Do I have a problem?

[SirStrumalot]

So I took my MBP into the Apple Store today and what the "genius" basically said was that it was normal for me to see temperatures of 85C even while not doing too much. According to him, the MBP raises it's temperature to its upper quartile so that if you do happen to start doing CPU intensive tasks, it doesn't require as much power to kick in; so basically, apparently it helps save power? 😕

He also said that the 13" MBPs operate at a higher operating temperature than the 15" due to them having the same CPUs with the same amount of power, only in a smaller package.

He did a test and said everything seemed to be working fine. I'm not completely convinced but I'm going to wait and see for now.

 

[Montymitch]

Others have mentioned websites that are Flash heavy, but I'm wondering if you were simply viewing some particularly 'hot' websites.😀

 

[iZero]

So I took my MBP into the Apple Store today and what the "genius" basically said was that it was normal for me to see temperatures of 85C even while not doing too much. According to him, the MBP raises it's temperature to its upper quartile so that if you do happen to start doing CPU intensive tasks, it doesn't require as much power to kick in; so basically, apparently it helps save power? 😕

He also said that the 13" MBPs operate at a higher operating temperature than the 15" due to them having the same CPUs with the same amount of power, only in a smaller package.

The first part of what he said is nonsense. Doing nothing/light tasks you should not be getting 85C temps. That is perfectly safe if you're working it pretty good, or using a flash intensive set of pages, gaming, or something along those lines, but not idle/doing light tasks. As for raising it's temperature like that, I have no idea what he is talking about. Mine never gets nearly that high on it's own. And if I'm really working it, and let it idle, it drops right back down to a normal temp. Granted it's a different size, but I highly doubt yours should be doing that. If you feel like they are not being honest, or you're getting bad information, don't be afraid to call Apple. Someone will help you either find the cause and fix it, or replace/repair it if something is faulty.

The second part, however, is accurate in part. 13" will be a little warmer than a 15", and a 15" will be a little warmer than a 17". The smaller package presents a bit less of an opportunity for cooling. But it is not as extreme as he makes it sound...

 

[SirStrumalot]

Others have mentioned websites that are Flash heavy, but I'm wondering if you were simply viewing some particularly 'hot' websites.😀

LOL

I had mr, fb and Youtube open I think. I hope it's not an issue like he said... would save me the hassle of reinstalling software etc.

 

[SirStrumalot]

The first part of what he said is nonsense. Doing nothing/light tasks you should not be getting 85C temps. That is perfectly safe if you're working it pretty good, or using a flash intensive set of pages, gaming, or something along those lines, but not idle/doing light tasks. As for raising it's temperature like that, I have no idea what he is talking about. Mine never gets nearly that high on it's own. And if I'm really working it, and let it idle, it drops right back down to a normal temp. Granted it's a different size, but I highly doubt yours should be doing that. If you feel like they are not being honest, or you're getting bad information, don't be afraid to call Apple. Someone will help you either find the cause and fix it, or replace/repair it if something is faulty.

The second part, however, is accurate in part. 13" will be a little warmer than a 15", and a 15" will be a little warmer than a 17". The smaller package presents a bit less of an opportunity for cooling. But it is not as extreme as he makes it sound...

To be honest, not only did i think he was being dishonest, he was also a bit of a jerk. He had a holier than thou attitude and even went on to say it was normal to see fan speeds of up to 3500rpm and that they don't run much lower than that. I had to make it back to campus at the time for a class but I will be heading back there tomorrow (before the iPad launch!) and demand a new machine. I definitely walked out of there feeling like I'd been had but was in a hurry to really deal with it at the time.

Edit: Anybody know whether you have to take the original box in for exchanges? Im walking out of there with a new machine one way or another. I just saw 92C and fans at 5400rpm with two tabs open on chrome. Ridiculous.

 

[brentsg]

Just box it up and return it. You're within the 14 days. There's no reason for a standoff.

Though I also disagree that the 13 will be hotter than the 15. You're talking about a 35W part with no discreet GPU vs a 45W part with a discreet GPU.

 

[TheFarmer]

I just saw 92C and fans at 5400rpm with two tabs open on chrome. Ridiculous.

😱

 

[endless17]

Edit: Anybody know whether you have to take the original box in for exchanges? Im walking out of there with a new machine one way or another. I just saw 92C and fans at 5400rpm with two tabs open on chrome. Ridiculous.

Can you give more info on what your computer setup is like? Are you outputting to an external monitor? Were you running flash? What does your activity monitor show?

To be honest - 92C and 5400rpm speeds aren't abnormal since those are the upper limits for both. What matters is what was running in the background to cause it. We already know that using Chrome will usually be enough to kick the MBP to use the discrete graphics card, which in turn will drive up the temp of your CPU since they share the same heatsink...

 

[SirStrumalot]

Can you give more info on what your computer setup is like? Are you outputting to an external monitor? Were you running flash? What does your activity monitor show?

To be honest - 92C and 5400rpm speeds aren't abnormal since those are the upper limits for both. What matters is what was running in the background to cause it. We already know that using Chrome will usually be enough to kick the MBP to use the discrete graphics card, which in turn will drive up the temp of your CPU since they share the same heatsink...

Hey, the MBP is not plugged into any externals. I was running some flash at the latest incidence, but have seen 3500+ rpm fan speeds even when not. In all cases, I dont see anything other than chrome running with only about 5-20% of the CPU being used. Do you still reckon this is normal? :s

 

[SirStrumalot]

Called Applecare today and they confirmed that this was not normal and that I should take it back. They also said that what the genius said was misleading and wrong and that I should point it out to him if I can.

Guess im going back to the Apple store tomorrow AFTER the big iPad launch.

 

[eaf7s]

Oddly enough, my computer is running COOL today. Plugged into external monitor & speakers w/ bluetooth keyboard/trackpad, listening to music, updating iPhone software, making a Time Machine backup on external drive, 5 tabs in safari, mail & skype up (but no calls in progress)...CPU 50-54C. Last night it was doing even less than this and I was seeing 86C+... 😕 . I mean I'm not gonna complain because this is perfect but it is very odd.