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Are these temps normal?

K

kingsal

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 29, 2010
94
0
Here's what iStat has to say about my Mid-2007 White MacBook! :eek:

All I have open is TextEdit, iCal, Preview, Safari, and Firefox. I've been noticing that my computer gets especially hot when I'm using Firefox. Should I worry about it disintegrating from the insides or are these levels of temperature perfectly normal? It's really difficult for me to keep it on my lap if I'm using it for longer than 15 minutes because the bottom of the case gets insanely hot. It's also quite discolored around the edges (sort of a greenish blue) and around where the exhaust is and it's cracked around the edges and where the hinges are around the screen.

j4ish.png
 
 
You should consider getting a laptop cooler.

I have a MBP and when recording with Garageband, the CPU typically stays between 180 to 190 degrees. I have had no adverse affects in the three years of owning it.
 
Thanks for the reassurance everyone.

SandboxGeneral said:
I have a MBP and when recording with Garageband, the CPU typically stays between 180 to 190 degrees. I have had no adverse affects in the three years of owning it.
Click to expand...

I actually had to get the hard drive replaced via AppleCare because it crashed sometime in late 2008. I suspected it was due to overheating because my MacBook fans would run at full blast at all times for about 6 months (because of which I sparingly used it). I later discovered it was due to a stuck "print" process (i.e. a document was perpetually in the print queue or something).

I don't use Garageband at all but I notice the same issue when I try to connect a camera to my computer.
 
Perfectly normal. Anyone who tells you otherwise doesn't know much about computers.

You don't have to worry about monitoring a computers temperatures. The machine will shut itself down long before heat does damage to it.

Now if your computer freezes a lot, gets really laggy, or shuts off on you, thats a sign of a cooling problem (it could be numerous other things too but its a sign of cooling problems).
 
chrono1081 said:
Now if your computer freezes a lot, gets really laggy, or shuts off on you, thats a sign of a cooling problem (it could be numerous other things too but its a sign of cooling problems).
Click to expand...

It does, more often than I would like. I was using Google Docs earlier today and it got laggy. I'm due for an upgrade anyway.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8B117 Safari/6531.22.7)

miles01110 said:
SandboxGeneral said:
You should consider getting a laptop cooler.
Click to expand...

Why? Laptop coolers are a waste of money.
Click to expand...

My laptop cooler wasn't a waste of money. In fact, it was a good and wise investment for my MBP.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8B117 Safari/6531.22.7)

kingsal said:
Thanks for the reassurance everyone.

SandboxGeneral said:
I have a MBP and when recording with Garageband, the CPU typically stays between 180 to 190 degrees. I have had no adverse affects in the three years of owning it.
Click to expand...

I actually had to get the hard drive replaced via AppleCare because it crashed sometime in late 2008. I suspected it was due to overheating because my MacBook fans would run at full blast at all times for about 6 months (because of which I sparingly used it). I later discovered it was due to a stuck "print" process (i.e. a document was perpetually in the print queue or something).

I don't use Garageband at all but I notice the same issue when I try to connect a camera to my computer.
Click to expand...

Without my laptop cooler the fans would run full blast when doing intensive work and they're quite loud too.
 
stop using firefox. i used to use it and i noticed it would work your cpu more than it should. also get click to flash. i used to have temps of 140 while just browsing, now i have temps of about 110.
 
miles01110 said:
What exactly is the problem with having your fans running full speed?
Click to expand...

For one, it means your laptop is really loud, which can be bothersome, especially if the fans are on 100% of the time. I remember being in the quiet room of my college library and having the laptop on with the fans blasting (and loud) while everyone else's computers were quiet. It's not something that should happen.

I don't understand why there seems to be a debate about cooling station or whatever that is. Seems to be besides the point since I'd like to keep my MacBook portable and I imagine it doesn't solve the noise issue. That said, I can see it being helpful to someone who doesn't move their laptop a lot... but then maybe it would make more sense just to get a desktop.
 
A problem with the fans running at full speed (being that they are variable speed) means that there is too much heat building up inside the laptop. A laptop cooler can help mitigate that problem; it does for me.

I am always on the go with my MBP and the laptop cooler goes with it all the time.

I use the Cooler Master Notepal. They don't make it anymore but you may be able to find it on eBay.

notepal.jpg
 
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happle said:
lol suit yourself. put unnecessary loads and heat on your cpu i dont care lol.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice anyway. I really like Firefox and when it does heat up the CPU (it doesn't happen all the time) it's usually the Web site I'm navigating to (flash heavy, or Google docs). I think it's the Web site that's the issue not the browser. I just quit it and relaunch it and things go back to normal.
 
kingsal said:
Thanks for the advice anyway. I really like Firefox and when it does heat up the CPU (it doesn't happen all the time) it's usually the Web site I'm navigating to (flash heavy, or Google docs). I think it's the Web site that's the issue not the browser. I just quit it and relaunch it and things go back to normal.
Click to expand...

That is exactly right. If you find a site with a bunch of flash in it, it will heat up and suck your battery dry in a hurry. It is in no way firefox's fault, simply the web site.
 
I use my fans appropriately so my MBP temps don't go over 80. They fans idle at 3000rpm with a typical temperature of 65. The temps have never gone over 95 ever.
 
kingsal said:
Thanks for the advice anyway. I really like Firefox and when it does heat up the CPU (it doesn't happen all the time) it's usually the Web site I'm navigating to (flash heavy, or Google docs). I think it's the Web site that's the issue not the browser. I just quit it and relaunch it and things go back to normal.
Click to expand...

it is the browser. i've done a bit of research on it and found that firefox doesn't work as well on a mac aka cpu hog. the flash is a big factor tho, thats why i said get click to flash. works great. but as far as the firefox thing, google it and you will find some info, or just look at your activity monitor when your on a non flash site and compare it to safari.

safari is very resource friendly. i used to be like u and only want firefox, but now i have adapted to safari, it looks cleaner, runs smoother, and i like the top sites better.

edit: atticus - your stupid lol, what do you run your fans on max? or are you talking about in Celsius? were talking about F. also if you are talking about F, then you will just burn out your fans for no reason. 140F is perfectly acceptable for a cpu and wont do any damage.

my macbook is usually 100-115F while browsing/music depending on the room temp. and usually 125-140 while watching videos/producing music.

my macbook runs very nicely and cool.
 
kingsal said:
It does, more often than I would like. I was using Google Docs earlier today and it got laggy. I'm due for an upgrade anyway.
Click to expand...
that should NOT be happening - there is absolutely no way that a hot CPU (at that temperature anyway) will cause those sorts of issues. you should check HDD, RAM, and the GPU because they could be causing the issues.

SandboxGeneral said:
My laptop cooler wasn't a waste of money. In fact, it was a good and wise investment for my MBP.
Click to expand...
my MacBook pro idles at 180F when doing nothing. it will be 5 years old in a week or two. there is absolutely no need to worry about your laptop temperature wise - as you are not anywhere near TjMax temps (hardware shut off values). im not hounding you for using it, go ahead, its great for keeping it and yourself cool. i just dont see the computer benefiting that much even in the long run.
 
I figured it's not normal. I've been waiting to upgrade because my MacBook has several cracks (the plastic around the top of the screen where the iSight camera is actually comes off so that I can see the insides!) and a couple of the keys are broken (the key "button" broke/came off). I was originally going to wait until the battery hit 2,000 cycles but I'll buy sooner if Apple updates the MBP on Wednesday (especially if the 13" MBP goes to an i5 processor) or if the new MBA is something really amazing.
 
kingsal said:
I figured it's not normal. I've been waiting to upgrade because my MacBook has several cracks (the plastic around the top of the screen where the iSight camera is actually comes off so that I can see the insides!) and a couple of the keys are broken (the key "button" broke/came off). I was originally going to wait until the battery hit 2,000 cycles but I'll buy sooner if Apple updates the MBP on Wednesday (especially if the 13" MBP goes to an i5 processor) or if the new MBA is something really amazing.
Click to expand...
they are known to crack - its terribly annoying!!

i really do not believe that the MBPs will get an i5 CPU - its far too small IMO. we will see!
 
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