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2011 MacBook Pro 2.0GHz idle temperatures

M

mrfoof82

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
May 26, 2010
578
15
Lawton, OK
So after installing FanControl and raising the base speed for the fans by a measly 200rpm to 2000rpm, this is the result. Temperatures are in Fahrenheit.

gchy0.jpg


For those outside the US, that's ~35C. Sometimes it drops to 33.5C.

For those using Fan Control, here are the settings I've been running. I mostly do SQL Server and .NET development in VMWare that uses a Boot Camp partition. Upgrades are 8GB of memory and a Seagate Momentus XT. This is the 2.0GHz with an AMD 6490M

Base Speed: 2000 RPM
Lower Threshold: 45.0 C
Upper Threshold: 75.0 C

If with these settings your idle temperatures are considerably higher, there is a chance that your CPU and/or GPU may have had an obnoxious amount of thermal paste applied to them during assembly.
 
im glad fan control works for people. When i tried it on one of my older notebooks it totally messed the fans up. it never ran as quiet as it did before i installed it no matter what i did. im honestly scared of that app now. It wrecked my nice quiet computer. i see my experience though as a anomaly since ive never heard of anyone else with that problem. i still wont use the app anymore though.
 
brentsg said:
Even in the USA, who uses F for CPU temps?
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your question is ultra-absurd. The USA does not have the metric system..so, a fair answer, I think..is..uhm...around 99% of the population?

edit: your question is even more bizarre as OP gives Celsius, too. trolololololololol
 
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VictoriaStudent said:
your questions is ultra-absurd. The USA does not have the metric system..so, a fair answer, I think..is..uhm...around 99% of the population?
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I don't believe I've ever seen a review published by any reputable source where CPU temps were expressed in anything but C. So no, I don't think it's 99 percent.

Doesn't Intel also publish all of the CPU thermal capabilities in C as well?
 
Strange. I have the exact same MacBook as yourself (just received it on Monday), and my RPM ran at 2000, and CPU 30-35 idle stock (no mods necessary). I've read some threads concerning excessive thermal paste, but I'm thinking this does not effect all systems.
 
brentsg said:
I don't believe I've ever seen a review published by any reputable source where CPU temps were expressed in anything but C. So no, I don't think it's 99 percent.

Doesn't Intel also publish all of the CPU thermal capabilities in C as well?
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fallacious, much?

unless, of course, you are referring to CORPORATIONS. In which case, still. 99% of the US (population) uses F as the standard for temperature. Those ISO-standard corporations which might employ Celsius for temperature represent a fraction of the US total population.
 
VictoriaStudent said:
fallacious, much?

unless, of course, you are referring to CORPORATIONS. In which case, still. 99% of the US (population) uses F as the standard for temperature. Those ISO-standard corporations which might employ Celsius for temperature represent a fraction of the US total population.
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I honestly do not understand your argument. Temperatures are not useful as absolutes. They are useful in comparison to one another. It's good to know that it's 65F outside because we know what that feels like.

If Intel publishes their thermal envelopes in degrees C, and all the review sites publish their data in degrees C, then people need to follow suit for proper comparison. If I know from Intel that 100C a limit, and from Anandtech that they saw loaded temps of 85C for a particular processor when stressed... then what good does it do if I know my CPU is running at 180F? I certainly don't know what 180F feels like. Something has to be converted to make sense of it.

Obviously the OP can do whatever he or she wants, so can you. But the industry publishes and utilizes the metric system for this so it only makes sense to be consistent and keep it all in context.
 
fel10 said:
Here's the temp of mine. Without running any app

Screenshot2011-03-02at85730PM.png


Not bad
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I am deciding weather to get the 2 or 2.2 ghz, the 2.2 for 270 au more I get a way better gpu which makes it better value for money to me but if there is 10 C difference at idle this could sway me to the 2 ghz 15 inch not to mention this would equate to a slightly longer battery life.

can someone confirm this?

I dont need the fastest as it will blow my 2.4 core 2 out of the water im sure but I do need it to be cool/quiet when not being used heavily.

does anyone think there will be the possibility of an app like coolbook to underclock the 2.2 ?
 
My temps actually have gone up a bit (with external 24 ACD attached) after installing 10.6.7.....

web.png


Used to be more like 40degC......
 
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Mine idles around 75-80. Depending on If I'm in my loft bed or not lol

But other then that when I'm using it I almost always have indesign Illustrator or Photoshop running as well as safari and iTunes.
That baby can get hot.
 
how come temperatures are so different? How can this guy idle at 70 degrees and the other one at 35???

This is why I keep on not buying this model........I am afraid to have a nuclear central on my laps.
 
zeiter said:
how come temperatures are so different? How can this guy idle at 70 degrees and the other one at 35???

This is why I keep on not buying this model........I am afraid to have a nuclear central on my laps.
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There's usually three factors at play.

  1. The surface on which the laptop is placed. Mine is usually on a desk at home, or on a desk at a client site or at a revolving office. A flat, open area. This ensures the laptop can exhaust properly and leaves space around the aluminum enclosure. Unlike, say, a big fluffy blanket which isn't as good a conductor of heat, and will block some of the exhaust from the hinge in the back.
  2. The other is excess thermal paste being applied. This seems to be happening more so with the 2.2 than the 2.0. What tends to happen is a bubble forms between the CPU die pad and the heatsink pad. Or even if there's direct contact, the thermal paste isn't anywhere as good a conductor as the heatsink itself.
  3. Windows in Boot Camp. There aren't (m)any good Fan Control solutions under Windows. You tend to run 4-6C higher under Windows 7 than under OS X, since the power management in OS X is considerably more aggressive, and that aggressive behavior does not yet exist in Windows device drivers provided by Apple.
The highest temperatures I see are during games, where the temperature seems to top out at 140-150F (60-65C). Right now after having played a bit of Starcraft 2, and with a few apps running, it's at 108F (42C) and slowly falling. I even did a several day map render, and even after running for 36 hours straight, the temperature never exceeded 65C.

Although the base fan speed of 2000rpm is fine, I have installed Fan Control to make the ramp up in speed considerably more aggressive by reducing the Upper Threshold to 75C.
 
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Hey OP, how do you like the performance of the 6490m within WoW at native resolution? I assume native on SC2 as well? What kind of settings and fps are you looking at? Thanks!
 
aznguyen316 said:
Hey OP, how do you like the performance of the 6490m within WoW at native resolution? I assume native on SC2 as well? What kind of settings and fps are you looking at? Thanks!
Click to expand...

Haven't played WoW since I killed Arthas, and that was on a C2D with an 8800GT.

I don't really play games on the MBP except on lunch or if I need a break. I bought it for work since I didn't want to be saddled with a 3 year old, 6.5+ pound Thinkpad. Starcraft 2 runs fine at 1280x800/Medium never dropping below 40fps ever, and I assume 1440x900 would do just as well (I have the 1680x1050 display). Lack of texture memory will be the biggest constraint, as limited shaded performance -- if you're seriously playing games, get the 6750, not the 6490.
 
my MBP has the following temperatures in idle:

40c on my bed
40-41c on my legs on the train
 
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