Pushing MacBook's video output to the limit too taxing?

[dehgenog]

I'm buying the supplies I need to clamshell my MacBook (bluetooth keyboard/mouse/neat monitor stand) for the next year while I take time off from college.

As for the display I want to go with a 22" or 24" DVI display, but I want to know: If I go with a 24" monitor with a display of 1920x1200, the MacBook's maximum supported resolution, am I putting such an excessive amount of overhead on the hardware that my fan will be whirring on high far more often? I feel like that would jack up the horsepower needed to do anything full screen, be it a screensaver or a full-screened video. Or is that factor (the resolution) of the problem not really so important?


edit: Previously, I had my MacBook extending its display to a 720p LCD without observing an increase in heat production - so I calculated the pixels my MacBook was powering in that arrangement (1366x768 + 1280x800) versus a sole 24" display (1920x1200) and arrived at this difference:

2073088px for TV+MacBook's LCD
2304000px for one 24" LCD

Is this even a rational way to address the question?

 

[Eidorian]

I've run my MacBook in clamshell mode on my 22" (1680 x 1050) and I haven't noticed any additional fan noise or heat. Keep in mind my laptop is inside a shell as well.

The GMA X3100 does struggle with some of the full screen iTunes Visualizers. The Arabesque screen saver drives the fans up as well but that happens with the onboard display only as well. This doesn't happen on the Mac mini though.

Video is CPU bound and 720p h.264 MKV files do boost the fans to 2000 RPM from 1800.

 

[dehgenog]

I've run my MacBook in clamshell mode on my 22" (1680 x 1050) and I haven't noticed any additional fan noise or heat. Keep in mind my laptop is inside a shell as well.

The GMA X3100 does struggle with some of the full screen iTunes Visualizers. The Arabesque screen saver drives the fans up as well but that happens with the onboard display only as well. This doesn't happen on the Mac mini though.

Video is CPU bound and 720p h.264 MKV files do boost the fans to 2000 RPM from 1800.

That's understandable as 1280x1050 pixel count is lower than powering the TV+MacBook LCD.