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Clamshell All Day

O

oscillatewildly

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jul 17, 2007
1,808
56
23 Railway Cuttings
Hello,

I've realised I need a 24 inch screen to work efficiently, so an LED Cinema Display will be bought - more options down the line than an iMac, the panel and backlight seems good for the money, I don't need to rotate the screen, nor do I need more ports, and the window and light will be ahead of it.

The computer - like others I have been waiting for an updated Mac Mini, in the meantime the refurb low end Aluminium MacBook has appeared. I've borrowed an old Titanium Powerbook and like being able to use a computer, netbook tasks, away from the desk, more relaxed. The cost of an updated Mini plus a netbook is likely to add up to that of the refurb MacBook, and the netbook has OS X hassle.

During the day - on the Cinema Display - about 5 browser windows, 10 tabs, with streaming data, not video.

Evening - netbook, and dvd on the Cinema Display.

Questions -

What is your experience of using the Aluminium MacBook for the whole working day in clamshell mode? Heat? I know that once in the mode the lid can be opened to help with heat dissipation. Fan noise? Is it much worse than a Mini?

How does the screen compare to the Titanium Powerbook's? Is it at least netbook quality? Looks like there is a fair amount of hate towards it.

Any battery issues using mains power for a long time?

Can I use the keyboard and mouse from a Bondi iMac Rev a? The hated mouse is okay for me.

Thank you for your help,
OW
 
Why even run it in clamshell mode?

Can't any of your work benefit from the extra screen real-estate?
 
Pressure - There may be times when a bit more screen is useful, but for the majority of the time I will be concentrating on one screen. Heat issue using the two screens?

Cheers,
OW
 
Yeah just use 2 screens.

As for overheating in clamshell mode-- I've spent a whole day editting video in clamshell attached to a 30" display without a problem. The vents are in the right place for it to work either open or shut.
 
All I know is that on my Rain M-Stand, my unibody MBP gets MUCH hotter in clamshell than not. My fans will stay stable while running both displays at 2k. But as soon as I close it, it quickly heats up to the fans at full bore. If I open the display, the heat escapes and the fans slow back down.

The design is NOT good at cooling with the lid closed.

That said, just because it runs hotter, doesn't mean it runs too hot. The fans probably are doing a good job maintaining the temperatures, but they are pretty loud, so I just leave it open.
 
akm3 said:
All I know is that on my Rain M-Stand, my unibody MBP gets MUCH hotter in clamshell than not. My fans will stay stable while running both displays at 2k. But as soon as I close it, it quickly heats up to the fans at full bore. If I open the display, the heat escapes and the fans slow back down.

The design is NOT good at cooling with the lid closed.

That said, just because it runs hotter, doesn't mean it runs too hot. The fans probably are doing a good job maintaining the temperatures, but they are pretty loud, so I just leave it open.
Click to expand...

I have the same setup and I never hear the fans kick in, unless I am doing some encoding.
 
Meh. I've been using a MBP Classic in clamshell for three or four day stright. It's powering a 22" LCD. The heat goes up to 70-80c. Often times that is while I am watching a show onan EyeTV hybrid or encoding somthing via handbreak/visualhub.

I have one with a 8600GT and still haven't noticed an issue. It once went up to 83c and the fans went up to 6000rpm. That was once.
 
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