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legreve

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 22, 2010
244
0
Denmark
I did a search, and 90% of the threads about this are as old as 2009. It's time for a recap.

So, how are you attempting to cool down your laptop?

- Let's hear from people who are sitting with it on their lap.
- Let's hear from those who have it mounted on their desk.
- What do you do if you're taking it on public transportation (like I will be doing)?

I was looking at some of the items on Apples own store, but the idea of another plate beneath the mbp doesn't sound useful to me.
Then I came across some of the feet that you can buy. They elevate the laptop giving it more space to get rid of the hot air. Very useful for working on a desktop, but this seems a bit off when dealing with lap work.
At the moment I'm looking at this:
ChillDesk MiniXL.
But again there's the part with the feet. Although they do use graphics showing that it works will on the lap.

I need more tips here, and I guess a lot of you out there do as well.

Edit: Found a year old review of the chilldesk:
Hardware heaven.
I think that pretty much persuaded me to go ahead and get this... atleast until someone else comes with some nice ideas :) 5-7 degress sounds nice.
 
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The stock CPU fan is all I am using. If using on my lap then I place it between my legs so there is plenty of airflow underneath
 
This sounds a little dramatic. Surely the new ones dont need that much cooling.
 
Just have it on the lap. I'll let the fans handle themselves. Running at 46C right now, not worried.
 
+1 for letting the fan take care of the cooling ... I am of the belief, Apple will build the computer with proper cooling.

49 degrees with Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, Fireworks and Safari open.
 
I provide my laptop air to suck in with the fans Apple installed.

Actually I guess I don't provide the air , do I?

In that case I do nothing.
 
while running, i use my new i7 13" mbp on a lap desk. i range from 60-70C.

whilst before, using on my lap and bed, was getting 90C. :eek:
 
Last I checked the laptop is responsible for cooling itself. I do nothing other than use it (in a wide variety of places!) and have never had any issues (Mid 2010)

If your laptop is overheating and you can get it looked at under warranty, you should because something is wrong with it!
 
From my experience, this laptop stays pretty cool. When using on my lap, or my bed the temperature does spike up to the sixties, but it's amazing how simply lifting it up you can see the temp drop down again! When using the laptop on a desk it stays very cool...the aluminum keeps the heat spread out and I think setting it on a cool surface really helps too...if you leave it in the same place for an hour or so it can start to get hot...but apple even says that the bottom is slightly curved to allow for good airflow. it's a cool laptop when doing average day stuff, but when video editing or doing much with flash it can heat up pretty fast, and by heat up I mean around 64 C, haven't gotten much worse than that.
 
I normally use a ZM-NC1500w Cooler Pad
But in summer, the moment I hear the fans kick in to overdrive, I go to the bathroom and shave my head. Then I rip my MBP from its seating, and wearing just a linen cloth, run down the middle of the street, shouting "The Horror, The Horror"
My MBP returns to normal in minutes.

As a postscript, this is my fifth apartment/City in 5 years, not sure why.
 
I did a search, and 90% of the threads about this are as old as 2009. It's time for a recap.

So, how are you attempting to cool down your laptop?

- Let's hear from people who are sitting with it on their lap.
- Let's hear from those who have it mounted on their desk.
- What do you do if you're taking it on public transportation (like I will be doing)?

I was looking at some of the items on Apples own store, but the idea of another plate beneath the mbp doesn't sound useful to me.
Then I came across some of the feet that you can buy. They elevate the laptop giving it more space to get rid of the hot air. Very useful for working on a desktop, but this seems a bit off when dealing with lap work.
At the moment I'm looking at this:
ChillDesk MiniXL.
But again there's the part with the feet. Although they do use graphics showing that it works will on the lap.

I need more tips here, and I guess a lot of you out there do as well.

Edit: Found a year old review of the chilldesk:
Hardware heaven.
I think that pretty much persuaded me to go ahead and get this... atleast until someone else comes with some nice ideas :) 5-7 degress sounds nice.
Wow, you people obsessing over temperatures make me laugh.

Back before the unibody days, IDLE temps of 50 to 65* CELSIUS was the norm, and just fine. I use my 55*C Early 2008 MBP on my lap all the time, wearing jeans, and it really isn't hot. It never even gets remotely uncomfortable.

Not using it on your lap when you're naked would probably help you much more than any cooling pad would.


Jeez.:rolleyes:
 
lol i have a 2006 Core Duo, and back in my first two years in a dorm, i built this fan rig into my desk (6 intake fans in the front, 6 exhaust in the back) to cool my laptop, which lived on top of a Notepal laptop cooler (basically a metal heatsink with 2 fans)

i've attached a pic

at any rate, back here at home, i just have the notepal sitting and i leave the MBP open with fans lying on the keyboard (i have external keyboard, mouse, and monitor) and at the back; as im planning on upgrading very soon and as some of my fans have died, i kind of want to buy a few more fans, and then maybe build a "cooling" box that will house my laptop when it's "stationed"

n1368000320_30265759_5323.jpg
 
I never use external cooling. Internal fans do their job. If I have to run very intensive CPU or graphic workload, I use my MBP on a desk. I don't care if internal IC reach 100°C, they can handle this kind of temps.
 
I have a Zalman NC1000*. I find that raising the notebook up helps temps but the actual fans do little because there are no vents under the MBP.


*BTW, if anyway one is considering this, get the 2000. The 1000 was designed for non-widescreen, 4:3 display, 15.4" laptops so the MBP sticks out the side and has lots of empty space toward the back.
 
My new 2011 MBP is running at 35*C with the fans humming at 1997-2003rpm, sitting on my lap. It's not even remotely warm. Where are people getting the idea that these things run so hot that you need to do something special with them? The only time mine runs hot is when I fire up a game like WoW. I sat with it in my lap last night for 4 hours or so while I worked on a website, did some graphical work, and ran VMWare Fusion. The fans never really spun up.
 
I have a Zalman NC1000*. I find that raising the notebook up helps temps but the actual fans do little because there are no vents under the MBP.


*BTW, if anyway one is considering this, get the 2000. The 1000 was designed for non-widescreen, 4:3 display, 15.4" laptops so the MBP sticks out the side and has lots of empty space toward the back.

I also use the nc1000 and have it propped up in the back for circulation. I like it for the most part. I didn't like the size of the nc2000 though way too huge.

Also Smc fan when gaming to 3500rpm.
 
lol i have a 2006 Core Duo, and back in my first two years in a dorm, i built this fan rig into my desk (6 intake fans in the front, 6 exhaust in the back) to cool my laptop, which lived on top of a Notepal laptop cooler (basically a metal heatsink with 2 fans.

Just so I'm clear.... you're using 14 external fans in addition to the internal fan to cool your 2006 Core Duo laptop? OOC, what temp does your computer run at now? Did you do this because you were bored, or wanted extra air movement in your dorm room?
 
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Oh how I laugh at this thread my MacBook Pro idles at 79c and firing up some extreme photo shopping / text wrangler / everything I ever do at once (which is normal( so is 47 tabs in your Internet browser)) anyway my average use ~97c but then again I live in the tropics and ~30c is room temp :p
 
My 2011 15" 2.2Ghz hasnt topped 50C yet.. and its Summer here in Sydney.
MInd you, I havent really pushed it with FCP or anything. But yeah - Its running cool.
 
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