Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Does a hard case cause overheating?

M

mankymanning

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 18, 2008
157
1
I was thinking about getting an Incase or Speck case for my 15" 2011 MBP but am worried it might make it overheat. Does anyone know if it makes temperatures worse?

I do tend to do some fairly heavy computing in VMs so it will be working hard as it is. I see Incase now do a perforated case that is supposed to help with heat dissipation, anyone got one of those?

Thanks.
 
i did some informal testing with mine under load and under regular conditions. in my case, the numbers came out pretty much the same (there is a thread somewhere on the forums with the specific numbers).

the unibody has fans and vents that do the vast majority of work, but some heat is dissipated through the body, the keyboard, and other holes in the machine. the more you insulate the body (with a hardcase) the hotter it is likely to run. you can't beat physics.

it sounds to me like you would not be an ideal candidate for the hardcase. if you do get it, you might also want to come up with some additional cooling (one of those cooling pads that goes under it) or modify your workflow so you don't put it under heavy loads for long, continuous periods of time.
 
Definitely cause overheating!!!!

This is the review I just put up on Amazon 5 minutes ago after figuring out that all my overheating issues were coming from the case. Hope this helps.


I have used this case since about 2 weeks after i got my macbook pro that I had bought for music production.
I have been trying to figure out for ages why my macbook idle temperature on various temperature apps (istat menu, temperature monitor, etc) have been around 80C on idle, and going in to mid 90's quickly after opening safari or anything simple like that. I have been scared to even open any CPU intensive programs for music production because of this temperature. I have been looking extensively into this over the last week since I really want to use this computer for what its made for and even got the fans cleaned out in case that was an issue. Got different fan apps like smc or istatmenus as well. Nothing seemed to help it at all.
About 30 minutes ago i shutdown my computer and took of just the bottom casing. Opened up both firefox and safari both with 3 tabs each running youtube. My temperature highs got to 67C and this as 5 minutes before it was running at about 80C while doing nothing. I let it run like that for about almost 10 minutes with the temperatures actually going down until 64 with everything running. Now as I have closed all of those things and am just using safari to write this review open...let me check...41C....dont think ive ever seen it that low.....
Cant believe it took me this long to realize that even though the vents on back are open, the heat dissipates through the actual macbook book shell quite a bit. The temperature difference for me is significant..cut in half basically. I wonder what damage over the last year to my computer this has done. I might add that I have a very powerful computer (17in, i7 2.5, 250 ssd +750 hdd, 16g ram - all for using apps that are heavy on cpu). And it all came down to this piece of *%# case.... or any hardshell case for that matter.
Download an app like istat menus or temperature monitor and see for yourself.
 
gautie said:
This is the review I just put up on Amazon 5 minutes ago after figuring out that all my overheating issues were coming from the case. Hope this helps.


I have used this case since about 2 weeks after i got my macbook pro that I had bought for music production.
I have been trying to figure out for ages why my macbook idle temperature on various temperature apps (istat menu, temperature monitor, etc) have been around 80C on idle, and going in to mid 90's quickly after opening safari or anything simple like that. I have been scared to even open any CPU intensive programs for music production because of this temperature. I have been looking extensively into this over the last week since I really want to use this computer for what its made for and even got the fans cleaned out in case that was an issue. Got different fan apps like smc or istatmenus as well. Nothing seemed to help it at all.
About 30 minutes ago i shutdown my computer and took of just the bottom casing. Opened up both firefox and safari both with 3 tabs each running youtube. My temperature highs got to 67C and this as 5 minutes before it was running at about 80C while doing nothing. I let it run like that for about almost 10 minutes with the temperatures actually going down until 64 with everything running. Now as I have closed all of those things and am just using safari to write this review open...let me check...41C....dont think ive ever seen it that low.....
Cant believe it took me this long to realize that even though the vents on back are open, the heat dissipates through the actual macbook book shell quite a bit. The temperature difference for me is significant..cut in half basically. I wonder what damage over the last year to my computer this has done. I might add that I have a very powerful computer (17in, i7 2.5, 250 ssd +750 hdd, 16g ram - all for using apps that are heavy on cpu). And it all came down to this piece of *%# case.... or any hardshell case for that matter.
Download an app like istat menus or temperature monitor and see for yourself.
Click to expand...

This is my predicament exactly! I was use my MBP for music production, and realized my hard case was creating even more heat for my system. Not good. When I'm in my home studio, I go ahead and take it out of its case, hook it up to my cooling fan, and put a sheet of ice underneath the cooling pad so cold air is fanned right to my MBP. On the real, with Ableton Live and packs, and Logic Pro, opened with some social apps and Chrome with YouTube opened and playing a video, my MBP was at 105F. AMAZING.
 
Yeah, this is an older thread for sure, but why create a new thread if one already exists?

So, I'm interested in a flexible plastic case like this:

https://www.amazon.com/iBenzer-Soft...170243&sr=8-5&keywords=macbook+pro+clear+case

But I don't want additional wear/torque on the hinges, and I certainly don't want the computer to overheat as a result of the case.

Previous responses have been contradictory, as have the responses on other sites.

I'd like to keep the computer looking nice while I use it also to protect resale value if I flip it in a year or two.

The aluminum shell is pretty slippery. The tacky plastic case will definitely offer more grip as well preventing drops. I really think the case would offer some peace of mind but obviously I don't want the computer to overheat if I use the case. Recommendations one way or the other? Especially from users of the 2015 macbook pro.
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back