Early 2011 Macbook Pro HOT!

[thekev]

While it may be irritating that shutdowns happen, such as with extensive gaming, it doesn't indicate something is wrong with the Mac. It only means that the Mac wasn't designed to handle such loads for extensive periods. While you certainly may disagree with Apple's design and the Mac's capabilities, it doesn't mean the Mac is defective. It more likely indicates that you didn't buy a computer best suited to your needs and intended workload.

I don't really game. I have an older mac pro around too. It will be updated once Apple releases a proper update. I only use it for work, even then the 2011 macbook pro is faster at most things. There are no indications anywhere when you buy such a thing that it's not created for X functions. The internal hardware is quite powerful, and Apple advertises it in this way. You can read through all of their spec sheets and policies. Nowhere does it indicate that thermal shutdown is normal behavior . I'm personally very comfortable around the inside of a computer.

I may repaste several computers at once, and blow out any dust from the inside at the same time. I know enough to be careful with compressed air on fans as it can be stressful on the blades if used incorrectly. I keep everything grounded. I don't walk around while doing this. I'm really quite paranoid with the caution procedures, but I don't work on anything that makes me feel nervous. Typically before disassembling one I'll watch the ifixit videos twice so that I have the entire process memorized 100% down to which direction they pulled which tab.

Most people are not like this. They buy a computer. They expect it to work. The design should be able to monitor itself well enough to prevent the device from having to resort to fail-safe procedures in typical situations. We aren't talking about overclocking or any of that silliness here. We are just talking about anything that can stress out a modern computer in its native clock settings. Ideally the heavy lifting programs would just run slower on laptops than they do on something like a current mac pro. If I experience any problems with my current one, it will either be a clean and repaste or I will take it to a familiar Apple authorized repair center rather than Apple directly. There are a couple that I know, and they're much less annoying than the genius bar.

Anyway I am going to agree to disagree on this one. You provide a lot of excellent reference. I just disagree with you on this point.

 

[GGJstudios]

Anyway I am going to agree to disagree on this one. You provide a lot of excellent reference. I just disagree with you on this point.

I completely respect your right to disagree. I don't expect everyone to agree on everything. If they did, we'd all be redundant!

 

[theSeb]

Perhaps partially true, although they are edited to fit. I've never seen an GG post an inappropriate response.

I find it infuriating the number of n00bs who sign up to MR to ask the same old questions and don't bother reading the FAQs or searching (either the forums or that thing called Google). Props to GG for bothering to try and help them at all, given that there's a good chance they will be ungrateful and argue against the advice that they came here to request!

Here's to the GGJStudios knowledge base.

GGJ does not copy and paste. He uses a text expander.

But seriously, his posts are informative and based on the information from thousands of posts that he's helpfully gathered, because searching the forum is far too daunting for most. It annoys me when people have a go at someone trying to be helpful. It annoys me even more when they don't even bother to read the xxxxing information before replying. Most of the questions on these forums can be answered by a quick google search. I don't understand why people cannot use a search engine. Perhaps it should be taught in schools? I guess thinking for one self and problem solving are too difficult and overrated.

 

[phyrexia]

GG is a very opinionated, very intelligent individual, and understands very well the affects of heat on electronics. S/He is correct with his/her assertions nearly 100% of the time, including this time. There are at times other opinions which may differ from GG's, but in my experience it is very difficult to find fault in a GG post. This coming from a self proclaimed smartypants himself.

Skull, for some reason, GG doesn't understand that thermal stress shortens the life of electronics, especially CPUs. Saying that Macs can't overheat is different than the reality than heat will break down any component over time. It's like saying your car will not overheat at 105 MPH, maybe, but run it at that speed very long and see what happens. Running any component at the margins is asking for trouble. Your MBP at 80C/25% load is not normal, should be down in the 60's. First thing I would do is reset the heatsink with a good thermal paste like Artic Silver.

 

[Skulltrail]

Problem Solved!

Hey everyone. Jeez this thread went off topic.

I went ahead and disassembled my MBP (no AppleCare), removing the heatsink from the logic board only to find a horrible job of thermal paste application. I spent 10 minutes removing the existing TIM, and then proceeded with applying my own Artic Silver 5 thermal compound. I'm currently at 39C while writing this. Couldn't be more pleased (well if the temps were -5C at all times, that would be cool too).

Thanks to everyone for the replies and I apologize to GG if I insulted/bothered him (or anyone else) in any way.

Just comes to show that the best way to solve a problem is to do it yourself. While I reapplied the TIM, I also installed the new Optibay I bought on Amazon for $20. 2 SSDs in one!

 

[GoreVidal]

Just comes to show that the best way to solve a problem is to do it yourself. While I reapplied the TIM, I also installed the new Optibay I bought on Amazon for $20. 2 SSDs in one!

Excellent then...no need for this worthless thread after all!

 

[robeddie]

I understand that completely. I also understand that the shortened life is still much longer than most people own their Macs. Incidents of Macs dying from this long-term exposure to heat are extremely rare. I challenge you to link to statistics or even forum posts that indicate otherwise.

It's great to come back to a thread a few years later and see how someone who spoke with such certainty ended up being so wrong, .

http://www.cultofmac.com/262861/early-2011-macbook-pros-dropping-like-flies-heat-issues-blame/

 

[MagicBoy]

GGJstudios wasn't wrong. The AMD chipsets and Intel CPUs were run within tolerance. The failures related to a manufacturing defect with the AMD GPU. The machines were doomed to fail from the point they were manufactured.

 

[jjvdn]

Problem Solved!

Hey everyone. Jeez this thread went off topic.

I went ahead and disassembled my MBP (no AppleCare), removing the heatsink from the logic board only to find a horrible job of thermal paste application. I spent 10 minutes removing the existing TIM, and then proceeded with applying my own Artic Silver 5 thermal compound. I'm currently at 39C while writing this. Couldn't be more pleased (well if the temps were -5C at all times, that would be cool too).

Thanks to everyone for the replies and I apologize to GG if I insulted/bothered him (or anyone else) in any way.

Just comes to show that the best way to solve a problem is to do it yourself. While I reapplied the TIM, I also installed the new Optibay I bought on Amazon for $20. 2 SSDs in one!

Hey skull, can you give an update on your macbook pro. I'm going to try your technique with applying the thermal paste. I had the same problem with my macbook pro. If I were to download like the updates my computer would heat up and the fan would be extremely noisy. I tried to fix the problem by installing more rams 4GB to 16GB, swap my HD for a SD, clean all the dust and wipe down everything in the inside. Nothing seem to work and its frustrating. I even reset the PRAM and SMC like a lot of people recommended and that didn't help either. I even download the istat pro and gfxcardstatus. The problem seem to be on the macbook pro 2011(early) 13"

 

[WindowsTraitor]

I used to use mine as portable heating unit back in the days. They used to run very very hot.