MBP Serious Overheating Issues (Previous Gen)

[McNasty]

My MBP Specs:

1.83GHz
1.5GB Ram
160GB
OS 10.5
Replaced Fans


Whenever I am trying to convert a movie file using VisualHub, rip a movie via Handbrake, or burn a DVD using Toast Titanium 8.1, MacBook Pro completely shuts down. I'm certain its an overheating issue, but what can I do? I replaced the old fans and have heard some talk about thermal paste. Has anybody had success with this? I'm also downloading smcFanControl as we speak.

Any insights would be great. Let me know what you did for yours!

Thank you in advance.

 

[eXan]

What are your temps when idle/ under load?

 

[McNasty]

Idle temps: 45°C/118°F

Hold for large load temps.

 

[tecknical]

those idle temps seem like ordinary to me. my mbp is at 50C right now and its just iTunes and Firefox.

 

[McNasty]

After about two minutes of using VisualHub to convert a video file, I'm at 83°C and steadily rising.

Right now I'm only running Firefox and VisualHub. I'm watching for the final temps before it explodes and shuts down.

Since I started writing this, its jumped to 86°C

 

[tecknical]

hmm...thats odd. are you running smcfancontrol or any other fan control app?

 

[McNasty]

I'm running smcFanControl right now, but only at default settings.

Now at 92°C

 

[tecknical]

try speeding up the fans. did this happen after you had your fans replaced, or was it happening before that too?

 

[McNasty]

It happened before I replaced my fans. I thought the replacement might fix the problem. Unfortunately, the problem is worse than ever.

I've just increased the fan speed to a higher RPM.

Temps are now at 100°C. Double in 15 minutes with a relatively small workload.

 

[tecknical]

definitely take it to the apple store. sounds like a case of bad thermal paste to me. tell the guy at the genius bar to take a look at the thermal paste.

are you still in warranty?

 

[McNasty]

No, I'm not under warranty.

Long story short: I bought the warranty and have the documentation to prove it but it doesn't exist according to Apple.

Short I try to re-apply some thermal paste on my own? Have you done it before?

 

[tecknical]

No, I'm not under warranty.

Long story short: I bought the warranty and have the documentation to prove it but it doesn't exist according to Apple.

Short I try to re-apply some thermal paste on my own? Have you done it before?

on an MBP no because I don't need to yet. I have done it on PCs i built, but thats a completely different story. If you purchased the warranty though, you should haggle Apple until they honor that warranty. Don't let them get the best of you. If you can prove it, go to the store, talk to a manager, a supervisor, call their support line, post your story on here, make sure they give you that warranty.

On the thermal paste thing, its not hard to apply, but taking the laptop apart and putting back together is a hassle. There's guides on ifixit.com and I think there's a thread here of someone that did it.

 

[McNasty]

I've taking the MBP apart a few times so I think I'll give the thermal paste a try. I'll post how it goes!

Thanks for your help!

 

[Diji]

any new solutions?

Same boat for me, only worse (though only with Toast)
Running SMC, maxed out, both fans maxed at 6000rpm+ AND MBP literally sitting on ice packs. MBP supposed to shut down at a certain level of overheat - which it often does - but here it is clocking in at 245°F!!!! On ice!

WTF?

 

[darknite38]

Holy **** 245 F is 118 C

It should definitely have shut down by then. Mine has only gone up to 108 C and while that is still a lot it quickly went down.

 

[NickZac]

This may be a little basic, but have you checked to make sure dust is not impeding anything? Dust and debris can reduce air circulation dramatically and if too much of it piles up, it can even be an insulator, further hiking the temp. 245 is too hot, but not incredibly hot when you are running near peak power off the CPU.