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But seriously; some customers quite obviously have real problems here. Others, not so much. With luck, Apple has already fixed the QC/production issues and buying a new MBP is perfectly safe.
 
Received my MBP on Wednesday and not really had a good look at the temperatures. But I am a wee bit worried that if it's too hot now it just won't handle or like a month in the north east Argentinian summer, when I go at the end of every year. If the temps are high now and the cooling isn't as efficient as it could be do you reckon Apple will rectify it before I go?
 
I am now confirming the more and more you use your MBP at high loads, the cooler it will run. I am running 1 to 3 degrees celcius cooler right now then i was last week doing the same things. I have spent several hours gaming this week at around 60% load for about 6 hours at a time in 30C room temperature with no air conditioning. I am pretty sure this confirms the paste settling in. The ony difference between this week and last week is the super drive update which i highly doubt has anything to do with it.

I am now going to fully load both cores for several hours see what happens. I'll be back with results.
 
It really isn't all that much of a problem. If you bring it in and have a competent Apple Genius replace the thermal grease by hand, chances are you're going to see some kind of drop in temperatures. However, it isn't necessary by any means especially if you're not going to be doing any real heavy processing on your machine. Yeah, a lot of MacBook Pros that come off the line have sloppy application of thermal grease from what we can see but it really isn't a big problem by any stretch of the imagination. Your computer isn't going to melt or anything as long as the fans are working.

But I have a problem with Apple Genius in the location i live in, basically the Apple Genius Bar is most of Apple Store in the USA. And in HK, it seems like all Apple Products are purchase for authorized resellers. So I don't know how to get assist from Apple for the thermal re-application in my country. :(
 
But I have a problem with Apple Genius in the location i live in, basically the Apple Genius Bar is most of Apple Store in the USA. And in HK, it seems like all Apple Products are purchase for authorized resellers. So I don't know how to get assist from Apple for the thermal re-application in my country. :(

I have the same concern! I am also in Hong Kong. If I order from the Apple Store..it's going to be horrible to get this solved through mail (???).

If going through a reseller, they probably have to also solve it via the Apple store (???)

Anybody have any experience with this?
 
If you suspect you machine is running too hot Apple should be the one to fix it. If not how will they know there is a problem. How will they be able to improve their newer products. If I buy a new car and there is a problem it goes back to the dealer to be fixed I would not do it my self.

The OP is obviously WAY more skilled then any of the so called technicians that work in an Apple store. He repaired his own MBP because he wanted the job done right.

Apple could go along way into improving their products by simply reading this very forum, but for some strange reason, they choose not to.

Maybe the excess paste gets very hot and insulates the chip rather than continuing to conduct heat away? No idea...

You guessed it. You pretty much answered your own question.

Can we please stop with the gigantic photos? That's more than double the size of my MBP's screen and its a bit ridiculous.

I worry about replies like this scaring the OP away; I for one would very much like the OP to continue posting in this forum.

nikhsub1,

Thank You for initiating this thread; I found it very informative and very beneficial. Please continue to write in this forum from time to time. :)
 
Remember, you need to do "yes > /dev/null" in TWO different Terminal.app windows in order to get both cores working full time.

I did this in a store displayed 17" SR HD MBP, and the CPU temperature maxed out at 77 deg. C. It was the hottest of the monitored points.

Actually all you need is two yes processes running at the same time, it doesn't necessarily in two separate terminal windows. You can easily do a "yes > /dev/null &" to put the process in the background (and run a second in the foreground) and just kill it later with "kill %1".
 
I have the same concern! I am also in Hong Kong. If I order from the Apple Store..it's going to be horrible to get this solved through mail (???).

If going through a reseller, they probably have to also solve it via the Apple store (???)

Anybody have any experience with this?

I am glad there are other people from Hong Kong on MR. :)

You can take it to Apple Service Center in Hong Kong. I have fixed my power button there before and people there seem nice.

Anyways, here are the contact details:
Address: 2012 Tower 1, Times Square, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
Phone: 2915-7883

I may bring it in to get my trackpad button fixed... it's loose... ;)
 
I am glad there are other people from Hong Kong on MR. :)

You can take it to Apple Service Center in Hong Kong. I have fixed my power button there before and people there seem nice.

Anyways, here are the contact details:
Address: 2012 Tower 1, Times Square, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
Phone: 2915-7883

I may bring it in to get my trackpad button fixed... it's loose... ;)

That is very good to know that HK would provide that kind of service. But I don't know if they would actually re apply the thermal paste for you.

While on the topic on HK service, if i order on the web and found the MK Pro to have dead or stuck pixel. Can I return it or exchange? Cox we HK ppl always check in the store for dead/stuck pixel while purchase. I know it is is a bit off topic. Sorry guys/gals.
 
I am glad there are other people from Hong Kong on MR. :)

You can take it to Apple Service Center in Hong Kong. I have fixed my power button there before and people there seem nice.

Anyways, here are the contact details:
Address: 2012 Tower 1, Times Square, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
Phone: 2915-7883

I may bring it in to get my trackpad button fixed... it's loose... ;)

a bit random but, I'm also from Hong Kong :eek: :)

I know I probably have thermal paste issues, coz with Itunes, MSN messenger, Firefox on, the temperature is 40-45c at 4000RPM

I think it's ok for me :)
 
According to appledefects.com Apple even wants mechanics to apply this much of thermal paste:

Macbookpro_thermalpaste.jpg
 
That is an obscene amount, the fact that someone even made that tutorial and thought that was correct is hilarious. Literally you need a tiny DAB of paste in the center. I'm talking like tiny pebble sized, grain of rice.
 
I am glad there are other people from Hong Kong on MR. :)

You can take it to Apple Service Center in Hong Kong. I have fixed my power button there before and people there seem nice.

Anyways, here are the contact details:
Address: 2012 Tower 1, Times Square, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
Phone: 2915-7883

I may bring it in to get my trackpad button fixed... it's loose... ;)

Wow, i'm also from Hong Kong.. so many people are from HK in this thread.
I guess with the high temperatures in HK (29-35c) we are concern about our machine temperature.

I doubt that the Apple Service Center will reapply the thermal paste for us unless Apple Inc. announce a recall or announce the defects (just like the discoloring MacBook top case).

Good Luck to all of you.
 
I am glad there are other people from Hong Kong on MR. :)

You can take it to Apple Service Center in Hong Kong. I have fixed my power button there before and people there seem nice.

Anyways, here are the contact details:
Address: 2012 Tower 1, Times Square, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
Phone: 2915-7883

I may bring it in to get my trackpad button fixed... it's loose... ;)

Great info! Could one also purchase a mac here, or do they fix Macs only? Is this a real Apple company, or just some company authorized by Apple to service their computers?
 
Hey great thread and I'm impressed by the results you've achieved. I have a few questions for you, though, if you don't mind.

1. What was your initial temperate before you did this little "operation". You mention a 20C drop, but from what? 50C at idle? More? Less?

2. How long did it take you to take the MBP apart? I'm looking at this guide (http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Core-Duo/Logic-Board-Replacement/85/20/) and the steps seem long and tedious. How long am I likely to spend on taking it apart, and what's the degree of difficulty in the disassembly?

I've built computers and taken my previous laptop apart (I didn't put it back together that well but I'm hoping the MBP is better designed or easier to handle). I'm thinking about doing this. My Penryn MBP idles at about 50C which seems a tad bit high.

Any more insight on this topic from you would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
Hey great thread and I'm impressed by the results you've achieved. I have a few questions for you, though, if you don't mind.

1. What was your initial temperate before you did this little "operation". You mention a 20C drop, but from what? 50C at idle? More? Less?

2. How long did it take you to take the MBP apart? I'm looking at this guide (http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Core-Duo/Logic-Board-Replacement/85/20/) and the steps seem long and tedious. How long am I likely to spend on taking it apart, and what's the degree of difficulty in the disassembly?

I've built computers and taken my previous laptop apart (I didn't put it back together that well but I'm hoping the MBP is better designed or easier to handle). I'm thinking about doing this. My Penryn MBP idles at about 50C which seems a tad bit high.

Any more insight on this topic from you would be appreciated. Thanks.

The initial post says he was idling 53-60C.

My MBP is 1 week old and it idles in that range too, so I'd say the problem wasn't fixed. (to post 217)
 
I thought that the thermal paste procedure was automated, done by a machine. Anyone knows what actually is automated in notebook manufacturing?

And yes, from what I know only a small amount of thermal paste should be applied. It really looks like a mess on those pictures.
 
Very good work with the disassembly there... I don't think I'd have the nerve to open up a MBP even if it was 6 months old!

It's interesting to know about this though. I already knew that MBP's had a bit of a reputation for running hot, but I had never known the exact cause...
 
I can confirm this as well... Mine idling is at 55 C...
Running Safari, MSN, and iTunes playing a song...
MBP 15" 2.5GHz Penryn here.
Mine idle's at 48˚C. (just some light browsing)
0idle.png


I did
Code:
%yes > /dev/null
and watch the temp go up and did some screen caps .. hope that might be of interest to some..

first 30 second or so .. starting with three instances of
Code:
%yes > /dev/null
30sec.png


60sec.. 90sec .... and watch it go up to 80˚C. Note fan still running at 1800RPM
60sec.png

90sec.png

3mins2Fan1800.png


Added another instance.. and Fan speed starts to climb.. but only up to ~2600 RPM.
5min.png

7mins2Fan2500.png


Added another instance.. and Fan speed still won't go past 2600RPM. CPU temp @ 80˚C now. Won't go past that. That was at 9 minute.
9min5yes.png

9min5yes2.png


Then at 11 min, I manually increased the Fan Speed to ~3600. Note the temp dropped to 74˚C at once. just stay around that range.
11minsFan3700-1.png


Final cap was taken at 20 mins or so and... the temp was stable at that...
CPU A - 73˚c
Fan Speed - 3600RPM.
with 5 instances running.
20minFinal.png
 
Firstly, WOW..:eek:
I can't believe someone revived this thread...

↑macphwoar,
having a MBP hitting 74〜80°C isn't anything new...
wake me up when it's constantly stuck at 80〜90°C, when your not doing anything.


The initial post says he was idling 53-60C.

My MBP is 1 week old and it idles in that range too, so I'd say the problem wasn't fixed. (to post 217)

Yep, a number of my previous SR's idled around the 60°C and that kinda pissed me off... :mad:

I can confirm this as well... Mine idling is at 55 C...


Running Safari, MSN, and iTunes playing a song...

So far, in the first 8 months of ownership i'm on my tenth MBP, yes TENTH machine... but finally I found one that idles around 45〜50°C. I think Apple can make cool machines but for some reason they don't, it's really frustrating when my system hits 90〜100°C it'll slow down to a snail.
 
Hey, so 50 C at idle is really bad right?

wow i wonder what nikhubs (OP) temps are after the thing although he said 20 C cooler

no way laptop can run at 30 C

IMHO, seriously i want to do this but I don't have the time :(

maybe when I am bored but with work and all, never have the time.

so i'm going to bookmark this page :D

My idle temp can be as low as 40°C, on a good day.. however, with Maya rendering and nothing else running, the CPU isn't 50°C for long.. always seems to be around 80-90ish..

Before it used to be closer to 100°C! No joke!
Normally it's only using iTunes....
20080321-qth9y6hq2f4pgkw3sa9mqksq26.jpg


So I'd say my tweaking has lowered the temps a little...
 
So what is a realistic ideal temp for a Penryn MBP? I just ordered one and it should be here by the end of the month. I figured I'd get iStat or something like that (whatever anyone here would recommend) and check the temps and keep track of them. So the general consensus is that even though the Penryn MBPs reportedly run cooler there is still overheating problems with them?

EDIT: What is the temp everyone is expecting their MBPs to run at?
 
I really don't know why people worry about overheating CPU temps all the time. CPU's are manufactured to run at much higher temps than what most of you are experiencing and unless the laptop is showing signs of overheating such as lockups or shutting down then you shouldn't worry about it. Overclocked desktop processors that are run at higher voltages and higher temps still run for years. They don't die in a years time. Average CPU's run at normal voltages and temps have a life expectancy of 10+ years. I doubt many of you are going to keep your MBP for even half that long.
 
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