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How much temperature is OK?

S

Sicutz

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 3, 2013
55
5
Hey guys,

I´m using Macs Fan Control to watch over my temperature while using my MB Pro Retina 13".

The reason is, that I play sometimes Diablo3 or Hearthstone while watching some twitch streams in my second display. The MB starts to get very hot while doing this -> I don´t want to "harm" my MB, so I watch over the temperature.

But how much temperature is OK for my Macbook?

I´m watching over the temperature on CPU Core 0. The settings are: fan starts to get faster at 70°C and the maximum is 80°C.

If I let the settings on auto the temperature goes over 90°C before the fans start to get faster.

I don´t know if this is OK if the CPU goes over 90°C, but I´m not sure, so I want to ask for your opinion.



Thanks!
 
Sicutz said:
Hey guys,

I´m using Macs Fan Control to watch over my temperature while using my MB Pro Retina 13".

The reason is, that I play sometimes Diablo3 or Hearthstone while watching some twitch streams in my second display. The MB starts to get very hot while doing this -> I don´t want to "harm" my MB, so I watch over the temperature.

But how much temperature is OK for my Macbook?

I´m watching over the temperature on CPU Core 0. The settings are: fan starts to get faster at 70°C and the maximum is 80°C.

If I let the settings on auto the temperature goes over 90°C before the fans start to get faster.

I don´t know if this is OK if the CPU goes over 90°C, but I´m not sure, so I want to ask for your opinion.



Thanks!
Click to expand...

I assume these are load temps. If they are then there fine.
 
The computer will shut down

If they go too high it'll shut down or throttle back. They current CPU's are rated to 105 celcius.
 
Well its high

Sicutz said:
So playing and watching like 5hours a day with temps around 70-82°C ist no problem?
Click to expand...

Well its fine on temp and well within specs and is using your laptop hard but it shouldn't make too much difference to it many people use there laptops hard day in day out...
 
Sicutz said:
So playing and watching like 5hours a day with temps around 70-82°C ist no problem?
Click to expand...
Not at all. Your computer can take care of itself, there a fail-safes built it. If it ever gets to the point where it could get damaged, it'll shut down before it happens.
 
temp monitering apps are pretty useless imo...they just fuel the fire for the OCD. If your laptop ever overheats you will definitely know with/without the app...but these machines do a great job of regulating themselves so theres nothing to worry about.
 
Solder begins to melt at around 180 C -360 F. So, at these temperatures, the joints will begin to degrade. In terms of the components, Intel [1] actually doesn't provide temperature ranges, as it varies from processor to processor. However, they do provide info on specific chips [2]. It's also important to note that the chips have built in thermal management features, which are extremely responsive (i.e. they activate in nanoseconds) which help to minimize damage to the processor.

[1] http://www.intel.com/support/processors/sb/CS-033342.htm
[2] http://www.intel.com/content/www/us...bile-m-h-processor-lines-vol-1-datasheet.html
 
I always hated the default rpm controls because it makes CPU and the enclosure itself unnecessary hot without spinning up the fans. I'm not familiar with 13" rMBP thermals, but I use 55C as a low and 85C as a high threshold on 15" rMBP.
 
0x100 said:
But running the processor at anything over 90°C will damage it over time.
Click to expand...

90 isn't some magic number after which it starts to cause damage... Any amount of heat will cause degradation over time...the important thing is that running it constantly at 90 will most likely still not cause it to fail before the machine is due to be replaced anyways.
 
I know most Apple users would disagree with me, but from my countless years of notebook pc user experience with varied brands I can say that:

(A laptop pc, when being used in a 23-28 degree room, on flat surface)

Cpu of this idle but not in sleep mode pc should not exceed 55 celcius degree.

I genuinely think that, what should be focused on is the idle temperature. Not the fan speed dependent max temperature.

I think Apple is behind in this aspect of cooling. Probably due to the heatsink related stuff.
 
Interesting observation

Rolanddes said:
I genuinely think that, what should be focused on is the idle temperature. Not the fan speed dependent max temperature.

I think Apple is behind in this aspect of cooling. Probably due to the heatsink related stuff.
Click to expand...

That is an interesting remark.

1. Is there an application out there to control fan velocity at various user-preset checkpoints?

2. On a more fundamental level, when does the fan actually turn on in an MBP or rMBP? Sorry if the question sounds stupid, but I haven't purchased one yet. On my Mac Mini, I simply built a USB-powered Fan, so some cooling action is always going on and thus I haven't paid attention to the internal fan's operation.
 
Rolanddes said:
I think Apple is behind in this aspect of cooling. Probably due to the heatsink related stuff.
Click to expand...
I'd not disagree, their laptops always seem to be warmer then window's machines. Under load and not idle. It hasn't been terribly consistent as my laptop runs cooler then what other seems to be experiencing, so that may point to manufacturing differences.
 
Cooler is generally better, "thermal shock" where temperatures rise and fall frequently is one of the primary culprits of electronics failure.

If you want to run cooler, best nonintrusive method is to take control of the fans, try this link: http://www.crystalidea.com/macs-fan-control

Apple has always favoured quiet over cool, it`s not necessarily bad, equally I generally take control of the fans from Apple. I have two older 15" MBP`s that have well known issues with GPU failure due to temperature (Early 08 & Late 11) and neither of them have had any issue, now that they have been passed to my kids, they game on them mercilessly.

When I got my first Retina (2012), I looked at the cooling in detail, the system can easily hit 100C (212F) under Apples cooling algorithm, with a third party solution the system, rarely push past 80C which is a significant improvement.

YMMV as there is obviously production tolerances and variance between hardware, so far none of the Retina`s I have used throttle. With Macs Fan Control I set fans to start increasing at 60C and max temperature to 80C, this way the fans don't spin up too soon and be intrusive, nor do they delay until near the systems maximum operating temperature, typically on a Retina the fans wont spool up on a 15" until around 90C, this figure is not definitive as Macs rely on multiple sensors to control temperature.

With Macs Fan Control you can also run the application with the option for Apple to manage cooling, and switch to sensor a sensor based value when needed. For Yosemite you may also need to DL the latest Beta, which you can find in the CrystalIdea forum. I am running the Beta on 5 Macs with no issue so far. They also offer a version for Windows (Boot Camp), I have no experience of this version as I only run OS X.

Q-6
 
Last edited:
pakupakuman said:
That is an interesting remark.

1. Is there an application out there to control fan velocity at various user-preset checkpoints?

2. On a more fundamental level, when does the fan actually turn on in an MBP or rMBP? Sorry if the question sounds stupid, but I haven't purchased one yet. On my Mac Mini, I simply built a USB-powered Fan, so some cooling action is always going on and thus I haven't paid attention to the internal fan's operation.
Click to expand...

See Queen6's post above me. He/She might know what software you're looking for.
 
Rolanddes said:
See Queen6's post above me. He/She might know what software you're looking for.
Click to expand...

He does :) Macs Fan Control is about the best out there right now for taking control over a Mac`s cooling, and can definitely help to prevent very elevated temps. Another application is SMC Fan Control, where the user presets defined fan RPM values (favourites) for; Battery, AC power, Charging and manual override.

Macs Fan Control is a more set and forget solution, just need to fine tune the settings for "Sensor Control"

Q-6
 
Last edited:
maflynn said:
I'd not disagree, their laptops always seem to be warmer then window's machines.
Click to expand...

I disagree, Apple uses aluminum which conducts heat better. Just because you feel it is warmer to the touch does not mean the intel based CPU is not running at any higher temperature than it does in a windows based machine.

Yes the phsyical exterior is warmer, but that is because the aluminium body helps transfer heat out of the unit. While plastic bodies do not.

Also when comparing two items you have to make adjustments for their differences, make adjustments for thickness differences ETC.

If Apple was able to keep their laptops at similar cooling levels as most PC laptops, they would be far ahead of the game.
 
Praesto said:
I disagree, Apple uses aluminum which conducts heat better. Just because you feel it is warmer to the touch does not mean the intel based CPU is not running at any higher temperature than it does in a windows based machine.

Yes the phsyical exterior is warmer, but that is because the aluminium body helps transfer heat out of the unit. While plastic bodies do not.

Also when comparing two items you have to make adjustments for their differences, make adjustments for thickness differences ETC.

If Apple was able to keep their laptops at similar cooling levels as most PC laptops, they would be far ahead of the game.
Click to expand...

In my experience Mac`s can and do run hotter, equally this is related to hardware and software and not by any means a simplistic argument.

Q-6
 
There's no point in discussing how hot do Macbooks run compared to other laptops if you don't bother to change default curves. Installing fan control software to override them is the first thing I do on a freshly installed OS. While waiting for a new 10.10-compatible "Macs Fan Control" build for my rMBP I remembered how ridiculous the default behaviour could be. Absolutely nothing has changed since 2008 in this regard.
 
maratus said:
There's no point in discussing how hot do Macbooks run compared to other laptops if you don't bother to change default curves. Installing fan control software to override them is the first thing I do on a freshly installed OS. While waiting for a new 10.10-compatible "Macs Fan Control" build for my rMBP I remembered how ridiculous the default behaviour could be. Absolutely nothing has changed since 2008 in this regard.
Click to expand...

Go over to Macs Fan Control forum, top of the page you can get 1.2 Beta, which has greater compatibility with Yosemite. No issue so far, and supports dark mode.

Q-6
 
Praesto said:
I disagree, Apple uses aluminum which conducts heat better. Just because you feel it is warmer to the touch does not mean the intel based CPU is not running at any higher temperature than it does in a windows based machine.

Yes the phsyical exterior is warmer, but that is because the aluminium body helps transfer heat out of the unit. While plastic bodies do not.

Also when comparing two items you have to make adjustments for their differences, make adjustments for thickness differences ETC.

If Apple was able to keep their laptops at similar cooling levels as most PC laptops, they would be far ahead of the game.
Click to expand...

Actually I just gave an optimum idle temperature based on my experience. I am not talking about the heat my hand feels from the aluminium at all.
 
Queen6 said:
Go over to Macs Fan Control forum, top of the page you can get 1.2 Beta, which has greater compatibility with Yosemite. No issue so far, and supports dark mode.

Q-6
Click to expand...

Thanks! However 1.1.12.3 works fine for me (while previous version wasn't even able to launch)
 
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