Macbook heating up

[Natsu]

What are possible causes for a macbook to heat up? I'm getting a macbook soon and also wanted to know if this heating up problem is a big issue.

[Jeweller]

Well, what are you planning to do with it? There are plenty of threads concerning what a MB can and cannot handle. I'd recommend you poke around the forum, or if you have one or more specific concerns, be more specific.

I've had my MB for about two months now and the only time it gets hot or the fans crank up is when I'm doing video conversion. Rest of the time it's running silent, with the fans hovering around 1800rpms.

[Natsu]

thanks for the tip. Ill poke around the forum....

[cogsinister]

Just looking at my MacBook the wrong way makes it heat up.......

[lfc200]

if you have a lot of applications open that can make the macbook heat up. Also if your using flash that will make the macbook heat up. But generally its not too big of a problem

[cogsinister]

if you have a lot of applications open that can make the macbook heat up. Also if your using flash that will make the macbook heat up. But generally its not too big of a problem

Yeah, flash, like youtube and streaming video are the killers....

[Surely]

I took this photo with my iPhone.

I was wirelessly printing a large document (~180 pages) over my Airport Express, and look at how hot my MacBook got. It's never gone that high before!

[marbles]

I took this photo with my iPhone.

I was wirelessly printing a large document (~180 pages) over my Airport Express, and look at how hot my MacBook got. It's never gone that high before!



Is that too hot ?

I'm led to believe that the CPU's will shut down if there is an adverse amount of heat.

[Surely]

Is that too hot ?

I'm led to believe that the CPU's will shut down if there is an adverse amount of heat.

I'm not sure what "too hot" is.

Keep in mind that my temps are in Celsius. However, 93°C is still very hot.

[Bobioden]

What are possible causes for a macbook to heat up?


Turning it on.

[Matek]

The biggest problem is always with the cooling, not with the applications. If you take a new MacBook and put it on a desk or some other flat surface, you can put full load on both cores and it will not overheat in any way.

Problems start if you use it some place where it can't cool down properly, if you block the fans, if you get a lot of dust in it etc.

[Surely]

The biggest problem is always with the cooling, not with the applications. If you take a new MacBook and put it on a desk or some other flat surface, you can put full load on both cores and it will not overheat in any way.

Problems start if you use it some place where it can't cool down properly, if you block the fans, if you get a lot of dust in it etc.

I can agree with most of that.

My MacBook was on my dining room table (no table cloth) when I took the photo in my post above.

[Matek]

That's pretty bad. Have you tried vacuuming your computer in case there's any dust in it? Perhaps it's some kind of a defect, it shouldn't get this hot if the cooling conditions are good.

[marbles]

Macbooks ship with a plastic cover over the vents ,if I remember correctly ... maybe worth checking your vents to see if they have any such plastic on them causing the heat.

just a thought :)

[H$R]

I took this photo with my iPhone.

I was wirelessly printing a large document (~180 pages) over my Airport Express, and look at how hot my MacBook got. It's never gone that high before!


hm. Yeah sure it's high, but the CPU could handle more temp (not that someone should try it), and it should shut down if it's too hot.

I also have a new wireless printer, let's see what happens when I have to print some 180 pages sometime. But normally my airport card (which runs all day) is 72° C (62° when I start the MB up). You only got 70° :D


To the topic: mine get's hot on the upper left side (where the power stuff is) and sometimes where the screen is connected to. But that doesn't bother me much.
I sometimes have it on my lap or on the bed, but then I am not doing more than searching the web or using MSN messenger. I've never really had heating problems then.

[Natsu]

what are RPMs, i saw it in the istat, whats the normal 'rpm' rate and whats the max. I dont wanna overkill my new laptop with just 'rmp's

[Wireless Buddy]

what are RPMs, i saw it in the istat, whats the normal 'rpm' rate and whats the max. I dont wanna overkill my new laptop with just 'rmp's

RPMs are the amount of times your fans spin per minute. RPM = Revolutions Per Minute.

[Surely]

That's pretty bad. Have you tried vacuuming your computer in case there's any dust in it? Perhaps it's some kind of a defect, it shouldn't get this hot if the cooling conditions are good.

No dust. All clean. All good.

Macbooks ship with a plastic cover over the vents ,if I remember correctly ... maybe worth checking your vents to see if they have any such plastic on them causing the heat.

just a thought :)

Um.... nope.

hm. Yeah sure it's high, but the CPU could handle more temp (not that someone should try it), and it should shut down if it's too hot.

I also have a new wireless printer, let's see what happens when I have to print some 180 pages sometime. But normally my airport card (which runs all day) is 72° C (62° when I start the MB up). You only got 70° :D


To the topic: mine get's hot on the upper left side (where the power stuff is) and sometimes where the screen is connected to. But that doesn't bother me much.
I sometimes have it on my lap or on the bed, but then I am not doing more than searching the web or using MSN messenger. I've never really had heating problems then.

Like you said, I figured it could handle more heat and that it would shut down if there was any risk. I've just never had such high temps since I got it back in November, and nothing since that day I printed that doc. I thought I'd share.

My airport card is at 53°C right now- it usually hovers at around 58°C. I think it got up to 70°C because of the print job.

When my MacBook gets hot, it does it in the same place as yours, the upper left side.

[jmmtn4aj]

I'm not sure what "too hot" is.

Keep in mind that my temps are in Celsius. However, 93°C is still very hot.

You sure those temps are accurate? Overclockers amongst us will recognise the stable limit of a C2D Conroe or Kentsfield is around 70, in the 70s it starts to produce errors. If anything mobile processors are supposed to run much cooler, but I don't know if Intel designed it for higher thermal limits too (maybe taking crappy laptop coolers into account).

Anyway, the processor won't burn up, it'll automatically downclock itself past the thermal threshold, a safety feature that's been around in every computer processor since 3 years ago or so.. Other components might be affected though. In my Sony Vaio the processor never had to downclock itself, but I ran folding@home on it for a few days and soon the fan stopped working. You could pretty much fry an egg on the underside, even typing became painful :p

[Surely]

You sure those temps are accurate? Overclockers amongst us will recognise the stable limit of a C2D Conroe or Kentsfield is around 70, in the 70s it starts to produce errors. If anything mobile processors are supposed to run much cooler, but I don't know if Intel designed it for higher thermal limits too (maybe taking crappy laptop coolers into account).

Anyway, the processor won't burn up, it'll automatically downclock itself past the thermal threshold, a safety feature that's been around in every computer processor since 3 years ago or so.. Other components might be affected though. In my Sony Vaio the processor never had to downclock itself, but I ran folding@home on it for a few days and soon the fan stopped working. You could pretty much fry an egg on the underside, even typing became painful :p

I can only assume that those temps are accurate based on iStat Pro's reputation. I have no way of really knowing, unless I get really anal and decided to download another temp reader program and run them at the same time.

I'm not really concerned, as I know that the CPU will downclock or shutdown if it gets dangerously hot. I was just surprised to see 93°C.:cool:

[marbles]

did you say that you just got the machine back ?

if so then and a repair was carried out then get the people who did the job to have a look see

...explain the situation and all should be good .

could just be a simple human error upon rebuild ?!.

just a thought .

[Surely]

did you say that you just got the machine back ?

if so then and a repair was carried out then get the people who did the job to have a look see

...explain the situation and all should be good .

could just be a simple human error upon rebuild ?!.

just a thought .

Are you talking to me?

No, I never said that. You are mistaken.

[marbles]

Are you talking to me?

No, I never said that. You are mistaken.



sorry , my mistake , I apologize .I got mixed up it was in another thread I meant to post that

[H$R]

what are RPMs, i saw it in the istat, whats the normal 'rpm' rate and whats the max. I dont wanna overkill my new laptop with just 'rmp's


rpm= revolutions per minute as someone said above.

minimum on your MacBook is around 1800 rpm. I consider that as normal, when you only do a bit writing or surfing, or listen to music. You shouldn't here any noise then, at least not with the last generations.
The maximum I ever got was 2600 rpm with video converting I think. But that's not the maximum. It can go well over 5000 rpm if not more. At least I've heard that somewhere (anyone correct me if he/she knows the real maximum)
You will here your fan spinning and running then making much noise.


at surely: my airport card is 68° C hot after a few minutes after I boot up the MB or wake it from sleep. And when I am transfering files over the WLAN to my server or download something from the net, then it get's to 72° C maximum. But my CPU is mostly ad 50° C.

[SupremeTeam]

you can always use SmcFancontrol. it works like a charm

[macdudesir]

I took this photo with my iPhone.

I was wirelessly printing a large document (~180 pages) over my Airport Express, and look at how hot my MacBook got. It's never gone that high before!
Intel's website says the TJ max for the core 2 duo is 105C so you were close but not there...your mac would shut off if it got that high though...but your lucky my iMac can only go to 72.5C before it shuts off (but then again it doesnt even get above 40C unless i play flash games while exporting a movie in 1080p...and when i did that it got to 50C :)

[macdudesir]

rpm= revolutions per minute as someone said above.

minimum on your MacBook is around 1800 rpm. I consider that as normal, when you only do a bit writing or surfing, or listen to music. You shouldn't here any noise then, at least not with the last generations.
The maximum I ever got was 2600 rpm with video converting I think. But that's not the maximum. It can go well over 5000 rpm if not more. At least I've heard that somewhere (anyone correct me if he/she knows the real maximum)
You will here your fan spinning and running then making much noise.


at surely: my airport card is 68° C hot after a few minutes after I boot up the MB or wake it from sleep. And when I am transfering files over the WLAN to my server or download something from the net, then it get's to 72° C maximum. But my CPU is mostly ad 50° C.

The max is 6200rpm

[mrsir2009]

You should really read this: http://factoidz.com/how-to-keep-your-mac-from-overheating-some-helpful-tips/

[darknite38]

Only because I have a cpu intensive program running in the background for most of my day, my macbook pro tends to stay around 80 degrees celcius. The base is always on a wooden desk so I could care less how hot it gets, as long as the processor does not get fried. (Mind you, even if it went up to 100, which it sometimes does, it will lower when the fans rev up.)

Anyways, at 80 degrees the base is warm, but when I put it on my lap the heat barely goes through my jeans.

If you have safari with no flash on the screen the macbook tends to hover around 55 and in that case i can barely feel any heat coming out from the bottom.

Bottom line -

Macbook pro base doesn't feel very hot even at 80 degrees celcius.

Macbook pro (13" tends to idle near 55 degrees) Which is cold.

Edited for more clarity: People need to stop worrying about the temperatures of their macbook pro. My processor has gotten to 108 degrees when I manually made the processor run at 100%, and it did not turn off. While it did not stay 108 for a long time at all (it went back to 98) it will not harm your computer. As long as you keep your macbook pro on a well ventilated surface the fans will kick in and keep it at the temperature it needs to be. For example, the normal lowest speed for the fans are 2000 rpm. My fans are currently running at 3200 rpm while keeping my processor about 80 degrees (this is only because i have a cpu intensive program in the background on) If somehow the fans went back down to 2000 rpm, the temperature will heat up quickly. However, when I turn my fans up to their max which is 6200 rpm, my temperature drops to 70 degrees. This shows that the macbook pro is fine with the processor staying at 80 degrees because my fans never go to 6200 rpm to bring the temp down to 70. Don't worry about the temperature of your macbook pro, it has great sensors and the fans will run to make it the temperature it needs to safely run. Unless you are making your cpu to go 108 degrees for more than a few seconds, there is nothing to worry about.

[Surely]

Intel's website says the TJ max for the core 2 duo is 105C so you were close but not there...your mac would shut off if it got that high though...but your lucky my iMac can only go to 72.5C before it shuts off (but then again it doesnt even get above 40C unless i play flash games while exporting a movie in 1080p...and when i did that it got to 50C :)

Pfft...... like I'd really own a MacBook in 2011.:rolleyes:



;)

[JRoDDz]

I have a late 2009 Macbook Unibody, it has never gotten hot at all. You can't even hear the fans running unless you put your ear down to the laptop.

[bastifantasti]

I've noticed a really big difference in terms of heating, between my MacBook's over the years.

When I first moved to Mac OS X I purchased a MacBook 2,1 (2Ghz core 2 duo) - that would periodically run at circa 70 degrees C and stay there...even if I wasn't doing anything too demanding. Just web browsing or editing a word document. Basically, the macbook was roasting all the time.

However, I now have a MacBook 7,1 - and the difference is huge. Watching the temp with iStat - rarely increases above 50, typically sits around the 40 degree mark.

[Newton63]

Here's what I don't get-everything I see on this thread tells me it's normal for them to run hot. I have the 2.4 Intel Core Duo aluminum unibody MacBook made right before they discontinued it and did aluminum only for Pros. With Skype running I get temperatures up in the 82 C range and fan speeds close to 6000 rpm. SMC Fan control does it's job but I'm puzzled-my daughter just got a polycarbonate MacBook, same proc and I'm assuming combined GPU like on mine and she gets NO temp spike with Skype. Thoughts? Could they possibly be putting separate CPU/GPU on a polycarb MacBook? Doubt it. And I see no reason for it to spike like that running Skype. The new Chrome also leaves too many threads open and I get the same results. You think Apple would do a better job of it.

[ddehr026]

The only time my fans crank up is when I play counter strike in bootcamp. Then my mbp sounds like a jet engine haha.

[Newton63]

My daughter's polycarbonate MacBook stays at a nice even 30 degrees Celsius but the more expensive Aluminum MacBook heats up. She has the same proc and probably a cheaper vid card. This heating up will surely shorten the lifespan of the machine. Should I turn this in on Apple Care or just put up with it?

[cogsinister]

Here's what I don't get-everything I see on this thread tells me it's normal for them to run hot. I have the 2.4 Intel Core Duo aluminum unibody MacBook made right before they discontinued it and did aluminum only for Pros. With Skype running I get temperatures up in the 82 C range and fan speeds close to 6000 rpm. SMC Fan control does it's job but I'm puzzled-my daughter just got a polycarbonate MacBook, same proc and I'm assuming combined GPU like on mine and she gets NO temp spike with Skype. Thoughts? Could they possibly be putting separate CPU/GPU on a polycarb MacBook? Doubt it. And I see no reason for it to spike like that running Skype. The new Chrome also leaves too many threads open and I get the same results. You think Apple would do a better job of it.

I have the same macbook, and the same heating up problems.....skype sends it up well into the 80 degrees mark.

I took the back cover off last week and found lots of dust and fluff in the fan outlet, a blast with canned air and a brush with a soft paintbrush made the temps about 10 degrees lower overall........well worth a try if the temps are high on your macbook.

[darrylthebest]

My macbook used to go to 70 - 80 degree celsius ..( checked using SMC fan ctrl)
I made the RPM little higher .. sometimes it used to reach 88 - 90 .. I checked Activity monitor .. seen iAntivirus using 95% of the CPU speed, once i force Quitted it .. the temp came down to 50, later i deleted the antivirus .. now the mac ranges in temp from 50 - 60 sometimes!

[amazzei]

Hey Guys,

This thread really helped with the heating on my Macbook.

Days ago i realized that the keyboard silicone skin protector i use was not letting the macbook breathe through the keyboard lines. I removed the skin protector and the macbook started to cool down.

It still heats up, but not that much as with the silicon protector.

[valerie.ssh123]

1. are you sure it's that the trackpad is too big or are your hands just too small?
2. you can change the settings(DUH!) and its works perfectly fine, the problem might lie with you instead.
3. as i said earlier, the problem is possibly with the way you use it.
4. may i ask how is it possible to use the computer when the lid is shut?? so even is the computer goes to rest, so what? you cant use it when it's shut so it might as well save some battery and go to rest.
5. mac keyboards dont heat up. you've gotten this fact wrong.
6. too bad!! that's one of the unique characteristics of a mac! live with it. it wont kill you.
7. there isnt any button to 'get the lid up'
8. no it doesnt. maybe the problem(like i said earlier) is the way YOU use it.
9. yes you can. you and restart the mac and click when its restarting.
10. first of all, if you wanna use windows, why did you get a mac? moving on, yes it CAN. i think you do not know your way around your computer
11. if you dont like it, then dont use it! and, like you said, you just have to get used to it like getting used to the one in windows.
12. everyone knows that! and, live with it!! would you REALLY want a whole lot of windows open JUST to keep your applications running?
13. you CAN. I'VE done it loads of times. and no, it's not a digital mic or whatever. it was a cheap, inexpensive one i got just for that few times.
14. you can change the keys to your preference(i've done it before)
15. too bad! lots, if not ALL other computers cant bend down all the way either!
16. yes there is. on a macbook pro, it is on the side of it and will blink.
17. it's not like you'll have 15 thumbdrives in at the same time!! and more USB ports sucks up power, in one of your earlier statements, you said you wanted to save power. so this is contradictory to your other statements.
18. that's untrue. apple provides software companies the things they need to create software. any person(like you and me) can also purchase it.
19. i prefer not having the OK and APPLY. so much faster and easier. see?? it's PERSONAL PREFERENCE
20. it's not dragging it into the trash per se. when you drag it(not even to the icon), the trash icon changes to an eject icon.
21. no they dont. its probably the way you use it.
22. no you dont have to install anything. the previous time you use it, just mute it, then when you turn it on again, there wont be that sound. easy!