What temperature should the macbook be?

That's sounds about right for a MB. My MB that I used to have would hover around there, but my new MBP feels hotter even though it doesn't say it is... must be the aluminum.

My macbook hovers around 50C on a desk when chatting/web/music is going. 60C on my lap.

I noticed my fans dont kick up until it hits 93-95C (hot!) is this normal? is my unit defective? i thought they're supposed to start spinning up sooner. I got this MBP day one when the SR chipset launched.

edit: and no, i'm not using or have ever installed SMCFanControl or any app that's futzing with the fans. I figure apple knows how to thermally control their own machine seeing how they designed both the hardware and the OS.

-Joe

The fans on my MBP don't kick in till around 80C. Before that, they remain at around 2000rpm. At 80C, they go to 2500 RPM.

That does seem to be a little on the hot side. Do you do very heavy stuff with your macbook? Videos? Graphics? Things like that can make the temp. sky rocket real fast. If not, then maybe something is blocking air flow. Check out your vents, and try to keep the macbook on a surface that's "breatheable." Things like beds are a bad idea, as the cloth is meant to trap heat.

Before i got the iLap, my MB used to average at 60-65 C (with regular use), but now it rarely crosses 55 C. Get the iLap, its simply fantastic. Oh btw, i was referring to those temperatures with SMC maintaining the fan speed at default speed i.e 2500. If i set it at a higher RPM, temperature falls to around 50 C

Cheers.

yeah, my fans sit at 2k RPM until the mid 90C's, and yeah video encoding does it easily then it ramps up, it never seems to cross 95C though, the fans keep ramping up to keep it right around the high 80's.

and this is on a flat desk with 60-70F as the ambient temp.

-Joe

U should control the fans on your mac manually. see smcFancontrol. Also always check which process uses most of the %cpu. Try to keep it at around 50C-55C. Keep the fans around ..4000, if you do graphics or play games. Keep your machine healthy by keeping it cool)

My 2.2 GHz C2D MacBook usually sits at around 44°C, and it's on my lap right now. I'm not using SMCFanControl.