Hot - ibook g4

[paj4x4]

My wife's uses a relatively old 12 inch ibook g4 (1.2ghz) for her daily web browsing and basic computer needs. I used it recently and noticed that the lower left side (beside the track pad) gets alarmingly hot when the cord is plugged in.

I downloaded temperature monitor to check the temps:

Processor - 59c
Smart Disk - 54c
Power Supply/Memory Bottomside - 55c
Graphics Processor Bottomside - 59c
Battery - 0c (took out the battery coz it's mostly plugged in)

Are these temps normal/okay for an ibook? Is it normal for the lower left side area to be more than warm? Anyone know at what temp does the fan kick in?

By the way the OS is still 10.3.9. The upgrade (Tiger) is on its way...

Thanks!

 

[chex]

sounds fine for this time of year

 

[paj4x4]

Thanks for the reply chex.

The temp readings seems to be fine. What I'm concerned about is the alarmingly hot lower left area of the machine. We have 3 other lappys at home and not one gets as hot as the ibook does in that particular area.

I also noticed that when I run the machine on battery power the heat in the said area gradually decreases...moves into the "warm" (not hot) side of things.

 

[mkrishnan]

Sounds fairly normal to me... although it depends on your definition of alarmingly hot. The iBook gets quite toasty, particularly if everything is turned on (WiFi, BT, full brightness, processor @ highest performance).

With respect to the lower left, that's where the HD is, I believe. The more HD intensive your activities get, the hotter it'll get. You might try to make sure that the option to put the HD to sleep when possible in system prefs -> energy saver pane.

If you're not doing anything too compute intensive, you might also try changing the processor performance level to automatic or reduced in the options tab of that same pane.

 

[paj4x4]

Thanks mkrishnan.

The HD is "set to sleep" when possible in the energy saving pane. Although the processor performance was set to "highest". I've now set it to "automatic".

Hope this does the trick. By the way I'm now getting the hang of using Mac OS X!

 

[theheyes]

Yeah the iBook does get warm in that corner. It needs to be REALLY warm before the fans kick in full. The only way I've done that is by running folding@home on it. (not a good idea if you were thinking about trying)

 

[mkrishnan]

It will also get hotter if it is used on a soft or cloth surface (because the air vents get blocked...). If this is something being done, use it on a hard surface and it won't get as hot. You can even get a cutting board or book and put it in between your lap and the notebook. Although, I'm using my iBook on my knee right now.

 

[paj4x4]

The machine's on a sturdy study table so we can rule that out. Guess I have to get used to the warm -> hot lower left area of this machine.

Thanks.