Macbook Pro heating up while gaming

[Laimbeersux]

Hey all, question regarding the internal temperatures on my mid-2010 MBP. It' running the 2.4ghz I5 processor with 4gb of RAM and the stock Intel HD Graphics 288 MB. A few months ago when Diablo 3 came out, I thought about buying a new computer expressly for gaming, but didn't because the MBP seemed to be completely within the specification list for the game.

I installed the game and played it a ton on my MBP but noticed it heating up right away. I downloaded a temperature gauge to see what the temperatures were of the internal components. All of the fans were running full blast and the temperatures had all increased, most noticeably the "GPU Diode (Analog)" temperature, which had broken 125 degrees Celsius.

I ended up buying a desktop and making it my primary gaming computer, but would really like to game with the mbp, especially since I have to travel for work every once in awhile and it'd be nice to game when I'm bored in a hotel, but only not if it is going to cause damage. The last couple of days I wondered if upgrading the ram might just cause the computer to not have to work as hard, maybe not taxing the Graphics Card (what I assume GPU is). Any ideas if that would in fact help? Sounds like my MBP can have up to 8gb as opposed to the 4gb that is pre-installed and the prices aren't that expensive to get two 4gb ram modules (or whatever they're called).

Today I decided to run the temperature app before, during, and after playing diablo 3 on my mbp. As expected the baseline before running D3 was lower for the most part than the temperature readings during running D3, and the temps went down after quitting the game immediately, all but one, the stupid GPU Diode (Analog) which went from 127 before to 67 during, then back to 127 after playing. All of the other sensors read as expected but this one was weird going backwards from what I thought would happen.

I guess my questions are:

1. Why would this happen?
2. Is there any fix for it or since the graphics card is probably soldered in am I out of luck and is my $2k MBP about to turn into an expensive table cloth for my coffee table that it usually sits on?
3. Is it worth upgrading the RAM or does the GPU heating issue make that a moot point?

Attached are the pics I took of the temperature readouts for reference.

 

[AZREOSpecialist]

I understand that you're unhappy that your machine is running hot, but how is heat "not within specifications" of the game? Hot or not, is your MBP running the game adequately? MacBook Pros have always run hot when under load.

You can try taking the thing apart to see if you have dust bunnies in there obstructing your airflow. Give it a good blow-out with compressed air. I've read posts elsewhere of people solving MBP heating and performance issues with a simple internal cleaning. I'd say if the heat is not causing your unit to shut down or trip any thermal protection, you're running within Apple's specifications and should be fine. Whether or not your lap agrees with that is a different matter.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

How to Take a Screenshot in Mac OS X

 

[Aodhan]

If everyone could just post in Fahrenheit instead of Celsius...
At least Siri knows.

 

[geoffreak]

127 degrees C doesn't sound normal by any means. I think the issue in this case is more likely to be a temperature sensor issue, but you're going to want to take it in to Apple to take a look (I hope you have AppleCare).

More RAM will not noticeably increase your graphics performance, sorry. While an integrated graphics chip will use some of your normal RAM as video RAM, I doubt most video games even use what's left over of your RAM.

You may see a slight performance increase for other more RAM-intensive tasks. Follow this guide to see if you might benefit.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

If everyone could just post in Fahrenheit instead of Celsius...
At least Siri knows.

Why? The Celsius scale is used more than the Fahrenheit scale. Or is this board only for people that have been raised in the US? I thought it was an international board. Is it not?

At least the OP included the scale s/he used, something you cannot see in lots of posts where Fahrenheit is used, and people not used to Fahrenheit might confuse those numbers then. I for example have been raised with Celsius and Kelvin and have never used Fahrenheit, it is an old and illogical (to me) scale anyway.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

You're not going to get a mac to play a game and remain cool. Those temps seem high, but considering it's a mac, that sounds right.

 

[Tobias Funke]

My MBP gets hot and fans start going just playing angry birds!!

 

[JD92]

The temperature readings do seem strange - but I wouldn't worry. Your fans are supposed to go on full blast when you start any kind of intensive task, and all Apple hardware is programmed to automatically shut down when they exceed safe temperatures, so unless you start seeing smoke just game as you would normally.

 

[Rockoar]

If everyone could just post in Fahrenheit instead of Celsius...
At least Siri knows.

Countries that use ºF: USA
Countries that use ºC: The Whole World

Not to mention that Celsius is a more logic scale.

 

[eagandale4114]

127 degrees C doesn't sound normal by any means. I think the issue in this case is more likely to be a temperature sensor issue, but you're going to want to take it in to Apple to take a look (I hope you have AppleCare).

More RAM will not noticeably increase your graphics performance, sorry. While an integrated graphics chip will use some of your normal RAM as video RAM, I doubt most video games even use what's left over of your RAM.

You may see a slight performance increase for other more RAM-intensive tasks. Follow this guide to see if you might benefit.

Thats above the boiling point of water. I think you mean 127 F.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Thats above the boiling point of water. I think you mean 127 F.

Unlikely, as the screenshots the OP included show us the software reporting the temperatures, and it also shows the scale.

 

[geoffreak]

Thats above the boiling point of water. I think you mean 127 F.

Nope, 127 degrees C. Look in the OP's screenshots. 127 degress F (53 degrees C) is on the cool side for a GPU.

 

[eagandale4114]

Unlikely, as the screenshots the OP included show us the software reporting the temperatures, and it also shows the scale.

http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=boiling+point+of+water

 

[geoffreak]

Yes, we are aware that water boils at 100 degrees C, thank you. Good thing there's no water in a MBP...

 

[iMacFarlane]

Why? The Celsius scale is used more than the Fahrenheit scale. Or is this board only for people that have been raised in the US? I thought it was an international board. Is it not?

At least the OP included the scale s/he used, something you cannot see in lots of posts where Fahrenheit is used, and people not used to Fahrenheit might confuse those numbers then. I for example have been raised with Celsius and Kelvin and have never used Fahrenheit, it is an old and illogical (to me) scale anyway.

I was born and raised in the US, and ever since I learned some engineering sciences (electrical/mechanical/nuclear), I despise the unit systems we use here. Seriously, the metric system is headache free. Want to change from linear distances in three dimensions to liquid volume to mass? For good old water, 1 cubic centimeter = 1 milliliter = 1 gram. Try doing the math with inches, pints, and ounces.

Metric, ftw!

 

[leman]

127°C is just impossible. Consumer hardware shuts off at that temperatures. I am more then sure that either your sensor is malfunctioning or your software is misinterpreting the data.

 

[Prime85]

i have a late 2011 MBP and i have noticed that the GPU Diode temp is never accurate. How could the GPU Diode temp be 127 degrees but the Proximity is only 57? That definitely violates the laws of thermodynamics, heat always moves from hot to cold which means the heat from the diode of 127 would move out into the proximity, Yes the proximity would be cooler then the diode but not by that much. Also there is a failsafe protection in the GPU and CPU that the computer shuts down before they overheat and 127 is over that threshold which i think is around 105 degrees.

Also for the person complaining about the Celsius scale, it is much more accurate then the fahrenheit scale. Yes living in the USA i use it for weather temp so i don't have to convert the news but being a scientist we only use Celsius and Kelvin since they are much more accurate and more universal.

Example: 0° Celsius is Freezing temp for water, 32° Fahrenheit is freezing for water
100° Celsius is Boiling temp for water, 212° Fahrenheit for boiling for water


See the difference.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=boiling+point+of+water

And? I know when water boils. But what does water have to do with the GPU? And why are there thermometers using Celsius as scale and using numbers higher than 100°? Are they only for show? What does burn at 232° C then? I guess I should call Oscar Werner now.

 

[leman]

If everyone could just post in Fahrenheit instead of Celsius...
At least Siri knows.

Celsius scale is already arbitrary enough. But Fahrenheit is beyond arbitrary. Maybe its really time you guys move on and use the same logical unit system as the rest of the world?

 

[Prime85]

And? I know when water boils. But what does water have to do with the GPU? And why are there thermometers using Celsius as scale and using numbers higher than 100°? Are they only for show? What does burn at 232° C then? I guess I should call Oscar Werner now.

Silicon Which is what is used to make the chips has a Melting point of 1414°C with a boiling point of 3265°C. i am not sure what you are reffering too when you say burn.

The reason why water was used to formulate the Celsius scale is because water is the basis of life. Now what Fahrenheit is relative too i have no idea and it seems to be the most arbitrary form of measurement.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Silicon Which is what is used to make the chips has a Melting point of 1414°C with a boiling point of 3265°C. i am not sure what you are reffering too when you say burn.

So there would be thermometers with numbers representing those temperatures then? I was asking the "boiling water" poster what he means with that. And the reference is referencing a book and the subsequent film and the temperature mentioned there (though in Fahrenheit).

 

[Aodhan]

I was attempting to make light of the fact that like many Americans, when someone states something in Celsius, I have to fall back on a converter like Siri to bring any meaning to the numbers. I'm not trying to poke the metric bear.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

I was attempting to make light of the fact that like many Americans, when someone states something in Celsius, I have to fall back on a converter like Siri to bring any meaning to the numbers. I'm not trying to poke the metric bear.

And the same goes for the rest of the world, just in reverse. That is the way of life. At least you have passable TV shows, like Childrens Hospital.

 

[Prime85]

I was attempting to make light of the fact that like many Americans, when someone states something in Celsius, I have to fall back on a converter like Siri to bring any meaning to the numbers. I'm not trying to poke the metric bear.

Thats understandable. I am American and before i started studying the sciences it confused me as well. After awhile you get the hang of it.