Excessive Heat on New Aluminum Macbook?

[EWDurbin]

I've had my new macbook for about a week now. I've noticed that for normal use, it is struggling to keep itself at what I would consider a reasonable temperature.

I've scrounged around to make sure that I don't have any gremlin processes sucking up CPU cycles, but under normal web browsing, the bottom case temp sensors register in the range of 33 to 35 Celsius. CPU temp around 70 Celsius. The fan generally stays around 2000rpm, but will occasionally pop up into the 4000rpm~4500rpm range for a little while.

Is this abnormal? The bottom of the case is nearing hot to the touch, even on a nice level surface.

[rsmacbookpro]

Hey I have my new macbook pro for about a month and I have to say that it is getting quite hot after using it only for web browsing and i tunes.

I don't hear the fans going, or so, I would even like them to be at a much higher speed, just to prevent the heat. I wouldn't mind a little noise, if my system would live longer by it...

I've heard something about a programm that can set the speed of your fan to max, but I haven't tried it yet, I'm not shure it would work on the newest 2008 model. Has any one tried something like this, and can you tell me how you can maximise your fan speed? just to keep your macbook in a nice working temperature.

[hailst0rm]

Sounds a little high. My 2.4GHz Macbook idles at about 50C when just browsing. Enclosure showing 28C If I'm download torrents that usually pushes it up a bit to 60C.

[rsmacbookpro]

I'm kind off new to the whole mac side, how can you check the temp on your mac?

found it, but I will have to wait untill I get home to view my macbook pro and download the widget
iStat Pro

srr for this reply

[99MustangGTman]

Mine gets warm at the bottom, but nothing like my HP notebook.

[alvse]

mine gets hot when watching youtube like content :(

[kastenbrust]

mine gets hot when watching youtube like content :(

You mean Flash video, thats normal for all computers.

[psipsina]

I've only had mine a few days but I've been impressed with how cool its running. I've been pushing it pretty hard too.

[lavadranzer]

Mine gets hot overtime. Like a boiling pot of water. No matter what I do, it just heats up. Unless I just leave it blank on the desktop, only Finder running.

[shady825]

Mine gets hot overtime. Like a boiling pot of water. No matter what I do, it just heats up. Unless I just leave it blank on the desktop, only Finder running.

Do you have it sitting on a bed or pillow or anything?
It's very important to make sure your not covering the vent on the bottom/back.

[Prekesh]

Do you have it sitting on a bed or pillow or anything?
It's very important to make sure your not covering the vent on the bottom/back.

yeah, i agree. loads of people here on mac rumors moan about their temps but they don't realize that if you keep your MacBook on your lap/bed its going to get hot and fast. keeping it on a desk is far better, as it doesn't cover the vents... sigh
:apple:

[shady825]

yeah, i agree. loads of people here on mac rumors moan about their temps but they don't realize that if you keep your MacBook on your lap/bed its going to get hot and fast. keeping it on a desk is far better, as it doesn't cover the vents... sigh
:apple:

Ive seen so many people do that! Put it on pillows, beds, and things like that..
Even when i have mine on my lap i try to spread my legs so only the edges of the computer are on my legs and the center vent is wide open.
Ive never had a heat issue with mine.
My neighbor fried a computer from his daughter using it on a bed so I would highly recommend people dont do that!

[63dot]

I don't have any Intel Macs. Didn't the G3s and G4s of old have worse heat issues? Wasn't the cooler chips of Intel one reason Apple switched to them?

My 1.42 Ghz Mac mini, with a G4 chip, the one said to be hot at over speeds of 1 Ghz, stays cool all the time, but the chasis is much taller and has more room for air than a very thin Macbook.

Maybe Apple made the new aluminum Macbooks too thin and there is not enough air circulation? And maybe aluminum heats up more quickly, too. The older, thicker plastic core duo family Macbooks seem to feel relatively cool to the touch but the ultra thin Macbook Air seems a tad bit hot.

[shady825]

Maybe Apple made the new aluminum Macbooks too thin and there is not enough air circulation? And maybe aluminum heats up more quickly, too. The older, thicker plastic core duo family Macbooks seem to feel relatively cool to the touch but the ultra thin Macbook Air seems a tad bit hot.

As stated above the aluminum will 'absorb' the heat and disperse it through the body making it 'seem' hotter.
Im sure air circulation was something Apple took into consideration. They've been doing this a long time! :)

Edit: Sorry it wasnt stated above, it was another thread I was just reading: "If anything, the Aluminium Macbook would be cooler internally as the aluminium helps to dissipate heat better, making it 'feel' warmer. Besides, notebooks are designed such that they are capable of handling the heat being produced.le "

[ThomasJL]

You mean Flash video, thats normal for all computers.

Actually, it not normal for all computers. Flash sucks on Macs. It runs very well on Windows while not creating much heat. It is surprising that to this very day, Adobe has not yet created a version of Flash which runs properly on Macs.

[Darkroom]

Actually, it not normal for all computers. Flash sucks on Macs. It runs very well on Windows while not creating much heat. It is surprising that to this very day, Adobe has not yet created a version of Flash which runs properly on Macs.

humm... i'll have to disagree with you one this. as a flash site developer, i've noticed flash running very smoothly on my OS X system with both Safari 3 (my test browser) and 4 Beta. It runs great on IE7 as well... Firefox and Camino, not so much but defiantly passable, but it's a flat out joke on Opera.

[ThomasJL]

humm... i'll have to disagree with you one this. as a flash site developer, i've noticed flash running very smoothly on my OS X system with both Safari 3 (my test browser) and 4 Beta. It runs great on IE7 as well... Firefox and Camino, not so much but defiantly passable, but it's a flat out joke on Opera.

Just compare it to a Widows machine while running Flash, then you'll see how vastly inferior Flash runs on a Mac. In fact, even the cheapest current Widows netbooks will run Flash much better than the latest Mac Pro with the fastest processor and maxed-out RAM!

[Ivan P]

If you're only browsing and listening to music 70C seems a bit high. My MBP runs at about 45C most of the time, and ever only reaches upwards of 80C when I'm ripping DVDs.

[kage207]

54ishC when iTunes + Safari. 50C when just Safari. Bottom side is 32C. You're fine~ Just when it gets up to past 80C and stays there, I'd freak out.