2010 13" MBP Idling 20F Warmer

[ender land]

Hi everyone,

My MBP (late 2010) 13" has been idling nearly twenty degrees warmer as of late as compared with the first several months I had it. It previously was right around the 100 degree mark, but is now consistently around 115-120. This is expectedly hurting battery life.

I am unsure what would cause this large of jump - the only thing I can think of is increased CPU usage but I am not doing anything consciously different.

I recently installed 1Password, Divvy, and Quicksilver but I can't imagine those would cause such increases (maybe?).

Any advice on how to troubleshoot this would be great!

Thanks,
enderland

 

[GGJstudios]

Hi everyone,

My MBP (late 2010) 13" has been idling nearly twenty degrees warmer as of late as compared with the first several months I had it. It previously was right around the 100 degree mark, but is now consistently around 115-120. This is expectedly hurting battery life.

Temperatures alone do not affect battery life. Your temps are still well within normal operating ranges for MBPs. You can use Activity Monitor to see what apps/widgets/processes you have running, but you shouldn't be concerned at all with temps at your level.

 

[ender land]

Temperatures alone do not affect battery life. Your temps are still well within normal operating ranges for MBPs. You can use Activity Monitor to see what apps/widgets/processes you have running, but you shouldn't be concerned at all with temps at your level.

Unless the fan stops working for some reason temperatures affect (or rather are correlated with) battery life. Or I suppose if you found a way to generate heat without using energy you could do this?

My laptop randomly becomes nearly 1.5 times as warm - using CPU temp -compared to the environment (difference of 50 instead of 30 degrees to ambient temperature) as it has been consistently for literally months and you are telling me things are normal?

Did you even read my post?

 

[GGJstudios]

Unless the fan stops working for some reason temperatures affect (or rather are correlated with) battery life. Or I suppose if you found a way to generate heat without using energy you could do this?

My laptop randomly becomes nearly 1.5 times as warm - using CPU temp -compared to the environment (difference of 50 instead of 30 degrees to ambient temperature) as it has been consistently for literally months and you are telling me things are normal?

Did you even read my post?

Yes, I read all of your post. You can install iStat Pro to get accurate readings of your temps and fan speeds, among other things. Your CPU temp doesn't move only in relation to the environment, but primarily in relation to the workload. The more work your CPU does, the hotter it gets. Fans will speed up, as needed, to keep temps in a safe range. If temps get too high for a sustained period (around 105C/221F), your Mac will automatically shut down, to prevent damage. As long as that's not happening, you have no need to worry about your temps.

High temps are perfectly normal, as searching the forum with Google will reveal:

Macbook Pro Heat Dissipation
2010 Macbook Pro 17" i7 heat question
Heat on my i7 Macbook Pro 15"
Macbook overheating?
My Macbook Pro reached 106 degrees !
Macbook pro heat problem
MacBook Pro Over Heat Issue
Heat on my i7 Macbook Pro 15"
Macbook pro Hot after 10.6.3. Update
Macbook Pro too HOT!!!
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How hot should my macbook be getting?
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Hot 15" i5 MBP!
MacBook Pro Overheating or That's What I Think It Is?
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Alu Macbook vs. 13" Macbook pro: Heat & Battery Life
Etc., etc., etc.

 

[matwue]

You can use Activity Monitor to see what apps/widgets/processes you have running

I suggest you try that, ender land. Sort the process list in the Activity Monitor by % CPU usage. If there is no process running wild (permanently causing high CPU load for no apparent reason) I would stop worrying.

 

[ender land]

Yes, I read all of your post. You can install iStat Pro to get accurate readings of your temps and fan speeds, among other things. Your CPU temp doesn't move only in relation to the environment, but primarily in relation to the workload. The more work your CPU does, the hotter it gets. Fans will speed up, as needed, to keep temps in a safe range. If temps get too high for a sustained period (around 105C/221F), your Mac will automatically shut down, to prevent damage. As long as that's not happening, you have no need to worry about your temps.

High temps are perfectly normal, as searching the forum with .

Not one of those threads (I actually looked at each of them) deals with what I am asking. Not a single one! I know cpu temperatures are high. I know my computer will automatically turn off if it reaches an outrageous temperature (something like 70 degrees warmer than the temperature I am mentioning). I know cpu use tends to lead directly to an increased cpu temperature.

I am wondering why my computer's idle temperature randomly would jump 15-20 degrees F after idling at about exactly 100 for nearly four months straight under identical use. I use iStatProMenu to view the CPU temperature. This is how I am aware of CPU temperature fluctuations in the first place.

I suggest you try that, ender land. Sort the process list in the Activity Monitor by % CPU usage. If there is no process running wild (permanently causing high CPU load for no apparent reason) I would stop worrying.

Looking at that, I do not really see anything too abnormal. Perhaps some additional Chrome processes but I do not think Chrome would go too nuts as of late unless the 1Password chrome plugin burdens the CPU, but I cannot imagine this would happen.

I wonder if QuickSilver was doing this as a result of scanning every 10 minutes (which appears to be its default)?

 

[GGJstudios]

Not one of those threads (I actually looked at each of them) deals with what I am asking. Not a single one!

They aren't intended to address exactly what you're asking. They're intended to illustrate that MBP temps are normally high and it's normal for them to be much higher than those you posted. They also illustrate that too many are obsessing about temperatures, when there's no need to. Your MBP knows what it needs to do to maintain safe temps, without user involvement.

I am wondering why my computer's idle temperature randomly would jump 15-20 degrees F after idling at about exactly 100 for nearly four months straight under identical use.

You shouldn't be expecting your temps to be exactly the same from one day to the next. There are many factors that contribute to temps: environmental temp around the MBP, ventilation, apps/processes/widgets running, paging activity, Flash on websites, system settings, software versions, plug-ins, extensions, updates, etc. You're not likely to have identical operating conditions from one day to the next.

Also, your temps aren't fluctuating enough to cause concern. They also are no where near high enough to cause concern. You'll really be better off if you forget about your temps, let your Mac do its job of maintaining itself, and go back to enjoying your MBP.