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jwmac1975

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 11, 2011
9
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I'm using Intel Power Gadget on my MacBook Pro 2018 2.6 i7 and noticed that the CPU temp gets close to 100c when under heady load. It is normal for the temp to get that high?
 
Yes, 100C is the maximal safe temperature for operating an Intel CPU, so that is why its hitting this temperature when the CPU is delivering its maximal performance.
 
Yes, 100C is the maximal safe temperature for operating an Intel CPU, so that is why its hitting this temperature when the CPU is delivering its maximal performance.

Is it safe to continuously hit that temp, given that's it the maximum spec? Can someone provide the temps they are seeing with this CPU? I just want to make sure it's normal.
 
Is it safe to continuously hit that temp, given that's it the maximum spec? Can someone provide the temps they are seeing with this CPU? I just want to make sure it's normal.

Every Mac laptop that was build in last decade (give or take) and uses a reasonably powerful CPU will reach that temperature under prolonged loads. So yes, it’s normal. As to whether it’s safe, I don’t think that anyone here has data to answer this question properly. The fact is: it’s operating within the spec and the manufacturer is covering this with their warranty, so at least they must think it’s safe. In my experience at least (over a hundred of Macs in about 8 years of professionally caring for them) I didn’t notice any increased failure rates with people who were routinely using their laptops to run big statistical simulations overnight.

At any rate, if you find yourself running a laptop at full load 24/7, I’d ask myself whether a different tool (a desktop workstation or a cloud machine) wouldn’t be better for the job.
 
Maybe not desirable, equally not unsafe or dangerous to the CPU, any thin & light with similar components will result in high operating temperatures. All Mac's tend to run hot, as Apple likes to keep the fan RPM's low as it can get away with.

Q-6
 
What worries me with all those 6 core CPU's is that they do go above 100C. If you look at the power and fan rpm trend, in relation to CPU temps you will notice that the temperature magically stops at 100C while the power is still somewhere in the stratosphere and fans just begin to spool up. The temperature sensor is saturated. And then after 10, 15 or 20 seconds once the power drops to 45W or so, fans hit max rpm and you see the temperature becoming 'alive' again. One could probably approximate with decent accuracy the actual temperature reached, just assuming that it is a linear function of power and rpms.

So I dare to say that while operating at 100C 24/7 in equilibrium with the clock close to 3Ghz and fans maxed is not going to reduce the lifespan in a measurable way - but if your workload consist of full load bursts lasting around 1 minute and repeating frequently it will eventually kill the BGA joints, if not outright the silicon itself.
 
What worries me with all those 6 core CPU's is that they do go above 100C. If you look at the power and fan rpm trend, in relation to CPU temps you will notice that the temperature magically stops at 100C while the power is still somewhere in the stratosphere and fans just begin to spool up. The temperature sensor is saturated. And then after 10, 15 or 20 seconds once the power drops to 45W or so, fans hit max rpm and you see the temperature becoming 'alive' again. One could probably approximate with decent accuracy the actual temperature reached, just assuming that it is a linear function of power and rpms.

So I dare to say that while operating at 100C 24/7 in equilibrium with the clock close to 3Ghz and fans maxed is not going to reduce the lifespan in a measurable way - but if your workload consist of full load bursts lasting around 1 minute and repeating frequently it will eventually kill the BGA joints, if not outright the silicon itself.

Just to clarify, you see the same temps on your system?
 
I'm using Intel Power Gadget on my MacBook Pro 2018 2.6 i7 and noticed that the CPU temp gets close to 100c when under heady load. It is normal for the temp to get that high?
My MacBook Pro 2018 2.6 i7 barely gets to 70/80c no matter what I throw at it and feeding an external monitor (maybe the reason as opposed to integrated graphics). Is yours sitting on a flat table to allow proper cooling through the air vents underneath, lid open, normal room temperature, etc.?
 
My MacBook Pro 2018 2.6 i7 barely gets to 70/80c no matter what I throw at it and feeding an external monitor (maybe the reason as opposed to integrated graphics). Is yours sitting on a flat table to allow proper cooling through the air vents underneath, lid open, normal room temperature, etc.?

This is the type of response that makes me question everything again. What are you using to monitor the cpu temp? Can you try running the Cinebench cpu test and report the temps?
 
This is the type of response that makes me question everything again. What are you using to monitor the cpu temp? Can you try running the Cinebench cpu test and report the temps?
Don't pay attention to it, 100C is normal at full load, these are almost desktop grade CPUs shoveled in thin chassis. Two cores loaded out of six is enough to make it boil water. Unglued simply doesn't throw enough at it.
 
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This is the type of response that makes me question everything again. What are you using to monitor the cpu temp? Can you try running the Cinebench cpu test and report the temps?
I used the same Intel power gadget as OP. Thanks for sharing Cinebench much better to see temps move, for OpenGL it peaked to 80-85c and back to 60c watching the Intel app. For the CPU test it bounced off 100c quickly then low 90's and back up to around 96c range before fading back down to 60c. Sorry I'm probably not the best person to test this stuff but just a general idea.
 
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