Pc user. Questions about MBP 13"

[misterchen]

So like many others, I've been a pc user all my life and have been thinking about trying a mac once the mbp line got refreshed. I'm currently using a dell vostro 1500 which I'm fine with, but I'd like something a lot lighter and I want to switch to a 13" screen. I'm now looking at the new mbp 13 but I did have some questions I was hoping to get answered before committing to the purchase.
How hot do MBP's get? I know the aluminum unibody looks 100x nicer than my plastic dell, but even when im using my dell on my lap without a laptop cooler, the dual core's stay around 55 degrees while websurfing and jump to maybe 65 degrees if I'm playing WoW or L4d2 (my dedicated gfx card stays around 5degrees hotter than my cores at all times).
How "safe" is a mac? I consider myself a fairly intelligent pc user, I don't use any anti virus software and I try my best to make sure a link is safe before I download. The ONLY times I need to reformat my computer are when I'm streaming tv shows through random internet sites and accidentally click on some malicious ad (yeah I know its risky, but sites filled with ads are also the ones that have the most links for free streams most of the time). Will I have this same problem on a mac and OSX?
Thx for the replies!

 

[tersono]

1. The MacBook gets warm, yes, but not uncomfortably so.

2. Macs are immune to all the Windows-targeting malware out there. There are a couple of minor Mac-specific trojans but nothing you're likely to come across.

 

[old-wiz]

My aluminum MBP is quite cold when I turn it on, but it's never gotten too warm to hold.

 

[Hellhammer]

1. Aluminum is good conductor of heat so it may get hot, even when innards are cooler (common in iMacs). Plastic is an insulator which does not conduct heat very well (meaning that it may feel cooler than it is). Aluminum is better for innards as the heat goes is conducted through aluminum to air (and your lap).

My sis got MacBook few days ago and it's a lot cooler than her old Acer was and it's silent! Only if you're doing something heavy like gaming, it gets hot (as all computers)

2. Macs only have few trojans which needs admin's pass to be installed so you are pretty safe, just don't install anything suspicious. Macs may carry viruses and other malware though, that's why some companies demand antivirus software for Macs too so they won't spread any viruses to PCs but that's very rare case and doesn't affect home use

 

[alust2013]

Mine only ever gets hot when I am doing something fairly processor intensive (installing a large program, playing a fairly complex game, etc.). Even surfing the web with several tabs in firefox, it is currently running about 52 C, and maybe gets up to 60 occasionally. The only other thing that makes it a little hotter than usual is running win 7 in bootcamp, but the difference is only slightly noticeable.

 

[Xenophon]

I have an alu unibody macbook (early 2009). From my experience, the temperature doesn't only depend on what you're doing but also (a lot) on how you use it and in which environment it's used:

I live in Delhi, India and as I' m typing this in my office with the a/c on, it's 32 centigrade inside (90 F). I prefer connecting my mac to a 24 in cinema display and work in clamshell mode with a bluetooth keyboard and magic mouse. However, this actually led to a couple of abrupt shutdowns in the past and when I checked, the machine was very hot to the touch (didn't get a reading, sorry). Since then I purchased a belkin laptop stand with fan and don't use the machine in clamshell mode anymore--> everything's fine. Of course, I don't know how your pc laptop would have behaved in this climate, I think Apple states that max. environment operating temperature is 35 centigrade and unfortunately due to the climate I push the limits frequently here.

As far as viruses are concerned: I stay away from 'risky' websites but have installed Intego X5 for Mac. In a year it has detected exactly 3 windows viruses, each time in documents given to me on a usb-stick by colleagues working on pc's (supposedly with a virus scanner on them). Not a single Mac-virus or trojan has been detected on my system.

If I were you I wouldn't hesitate in making the move, macs are not perfect but they're a breath of fresh air compared to most pc laptops. Especially the OS.