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Is the new 2011 13" mbp cooler?

J

jama12uk

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 2, 2011
12
0
I have been holding back on the trigger for buying my first apple product for a couple of months now. I am a student in a final year of uni and would like to take advantage of the apple educational discount (UK students get an amazing deal) before I graduate.
I purchased a base 11.6 air and used it for a week or so. I couldn't make my mind up whether the screen was large enough or not and decided that I would return it as would opt for 4 gigs of ram to future-proof my purchase as much as possible. My needs are simple I do no video editing and only occasional cropping of photos and adjusting brightness and red-eye etc. I decided to wait for the imminent mbp update hoping to be blown away but I wan't I would have liked a higher resolution screen to view photos etc. The new pro seems much better value than the air and the main thing holding me off the purchase is the heat issues that many reports suggest are present. The air, for the short period of time I owned it ran very very cool to the touch. As I will never use the laptop for video editing or gaming I don't imagine the processor will get anywhere near maxed out ever. A friend has a 2009 pro which feels hot to use on the lap, is this 2011 generation cooler. I am more than happy to purchase a ssd for the pro as the air was so snappy, will this reduce the heat output dramatically? I don't want something that is going to get really hot on my lap.

(The 13" mba is not an option because of price).

Thanks
 
According to laptopmag.com


2011 13" 2.3ghz i5

Heat - Touchpad: 80 degrees F
Heat - G+H Keys: 90 degrees F
Heat - Bottom: 90 degrees F

2010 13" 2.4ghz Core2Duo

Heat - Touchpad: 82 degrees F
Heat - G+H Keys: 92 degrees F
Heat - Bottom: 96 degrees F
 
AppleGoat said:
According to laptopmag.com


2011 13" 2.3ghz i5

Heat - Touchpad: 80 degrees F
Heat - G+H Keys: 90 degrees F
Heat - Bottom: 90 degrees F

2010 13" 2.4ghz Core2Duo

Heat - Touchpad: 82 degrees F
Heat - G+H Keys: 92 degrees F
Heat - Bottom: 96 degrees F
Click to expand...

Is this while encoding or other high end processing task, or for simple word processing, photo/video viewing and internet browsing?

Thanks in advance
 
mbp 13"

Is there anyone out there that can comment on the heat from the base 13" mbp 1st hand?

Doesn't matted about numbers, do they just feel too warm to use on the lap for basic surfing, word-processing, video etc.
 
Wait?

Am I best waiting for apple to fix the problem of too much thermal paste before buying a new mbp 13" base?
 
jama12uk said:
Am I best waiting for apple to fix the problem of too much thermal paste before buying a new mbp 13" base?
Click to expand...

Sorry for contradicting myself the other day. I now have both base 13" models from 2010 and 2011 next to each other on my desk. The 2011 undoubtedly runs warmer. I installed the iStat app on both machine. I closed all applications and then left dashboard on both machines. The 2010 CPU temperature gradually declined: 31C, 30C, then eventually 29C. The 2011, on the other hand, hung around 38C. Usually fluttering between 37-39 C. 2010 didn't seem that unstable, not sure if that is a reflection of anything. The fan (?) on the 2011 is perpetually audible, not terribly loud, may escape the notice of someone less conscious of it. However, according to the iStat app, the fans on both machines rev at about the same speed when idle or in light usage. I don't know why you hear it on the '11 and not the '10.
 
In normal use the fan on my 13" 2.3 is inaudible. I hear it occasionally but have to be doing something CPU intensive to hear it--and as a recovered audio nut, I'm sensitive to noise.
 
Naimfan said:
In normal use the fan on my 13" 2.3 is inaudible. I hear it occasionally but have to be doing something CPU intensive to hear it--and as a recovered audio nut, I'm sensitive to noise.
Click to expand...

It has to be the hard drive I'm hearing - I have no idea why? Let me emphasize that it is not "loud," but annoying if you have a low tolerance for it and are used to the deathly silence of the 2010s. I'm liking the 2011 more and more though.
 
2011 macbook pro

AppleGoat said:
It has to be the hard drive I'm hearing - I have no idea why? Let me emphasize that it is not "loud," but annoying if you have a low tolerance for it and are used to the deathly silence of the 2010s. I'm liking the 2011 more and more though.
Click to expand...

Do you think that a ssd would reduce noise and temp?
 
jama12uk said:
Do you think that a ssd would reduce noise and temp?
Click to expand...

Yes, the noise is produced not only by the CPU fan but also by the HDD motor, so an SSD can reduce noise and also temp since it works cooler. Maybe you can see better effect also on battery life but i dont know if that can be noticeable.
 
matteofox said:
Yes, the noise is produced not only by the CPU fan but also by the HDD motor, so an SSD can reduce noise and also temp since it works cooler. Maybe you can see better effect also on battery life but i dont know if that can be noticeable.
Click to expand...

Well, according to iStat the HDD bay temps are only a few degrees warmer on the '11 compared to the '10. And, the noise has to the be the HDD, since my '10 fan is revving at the same speed and deathly silent.
 
AppleGoat said:
It has to be the hard drive I'm hearing - I have no idea why? Let me emphasize that it is not "loud," but annoying if you have a low tolerance for it and are used to the deathly silence of the 2010s. I'm liking the 2011 more and more though.
Click to expand...

@AppleGoat your noise on the 2011 also coming from the bottom right corner? With mine it's continuous and constant doesnt get much louder than it did at first but still audible
 
shoegal said:
@AppleGoat your noise on the 2011 also coming from the bottom right corner? With mine it's continuous and constant doesnt get much louder than it did at first but still audible
Click to expand...

Yes exactly, if there were an ambient noise in the room I wouldn't be able to hear it -- but, as the room is relatively quiet, I notice it in perpetuity.
 
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