind of defeat the point of buying a powerful laptop in the first place. I bought it with the intention of having a fast and effective machine - which it is, but it comes at the price of burning me.
I am reluctant to use it at the moment as i fear it is going to melt the insides of the laptop and i will lose the contents of my hard drive.
i know there was a recall for certain batteries, but this did not include any 17" models.
can anyone suggest what i should do? should i contact Apple and have them look at it?

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It's not going to harm you. And the interior components aren't going to melt. All laptops, from any company, are going to run extremely warm. When you put all of the components that are needed to run a computer into a tiny, compact enclosure such as a laptop, the heat builds up faster. And most laptops have the heat dissipate through the case or the keyboard. It's nothing strange. If it's too hot to be put on your lap, put it on your desk or a table.