Current Gen 15" Macbook Pro Overheating Problem?

[nauset24]

Hot 2008 Mac Book Pro

I came from a 2.6GHz Macbook Pro 17" early 2008.
I assure that my 2.3 GHz Macbook Pro 15" early 2011 is much more comfortable to use when getting hot.
The 2008 model run hotter on the palm rest. But 2011 model run hotter at the bottom and aluminum area above the ESC and function keys.

My early 2008 15" MacBook Pro is running VERY hot on the palm rest. It is so hot at times that it is almost burning my palms and I have to pull my sleeves down over my palms or put a cloth or something between my palms and the rest. One day this week I neglected to put an insulator there in time and my palms still are a little "firey". The bottom gets pretty hot at times, too, and I often use an insulator there, too, when it is on my lap.


There is actually a medical term (newly coined of course and I don't remember it) for this since your thighs can get permanently "disfigured" from having a hot laptop on your lap. (Really, my doctor asked me what was up with my skin on my thighs and I have since begun using someting to insulate there as well.)

But since the extreme high heat (palm rest or bottom) doesn't happen all the time I guess I should monitor what resources are being used when it does. (Wonder if I can use a meat thermometor to record the temp?) I have actually turned my laptop off a times because it was so hot. The heat problem, of course, has gotten more noticeable over time.

I can't believe that this is "normal" and I should probably visit the Genius Bar, too. Just don't know if I can recreate it for them. Plus my laptop is now out of warranty.

This laptop has had so many things replaced (thank goodness for Apple Care) I think I got a lemon: motherboard, hard drive, keyboard, and a couple of other things.

I'll keep reading this thread to see what others have done.

p.s. I rarely watch You Tube videos; no heavy processing chores, just a few programs open: Safari, Mail, iPhoto, maybe Pages.

 

[cosmicjoke]

Hey guys,

I'm considering finally replacing my mid-2007 white Macbook since it wont be able to run Mountain Lion (even though it runs perfectly well otherwise).

My contender of choice is a 2.4ghz quad Core i7 15" Macbook Pro. But I've been hearing that a lot of people we're having issues with it running overly hot or overheating. I was wondering if the problem has been solved in the recent crop of units, or if I should hold out for the next rev of the hardware?

Any advice would be great.

Thanks!

I've brutalized my late 11' 15" mbp for the last 4 mo.., run it in clamshell @ high load w/ 2 thunderbolt displays all day/every day and aside from sounding like a hairdryer it's never turned off or shown any signs of malfunctioning.... everything has been the same as the day i got it... That said it doesn't take much to get the fans roaring, so... if you want a quiet laptop this ain't it, unless you're browsing etc, often then it will chill @ 2k rpm...

 

[laxman101]

I design ultra high resolution (10'x20'x300ppi) photo banners mostly. Pretty taxing on the hardware esp for laptops. But portability is essential. That's why I'm worried haha

The one time I did poster design (11'x14' @300ppi) my MBP never went above 150° F. I use gfx card status and a cooling pad, and I output to a 24" 1080p monitor. The only time I have real problems with heat is when watching netflix. Even with fans at 6200 rpm and on the pad it can get to 180° F.

 

[AppChat]

its a laptop they will ALL heat up, its normal.
what kind of serious is this???

 

[GuitarG20]

Early 2011 MBP 17" 2.2 i7.

Under normal use, temperatures stay between 35-55C (depending on use) and fans stay at ~2000 RPM

Skype video chat, or other heavy loading applications- between 70-90C, fans ramp up with higher temps.

This really seems normal to me- the laptop is ridiculously powerful for how thin it is, and it's made of metal, so it can function like a heatsink and is very effective for this.

Point of all this being- the computer will change drastically in how warm it is and how high the ramps fan up, based on what the user is doing. Unless the computer is so hot that it shuts down to save its own internal components, it is not overheating.

 

[GGJstudios]

There is actually a medical term (newly coined of course and I don't remember it) for this since your thighs can get permanently "disfigured" from having a hot laptop on your lap. (Really, my doctor asked me what was up with my skin on my thighs and I have since begun using someting to insulate there as well.)

From Apple:

If the computer is on your lap and gets uncomfortably warm, remove it from your lap and place it on a stable surface.

(Wonder if I can use a meat thermometor to record the temp?)

iStat Pro would probably work better, since your MBP has no meat in it.

I can't believe that this is "normal"

On the contrary, it's completely normal. Your Mac is not overheating. The Intel processors used in Macs are designed to automatically shut down to prevent damage if they truly overheat. CPU Tjmax = 105C, GPU Tjmax = 100C on i3, i5, i7 processors. (Source: Intel) If you're not already using it, iStat Pro will give you accurate readings of your temps and fan speeds, among other things.

Unless there is a rare defect in a Mac, most temps are well within the normal operating range, considering the workload being put on it. Websites with Flash content, games and other multimedia apps will put higher demand on the CPU/GPU, generating more heat. This is normal. If you're constantly putting high demands on your system, such as gaming or other multimedia tasks, expect temps to rise and fans to spin up accordingly. It's just your Mac doing its job to maintain temps within the normal range.

It is also quite normal for your Mac to become extremely hot to the touch during intensive operations. The aluminum body transfers heat more effectively than other materials used in computer casings, so you will feel the heat more. This doesn't indicate that it's overheating and will not harm the computer to be hot to the touch.

Your fans are always on when your Mac is on, spinning at a minimum of 2000 rpm (for MBPs) or 1800 rpm (for MBAs, MBs and minis). iMacs have 3 fans with minimum speeds in the 800-1200 range. They will spin faster as needed to keep temps at a safe level. If they're spinning up without increased heat, try resetting the SMC. (PRAM/NVRAM has nothing to do with these issues, so resetting it will not help.)

The intake and exhaust vents are in the back of the computer near the hinge on all Mac notebooks. The iMac vent is a slot on the back near the top of the computer. Make sure the vents remain unblocked to allow your computer to perform at its best.

Learn about the fans in your Mac
Apple Portables: Operating temperature

For Flash-related issues:

• Find your Flash version and make sure it's the latest version available.
• Install ClickToFlash (Safari), Flashblock (Firefox) or FlashBlock (Chrome) to control which Flash content plays on websites.
• Use the YouTube HTML5 Video Player to watch YouTube videos, when available. (May impact fullscreen viewing. See link for details.)

 

[thundersteele]

iStat Pro would probably work better, since your MBP has no meat in it.

Maybe he wants to stick it in his leg?

The way nauset24 described the problem he is either very sensitive to heat, in which case a desktop computer would be better, or the mac is actually malfunctioning - palm rests don't get that hot usually, although the pre-unibody models did heat up quite a bit there.


Of course, not removing a hot laptop from the legs and letting it cause pain and damage does show some lack of common sense and survival skills.

 

[cledet]

Temps get as high as 72C when I play StarCraft 2 fullscreen + medium settings. It's not as bad as I thought. Fans are extremely loud though.

 

[Lisa89]

I'm not an expert, but wanted to share this because i came from a 2007 15" mbp... which is quite similar to the one you have. Just my opinion from a user point of view

My (two months old) 2.2ghz - base model - 15" MBP is much, much colder than the one i used to have. (couldn't touch the device sometimes) The cpu heat is around 60° where my 2007 model goes around 80-90° and he's much, much more quiet! The case isn't cold like when turned off, but definitely not hot either. I use it mostly with a raindesign stand, so this may affect the temperature somehow, but don't think it makes a big difference.

Sometimes, he makes some noise, mostly when browsing (with the heavy work he stays quiet), and it's a huge improvement with my old one. I guess the fans go on twice a day, where my old one was doing that every few minutes...

 

[mfuchs88]

I have the same model you mentioned, and mine mostly runs fine. It may get a little warm, and even a little warmer if its on a soft surface and the vent is covered up, but it never gets too hot unless I'm gaming. If you're playing games, I would put it on a hard surface, or put it on a stand like the Griffin Elevator, or you can even make your own PVC stand. It gets pretty warm while playing MW2 on Bootcamp, but not anything that makes me nervous. Just use a lapdesk if you're concerned. Best of luck, hope everything works out!