Extreme Hot Temperature / Loud Fans

[PatientWaiter]

Hi guys,

I've been playing some Dota 2 on a 3 week old Macbook Pro 15" Retina (16GB RAM / 750M Video) and I'm new to running games on a computer... the fan sounds really loud and the keyboard feels hot to the touch. Like, "I'm going to burn my finger if I leave it here" kinda hot.

I installed iStats to see what's going on. Once the map loads, the CPU temp shoots up in the mid-upper 90's Celsius and the fans are going upwards of 6000 RPMs almost immediately, within 30 seconds of the map loading. Is that safe? Is this normal? Are there different settings I should be using? I'm at 1440x900 with most settings at high. I feel that my new computer should be able to handle this without too much trouble...am I wrong?

 

[Turri]

Having exactly the same issue. I'm afraid to play games, because of it damaging the computer... this can't be normal is it?

 

[Blue Sun]

I have the same machine, while using applications like Photoshop and Illustrator, it remains very cool. In fact, it is by far the coolest computer I've ever owned.

While gaming is much more stressful than PS and AI, 90 degrees C is quite warm. Have you tried installing SMC fan control and setting the fans to a higher RPM before playing? Also, what is the ambient temperature of the room you're operating the computer in? As that can drastically alter running temps.

It might be worth checking Activity Monitor as well, there could be a runaway process that is pegging the CPU (USB mouse, buggy software etc).

 

[DeltaMac]

I think it will not help much to use fan control software, if the fans are already run up to maximum. Games can really stress your Mac, so expect it, and prepare for that.
Keep in mind that you don't have a "laptop" when you play games. It will be very uncomfortable resting on your lap, particularly for gaming.
DON'T ever use your game machine on a soft surface, such as a carpet or bed. Be sure that it sits on a hard, flat surface. The aluminum case is a good heat sink, so be aware that some parts of the case will be quite warm during the game. Extra heat will be exhausted up through the keyboard, so the keys will feel warm, too.
If you are concerned about the heat that your MBPro produces, you can set a portable fan to blow into the keyboard, which may help control the heat, too. You can place your portable on one of the "cool pads" that you can purchase in stores that sell computer accessories.
Finally, if your portable gets TOO hot, it will shut down automatically for protection.

 

[snaky69]

That is normal behaviour, you have nothing to worry about.

You ask power from your computer by gaming, it gives it to you. But more power = more heat. That's just the laws of physics.

Your computer is running as it should, the temperatures are normal.

You should try a search of the forums next time, I would venture to say a question similar to yours has been answered thousands (literally) of times.

 

[PatientWaiter]

I asked this question because this issue seems to be an issue with Dota. The unit stays mostly cool/lukewarm with similar games such as League of Legends. Forum search and lots of Googling - at least my attempts - drew a blank with this specific scenario on this specific system. Although it's easier, try not to assume every OP is a moron.

Room temperature is usually around 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Always used on a wooden desk.

Doesn't happen with other "power hungry" apps, photo processing, audio tools, video, photoshop, etc. I could swear there actually weren't any fans in the unit at all....that is, until I ran Dota. Was wondering if anyone else had this issue or if it was exclusive to me and my settings.

 

[simon48]

If your computer is too hot and it is going to damage itself it will shut itself off. This myth that you can be playing a game and damage your computer is ridiculous. The thermometers in your computer are not for show, if they register too high the computer will shut off or throttle itself.

 

[cbautis2]

If your computer is too hot and it is going to damage itself it will shut itself off. This myth that you can be playing a game and damage your computer is ridiculous. The thermometers in your computer are not for show, if they register too high the computer will shut off or throttle itself.

I think it still not good for the rmbp to always be at 2 - 5 degrees away from the thermal cut out temperature. If people are doing extended gaming session (3 hrs or more) everyday on the rmbp with temps hovering at 95+ degrees, you might end up with this mbp user in this thread sooner: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1697769/

 

[john123]

I think it still not good for the rmbp to always be at 2 - 5 degrees away from the thermal cut out temperature. If people are doing extended gaming session (3 hrs or more) everyday on the rmbp with temps hovering at 95+ degrees, you might end up with this mbp user in this thread sooner: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1697769/

Unfortunately, despite my numerous requests on this boards, not one person has been able to provide a single piece of documentation suggesting that consistently running your machine at a point that your CPU stays near the Tjunction max temperature is problematic. Despite all the fear mongering and people saying, "It's common sense," the reality is that you're actually using the machine within normal stated operating tolerances. Throttling is what happens to prevent damage.

OP, it isn't a problem. It's not ideal, but it's not a problem.

 

[dusk007]

Many high end desktop GPUs have been running for years at 90C+ under full load. That is also just silicon chips. If the chips are designed for it that is fine. Older desktop CPUs used to be built for <60C but mobile work fine.
The battery is more likely to age faster because of the heat in the case. The primary issue is the noise of 6k rpm fans and the heat of the metal between the keys. I don't think to worry about the chip temps is all that reasonable when GPU have run these for ages and it there is plenty of data on viability.

 

[hfletcher]

The CPU and GPU core clocks begin to throttle when you reach their temperature limits. Also, the chips are designed to run hot. Just look at AMD's latest desktop graphics chips. They run at a constant 95 degrees.

The max temperature for the CPU is 100, running at 90-95 is well within spec. If it gets too hot, it will throttle. If it gets beyond the maximum for too long, your MBP will shutdown.

 

[kittencounter]

Well. You can test it for a long run (let's say 6 months?). If anything bad happens please let us all know

 

[Alegra1993]

Hi guys,

I've been playing some Dota 2 on a 3 week old Macbook Pro 15" Retina (16GB RAM / 750M Video) and I'm new to running games on a computer... the fan sounds really loud and the keyboard feels hot to the touch. Like, "I'm going to burn my finger if I leave it here" kinda hot.

I installed iStats to see what's going on. Once the map loads, the CPU temp shoots up in the mid-upper 90's Celsius and the fans are going upwards of 6000 RPMs almost immediately, within 30 seconds of the map loading. Is that safe? Is this normal? Are there different settings I should be using? I'm at 1440x900 with most settings at high. I feel that my new computer should be able to handle this without too much trouble...am I wrong?

How's it going now. Have you found a solution ? I just bought the 2015 model, 16 go ram and all that jazz and mine seems to heat up too when playing Dota

 

[andreyush]

Be aware of the ambient temperatures.
You can buy a cooling stand.
I am playing warthunder with settings on mid-high (rMBP mid 2012 nVidia 650m) and i have 80-83 degrees with my fans running at 4000-5000 rpm .

 

[sentential]

I would go ahead and send a note to apple about it, say it's overheating which it sounds like it is and have them either replace the logic board or re-apply the thermal paste. The latter is what needs to happen but given you've still got an intact warranty I wouldn't suggest doing it yourself.

Running near the t-junction will kill a processor Ive been down that road many times. Every chip has a sweet spot temp wise and it's normally well below the tmax. Haswell tends to like the mid 80s any higher than that and you start to see strange behavior out of it. Plus with Apple using non lead solder you run the risk of tin-whiskers long term which is what caused the RROD on the Xbox360

Here's a direct comparison for you that I had before and after forcing apple to re-apply the thermal paste to my mid-'15 For reference this is during blade and soul so LoL should show even lower temps

 

[Toutou]

There should be a command console available in Dota 2, and it should accept a "fps_max" command to limit the FPS, e.g. "fps_max 40" would cap the framerate at 40 FPS. Lower FPS => lower GPU usage => lower temperature.