Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,541
941
Anyone know why my temperatures go so hi when I play WOW. Like damn that's oven temperatures.
That's quite normal. Your Mac is not overheating. The Intel processors used in Macs are designed to automatically shut down to prevent damage if they truly overheat (around 100C/212F - 105C/221F, depending on your processor).

Unless there is a rare defect in a Mac, most temps are well within the normal operating range, considering the workload being put on it. Websites with Flash content, games and other multimedia apps will put higher demand on the CPU/GPU, generating more heat. This is normal. If you're constantly putting high demands on your system, such as gaming or other multimedia tasks, expect temps to rise and fans to spin up accordingly. It's just your Mac doing its job to maintain temps within the normal range.

Your fans are always on when your Mac is on, spinning at a minimum of 2000 rpm (for MBPs) or 1800 rpm (for MBAs, MBs and minis). They will spin faster as needed to keep temps at a safe level. If they're spinning up without increased heat, try resetting the SMC. PRAM/NVRAM has nothing to do with these issues, so resetting it will not help. Also, make sure you don't block the vents, which are located at the rear, near the hinge.
 

Nameci

macrumors 68000
Oct 29, 2010
1,944
13
The Philippines...
Why do you want to play games on an MBA btw? And complain if the temperature goes up?

Go and get yourself a gamer pc and play on it. Use the right tools for the right job as they say.
 

Psilocybin

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 16, 2011
592
0
Ontario, Canada
Why do you want to play games on an MBA btw? And complain if the temperature goes up?

Go and get yourself a gamer pc and play on it. Use the right tools for the right job as they say.

Wow what a great post.

I have an iMac for wow. I like to play the odd game on my MacBook air when my wife is sleeping and I can't play on my iMac. Your a typical pc is for games person. A MacBook air is fully capable of running wow and so is an iMac
 

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,541
941
Does this lower the life expectancy I mean heat and electronic components don't mix i know that
It doesn't lower it to any noticeable degree. You'll replace your MBA long before it dies from heat, barring any manufacturing defects.
 

Psilocybin

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 16, 2011
592
0
Ontario, Canada
Why do you want to play games on an MBA btw? And complain if the temperature goes up?

Go and get yourself a gamer pc and play on it. Use the right tools for the right job as they say.

So please stop with the don't game on a MacBook air attitude I play wow on it every so often it's not an i386 you know. It's not my main gaming computer I have an iMac for that
 

Nameci

macrumors 68000
Oct 29, 2010
1,944
13
The Philippines...
I will let you open up a little bit on things. Compare the processors on your iMac and MBA. Your MBA's have ULV's, they are great for things besides gaming and processor intensive tasks. It will not hold a candle compared to your iMac.

That is the area where people got it wrong. MBA's are mobile computer for people who wanted a light computer to tag along while traveling. If your MBA's CPU heat up it is because you have been opening up an application that requires a higher usage of your CPU cycle. That is natural and nothing to worry about. As GGJ have said it will shutdown if it encounters an over temp.

Don't be negative, you asked why and you are replied.
 

Psilocybin

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 16, 2011
592
0
Ontario, Canada
I will let you open up a little bit on things. Compare the processors on your iMac and MBA. Your MBA's have ULV's, they are great for things besides gaming and processor intensive tasks. It will not hold a candle compared to your iMac.

That is the area where people got it wrong. MBA's are mobile computer for people who wanted a light computer to tag along while traveling. If your MBA's CPU heat up it is because you have been opening up an application that requires a higher usage of your CPU cycle. That is natural and nothing to worry about. As GGJ have said it will shutdown if it encounters an over temp.

Good post sorry to sound rude befor
 

Nameci

macrumors 68000
Oct 29, 2010
1,944
13
The Philippines...
It is alright no offense taken. Don't worry about the CPU temperature, the processors were designed to handle the temperature, your laps are not just in case you play while the MBA is on your lap.

I have worked in the semiconductor industry before as a test engineer. So I know how hard we test processors and electrical components before we release them. It is beaten hard already during testing.
 

dtbadsjw

macrumors newbie
Aug 18, 2011
17
0
It is alright no offense taken. Don't worry about the CPU temperature, the processors were designed to handle the temperature, your laps are not just in case you play while the MBA is on your lap.

I have worked in the semiconductor industry before as a test engineer. So I know how hard we test processors and electrical components before we release them. It is beaten hard already during testing.

So it is okay to play as long as I want when the temp is 95 and fan is running at full speed?
I recently tried Trien and stopped playing because the heat and fan were too worrisome.
 

Stingray454

macrumors 6502a
Sep 22, 2009
593
115
I play wow on my 11" Air from time to time. A great way to lower the temperature is typing "/console maxfps 30" in game. It limits your fps to 30fps. For me, it's no real noticeable difference in performance, but my Air is a nice 65-70 degrees instead of 85 or so that is is otherwise (2010 model). Also turn down graphics setting to a minimum to keep it cooler.
 

Nameci

macrumors 68000
Oct 29, 2010
1,944
13
The Philippines...
Don't worry much about the heat it will shutdown on its own if it trips its thermal protection.

Most people are just paranoid. They are meant to produce heat. It is called heat transfer, the heat from the CPU is transferred to the aluminum body. If your CPU is not transferring heat then you should worry about it. The rpm of the fans is directly proportional to the CPU temperature.
 

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,541
941
The rpm of the fans is directly proportional to the CPU temperature.
This isn't always the case. For example, the fans won't always spin up when temps spike at higher levels. The heat needs to be sustained at a high enough temps for a period of time before the fans will spin up.
 

Nameci

macrumors 68000
Oct 29, 2010
1,944
13
The Philippines...
what i meant is if the temp goes higher and reach a certain point the fans would spin up depending or proportional to the temperature of the CPU.

@GGJ,

do you have any idea on how much is the latency?
 

VMMan

macrumors 6502a
Mar 29, 2009
766
239
@OP,

I think there's a very large psychological component to seeing a CPU temperature that most lay people associate with boiling water at standard pressure.

I would guess the materials inside a chip have a markedly higher boiling point than water.
 

odin2free

macrumors member
Oct 10, 2011
46
0
Throughout time and space
Well we could all just stop complaining ha

No,
basically i have found with almost every mac that ive taken apart
2008 macbooks up to the new imacs 27 inch
Thermal Paste Application SUCKS!!
Youll want to really get some good tim(AC5 or something) and apply new paste yourself...
This will lower temps down on full load :D
 

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,541
941
what i meant is if the temp goes higher and reach a certain point the fans would spin up depending or proportional to the temperature of the CPU.

@GGJ,

do you have any idea on how much is the latency?
I wouldn't describe it exactly as latency. Macs sense temperatures and operating conditions and spin fans faster on an as-needed basis. You can sometimes hit 80C on CPU or GPU temps and the fans stay at their base speed. Other times you can hit 68C and the fans spin to 5000 rpm. I'm sure there are a variety of factors used to determine this, but I don't waste time investigating it. I just let my Macs do what they do and I've never had any problems.

I don't use 3rd party apps to try to control or restrict my Mac's normal fan function, I don't mess with "coolers" or thermal paste and I've been running trouble-free for closing in on 4 years. At times my fans have spun at 6K when I didn't think the temp was that high, and other times when they wouldn't spin up, even when I thought they should. But I keep doing what I'm doing and let the Mac take care of itself. It's never failed to do so properly.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.