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Is the Macbook "lapable"?

M

Mjmar

macrumors 65816
Original poster
May 20, 2008
1,190
504
I currently have a Toshiba laptop that will burn my legs if i try to put it on my lap. Is the Macbook like this, or is it cool enough to put it on your lap for awhile?
 
Depends how long you use it, it does heat up a bit on the bottom, but just in one corner (escape corner of the keyboard), but not unbearably so.

On the positive side, it keeps your legs warm in winter :)

Edit : I agree with psychofreak, I only use it for surfin' on my lap (lap surfing??) and not heavy duty CPU work.
 
it does get slightly hot. not on a desk though. try to keep it off bed covers unless you put your entire arm underneath the hot bit. and yes. my first generation keeps me hot in winter :D
 
I use it often on my lap in combination with smc fan control. With a bit higher fan speed no problem at all.
 
Its not too bad....its certainly bearable but it keeps your legs warm....after an hour or so it may become a bit uncomfortable...at least that's the case for me.
 
I've never had a problem with the heat. I use it on my lap every night, sometimes for several hours, and during the winter, I turned on CPU intensive things like Folding and purposely put it on my bare legs/stomach to warm them up.
 
I got mine on Thursday and I just used it on my lap for the first time and it was absolutely fine. I borrowed my girlfriend's sony vaio for a few weeks while she was out of town and it burned the crap out of me. I couldn't use it on my lap unless I was in bed and then I placed a pillow under it. The macbook does get a little warm but if you're wearing pants I imagine you'll be fine :D
 
All the laptops I use give me warm lap dances! :D Hahaha.

But really though, I have not had problems with excessive heat as far as using laptops on my lap.
 
Mine exhibits seasonal variation. In the summer it gets quite hot (with the external temperature not helping). The fans go a lot. A couple of times I've had to take it off my lap because I've been seriously concerned about the amount of heat coming off of it. I saw a photo of someone who had fairly serious burns on her upper legs due to a macbook so I've heeded the warning and moved it since then.

During cooler months the fans hardly go at all and the temperature is just fine. I work with it mostly on my lap. When it starts to feel hot I balance it on a hardcover book on my lap so it gets more air circulation. It cools down after a bit.

So... Mostly... It is just fine (for me in Southern inland Australia). If you live in a particularly hot and / or humid climate and / or do a lot of work with it in hot and / or humid places things might be a little more uncomfortable, though... I've heard good things about cooling pads but I haven't forked out for one yet.
 
I've found the heat on the macbooks (SR) easier to deal with than the MBPs...those tend to get rather uncomfortable i suspect due to the aluminum enclosure acting as a heatsink whereas the macbook has its own dedicated heatsink
 
Heat from my BlackBook, never touches my lap! I use the "Higher Ground-Laptrap" which allows my BlackBook some breathing room. My BlackBook rests about 1-1/2" above the case with 4 rubber pads to hold the BlackBook above the case, allowing the heat to escape. :cool:
 
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