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MacBook Pro Heat

S

sdb53

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 17, 2011
22
0
This is a question for anyone who owns the newest MacBook Pro (2011) I was wondering does it overheat a lot and also do you think it gets hotter than an HP would? Can you use it on your lap or set it on your bed without it becoming super hot? I know almost every computer gets warm but my brother has the MacBook Pro from 2 years ago and it doesn't get hot at all. The reason i'm asking is because for college I have to pick between a 2011 MacBook pro and an HP elitebook 8460p.
 
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sdb53 said:
This is a question for anyone who owns the newest MacBook Pro (2011) I was wondering does it overheat a lot and also do you think it gets hotter than an HP would?
Click to expand...

UTFSE, there are sooo many posts on this.

Personally, my macbook runs a LITTLE hotter than I would like it to. I wish it would idle around 35-40 instead of 40-48 with no heavy usage. Under full load, my temps hit around 85-86 C and that is a little high too.

One theory is that apple used too much thermal paste (to lower production costs as it is easier to overapply then to accidentally underapply. That way they were SURE you wouldn't get a lack of thermal paste which could fry your cpu completely. This resulted in big ass goops of thermal thrown on the cpu and it inching up temps).

The further argument is how this is going to affect our cpus lifespan.

The biggest complaint, which thankfully I don't have, are fans reaching 6,000RPMS creating a loud computer under minimal load. I've only ever seen my fans reach 3-4000RPMS not matter how hot this baby gets.

Best thing to do is youtube it, there are several informative videos available.
 
Kinda off topic but as I am reading this there is a Dell advertisement blinking at me. Kinda weird to see this on such an apple site.
 
cirus said:
Kinda off topic but as I am reading this there is a Dell advertisement blinking at me. Kinda weird to see this on such an apple site.
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I have never seen an advertisement on this site which worries me, as that means I am completely oblivious to my surroundings...
 
So off topic again but hp claims their new elitebook has 32 hours of battery life when using it do you believe them?
 
MacBook Pros overheat when compared to identically equipped HP's it's a fact of life. To compensate Apple raises their acceptable range so it runs within specs. Sloppy and excessive thermal paste applied during assembly is often the problem. Apple doesn't seem to care so it's a do it yourself project if you want to correct it.

I've spent the time to take my MBP apart, cleaned out the gobs of paste and reapplied the proper kind and amount. The job voids your warranty and its easy to break things if you don't know what you're doing. Not for the novice to do.

Once I was done my Mac runs 20 degrees cooler. Since they have no side vents heat comes up out of the keyboard. As a result now my hands don't get hot while typing. Its not cool like my properly vented ThinkPad, but it's much better.

Other than the heating problem and a price that was just under $1,000.00 more than my ThinkPad, it's a good laptop.
 
maclaptop said:
MacBook Pros overheat when compared to identically equipped HP's it's a fact of life. To compensate Apple raises their acceptable range so it runs within specs. Sloppy and excessive thermal paste applied during assembly is often the problem. Apple doesn't seem to care so it's a do it yourself project if you want to correct it.

I've spent the time to take my MBP apart, cleaned out the gobs of paste and reapplied the proper kind and amount. The job voids your warranty and its easy to break things if you don't know what you're doing. Not for the novice to do.

Once I was done my Mac runs 20 degrees cooler. Since they have no side vents heat comes up out of the keyboard. As a result now my hands don't get hot while typing. Its not cool like my properly vented ThinkPad, but it's much better.

Other than the heating problem and a price that was just under $1,000.00 more than my ThinkPad, it's a good laptop.
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They do seem to run hotter but keep in mind that overheating is subjective and varies from maker to maker. It does not imply thermal damage, and the long term durability of the MBP has been shown by time.
 
I would define overheating as a state in which a device is producing such a temperature that its performance (defined as "used in the way in which it was intended, ie without being overclocked or otherwise substantially altered from how it was purchased) is compromised to an extent that one cannot continue using said device and their productivity is affected deleteriously.

Since most of the new macbook pros do not get hot enough to actually shut off (the vast majority, if you mroogle it, are just "hot" or idle at what people determine to be high temperatures), thus interfering with people's productivity, I would say that they do not, in fact, overheat.

Various countries have laws protecting consumers from manufacturers' caprices; if the "high heat" is such that the components' life is severely shortened to the extent that after a year your logic bored no longer functions, you would still be able to get it repaired by the manufacturer.

Personally, my 15" MBP does not overheat. I've not altered it in any way but I do use GFXCardStatus and SMCFanControl sometimes when I remember to. Even if I don't, it gets to about 35 with word and safari/firefox open and dynamic GPU switching enabled; it peaks at 85-90 when playing an intensive game in OS X and utilising the discrete graphics card with the fans on ~6000. This is normal behaviour and nothing to worry about.

If I were you I'd purchase one. I certainly don't regret it and by all accounts most people on here don't regret it. The few who do complain are, you must remember, a minority overall. People rarely join forums to praise a product or service.

oh yeah, IMHO ^ and all that...
 
My runs perfect. Comparing to my old dell e6400 it is really cool. With only integrated video card and not using flash in browser the temperature stays around 38-40 grad (with many opened pdf files and running eclipse instance).

I have attached a file with current temperature with: 2 Monitors, using of dedicated graphic card, watching 720p video on youtube. Fans are spinning at 2000 rpm.

New model is running cooler than my old unibody and no comparing to my old dell computer.

PS
Sorry for english. I'am just learning it and as a student don't have enough free time for it.
 

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My MBP 2011 has 27 hrs battery life

sdb53 said:
So off topic again but hp claims their new elitebook has 32 hours of battery life when using it do you believe them?
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It all depends on the external battery pack. The HP add is for an Elite Book with the largest capacity battery pack.

My MacBook Pro 2011 has a 27 hours battery life with an external pack. Great stuff, I keep the battery in my backpack and I can work for two very long days without recharging.

http://www.hypershop.com/HyperMac-External-Battery-for-MacBook-iPad-iPhone-USB-s/91.htm

Wanted to order another pack, but unfortunately hypermac shipments are currently several weeks delayed because the key components of the batteries are manufactured in Sendai (Japan). That area was hit by the recent earthquake
 
sdb53 said:
This is a question for anyone who owns the newest MacBook Pro (2011) I was wondering does it overheat a lot and also do you think it gets hotter than an HP would? Can you use it on your lap or set it on your bed without it becoming super hot? I know almost every computer gets warm but my brother has the MacBook Pro from 2 years ago and it doesn't get hot at all. The reason i'm asking is because for college I have to pick between a 2011 MacBook pro and an HP elitebook 8460p.
Click to expand...

With a proper mat, any laptop will be usable in bed.

http://www.amazon.com/Targus-Chill-...1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1303066316&sr=1-1

I've that for my 2011 MBP.

If you're worried about heat (I know I am!), use this:
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/23049/smcfancontrol

Even at the default fan settings, so far, when using Huey to calibrate the screen and download updates, it's 45C (and 35C idle). In a 23C ambient environment, those are great specs. Yes, using FULL load (CPU + GPU), it will get rather warmer. I wouldn't be surprised at 85C if I really push it. I've yet to do full testing, but I know SMCFancontrol will lower those temps. I only found out about SMCFancontrol recently. It's worth a download.

A friend of mine had HP once. HP squirmed out of their extended warranty. I've recently read more how Apple, with Applecare, is ethical and won't squirm out of warranty repairs. I like that.

Plus, all the spyware and crud preinstalled on the HP? Removing them won't remove everything in the registry, and you can't compact the registry. That registry is the nadir...

And overheating, to me, is anything reaching 90C and above - even if the CPU is made to withstand 105C, I prefer keeping my computers running as cool as possible. Longer lifespan is green and good for the environment.
 
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sdb53 said:
This is a question for anyone who owns the newest MacBook Pro (2011) I was wondering does it overheat a lot
Click to expand...
No, they don't overheat at all, unless it's a defective model. They may run hotter than a user is used to, but if a Mac truly overheated (over 105C/221F), it would automatically shut down, to prevent damage.
cirus said:
Kinda off topic but as I am reading this there is a Dell advertisement blinking at me. Kinda weird to see this on such an apple site.
Click to expand...
What do I do about annoying ads?
sdb53 said:
So off topic again but hp claims their new elitebook has 32 hours of battery life when using it do you believe them?
Click to expand...
Completely bogus.
 
GGJstudios said:
No, they don't overheat at all, unless it's a defective model. They may run hotter than a user is used to, but if a Mac truly overheated (over 105C/221F), it would automatically shut down, to prevent damage.

What do I do about annoying ads?

Completely bogus.
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It would shut down, but the fans would stop and in an overheating condition, it's imperative to cool the ambient environment quickly. Over time, instability - in the form of random crashes - would become a regular problem.

Even when running, it is advisable to keep the temps as low as possible. Which isn't as easy to do for laptops (under full load my Sony gets up to 76C, which I feel more comfortable with than 86C or higher.)
 
thermodynamic said:
It would shut down, but the fans would stop and in an overheating condition, it's imperative to cool the ambient environment quickly. Over time, instability - in the form of random crashes - would become a regular problem.
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Actually, the CPU would shut down, but that doesn't mean the fans would stop immediately. If a Mac is shutting down due to heat on a regular basis, either the workload being applied needs to be adjusted, or the possibility of hardware failure exists.
 
It gets hot, yes, but it doesn't overheat.

Any quad core laptop with the specs of the 15" will get warm, that's just science.

I've played hours of crysis, had it convert an entire season of TV from Xvid to mkv and done a lot of image editing. It's reached 92C, but it hasn't shut down from getting too hot. As long as you keep it on a desk when you do anything really demanding (your testicles will thank you), then it won't overheat.
 
Manacit said:
It gets hot, yes, but it doesn't overheat.

Any quad core laptop with the specs of the 15" will get warm, that's just science.

I've played hours of crysis, had it convert an entire season of TV from Xvid to mkv and done a lot of image editing. It's reached 92C, but it hasn't shut down from getting too hot. As long as you keep it on a desk when you do anything really demanding (your testicles will thank you), then it won't overheat.
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My core2duo 13" MBP has topped 105 degrees C when playing Rigs of Rods. ;)
 
Okay thank you and I get it through my school anyway and they have free support so if something goes wrong or even if I drop it off my bed and they can't fix it I get a new one for free!
 
I have the 2011 2.2GHz MacBook Pro and have it on my lap or on the bed all the time. There is no discomforting heat at all. I do have a Speck case on it as well, and the iStat only reports 108 Fahrenheit (40 Celsius) while using Photoshop CS5 and Adobe Bridge with thousands of 20MB sized files.

I do have a couple SSDs in my MacBook Pro, so I don't have to worry about moving my Pro around and it gives me longer battery life.

I was going to do the thermal paste mod, but I haven't really had any problems.

Then again, the paste could have been applied correctly the first time.
 
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