MacBook getting very very hot

[Karvel]

The underside of my MacBook has been recently getting ridiculously hot but seemingly only the top-left portion of it, not the battery or the optical drive. I installed the iStat Dashboard widget and it gave this:

http://i30.tinypic.com/ke83v9.png

[uberamd]

55C (133F) isn't really hot. When yours reaches around 82C (180F) like my Macbook Air occasionally does, we can talk.

[toxictrix]

Yea... That doesn't look hot at all.

[Karvel]

Oh right =/ well it gets REALLY hot to the touch on the top-left underside portion. And it never used to do this!

[uberamd]

Top Left:

http://s1.guide-images.ifixit.com/igi/SOgF2cf5knPjwsEf.large

Looks like the CPU and GPU, I'm not surprised. Thats where the work is done.

[oculus42]

Are you doing something more processor-intensive these days?

When I encoded a DVD in iDVD on my last MacBook Pro, my processor pushed 88°C (190°F).

[SnowLeopard2008]

Mine does that too. I occasionally play the odd game or two and use the 9600M GT instead of the 9400M. Even Sims 3 pushes the temps up.

[NewMacbookPlz]

Nowhere near the temperature levels where you need to be concerned/worried.

[fireman13]

Nowhere near the temperature levels where you need to be concerned/worried.

Agreed. That's not much over a normal operating temp.

[dnbRem]

I have hit 90 degrees celcius with an aluminium macbook. but that was measuring the sensor on the processor, I cant remember what caused this, but is it bad?

[NewMacbookPlz]

I have hit 90 degrees celcius with an aluminium macbook. but that was measuring the sensor on the processor, I cant remember what caused this, but is it bad?

Probably just means you were doing video encoding or something CPU intensive. The C2D cores are rated upto 105C before they'll automatically shut down.

The highest I've gotten my UMB 2.0ghz was ~84C on the CPU diode, and that was using Handbrake for some video compression.

[iStudentUK]

That's a reasonable temperature. If it helps I have the latest MacBook (White 2.13 GHz) and it runs around-

~40 - Sitting doing nothing
40-45 - Very light use (eg just safari)
45-50 - Light (safari + mail)
50-55 - Medium (safari + mail + itunes + pages)
55-65 - Quite Heavy (ripping CDs etc)
~75 - Highest temp I've had (but only owned it 6 weeks!)

All are CPU A (I consider the most useful temp) and in degrees celsius (because I'm civilised!)

Hope that helps.

[Buzzworms]

Does anyone use a chill pad/notebook cooler to moderate temps? I've tried a few different brands (Targus recently) w/ my white core duo MB on a table top but didn't note a real difference. Could be some brands work better than others...

[fireman13]

Does anyone use a chill pad/notebook cooler to moderate temps? I've tried a few different brands (Targus recently) w/ my white core duo MB on a table top but didn't note a real difference. Could be some brands work better than others...

I run a belkin, not sure of the exact name. I use it with smc fan control when watching videos off Hulu or when I'm encoding. It brings it down about 6-7 degrees. I'm not sure which one is working more, but together, they do a pretty good job.

[qsoundrich]

I've recently been having heating problems with my old White Macbook. I'm suspecting that some of the recent updates to Firefox 3.5 have been unusually processor-intensive.

[NewMacbookPlz]

I've recently been having heating problems with my old White Macbook. I'm suspecting that some of the recent updates to Firefox 3.5 have been unusually processor-intensive.

I haven't noticed anything with FF 3.5.1

[Nocturnal22]

Normal stuff here man no need to cry.