Early 2011 17" MBP reaching 200 degrees normal?

[thermodynamic]

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.

The Dells I use at work use the same Intel CPUs as the Macs and their cooling subsystems are just as cheap.

Unfortunately, they not only get as hot (or hotter, I've yet to see a modern Dell idle at anything lower than 62C, which is outrageously high for a non-quad core)), but leaving them on a sofa running has rendered some burnouts because these things did not shut down (they just smoked, literally), and then powered off because the system board (or video subsystem on the board) got damaged due to the heat.

(the location of the MBP's input and output grilles is rather better than Dell's, TBH, but they still get blisteringly hot under certain workloads (video editing, fractal creation, anything that uses the CPU at its full potential))

Yes, CPUs are made to run up to a certain temperature.

No, it is not wise to run them near max specs for any contiguous length of time. It will lower the lifespan, and the CPU may not shut the system off.

The aluminum body transfers heat well, but the fact that huge globs of thermal paste slopped onto the heat sinks more than counters any benefit. These cases really do not double as massive heatsinks, which I thought was the case when I migrated to Macs in 2009.

http://my2011macbookpro.com/replacing-thermal-paste-on-the-cpu-and-gpu-results/

http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Early-2011-Teardown/4990/2

If one needs a laptop to do constant CPU-intensive work, an iMac or desktop Mac is going to be a better choice.

On Apple's own support forums, one person did manage to get someone at the Apple Store to replace the glop of wasted amount of cheap grease with Arctic Silver 5, carefully applied. 82C is far less hurtful to a CPU and surrounding chips than 92C or higher.

 

[Inconsequential]

Is it normal for a macbook pro to reach that temperature, Yes.

Is it normal to reach that temperature, No.

It's within the processors thermal limits, so yes, it IS normal and it IS ok.

My 2007 MBP sat at 95-100C for months on end and it's still working A-ok now.