I sent my Macbook Pro in for repair this week due to heating issues. My CPU and GPU were running around 173 degrees and the fans ran non stop(around 2500 RPM). Apple replaced the mother board, the superdrive and a optical cable. They said they fixed it and tested it all day before it was sent back to me today.
I open the box up today and had the computer on for about 5 minutes and the same issue with heat started up again and the fans were running at about 3500 rpm.Needless, to say, I was not happy.
Apple wants me to send the unit back again. I have an issue with the fact they said they did all of this work. However, they received the unit at 5:30am and it was repaired and ready to be sent back to me by 11:00 that day. Is that right?
Is this issue with heat something I should worry about? Apple stated they tested everything and it was fine. I ran Tech Tool pro and it came back with issues. I am very frustrated with the situation now. Any advise?
78C, the temp you reported in Fahrenheit, is fine for the 2011 MBP. Especially if the fans are running at 3500RPM. And especially if the computer is running under load.
Under light/moderate use, the temps shouldn't get above 50~65C.
Number crunching apps - 80C is the upper limit for my taste, and most laptops under heavy load don't get above 80C. The i7 does run hot, but the documented reports of poorly-applied thermal paste are sufficient evidence:
http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Unibody-Early-2011-Teardown/4990/2
When idle, my MBP hovers at 40C. That's fantastic. Under light use, it gets between 48~52C. When I have Parallels running XP, 48~61C is reported. (that's the CPU temp, not the temp of any individual core, which would be slightly (~8C) higher...)
Playing UT2004 in Parallels, the MBP gets to 76C. Fair. Add in Prime95 to stress the system WHILE playing, to simulate full load and multitasking between game and background render, the temp jumps up to 93C. That's too high; I can recreate the same conditions on my little token PC notebook with an i7 quad processor and temps remain at 76C.
To me, anything over 80C is a cause for concern, with being over 90C a
massive cause of concern. (the CPU is said to run up to 100C, but that's beside the point. There's a reason companies have special rooms, temperature controlled, for their servers - or why any computer has fans and other cooling mechanisms. Heat damages over time. The more the heat and the more the constant level of it, the sooner the electronics fail. Nobody is immune from the laws of physics, which is genuinely unfortunate...)
Competing notebooks with the same CPU and comparable GPUs do get in the mid-70s at full load, which includes synthetic benchmark/test apps. (Though 3D and fractal rendering apps would push the system very high too.)
Suggested recommendation: Use the following sources to compel them to work on your machine:
http://my2011macbookpro.com/replacing-thermal-paste-on-the-cpu-and-gpu-results/
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2764570?start=345&tstart=0
(the Apple store that one person referenced was able to apply Arctic Silver compound)
Always get AppleCare - any laptop owner should get extra warranty coverage (and treat the laptop with respect as well!)
Now, under MANY scenarios the high temps are okay (think
limited use.) If you do a lot of number crunching and the CPU stays over 90C for long periods of time, its lifespan will go down.
The Intel CPU will throttle at 100C, and if it gets too hot the computer will shut down -
fans and all. That's ANY Intel-based computer, Mac or Windows. (And it's pathetic; if the whole thing shuts down,
fans and all, it would take far more time to get the hot air out of the laptop than to turn all off except the fans. Which means greater chance of residual damage despite the purported failsafe. Oops! Somebody should hire
me as an engineer, for crying out loud... quality is important IMHO. )
It depends on how cognizant a particular technician is.