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If you are concerned about heat/fan noise, go 2010 or wait for Ivy Bridge
- Thread starter mrmister
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Or SMC Fan Control which shows in the menu bar... the widget only works when you launch the dashboard no?
There are some great refurbs on sale on Apple website. You can get a 2.8GHZ i7 15" MBP with high res screen and SSD drive for about what you would pay for a dressed up low end Sandybridge model. That's plenty of firepower and you won't have to worry about the heat issue. I just can't see paying that kind of money for a fast cpu only to have the performance throttled by a mechanical hard drive.
I've had my i5 13" MacBook Pro since Thursday and I haven't noticed it running really hot or the fans ramping up too loud at all. I have been putting it through its paces and its running like a dream. Major improvement from my late "08 Aluminium MacBook hah.
Right, but iStat will show temps for all the sensors, the wifi connection, processes, up/down, HDD space, and battery info. Either one will get the job done, I just like how iStat has all the other features.
I don't know about your MacBook air recommendation. Under load it also gets rather loud and hot, although while doing low load type of work it remains pretty silent. Also why are people worried about idling temps in the 40s and 50s? That sounds rather low and completely tolerable to me. Idling in 70s is a problem, not 40s.
I agree and am waiting on the fence as are many of us here.
But I do feel there are many more posts referring to heat issues this year than I remember having read in the spring of 2010. Back then people were screaming because the volcanic ash from Iceland kept their MacBook Pros on the ground. Few were complaining about fan noise or temperatures in excess of 90°C under load. My 2010 13" MBP has never exceeded 80°C, even when overclocking the NVidia 320M in Windows by 30%.
Waiting for the hype to settle down can reward us with preinstalled Lion systems, firmware updates, thunderbolt accessories, and even Ivy Bridge if we can hold on for another year. Who knows? Perhaps even a new design, modular bay, liquid metal, flash RAM, improved Intel graphics...I would certainly recommend that those of us with 2010 models wait it out until next year. I'm amazed at the number of people I see here who have upgraded from last season!
A reasonable thread!
But I see people comparing light use and heavy use only.......
My 2011 13 i7 runs mail, safari and light office work and is at mid 40s driving a 24" apple LED. But processor load is bouncing between 2 and 3%......
If I use a pro audio program (one of my target uses) and get to ~ 12% load I get ~70degC and 3.5K fans. Still pretty good.
Somewhere between 15% and 20% I will get mid 80s and 6K+ fan. If I am doing some light recording work this is too much for me.
If the 2010's run significantly quieter at this load then yes it will probably work better for me.
Certainly at 50% load and greater having the fans at max is not unreasonable, but I had hoped for more % useage before top fan speed........
-Lee
But I see people comparing light use and heavy use only.......
My 2011 13 i7 runs mail, safari and light office work and is at mid 40s driving a 24" apple LED. But processor load is bouncing between 2 and 3%......
If I use a pro audio program (one of my target uses) and get to ~ 12% load I get ~70degC and 3.5K fans. Still pretty good.
Somewhere between 15% and 20% I will get mid 80s and 6K+ fan. If I am doing some light recording work this is too much for me.
If the 2010's run significantly quieter at this load then yes it will probably work better for me.
Certainly at 50% load and greater having the fans at max is not unreasonable, but I had hoped for more % useage before top fan speed........
-Lee
Good recommendations. I have another one:
Stop worrying about it. Put a case on your machine, and stop you whining. You should never use a laptop on your lap while doing anything truly graphics intensive anyway, and that is the only reason it would get that hot. Also- yes, it may be a bit loud- but thats what happens when you use a lot of power on your machine.
"Good recommendations. I have another one:
Stop worrying about it. Put a case on your machine, and stop you whining. You should never use a laptop on your lap while doing anything truly graphics intensive anyway, and that is the only reason it would get that hot. Also- yes, it may be a bit loud- but thats what happens when you use a lot of power on your machine."
Obnoxious, low-content posts like this are one of the reasons I am starting to tire of Macrumors. There are many reasons people may care about the heat or noise of their machines, and branding them as "whiners" is rude and ignorant. I went out of my way to phrase the post in as open a manner as possible, and there are still posts like this one dragging everything down. Disappointing.
My thanks to so many who have posted about their experiences with the 2011 models--I'm especially interested in folks who have direct experience of the 2010 models before them. There appears to be a consensus that the MBPs of today are cooler than the ones in 2007-2009 or so, which is certainly great--my 2008 MBP was very warm indeed, so this is good to hear.
Stop worrying about it. Put a case on your machine, and stop you whining. You should never use a laptop on your lap while doing anything truly graphics intensive anyway, and that is the only reason it would get that hot. Also- yes, it may be a bit loud- but thats what happens when you use a lot of power on your machine."
Obnoxious, low-content posts like this are one of the reasons I am starting to tire of Macrumors. There are many reasons people may care about the heat or noise of their machines, and branding them as "whiners" is rude and ignorant. I went out of my way to phrase the post in as open a manner as possible, and there are still posts like this one dragging everything down. Disappointing.
My thanks to so many who have posted about their experiences with the 2011 models--I'm especially interested in folks who have direct experience of the 2010 models before them. There appears to be a consensus that the MBPs of today are cooler than the ones in 2007-2009 or so, which is certainly great--my 2008 MBP was very warm indeed, so this is good to hear.
Having both a top end 2010 MBP and a top end 2011 MBP (both 17 inch) it's fairly easy to compare them. I can say that for those, the 2011 is not really any warmer at all. Actually, for idle/light tasks, it stays about 5c cooler on average. If I peg them both, the 2011 tops out at 71-72c (max, and the fans ramp up to about half) and the 2010 is about the same really, the highest I remember it going was 75c, but it rarely topped/tops 70c.
My memory of the 09 and 08's before them are a bit foggy now, they've long since been sold, but they were indeed warmer.
OP is mostly correct.
Many "Apple apologists" have shown up to this thread.
As pointed out above, it is not so much the idle heat or the heat under heavy load, it is the UNREASONABLE HEAT UNDER MEDIUM PROCESSOR LOADS that is most concerning to me.
I returned a 2011 13 MBP i5 and picked up a 2010 15 MPB i5 and the 2010 is much, cooler and quieter under MEDIUM (and light/heavy) CPU LOADS.
Thank you Original Poster for a concise and truthful description of this issue that so many are trying to hide...
Many "Apple apologists" have shown up to this thread.
As pointed out above, it is not so much the idle heat or the heat under heavy load, it is the UNREASONABLE HEAT UNDER MEDIUM PROCESSOR LOADS that is most concerning to me.
I returned a 2011 13 MBP i5 and picked up a 2010 15 MPB i5 and the 2010 is much, cooler and quieter under MEDIUM (and light/heavy) CPU LOADS.
Thank you Original Poster for a concise and truthful description of this issue that so many are trying to hide...
I don't think it's got anything to do with apologists or trying to hide anything. It's apparently quite different from person to person. My 2010, doing any task I do with my 2011, is minimally different if I compare them side by side, identical loads and tasks. Both are top end (aside frm SSD) from their respective year. The 2010 is sometimes a degree or two cooler, sometimes a degree or two warmer. They are always within 3-5 degrees C of each other. That's simply the way it is. Some people somehow are having trouble (the vast majority of the time seeming to be while doing things it was never really fully intended to do, ie. running/gaming in Windows, gaming in general), others are not. Doesn't mean anyone is hiding anything or on the other side, trying to terrorize anyone.
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And I bet you are happier and with more cash to spend in a local beer...just to toast on the long gone heat...!!!
See, this is where you're off track. I don't yet own the 2011 model, but I'm comparing the loads/temps/fan speeds that I see posted. Nothing seems to be any worse than the 2008 MBP I've been using, and I'd NEVER consider it to be a problem.
Just because some has a different opinion or perspective doesn't mean it's some vast coverup.
2011 MBP, 2.3 Ghz, 8 GB RAM, 256 SSD.
When playing games in Windows 7, my computer overheats in clamshell mode... As in puts itself to sleep. With the screen open and using an external display, my machine gets up to 208 degrees F.
Im also using the incase perforated case if anyone cares.
When playing games in Windows 7, my computer overheats in clamshell mode... As in puts itself to sleep. With the screen open and using an external display, my machine gets up to 208 degrees F.
Im also using the incase perforated case if anyone cares.
I still have my 2010 15" and I did consider selling it and getting the faster one but I decided against it once the 2011 models showed up. I wanted a Quad Core and a faster GPU but I also expected a hybrid SSD + HDD solutions to really make the switch worth it. Since the latter is absent and I don't game enough I decided to stay with dual cores to wait for the next gen.
Beside 22nm CPUs that probably run cooler there is also a 28nm GPU shrink on the horizon a light peak that actually is optical (I don't trust the backward compatibility and would prefer the real thing). Hopefully finally some new display tech like TMOS or at least IPS panels and SSD stuff hopefully.
They really upped the game in performance but it is not really worth the switching costs even though I sometimes wish I had the extra bit of quad performance. An SSD upgrade will at least solve most performance issues.
This is a performance upgrade I think the next refresh will be an ergonomics upgrade.
Beside 22nm CPUs that probably run cooler there is also a 28nm GPU shrink on the horizon a light peak that actually is optical (I don't trust the backward compatibility and would prefer the real thing). Hopefully finally some new display tech like TMOS or at least IPS panels and SSD stuff hopefully.
They really upped the game in performance but it is not really worth the switching costs even though I sometimes wish I had the extra bit of quad performance. An SSD upgrade will at least solve most performance issues.
This is a performance upgrade I think the next refresh will be an ergonomics upgrade.
How can I find out if I have enough thermalpaste in my MBP without opening it?
I would somehow have to compare the temps at a very similar load, how could this be done.
I get the impression that mine in idle is a bit noisier then my 2009 17" MBP, but it could just come from the different size.
Under load the new one definitely gets louder then my old 17"
I would somehow have to compare the temps at a very similar load, how could this be done.
I get the impression that mine in idle is a bit noisier then my 2009 17" MBP, but it could just come from the different size.
Under load the new one definitely gets louder then my old 17"
"See, this is where you're off track. I don't yet own the 2011 model, but I'm comparing the loads/temps/fan speeds that I see posted. Nothing seems to be any worse than the 2008 MBP I've been using, and I'd NEVER consider it to be a problem. Just because some has a different opinion or perspective doesn't mean it's some vast coverup."
Totally agreed. But let's also be clear that my main points--that the TDP has changed from 35w to 45w, and the top fan speed has been upped from 6000 to 6500--are not subject to debate. Those are facts. A lot of these things are conjecture and supposition based on personal observation, but some elements are objectively true.
Totally agreed. But let's also be clear that my main points--that the TDP has changed from 35w to 45w, and the top fan speed has been upped from 6000 to 6500--are not subject to debate. Those are facts. A lot of these things are conjecture and supposition based on personal observation, but some elements are objectively true.