Macbook Pro temps

[pointandclick]

I finally got tired of not wanting to use my $2000 Pro laptop because of the high cpu temperatures and went in to reapply the thermal paste.

My cpu temperature in istat would get up to 97* C with fans a 6k when doing things like h.264 encodes in handbrake. The fans wouldn't even begin to start up until it got high 80's - low 90's. The thermal specs on the Core 2 is 100 C so having it that close for hours at a time really doesn't appeal to me.

I didn't have as much paste as some of the pics i've seen, but I certainly had too much. After reapplying some Arctic Silver 5 and putting it back together my temps went up to a peak of 100 C using dev/null. Meanwhile, my fans stay idle at 2k rpm. When putting the fans to 6k using smc fan control the temps went back to 97, hopping up to 99 for a second once in a while.

I reset the smc and now the fans start to kick in on their own, but only after being at 99* for several minutes. They slowly went up to 3k, then 4500, then finally maxed out at 5700. With the system controlling the fans now the temps seem to be around the same 97 as before, but with the fans down a little at around 5600.

I'm honestly kind of baffled at how the temps may have actually gone up a little. I had thought about reapplying the paste some time ago, but never did. Finally I got tired of not even wanting to encode dvd's because of the ridiculous temperatures.

From what I've seen others are getting temperatures in the 80's, or at very most low 90's without the fans even being maxed.
Any ideas on what may be going on? I'm going to try blowing out some dust, I didn't have any compressed air tonight. The temps may still drop yet since it has only gone through a couple heat cycles.

 

[J the Ninja]

AS5 has a bit of a break in time, IIRC.

Also, how did you apply it? Are you sure you covered the chip completely? Is the heatpipe direct-contact, or is there a contact plate? If there's no plate, you want to apply a thin strip to the underside of the pipe (I like to get a drop on the tip of the syringe, then use the syringe to smear it), instead of the normal "grain of rice" method. Lastly, are you SURE you put the heatsink back on correctly?

 

[docal97]

I finally got tired of not wanting to use my $2000 Pro laptop because of the high cpu temperatures and went in to reapply the thermal paste.

My cpu temperature in istat would get up to 97* C with fans a 6k when doing things like h.264 encodes in handbrake. The fans wouldn't even begin to start up until it got high 80's - low 90's. The thermal specs on the Core 2 is 100 C so having it that close for hours at a time really doesn't appeal to me.

I didn't have as much paste as some of the pics i've seen, but I certainly had too much. After reapplying some Arctic Silver 5 and putting it back together my temps went up to a peak of 100 C using dev/null. Meanwhile, my fans stay idle at 2k rpm. When putting the fans to 6k using smc fan control the temps went back to 97, hopping up to 99 for a second once in a while.

I reset the smc and now the fans start to kick in on their own, but only after being at 99* for several minutes. They slowly went up to 3k, then 4500, then finally maxed out at 5700. With the system controlling the fans now the temps seem to be around the same 97 as before, but with the fans down a little at around 5600.

I'm honestly kind of baffled at how the temps may have actually gone up a little. I had thought about reapplying the paste some time ago, but never did. Finally I got tired of not even wanting to encode dvd's because of the ridiculous temperatures.

From what I've seen others are getting temperatures in the 80's, or at very most low 90's without the fans even being maxed.
Any ideas on what may be going on? I'm going to try blowing out some dust, I didn't have any compressed air tonight. The temps may still drop yet since it has only gone through a couple heat cycles.

Why would you jeopardize your warranty and the health of the machine when you could have just taken it into a Genius, providing you are still under warranty of course.

I took mine in and they acknowledged it was running to hot and they repaired it.

The units do run hot and the machine is designed to self regulate the temps. Unless it is shutting down, Apple usually says that there is no problem with the machine.

 

[dnjmarlboro]

There are several Macbook Pro owners with heat probs (mostly with GPU intensive tasks):
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1767221&start=0&tstart=0
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1799862&tstart=15
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1821338&tstart=75
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=8671432#8671432

 

[pointandclick]

AS5 has a bit of a break in time, IIRC.

Also, how did you apply it? Are you sure you covered the chip completely? Is the heatpipe direct-contact, or is there a contact plate? If there's no plate, you want to apply a thin strip to the underside of the pipe (I like to get a drop on the tip of the syringe, then use the syringe to smear it), instead of the normal "grain of rice" method. Lastly, are you SURE you put the heatsink back on correctly?

I applied a thin layer to the chips like I have seen in several threads in these forums. I'm not sure what you mean by contact plate. http://www.anonforums.com/builds/mbp/hpclean.jpg Although the thought crossed my mind that I didn't put something back right, I'm not sure how it would be done wrong. The heat pipe didn't leave the case. The motherboard seats down on top of it and there's only one place it can go.

Why would you jeopardize your warranty and the health of the machine when you could have just taken it into a Genius, providing you are still under warranty of course.

I took mine in and they acknowledged it was running to hot and they repaired it.

The units do run hot and the machine is designed to self regulate the temps. Unless it is shutting down, Apple usually says that there is no problem with the machine.

Because my machine is out of warranty anyway, and Apple probably would have given me something along the lines of what you just said... "it's supposed to run that way". Not everybody has access to an Apple store, the closest one is 5 hours away.
Yes, the machine is supposed to regulate the temps. Mine is doing a terrible job at it. I realize these machines run hot, but running within a few degrees of the thermal specs is ridiculous.

The thing that really makes me wonder is how the temps barely drop with fans going full blast. Maybe I did put something back in wrong. I can't imagine what or how though.

 

[docal97]

I applied a thin layer to the chips like I have seen in several threads in these forums. I'm not sure what you mean by contact plate. http://www.anonforums.com/builds/mbp/hpclean.jpg Although the thought crossed my mind that I didn't put something back right, I'm not sure how it would be done wrong. The heat pipe didn't leave the case. The motherboard seats down on top of it and there's only one place it can go.


Because my machine is out of warranty anyway, and Apple probably would have given me something along the lines of what you just said... "it's supposed to run that way". Not everybody has access to an Apple store, the closest one is 5 hours away.
Yes, the machine is supposed to regulate the temps. Mine is doing a terrible job at it. I realize these machines run hot, but running within a few degrees of the thermal specs is ridiculous.

The thing that really makes me wonder is how the temps barely drop with fans going full blast. Maybe I did put something back in wrong. I can't imagine what or how though.

I agree. I was puzzled with the same thoughts for some time, and then I just accepted the situation for what it is and moved on. Even after the repair on my MBP for excessive heat and shutdowns, the thing still runs a bit warm, depending on what I'm doing and how long I've done it for.

Maybe if you reapplied the thermal paste the unit would be cooler. I have read many posts on these forums with excellent tips on thermal paste application, and some users have reported cooler units afterwards.

Also, have u tried the ilap? I used it and it is excellent.

Good Luck.....

 

[iVeBeenDrinkin']

Seriously, another one?

https://forums.macrumors.com/search/?searchid=14000279

 

[ljay]

the cure time for artic silver is around 200 hours and if you applied it and then maxed out your temps you may have big problems. The paste may become a liquid instead of a solid and you may have complete thermal breakdown not to mention the silver ooze all over the inside of your laptop.

Be careful

 

[pointandclick]

Seriously, another one?

https://forums.macrumors.com/search/?searchid=14000279

Sometimes I wonder if people actually read the posts. In the first post I mention viewing other threads in which people have reapplied their thermal paste and temperatures that other owners are observing which, in my mind, implies that I have done a little looking around. I've done plenty of research. I didn't come just to make a "my mbp is running hot, what do I do thread". I have specific problems that I have found to be unique.

Anyways, my fans slowly start to spin up. It takes about 5 minutes at full load, with temps in the 97-98 range before they will slowly go up to 3k, then eventually 4k, etc. Even when at 6k I only observe a temperature drop of 3 degree's give or take. Seems to me like the fans aren't doing their job. I'll try taking it apart tomorrow and clean it out and see if I can find anything blocking the vents.
In the mean time, any idea as to why the fans take so long to kick in?

Sorry for flipping out. I am always doing extensive research on something... I would much rather find something out myself than ask for help, but the dice doesn't always roll that way.
Thanks for the input.

the cure time for artic silver is around 200 hours and if you applied it and then maxed out your temps you may have big problems. The paste may become a liquid instead of a solid and you may have complete thermal breakdown not to mention the silver ooze all over the inside of your laptop.

Be careful

I don't think that is a problem.
From the website
"Absolute Stability:
Arctic Silver 5 will not separate, run, migrate, or bleed."
"it will take a up to 200 hours and several thermal cycles to achieve maximum particle to particle thermal conduction and for the heatsink to CPU interface to reach maximum conductivity."
It shouldn't matter if you max it out after 5 minutes or 5 days.

 

[iVeBeenDrinkin']

Sometimes I wonder if people actually read the posts. In the first post I mention viewing other threads in which people have reapplied their thermal paste and temperatures that other owners are observing which, in my mind, implies that I have done a little looking around. I've done plenty of research. I didn't come just to make a "my mbp is running hot, what do I do thread". I have specific problems that I have found to be unique.

Anyways, my fans slowly start to spin up. It takes about 5 minutes at full load, with temps in the 97-98 range before they will slowly go up to 3k, then eventually 4k, etc. Even when at 6k I only observe a temperature drop of 3 degree's give or take. Seems to me like the fans aren't doing their job. I'll try taking it apart tomorrow and clean it out and see if I can find anything blocking the vents.
In the mean time, any idea as to why the fans take so long to kick in?

Sorry for flipping out. I am always doing extensive research on something... I would much rather find something out myself than ask for help, but the dice doesn't always roll that way.
Thanks for the input.



I don't think that is a problem.
From the website
"Absolute Stability:
Arctic Silver 5 will not separate, run, migrate, or bleed."
"it will take a up to 200 hours and several thermal cycles to achieve maximum particle to particle thermal conduction and for the heatsink to CPU interface to reach maximum conductivity."
It shouldn't matter if you max it out after 5 minutes or 5 days.

I certainly don't mean to be rude but, there are threads posted every 2-3 days about MacBook temps. I am sure the answer to your question is here somewhere. I know as a regular here, I get tired of reading the same threads over and over again. But, it seems to be the norm here so, I guess I will just live with it.

There have been several threads about thermal paste too. It is also a well known fact that the older MBPs run a little hot.

At any rate, I wish you luck.

 

[pointandclick]

I certainly don't mean to be rude but, there are threads posted every 2-3 days about MacBook temps. I am sure the answer to your question is here somewhere. I know as a regular here, I get tired of reading the same threads over and over again. But, it seems to be the norm here so, I guess I will just live with it.

There have been several threads about thermal paste too. It is also a well known fact that the older MBPs run a little hot.

At any rate, I wish you luck.

I know there are plenty of threads about high temps, and thermal paste. I've read a number of them.
The only threads I've seen regarding issues with the fans staying idle at high temps are for the new MBP's.
I also know that (all) the MBP's run a little hot. Within 5 degrees of the thermal specs is a little more than a little in my books though.

If I am able to find a solution, I will be sure to let everyone know. As I said, it must be an issue with the fans/airflow out of since there is little temperature change from idle to full speed.

 

[iVeBeenDrinkin']

I know there are plenty of threads about high temps, and thermal paste. I've read a number of them.
The only threads I've seen regarding issues with the fans staying idle at high temps are for the new MBP's.
I also know that (all) the MBP's run a little hot. Within 5 degrees of the thermal specs is a little more than a little in my books though.

If I am able to find a solution, I will be sure to let everyone know. As I said, it must be an issue with the fans/airflow out of since there is little temperature change from idle to full speed.

I will have to disagree with you on your statement about all MBPs running hot. I have a new MBP and it has never gotten hot to the touch. The normal temps with the 9400 GPU are between 30-65c and the base has never gotten above 32c. The fans kick on at 80c and I do not hear them until they reach around 4500 rpms. When I use the 9600, the temps run from 40-75c on average. The base has never gone above 35c and the fans again, start up at 80c. The MBP has never been hot to the touch.

 

[kastenbrust]

The Macbook Pro Processor Core temp increasing after applying thermal paste isn't that strange actually, especially if you applied too much, and even more likely if you used Arctic Silver 5! Basically there are 2 reasons for this:

1)The amount of thermal paste you use should be only enough to fill in the microscopic irregularities on the cpu and heat sink surfaces so that there are no air spaces (which are very poor heat conductors) in the contact between them. Thermal paste is certainly not as good a heat conductor as the metal to metal contact, so you therefore need to be careful that a very thin layer is spread (as the manufacture's directions indicate). Too much will make it impossible for the pressure of the heatsink onto the cpu to bring the two metal surfaces into contact with each other.

2) Arctic Silver 5 is slightly conductive, containing sub-micron zinc, and therefore if you applied too much it would be connecting circuits and possibly shorting power, making the circuits hotter, i've seen this many times before in laptops, its really better in desktops.

 

[pointandclick]

I will have to disagree with you on your statement about all MBPs running hot. I have a new MBP and it has never gotten hot to the touch. The normal temps with the 9400 GPU are between 30-65c and the base has never gotten above 32c. The fans kick on at 80c and I do not hear them until they reach around 4500 rpms. When I use the 9600, the temps run from 40-75c on average. The base has never gone above 35c and the fans again, start up at 80c. The MBP has never been hot to the touch.

Indeed, I've seen several people state that their old MBP's run in the 80's too. I have also seen people talking about the new machines temps.

The Macbook Pro Processor Core temp increasing after applying thermal paste isn't that strange actually, especially if you applied too much, and even more likely if you used Arctic Silver 5! Basically there are 2 reasons for this:

That's why I reapplied it. To put the proper amount on. Thanks for the warning though, I'm sure there are plenty of people who glob it on not knowing how to do it properly. Hopefully not on a MBP though if they've never done it before.