Mid-2009 Macbook Pro running temps -- too hot?

[thermodynamic]

Ambient room temp: 74F (roughly 23C)

Mid-2009 Macbook Pro (17", 2.8GHz, 8GB RAM)

MBP idle temp: 56C

MBP load temp (Photoshop and an antivirus scan): 94C

Are either of those too much?

I can get the system that hot in OS X 10.6.4 or Windows 7 Pro (64-bit), preferring OS X when possible but temperature is the same on both.

Thankfully I only use my MBP once per week, for 5 hours, but I'm planning on keeping this for a few years and the thought of thermal death creeps me out...

 

[StopSign24]

Idle temp is fine, the load temp is a little high but nothing to worry about.

If you are worried about it, download smcfancontrol and turn up the fan speed when you are working it hard.

 

[tjb1]

You dont need antivirus...worthless

 

[Pax]

Your load temp is perfectly normal if your CPU is at or near 100% load.
The MBP will stabilise at Tj,max - 10 C, your Tj,max is 105 C so 95 C is the target for the cooling system. It will wiggle about a bit between say 92 and 95 and the fan speed will go up and down to keep it there.

 

[GGJstudios]

You dont need antivirus...worthless

Agreed. Mac Virus/Malware Info

Your temps are perfectly normal, as searching the forum with MRoogle will reveal:

Macbook Pro Heat Dissipation
2010 Macbook Pro 17" i7 heat question
Heat on my i7 Macbook Pro 15"
Macbook overheating?
My Macbook Pro reached 106 degrees !
Macbook pro heat problem
MacBook Pro Over Heat Issue
Heat on my i7 Macbook Pro 15"
Macbook pro Hot after 10.6.3. Update
Macbook Pro too HOT!!!
My Macbook Pro Runs Hot
Macbook Pro gets really hot when running windows 7
How hot should my macbook be getting?
Macbook Boiling Hot!
Hot 15" i5 MBP!
MacBook Pro Overheating or That's What I Think It Is?
Macbook pro temperature
MacBook Pro heat causing pain in hands
Alu Macbook vs. 13" Macbook pro: Heat & Battery Life
Etc., etc., etc.

 

[thermodynamic]

You dont need antivirus...worthless

Intego X6's firewall has gone off on me a couple of times with various intrusion attempts. Not often, but I'm happier leaving it on.

 

[thermodynamic]

Agreed. Mac Virus/Malware Info

Your temps are perfectly normal, as searching the forum with MRoogle will reveal:

Macbook Pro Heat Dissipation
2010 Macbook Pro 17" i7 heat question
Heat on my i7 Macbook Pro 15"
Macbook overheating?
My Macbook Pro reached 106 degrees !
Macbook pro heat problem
MacBook Pro Over Heat Issue
Heat on my i7 Macbook Pro 15"
Macbook pro Hot after 10.6.3. Update
Macbook Pro too HOT!!!
My Macbook Pro Runs Hot
Macbook Pro gets really hot when running windows 7
How hot should my macbook be getting?
Macbook Boiling Hot!
Hot 15" i5 MBP!
MacBook Pro Overheating or That's What I Think It Is?
Macbook pro temperature
MacBook Pro heat causing pain in hands
Alu Macbook vs. 13" Macbook pro: Heat & Battery Life
Etc., etc., etc.

Semantics; I used "virus" as a blanket term.

Plus, even Apple recommends having such utilities:
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Apple-Admits-Virus-Threat-Recommends-Antivirus-Utilities-98982.shtml

 

[GGJstudios]

Semantics; I used "virus" as a blanket term.

It's much more than semantics. There's a significant difference between various types of malware. If you prefer to run AV, that's up to you, but don't blame Apple:

Plus, even Apple recommends having such utilities:
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Apple-Admits-Virus-Threat-Recommends-Antivirus-Utilities-98982.shtml

And yet, two days later:
Apple nixes antivirus recommendation

Apple reversed course on Tuesday, pulling down a technical note that recommended that users install antivirus software on their Macs.

The technical note, which was not a new recommendation as originally reported, listed three antivirus products and stated that "Apple encourages the widespread use of multiple antivirus utilities so that virus programmers have more than one application to circumvent, thus making the whole virus writing process more difficult."

Late Tuesday, Apple pulled the technical note and sent reporters a statement that matches its original marketing, but with an added caveat.

"We have removed the KnowledgeBase article because it was old and inaccurate," Apple said in a statement sent to SecurityFocus. "The Mac is designed with built-in technologies that provide protection against malicious software and security threats right out of the box. However, since no system can be 100 percent immune from every threat, running antivirus software may offer additional protection."

 

[thermodynamic]

Idle temp is fine, the load temp is a little high but nothing to worry about.

If you are worried about it, download smcfancontrol and turn up the fan speed when you are working it hard.

Your load temp is perfectly normal if your CPU is at or near 100% load.
The MBP will stabilise at Tj,max - 10 C, your Tj,max is 105 C so 95 C is the target for the cooling system. It will wiggle about a bit between say 92 and 95 and the fan speed will go up and down to keep it there.

Thanks!

I know of smcfancontrol (it's helped a bit) but it's for OS X only. I also need a Windows equivalent... I've got licenses for some software that runs on Windows but crashes on Mac (e.g. Bryce 3D with certain plug-ins, but any Windows-ported app is more likely to have problems than a native OS X app to begin with...)

I have heard the fan really speed up around 80C... and it gets loud.

Excessive heat will lower a CPU's lifespan, never mind other components in the immediate area - that much is inevitable. Never mind instability issues. Apple likes to market itself as being "reliable". So far I'm lucky, but a fellow student who bought the 15" model shortly after I bought mine recently saw his crashing as well. (Which was sad, he went to Apple after being fried by Dell. Literally - overheating problems from Dell as well...)

And for a $2500 computer, seeing such high heat on a regular basis is not good. Even if the CPU is at 100% load, the temperature is still arguably high.

I have an extended warranty plan (Best Buy), but for $2500, one should expect Apple to put in a little more time and involvement. (my other laptop, a PC running a 1.7GHz quad i7 and nVidia M320 doesn't get up to 71C under full load...)

Just as long as my unit doesn't die of thermal death, display weird green and purple lines, or has the same problems I've read from other 17" mid-09 MBP owners will I accept that the warmer temperatures are "normal". The numbers still seem high.


Addendum: Corroboration: http://blog.ziggytek.com/2010/01/06/why-your-macbook-macbook-pro-is-overheating/

 

[ravensfan55]

My 15" C2D idles anywhere around 40C-50C when I'm on a light load using the 9400M, and tends to stick around 50C-55C when I'm using the 9600GT. During heavy use, it idles around 70C. I've never seen it go higher.

 

[nwbusa]

I have an extended warranty plan (Best Buy), but for $2500, one should expect Apple to put in a little more time and involvement.

I'm not sure what you think Apple should be doing, exactly. Is your computer actually malfunctioning, or just running warmer than you think it should?

 

[kernkraft]

I have one of these and the fan is often running at 6000+rpm. Even when I start the machine, I can hear the fan and it's running at 2000 rpm or around that speed.

 

[Pax]

Excessive heat will lower a CPU's lifespan, never mind other components in the immediate area - that much is inevitable. Never mind instability issues. Apple likes to market itself as being "reliable". So far I'm lucky, but a fellow student who bought the 15" model shortly after I bought mine recently saw his crashing as well. (Which was sad, he went to Apple after being fried by Dell. Literally - overheating problems from Dell as well...)

And for a $2500 computer, seeing such high heat on a regular basis is not good. Even if the CPU is at 100% load, the temperature is still arguably high. ...
Addendum: Corroboration: http://blog.ziggytek.com/2010/01/06/why-your-macbook-macbook-pro-is-overheating/

I expect Apple and Intel know exactly what they are doing. Apple has made millions (tens of millions?) of laptops with the same temperature performance. Intel specifies chips in this way for render farms and server farms. If Intel didn't think the chips would last a very long time at 100% CPU load Tj,max - 10 C they would change their temperature specifications. We don't see many reports of CPU failure on these forums. Far more common is internal power supply failure resulting in inability to charge which I suspect is due to overheating of discrete components in the PSU. You still need a new logic board whether it's a $2 PSU capacitor fails as with a $300 CPU. And yet no one writes blogs, or worries about those though

Your blogger is IMHO wrong. He says "the SMC is not very smart". IMHO the SMC is very smart, it has built in hysteresis to prevent the fans winding up and down at each small spike in CPU load. Fundamentally, the headline in the blog is wrong:- your Mac is not overheating. It remains within Intel specifications, therefore it is not overheating.

 

[sashatlhs]

Temp goes to 100-110C

Whenever I watch Netflix or youtube, or any videos for that matter, on the internet, my CPU temp jumps up to 100-110C in a matter of seconds.

System specs:
Hardware Overview:

Model Name: MacBook
Model Identifier: MacBook4,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.4 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 3 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 800 MHz
Boot ROM Version: MB41.00C1.B00
SMC Version (system): 1.31f1
Sudden Motion Sensor:
State: Enabled