Design flaw on the Late 2008 MacBook Pro

[TESEV]

Would someone remind me of the danger level where hardware damage could occur?

Found the answer. The thermal specification is 105C. 6 degrees of separation

 

[sal]

Looking forward to the results.

figure I report back. I did some compression tests for temperatures. With the lid open, I got temperatures in the range of 78c

After the file was done, I let the laptop cool for a bit. This time I closed the lid and woke it up with my keyboard. Rendered the same file and the temperatures stayed in the range of 75c


In both cases, the laptop was cool before I ran "the tests" I also let it work for about 10 minutes (render was about half way done) before I started writing down the the temperatures.

I expected the temperatures to be higher with the laptop closed but surprisingly they were lower. Looks like I'll continue operating my macbookpro in clamshell mode

computer specs
unibody macbook pro 2.5ghz, , 4gigs of ram, 320gb-HD

 

[justit]

If you are thinking of getting a MBP or have one, for 95% of your tasks the computer is fine.

That's great advice as I advise anyone to first look at their needs before the machine. That's why I'm testing the purchase of a MB Air over a MB Pro. The thing runs cooler, vents are always open and the 5% of stuff like rendering video I can throw to a dedicated desktop.

Not sure I understand those that blame running a MBP clamshell most of the time. It's the ability to take your files with you without needing to sync from another machine that gives the MBP an advantage.

 

[infernohellion]

When playing games on my external 24" screen i have to leave my unibody MBP open, which works fine... if i try to game in clam shellmode it overheats and freezes (this is in bootcamp running vista 32bit)

The problem may be the thermal paste which i plan to replace with some AS5, but i realized that the processor faces the keyboard, so it isnt as simple as taking the bottom cover off..... i guess i will do it one day when i have a lot of time and patiences..

to sum it up, the vent is deff restricted more when in clamshell mode, not to mention the heat can't rise through the keyboard because it gets stuck on the glass with a nice tight rubber seal all the way around the edge

What I always fear is that the rubber seal would melt!

Especially when you close the clamshell, and put it in the laptop bag immediately without knowing that it actually is still running (which happened a lot to my current MBP)

 

[bezerk3r86]

Another thing to note is the color. Black is both an absorber and radiator of heat, so you can imagine what could happen when there's a lot of heat dissipation to be taking place. Since it also surrounds the glossy display, even the display cover might become too hot when you use it in closed-lid mode.