Mid 2012 non-retina 15 inch MBP question.

[Synaroux]

Hi all,

First time posting on here, not new to macs but I don't know much about computers in general.

I got the titled laptop as new with 8GB RAM, NVIDIA 1GB graphics card and a Core i7 processor. Seemed like it'd be able to do more or less whatever I wanted, and it does, except for when I play one of the two games I own. I don't have an xbox or other console, and only play World of Warcraft with a friend and Diablo 3 as I loved Diablo 1 and 2.
I previously owned a 2010 13 inch Macbook pro, but didn't expect much due to the intel graphics. So when it got hot (105*C +) at the lowest game settings on WoW, and was visually laggy on D3 I was not surprised.
However, the 15 inch pro likes to get hot too, which made me a bit surprised and upset.

Because even though it can play D3 on near max settings without visual lag, it shot up to above 100 with the fans at max and stayed there. I was too worried to see what would happen if I played in a party, so I set the settings to lowest. Even with that, it still sits in the high 90s/low 100s. Same thing with WoW, at near lowest settings it remains very hot.

So my question is, even though the computer can operate those games at near max settings without visual lag (basically, using it's capabilities to have a nice experience), am I doomed to play games occasionally at their lowest settings to extend the life of my computer? Even though it was made to perform without fault at far greater standards? Seems like a complete waste of money to buy a laptop if you want to play any fairly modern game at what seems performance-wise comfortable settings, only to have heating issues.

Don't get me wrong, I know laptops have heating issues when asked to do some work, and I wouldn't buy anything other than a Mac (been using them since the Macintosh SE), I'm just a bit disappointed... It did cost a lot, lol.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

The CPU in there would shut down if the Mac would be in danger to actually overheat, thus while that temperature you reported is quite high, it is within operational limits.

Those Macs in their heat - a sine of over-heating? - a short story by Mister GGJstudios

 

[Synaroux]

Hm... Good information, thanks for the prompt reply and the links

 

[iVikD]

Hm... Good information, thanks for the prompt reply and the links

Those temps do look a bit high, even if they do no harm... I usually get to around 85 C tops when playing on max settings, although I have the 2011 model with the AMD graphics... Try using SMC Fan Control (do a quick search) and set your default fan speeds to ~4000 rpm when playing, or even max them out at 6200 rpm if you want. Also, playing on a flat, even surface will help with the cooling.

 

[Synaroux]

I forgot to mention the fan controls... I use iStatmenus and they have a fan control section but it does not work. Just tried SMC but it does not change the fan speed on my machine either. I try different settings, restarting, etc. Nothing will increase the fan speed except for when it gets very hot. They also sometimes rev up to max and then back down to about 3000 before suddenly revving up again as the computer temp goes up and down accordingly. So the consistent fan control seemed an evident answer, but as I mentioned the apps (individually, never installed both at once, to avoid conflict) don't change anything.

The computer is on a desk with good venting behind it, I also use a cooling pad/thing placed below the computer that has two fans in it, which doesn't help much, lol, but worth a shot.