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Does Netflix make anyone elses MBP get hot?
- Thread starter LadyK8
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Yes this is common. I would imagine that the dedicated graphics card is kicking in when watching any type of online video & therefore is going to produce more heat than the onboard graphics processor. I wouldn't worry about it. They cram a lot of power into a small area especially with the new 2011 quad core MPBs so they're gonna produce some heat. Install the iStat dashboard widget and use it to check your CPU & GPU temps when watching netflix next time. You should be in the 65-80ish Celsius range. But probably not the upper 80s. I'll watch some netflix on my 2011 MPB & get an avg CPU/GPU temp & let you know.
^this. Use gfxcardstatus to force the integrated chip. Shouldn't get hot if you do this. Before I used gfxcardstatus, my MBP would get hot and the fans would spin up to around 6000 RPM as if I was playing some demanding 3D game. Whisper quiet when forcing the Intel chip to be used. Sometimes I forget to re-enable the dedicated chip when playing any 3D game and I wonder why it runs slow. lol
Please let me know. It actually went up to about 85 yesterday, so I was worried.
I'm on the 13" and even it gets a bit hotter when streaming. Plex really spins the fans up as the temperature gets into the 80-85 degree range.
The reason it get's hotter with chrome is because chrome has adobe flash built in and it isn't the latest version with hardware acceleration. The flash in safari is user-installed and is probably the latest version with many performance enhancements when compared to the old version in chrome.
Yes. Silverlight isn't officially approved for use with the Mac version of Chrome. This is probably a big reason why. It's approved for Firefox and Safari. On Windows, it's approved for everything.
Okay, well I've been using it in Firefox. I don't even have Chrome downloaded on my MBP. Thanks.
Well, I can only cite what has happened in my experience. Using the 2010 15" MBP with 2.4 GHz i5 (not quadcore), 4GB RAM, 5400 RPM HDD, and the integrated Intel 3000 HD chip, Netflix video doesn't play smoothly, but rather 15-20 FPS (estimate). It doesn't crawl, but it is noticeable enough that I will switch to the dedicated chip.
My 2011 MBP gets rather hot in the upper-left quadrant as well, but only when I am having the processor do a LOT of work and maxing it out. My temps usually stay in the 40s and 50s C. Would you install SMCFanControl (google that for the download URL) and see how high temps get? Be sure to specify Fahrenheit (F) or Celsius (C). Getting a little plastic fan and blowing it across the path might help as well, if you're going to be using the machine for heavy working for long periods of time.
Agreed.
The first 2011 MBP I got had maxed out at 94C (with a core reaching 100C) - since there was a second issue (keyboard backlight), I got it swapped. The swapped model seems to run cooler under the same amount of load (88C, with a core reaching 94C). Some models had too much thermal grease applied, and as a result end up getting hotter - too much grease will inhibit the cooling process, and the purpose of it is to be a conduit to fill microscopic gaps in the metal on the CPU and on the heatsink. Too much grease will have a contra effect and insulate.
There are some notebooks that use the same i7 and max at 75C, but they are much larger (in terms of general laptop size). The Unibody architecture is pretty much maxed out at this point. I know of a possible fix that will get temps down to 82C, but only Apple would be allowed to do it and not all of their stores will do such a maneuver (re-applying thermal paste).
Procedure and his result:
http://my2011macbookpro.com/replacing-thermal-paste-on-the-cpu-and-gpu-results/
Claim that Apple genius bar staff will do the work (YMMV and I thought about it until seeing that the unit I'm keeping only gets up to 88C - all other testing has shown fairly quick heat dissipation after the CPU load ceased):
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2764570?start=375&tstart=0
Still, I wouldn't dissuade anybody from buying a high-end MBP. Just note that it's going to get warm, and some units might get hot. As usual, for any laptop in general, an extended warranty is nice and I've only read good things about AppleCare. The fact I read that somebody got their MBP's thermal grease replaced is a sign Apple gives a hoot. You won't find that loyalty elsewhere, especially as other companies don't have that type of culture. (everything's licensed and everybody involved blames everyone else (e.g. Tell Dell about a problem: Dell will blame MS for the problem, and going to MS to tell them will likely have the hapless customer going right back to Dell.) There's no sense of ownership. Unlike Apple.
Oh Boy! It sure does get hot with Netflix Streaming, but I've noticed that it doesn't get quite so hot when I use Safari as opposed to Firefox. It can go up to about 80 or 85C if I remember correctly, but if I watch a movie in iTunes, it stays really cool...about 40C to 43C. So, I usually watch Netflix on my Tivo rather than my computer. I didn't notice the Palm Rest so much, but the area on the left right under the screen is where I noticed the heat the most.
Using Safari on my 13 i5 MBP, streaming from Netflix has not made my computer overheat. Fans were at 2000 to 2001 during the whole movie with temps ranging from 50 to 62. I did not notice any excessive heat or fan noise coming from my MBP. Anyway, just putting that out there for anyone that might be interested.