I got the clear moshi clear guard keyboard cover, it seemed to be one of the best ones out there, however I just read in a thread, that they can block venting & cause it to run hotter. Is this true? where does the mac vent out heat? I thought a keyboard cover was a good idea, to protect from spills etc.
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do keyboard covers block vents in macbook pro?
- Thread starter Sossity
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heat is vented out in between the screen hinge and the back of the keyboard, you can see the vents if you look
minute amounts of heat does come through from the spaces in the keyboard keys but the rise in temperature due to keyboard protectors is negligible
minute amounts of heat does come through from the spaces in the keyboard keys but the rise in temperature due to keyboard protectors is negligible
I would like to know also. Has anyone had any problems with heating/over heating issues when using a keyboard protector?
MacBook Pros do not vent though the keyboard. The vents are located in the back, near the hinge.
I use a moshi KB protector with my MBP 15 HiRes i7 with 8GB (lid closed) all day on some days and do not have any heat issues.
I use a Moshi ClearGuard and temperatures are pretty much the same:
- around 50 degrees C idle (with 9400M)
- 57-60 degrees C idle (with 9600M GT)
- around 55-56 degrees with iTunes/Safari open (with 9400M)
- around 63-65 degrees with the same things opened (with the 9600M GT)
Those temperatures pretty much fall in with those when not using the Moshi ClearGuard so it doesn't have an affect on temperatures at all.
- around 50 degrees C idle (with 9400M)
- 57-60 degrees C idle (with 9600M GT)
- around 55-56 degrees with iTunes/Safari open (with 9400M)
- around 63-65 degrees with the same things opened (with the 9600M GT)
Those temperatures pretty much fall in with those when not using the Moshi ClearGuard so it doesn't have an affect on temperatures at all.
Some where in the directions it does say not to cover the keyboard while in use due to heat venting. But they do sell this in the store. But they don't sell the silicone ones. I'm thinking this has to do with the thinness.
Heat rises correct? What is above the hardware? The keyboard.
Since the heat rises and keyboard is above they design some heat to come through the keyboard. They are "vents" but just open so heat can flow through. That is why when it gets really hot the "g" and "h" keys get very hot.
I do not know exactly where this is. I have read it in many articles. Google it.
That's not true. The keyboard has a sheet of plastic under it, so air can't flow through it. The heat you feel is due to the computer being warm, but it's not venting through the keyboard.
I know the fan "exhaust" is at the back of the macbook at the hinges.. But I was under the impression that air was sucked IN through the keyboard. While using a keyboard cover won't stop the air getting out, I hear it makes it harder to draw air in (= worse cooling). Is this true? Where does the intake for the air circulation come from?
Yes I know there is a sheet of plastic. I don't mean litteraly THROUGH the keyboard, more around it. I don't think the entire topcase is airtight. But anyway, my question remains, where IS the air intake on macbooks? I thought it drew air from the entire inside on the computer, ie comin in through ports / keyboard and other holes in the chassis.
I'm sorry dude, but can you prove anything other than just saying "THERE IS A VENT IN THE BACK THAT MUST BE THE ONLY WAY AIR GOES THROUGH."
If air is being blown out of the vent in the back no air can come in. Meaning it must come in from somewhere. The keyboard being the next logic answer.
You can't draw air through a solid sheet of plastic that's under the keyboard. And I didn't say what you quoted. If you choose to believe something that isn't true, that's your call, but whether you believe it or not, there are no vents in the MBP keyboard.
I did some googling on this yesterday. It seems the back vent IS the main intake (air is sucked in through the sides and out in the middle). Macbooks should be constructed to operate while the lid is closed. Get a thin strip of cigarette-paper or tissue and whilst holding it about 2mm away from the vent-slot, move the paper from one hinge to the other. You should see that the paper is pulled towards the machine in one or two places (depending on number of fans inside) and pushed away at others.
That beeing said, openings in the chassis, such as the optical drive, also act as air intakes. As someone wrote on a forum - if you try covering the optical drive with tape and watch the temperature with iStat or similar program, you should see a 1-2 degree increase in idle temperature. The keyboard does not have much airflow, though heat is escaping the macbook by convection through the keyboard since it's the thinnest part (heated from below and radiates that heat upwards).
Conclusion: The keyboard is a minor air vent and mostly outputs some heat by convection, but covering it up should not make a huge difference. You'll probably see the macbook operate a few degrees hotter with a cover.
PS - I saw tons of people saying "the macbook only takes in air through the keyboard!" online, but none of them could back up their claims, they just "knew" this.. Don't listen to these people
That beeing said, openings in the chassis, such as the optical drive, also act as air intakes. As someone wrote on a forum - if you try covering the optical drive with tape and watch the temperature with iStat or similar program, you should see a 1-2 degree increase in idle temperature. The keyboard does not have much airflow, though heat is escaping the macbook by convection through the keyboard since it's the thinnest part (heated from below and radiates that heat upwards).
Conclusion: The keyboard is a minor air vent and mostly outputs some heat by convection, but covering it up should not make a huge difference. You'll probably see the macbook operate a few degrees hotter with a cover.
PS - I saw tons of people saying "the macbook only takes in air through the keyboard!" online, but none of them could back up their claims, they just "knew" this.. Don't listen to these people
Thanks for taking the time to confirm what many of us already knew. Unfortunately, there will always be some who have the attitude, "My mind's made up. Don't confuse me with facts!" Then they think that typing misinformation in all caps somehow makes it true. I can't count the number who still swear the keyboard acts as a vent, even when presented with facts.
But thanks, again. It means something to those who genuinely want to learn.
If you take a look at ifixit's teardown of the MacBook Pro, you can get a pretty good idea that air is not likely to vent through the keyboard and if it does, then it's probably very minor.
To bad he also confirmed what I said. The keyboard does act as a minor vent. The main being the one that you said it the ONLY vent.
^Glad to see him edited.
The unibody keyboards are sealed with plastic. SEE PIC at: http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Teardown/590/4
If we are arguing about the possibility of 1/100th of the total internal heat dissipating via convection through the micropore spaces in the keyboard then O.K., maybe. The reality is the conduction through the aluminum and forced air through the rear vent move 99% of the heat away from the processors. I use my macbook in clamshell mode with a moshi keyboard cover on it and notice no temperature difference after monitoring with smcFanControl.
As I said before, you can't vent air through solid plastic. The keyboard is not a vent, major or minor. The vent is clearly in the back, by the hinge. Air enters and exits through the vent, not the keyboard.
If you're going to quote someone, quote them. Don't make up something and claim that someone said it. In a forum, it's far too easy to simply go back and read what was actually said.
If the MBP depended on airflow though the keyboard for venting, Apple would never recommend operating in clamshell mode, with the lid closed.
I agree with GGJstudio . The air intake is from the right back side next to the exhaust. But funny thing is I took it into Apples authorized technician at CASE in HK and they told me my mbp is heated cuz the moshi keyboard cover is blocking the air intake which makes me think how they got their license