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

Resolve your MacBook Temperature Problem

thejadedmonkey

thejadedmonkey

macrumors G3
May 28, 2005
9,183
3,343
Pennsylvania
arn said:
Update: Meanwhile, despite the controversy surrounding the excess Thermal Paste, MacDevCenter disassembled their MacBook Pro to see if reducing the Thermal Paste would indeed cause a significant change in the running temperature. Contrary to other anecdotal reports, they found there was only a 2 degree difference in temperatures before and after the extensive disassembly.
Click to expand...
So in conclusion, MacBooks just run hot....sorta like how my car's temp guage gets into the red when it's idiling on the freeway while I'm stuck in a traffic jam, the only difference being that MacBooks aren't supposed to come off as 14 year old pieces of crap

Seriously Apple, I sure hope you get all these heat/moo/whine/display issues figured out before I start looking to get a MacBook (pro) once Leapord is out.
 
faintember

faintember

macrumors 65816
Jun 6, 2005
1,362
0
the ruins of the Cherokee nation
^^^Arn's post about the guys over at MacDevCenter is an interesting one. Nothing like taking an external temperature reading after running both cores at 100%. Either way, my MB idles at 56° and hits 80° under 100% CPU load for 10 mins. Seems quite acceptable. I plan on doing a comparison of the temp readings i am getting today vs. tomorrow after i get my 7200rpm HD installed.

Also no plastic covering the vents on mine, which is a good thing!

Edit: Link to the MacDevCenter MBP thermal paste test
 
Core Trio

Core Trio

macrumors regular
May 16, 2006
175
0
New Jersey
What were all those posts about people getting 'amazing results' after applying their own layer of artic silver?

Either these 'amazing results' are utter bs, or whoever did the test from this post did almost as bad a job as apple.
 
MrCrowbar

MrCrowbar

macrumors 68020
Jan 12, 2006
2,232
519
I don't have any plastic on my Macbook. Seems fine so far. The only things I could complain about is that the return key is slightly turned compared to the other keys (by half a degree or something, but you can see it). Oh yea, it's "whining" when idling (it's silent when I open apps and makes a different stuff when moving the mouse etc). This is a common issue on most computers, portable or not. I guess it's audible on my Macbook because it's otherwise silent . I'd say it has to do something with interrupts because of the sound beeing... well... interrupted very quickly when musing the mouse.

Put your ear closely to your Macbook (next to the F6 key) and move the mouse across the dock so it magnifies the icons. Tell me if you hear those sounds. Again, I had this on a lot of computers this far, some of which you could only hear it when recording audio with the internal sound card. This works with phones or other complex devices too. Just hold them very closely to your ear and hear the difference between the device idling and the device doing stuff. You can also put them next to a electric guitar pickup with the amp on to hear them, but please, don't do that last one with devices with a hard drive (including any computer).

UPDATE: The "whining" I described seems to come partly from the external power. I held my power brick to on ear and found similar noises exactly in sync witht the noises from the Macbook. But the "interrupt" sound are still there when runninfg ony battery. :-( Why do I have such good ears anyway to hear this stuff across the room... I should go to more concerts and bury my head into the speakers :D
 
Some_Big_Spoon

Some_Big_Spoon

macrumors 6502a
Jun 17, 2003
855
0
New York, NY
I've got a 2.0, 2GB, 120GB HD White MB waiting for me at home when I get back from Hawaii and every day I read a little more about all of the little quirks I'm going to have to get used to.. ugh.

Every time I make a resolution about not buying anything till Rev. C, I break it 1/2 second after the Store comes back up.

My own damn fault I'd say. :rolleyes:
 
AppleMatt

AppleMatt

macrumors 68000
Mar 17, 2003
1,784
25
UK
longofest said:
Click to expand...

The front page is wrong. There wasn't a 2 degree difference before and after, because he didn't measure the temperature before. There was a 2 degree difference between his modified machine and his friends stock. Which is way within the margin of error, so the whole article was pointless.

God knows why he didn't do this.

AppleMatt
 
faintember

faintember

macrumors 65816
Jun 6, 2005
1,362
0
the ruins of the Cherokee nation
AppleMatt said:
The front page is wrong. There wasn't a 2 degree difference before and after, because he didn't measure the temperature before. There was a 2 degree difference between his modified machine and his friends stock. Which is way within the margin of error, so the whole article was pointless.
Click to expand...
I wish they had done before/after tests, but come on, look at the CPU before the thermal paste re-application. There was enough paste on the CPUs for 3 MBP. Seems like a decent test, and one of the few that i have seen using a IR temperature gun.

However i would like some IR temp. readings on the MB.
 
T

tny

macrumors 6502
Jun 3, 2003
436
81
Washington, DC
Not on my MacBook

My MacBook doesn't have the plastic on it. It runs very hot, but not too much hotter than my old iBook. I've heard the mooing a couple of times - it's the fan turning on and off as the temperature hovers around the fan-activation temperature, and it sounds much like my cellphone sounds when it is set to vibrate and sitting on a desk on the far side of a room: quiet, but audible. I have also heard a CD-ROM click that seems to be associated with using Parallels and Windows.

The keyboard is much better than a "chicklet" keyboard, about as good as the iBook keyboard, though very different: the indentations on the keys are barely noticeable, and the keys feel lighter, but travel more (I'm a touch typist, and have had little trouble adjusting to the new keyboard). The home key doesn't always register, I think that may just be a positioning issue rather than a hard ware problem. I haven't heard a whine at all, though my hearing is not what it used to be. The screen looks good, and reflections haven't been a problem so far. It feels strange in comparison to my iBook - feels much too thin, and a little bit big, but no heavier (I know it's marginally heavier, but it's not noticeable to me). Main annoyance is that I didn't get a 120 GB hard drive; if I had been more patient, and less stingy, I would be happier.
 
MrCrowbar

MrCrowbar

macrumors 68020
Jan 12, 2006
2,232
519
AppleMatt said:
The front page is wrong. There wasn't a 2 degree difference before and after, because he didn't measure the temperature before. There was a 2 degree difference between his modified machine and his friends stock. Which is way within the margin of error, so the whole article was pointless.

God knows why he didn't do this.

AppleMatt
Click to expand...

Agreed. 2 degrees are nothing. Consider you need the exact same room temperatur, the same surface to put the laptop on (a wooden desk will make the Macbook warmer than a steel desk for instance), same ventilation etc. And then, there's idling and there's idling. A computer can do lots of different tasks when "idling". My Macbook is actually warm while I'm typing this, but just as warm as if someone was sitting on my lap for 20 minutes. I watched a DVD witht the Mycbook on my lap and it is uncomfortable with the Superdrive getting kinda hot.
 
A

Arbiter

macrumors newbie
May 23, 2006
29
0
It is probably the best test I have read so far.. Not only did he use a professional device to read the temperature, he also demonstrated that disassembling and reassembling the laptop can disconnect the laptops temperature reader wich results in the fans going for full speed... This is the most important part of the article and may also explain why some people are getting so good results after reapplying the thermal paste and some dont.
 
O

odedia

macrumors 65816
Nov 24, 2005
1,044
149
MacDevCenter's testings are absurd. They completely ignore the GPU. They only test the core duo chip.
 
J

JAT

macrumors 603
Dec 31, 2001
6,473
124
Mpls, MN
No plastic. No excess heat. A 1.83/512/combo, here. This does not get any hotter than any other laptop I've used. I've owned 7 from 3 different mfgrs: 3 Apples, 2 Dells, 2 Toshibas. I don't know if that's enough of a population for anybody to care.

Yes, it can get warm when hitting the processor hard. Maybe warm enough that I wouldn't want it on my skin. That's what happens. I've never approached burning from the MB, but I certainly did with the Dells. I have used the MB with shorts on, never could with a Dell.

If anybody has a faulty MB that is truly blazing hot, that is a problem. I see no issue with the heat from mine.

Oh, I also plan to upgrade this to 2GB of ram. That will reduce the processor use and perhaps heat at times. Theoretically.
 
J

JamSandwich

macrumors regular
May 19, 2006
127
3
Core Trio said:
What were all those posts about people getting 'amazing results' after applying their own layer of artic silver?

Either these 'amazing results' are utter bs, or whoever did the test from this post did almost as bad a job as apple.
Click to expand...

I don't know how "bad" the thermal paste really is. I think my MacBook runs warmer than I'd like, but I'm on the lower end of the temp spectrum, it seems.

It's something I might have considered, but based on the anecdotal evidence I've seen, it seems like the difference is generally no more than 5C. At that point, you can probably attribute a couple of degrees of heat to Arctic Silver's better formulation and a couple to less-than-ideal application.

Of course, this is outside of those horror-show MacBook Pros that look like an ice cream sundae.
 
T

trmptr4484

macrumors newbie
Mar 27, 2006
4
0
Thermal Paste, excess heat

Just to ask if anyone has thought of this. From my years of PC building I've realized that the type of thermal paste used affects the temperature a lot (4-10 degrees F). For everyone that has re-applied thermal paste and seem lower temps could the temp decrease be because you are using a higher grade of thermal paste and not that there is excessive paste. Again from experience Artic Silver is the best paste I've ever used; and it has always dropped the temps from other types of thermal paste.
 
B

bit density

macrumors 6502
Mar 5, 2004
398
2
Seattle
arn said:
Update: Meanwhile, despite the controversy surrounding the excess Thermal Paste, MacDevCenter disassembled their MacBook Pro to see if reducing the Thermal Paste would indeed cause a significant change in the running temperature. Contrary to other anecdotal reports, they found there was only a 2 degree difference in temperatures before and after the extensive disassembly.
Click to expand...

How about...

Instead of the the word despite, more correct would be "because of". (They did the test BECAUSE there was a controversy, NOT despite of the controversy).

And their anecdotal report does not necessarily change the validity of any other anecdotal report, it is just another data point.

And last, this is a thread about the MB, not the MBP, and their anecdote may have nothing to do with MB heat issues.
 
macmyworld

macmyworld

macrumors 6502
May 25, 2006
410
651
Minneapolis, MN
Gotta love all the rumors.

My MacBook was purchased in Las Vegas right from the first shipment. No plastic and it has been flawless.

Heat isn't bad at all, cooler than my old PowerBook and just a little warmer than my Dell Inspiron.

Love the screen -- glossy and all. No comparison to my 2005 Inspiron screen.

My only wish is that Apple would stock them with 1GB standard.
 
iGary

iGary

Guest
May 26, 2004
19,580
7
Randy's House
I suppose this whole thermal paste issue is a little like the benefits/non benefits of using synthetic oil - you have to try it to see if it does you any good. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom