Is My MacBook Pro Overheating?

[rmbrown09]

Ok, so I posted this thread on the Steam for Mac forums as well, but they keep pointing me in the direction of overheating / something is wrong with the heat sink.

(Steam for Mac Thread -----> http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1641849)

Here is the quick synopsis.

I play Counter Strike Source, a video game, that runs natively through steam for Mac. It has been going great for months now, but recently while I have been playing, after a short time my FPS (Frames per Second) drop off the face of the earth.

I take my laptop with me a lot to work and school, and was wondering if perhaps the heatsink is not functioning properly and is overheating the GPU or CPU causing reduced FPS after a short time when gaming. The laptop has never been dropped or banged while being transported to my knowledge. (not very hard anyways)

But I can't think of what would do this.

Anyways, this is the post from the thread on the Steam Forum. Tell me what you guys think.

NOTE: DASHBOARD kills the FPS by 30, so while I am running 100+ fps, when I pull up dashboard to show you temps and it drops to 60, that's why.

1.) started playing on de_Cbble. Averaging over 100 FPS all the time in all places on the map.
Running native 1440x900 everything maxed with no AA and 4x AF

2.) Temps before anything is happening. Just idle on the desktop

3.)Pics showing you the FPS I'm pulling. It can drop sometimes right as the picture is being taken but it's generally 100+

(Top Right has the FPS)

4.)Temps during the start of gameplay

5.) FPS after about 5- 10 minutes.

6.)Temperature after 5-10 minutes

7.)Temps after the drop

8.) FPS after the drop (stays in this range everywhere, 20's - 30's)

SUMMARY

These pics are taken feet from each other. And see the FPS difference post drop.
BEFORE
http://cl.ly/1M080Q2N3D2w2y432B1E

AFTER
http://cl.ly/3o0a3j2g3p2t2X262Y2f

 

[Relznuk]

Those temps are moderately warm, but nothing to really be worried about... More likely than overheating is the idea that you are simply maxing out your VRAM - your current graphics hardware just can't handle that game for as long as you'd like. This is why serious gaming is done mostly on desktop machines.

Try lowering the settings in your game, and see if it doesn't work much better.

 

[cmzwirner]

I have the same exact problem. When i play CSS, TF2, or COD:MW2 i get great FPS for 5-10 minutes, and then it severely drops off.

I have tried many different drivers, the highest fan settings.. Everything. Im starting to think i have a faulty chip.

 

[rmbrown09]

Those temps are moderately warm, but nothing to really be worried about... More likely than overheating is the idea that you are simply maxing out your VRAM - your current graphics hardware just can't handle that game for as long as you'd like. This is why serious gaming is done mostly on desktop machines.

Try lowering the settings in your game, and see if it doesn't work much better.

That condition would be fine, however why was I able to play at the same settings for the last 4 months without this issue?

 

[mulo]

did it shut down?

no?
- your fine.
yes?
- take it to apple.

 

[rmbrown09]

did it shut down?

no?
- your fine.
yes?
- take it to apple.

It has not shut down. I reinstalled CSS. No help. It also seems my flash player gets affected as well when this happens. YouTube chokes hard afterwards.

 

[weenerdog]

Cpu at 102 degrees celsius is a bit excessive i'd say. Mine has never gotten higher that 82. You might have a problem.

 

[rmbrown09]

Cpu at 102 degrees celsius is a bit excessive i'd say. Mine has never gotten higher that 82. You might have a problem.

hm ill run some more tests on it. After the choke happens the temps stay relatively low. It feels like the GPU just stops trying. Is there a way I can keep like a graph of temps with some program?

** just remembered I bought istat menus a while back, but since I reinstalled 10.6 I haven't gotten it back, I'll try that.

 

[cmzwirner]

Speedfan has a built in temp graph.

You dont happen to be overclocking do you?

 

[rmbrown09]

Speedfan has a built in temp graph.

You dont happen to be overclocking do you?

No I am gaming in OSx, and as far as I know you can't OC in OSx. I will try and check the temps while gaming.

Ok well, I figured out what it was, unfortunately, I don't understand why this is happening. I set my fans to medium using iStat menus. I played great for quite a while. Temps stayed in the 80's and 70's.

After getting curious I switched fan control back to default (Osx control) and the fans shut off. 40 seconds later I was down in the 20's for FPS and my temp's were at 100+.

Why are my fans not working? I don't want to have to manually control them all the time.

 

[cmzwirner]

I have to manually put mine at 6200RPM to stay stable. I also have the laptop propped up on 4 inch high pads, so air can get under the laptop. I just gamed for 2 hours with this setup, and it worked.

Its a shame that these **** the bed after 5 minutes of normal game playing. Apple better fix/replace mine.

 

[aimbdd]

They won't. They told me to bad. aha... Hope either of you have better luck.
As to why it would start now, things tend to get into the computer, and dust builds up. I am guessing it has finally built up enough to cause increased heat.