Is the Mid-2015 MacBook Pro 13-inch hot when playing games?

[Simplifier]

Hi all,

I am thinking about buying the latest MacBook Pro 13 to replace my MacBook Pro 13-inch from Early 2011.
I've had the chance to test it and it's fast, lightweight and the retina display is now a must.
My only question is that my current MacBook Pro gets extremely hot when playing any full games (for instance Borderlands 2 or Borderlands The Pre-Sequel). As soon as the game starts, the fans start to kick in and the computer gets really really hot.

Is this still the case on the latest Mid-2015 MacBook Pro's (the ones with ForceTouch) ?

Thanks for the clarification.

 

[T5BRICK]

Is this still the case on the latest Mid-2015 MacBook Pro's (the ones with ForceTouch) ?

Anything CPU or GPU intensive is going to cause the computer to heat up. It's not really made for gaming anyway.

 

[soupcan]

As with any CPU or GPU intensive app it will get hotter. Fans are there to keep it cool.

 

[SE43]

Yep it gets hot. Plus Apple tend not to kick in the fans til the temperature gets pretty high (Whereas some other manufacturers get the fans to kick in much earlier.)

If you want it for gaming though I'd look at other laptops, especially ones with a dGPU.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Hi all,

I am thinking about buying the latest MacBook Pro 13 to replace my MacBook Pro 13-inch from Early 2011.
I've had the chance to test it and it's fast, lightweight and the retina display is now a must.
My only question is that my current MacBook Pro gets extremely hot when playing any full games (for instance Borderlands 2 or Borderlands The Pre-Sequel). As soon as the game starts, the fans start to kick in and the computer gets really really hot.

Is this still the case on the latest Mid-2015 MacBook Pro's (the ones with ForceTouch) ?

Thanks for the clarification.

Cooling and thermals are much better on the new rMBP's over the old cMBP's, but any laptop will spin up the fans and get warm when gaming, even on older games. Mine runs Knights of the old republic fantastically, but it will still spin the fans up and get warm.

 

[maflynn]

Yup, there's many threads here about people complaining about the heat, games and other software that push the CPU/GPU will get hot, there's no way around that.

 

[Simplifier]

Thanks a lot for your answers, much appreciated. I guess I'll keep my MacBook Pro for some more time, then.

 

[iSheep5S]

I had a trial used 2011 MBP just to try the Mac experience, i can tell you this.

The 2011 playing my usual game was running at 90 degrees.

My 2014 rMBP sits at 60 degrees for the same game.

That should help.

Edit: Despite this i still game on an AMD equipped HP Windows laptop. Gaming on my Mac doesn't sit right with me. Plus i like some beta games that Mac is left out of.

60 degrees on a Mac is a hot base and keyboard.

60 degrees on my HP can't be felt on any surface.

 

[Simplifier]

Hey, thanks, that's useful. From 90 to 60, that's quite a huge difference!
I will actually try and test it on my MacBook Pro. Can you tell me what application you used to analyse that? (Don't tell me a thermometer plugged into MacBook's ports hahaha )

 

[Dark Void]

It's normal and to be expected as many have stated, but a good thing to keep in mind too is that if the chassis gets hot - that isn't necessarily a bad thing, but rather the aluminum body design doing its job properly with heat transfer - being a better conductor of heat in comparison to other materials like plastic.

 

[iSheep5S]

Hey, thanks, that's useful. From 90 to 60, that's quite a huge difference!
I will actually try and test it on my MacBook Pro. Can you tell me what application you used to analyse that? (Don't tell me a thermometer plugged into MacBook's ports hahaha )

iStat Pro.

 

[snaky69]

Thanks a lot for your answers, much appreciated. I guess I'll keep my MacBook Pro for some more time, then.

Unless you find out a way to bend the laws of physics and thermodynamics, you'll always have the same process: gaming requires power, power produces heat, heat has to be extracted for the electronics to keep working normally.

The end result: a warm computer and fan noise. Both are 100% normal.

 

[nStyle]

Of course it's going to heat up, and will likely be uncomfortable to touch at times, but that's the reason you have an external monitor + keyboard/mouse.

If you're more concerned with your PC getting zapped due to temps, you could always get a cooler to put underneath it.

I personally let my 13" hang off the back of my desk by about an inch since that's where the fans are. It makes a SIGNIFICANT difference. So I'd imagine a cooler would help even more if you're truly worried about it.

 

[ckWTB]

Lots of great replies to your question, although, supplemental cooling is possible and makes a significant difference for intensive workloads like gaming.

As noted, gaming is an example of an intensive workload that will running the CPU and GPU at or near their maximum performance. Under such scenarios the cooling fan will run at maximum speed in an attempt to remove as much heat as possible, the enclosure will absorb excess waste heat as it acts as a heat sink transferring heat to the surroundings, and if you run your computer hard enough and long enough then heat can build up to the point that the processor speeds will be throttled to avoid overheating, which means your computer and frame rates will slow.

The new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display uses one of the 15-inch’s large cooling fans, a fan that provides larger cooling capacity than the non-Retina 13-inch MacBook Pros, so even if you go for a more powerful processor it will likely run cooler (note that 2013 and older the older 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Displays used two smaller fans but will also provide additional cooling capacity that the non-Retina models).

 

[dza]

Wait until they make a new case with better cooling. Cooling is ridicolous if you like me occassionally do compiling or other cpu intensive work ... They need to make a version with larger cooling ... They really do ...

 

[yjchua95]

Wait until they make a new case with better cooling. Cooling is ridicolous if you like me occassionally do compiling or other cpu intensive work ... They need to make a version with larger cooling ... They really do ...

In that case you can forget it. Just get a bloody desktop instead.

 

[ckWTB]

Wait until they make a new case with better cooling. Cooling is ridicolous if you like me occassionally do compiling or other cpu intensive work ... They need to make a version with larger cooling ... They really do ...

Agreed and solution provided, see signature.

 

[ckWTB]

In that case you can forget it. Just get a bloody desktop instead.

Desktops are great, but you could also transform a laptop into a desktop for intensive usage while still maintaining the convenience of a single portable computer setup.

 

[yjchua95]

Desktops are great, but you could also transform a laptop into a desktop for intensive usage while still maintaining the convenience of a single portable computer setup.

That's what I do, but the guy whom I was replying to doesn't seem to understand that.

I use my 15" rMBP in a dock almost all the time as a desktop.

 

[ckWTB]

That's what I do, but the guy whom I was replying to doesn't seem to understand that.

I use my 15" rMBP in a dock almost all the time as a desktop.

That makes sense and is the type of workstation setup I find to strike the right balance between performance and mobility, plus I can push the performance side pretty hard with the extra cooling.