Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Running hot Windows 7

O

ocean.yellow

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 5, 2011
15
0
Using Bootcamp installed Windows 7, always feel very hot compared with OS X.

Anyone experience similar situation ? Any software can lower the temp ?

Thanks !
 
Which Mac?

There are several tools around to boost the fans under Windows to cool the system a bit better, but it generally will run warmer under Windows than OS X. This is also reflected in lower battery life under Windows.

B
 
I am having the same problem.

I installed Windows 7 Ultimate on Macbook Air Ultimate using Parallels 6.

I feel whenever I ran Windows 7, the machine would turn really hot, even though the fan wouldn't work, just hot surface (above keyboard buttons).

If there's a way around this, I'd appreciate it. It is not affecting me much, just wondering if it's ok or there's something wrong...

I have also changed the GB allocation to 2GB instead of 1 GB.

Thanks
 
Running Windows as Virtual Machine (VM) is CPU intensive, thus the hotness, if it bothers you, you could use SMC Fan Control to control the fan or fans.
Also have a look at Activity Monitor (Applications / Utilities /) and select All Processes and sort by CPU to see what the culprit is.

image below uses sorting by CPU as an example
Acitivty_Monitor.png
 
Mine using 2011 MBP 13' basic model, using the Bootcamp from OS X and the drivers from the driver disk provided.

Haven't installed any temp. monitor software in Windows 7, but I guess it reached > 80oC because it's about > 3 times warmer than OS X which measured about 60oC.

Thanks !
 
ocean.yellow said:
Mine using 2011 MBP 13' basic model, using the Bootcamp from OS X and the drivers from the driver disk provided.

Haven't installed any temp. monitor software in Windows 7, but I guess it reached > 80oC because it's about > 3 times warmer than OS X which measured about 60oC.

Thanks !
Click to expand...

The drivers on the disk are now horrifyingly out of date, Id suggest you find the latest from the devices sites, Windows 7 should only be reaching 80C under a very stressful load. My Vaio idles at around 38C, and the processor heat a up to about 75C playing a demanding game etc.
 
MacBook Pro running hot under Windows 7

I have read that Windows does not recognise both graphics cards (15" & 17" models) and runs the higher NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT adaptor (confirmed via Device Manager - Display Adaptors) which contributes greatly to the heat issue (top LHS of MBP). Does anyone know if there is a way to get Windows to see the 9400 adaptor or to at least select the lower of the 2 adaptors manually? (Incidentally I have also loaded VMWARE which allows you to select the lower of the 2 graphics cards via MAC OS before running Windows as a virtual machine but performance is extremely poor and the dual boot the only option for me.) Other than the heat problem I have no issues with Windows on the MBP.
 
ocean.yellow said:
Mine using 2011 MBP 13' basic model, using the Bootcamp from OS X and the drivers from the driver disk provided.

Haven't installed any temp. monitor software in Windows 7, but I guess it reached > 80oC because it's about > 3 times warmer than OS X which measured about 60oC.

Thanks !
Click to expand...

Yeah... you didn't think Apple actually wanted you to run Windows on your mac, did you?

My Macbook Pro is supported by Apple for XP and Vista - not windows 7 - and battery life is about 1 hour, and 1.5 hours, respectfully. I get 3 hours in OS X. Apple doesn't do ANYWHERE near the CPU throttling that they do on OS X, and it shows in the heat produced as well as horrible battery life.
 
thejadedmonkey said:
Yeah... you didn't think Apple actually wanted you to run Windows on your mac, did you?

My Macbook Pro is supported by Apple for XP and Vista - not windows 7 - and battery life is about 1 hour, and 1.5 hours, respectfully. I get 3 hours in OS X. Apple doesn't do ANYWHERE near the CPU throttling that they do on OS X, and it shows in the heat produced as well as horrible battery life.
Click to expand...

I imagine your Macbook Pro's problems arise from having a dedicated graphics card running instead of an integrated one. My MacBook Pro in Windows can't switch to the power efficient 9400m, it's stuck on the 9600m GT. Since I only use Windows for gaming myself, I don't mind keeping it plugged in.. I'm curious if the new MacBooks can switch between their IGP and dedicated Graphics card in Windows 7 today.
 
Nah, I have the ATI x1600 in my MBP, it's the only graphics card. It's quite cool under OS X, I haven't checked what's heating up my MBP under Windows though, I always assumed it was the CPU... if it's the GPU and I can find a way to down-clock it so I can get 3 hours of battery life instead of 1.5, I'd be quite happy!
 
Benjy91 said:
The drivers on the disk are now horrifyingly out of date, Id suggest you find the latest from the devices sites, Windows 7 should only be reaching 80C under a very stressful load. My Vaio idles at around 38C, and the processor heat a up to about 75C playing a demanding game etc.
Click to expand...

I'm in the same boat and used the drivers from the OSX disk.
Where can I find the latest drivers??
 
Windows 7 runs hotter because it is always using the discreet graphics card and not the Intel graphics.

There is no driver that I know of that allows auto or manual graphics switching between the 2 graphic cards in your Mac when running Windows 7 (as it works in Mac OS). I have a new MacBook Pro 15" early 2011 and I have the same issue. It is as though the Intel graphics doesn't work within Windows 7 if you have a machine with a discreet graphics card.

Apple is clearly false advertising on their website by stating "Automatic graphics switching" without letting users no that this is for Mac OS only and isn't hardware switching.

Apple or Intel don't provide the proper drivers under Windows. It is a driver software issue that I think Apple are deliberately not providing!! Very annoying and pathetic of Apple.

EDIT:

Clearly unfair

As a consumer, how do I know before I order my hardware from Apple what will work and what won't work under Windows 7.

I mean, should I assume the CPU or SDXC card slot doesn't work under Windows. Or the screen at full resolution?

Apple needs to provide the proper drivers for Intel graphics and auto or manual switching if they are supporting Windows 7 via Bootcamp!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
rturner2 said:
Apple is clearly false advertising on their website by stating "Automatic graphics switching" without letting users no that this is for Mac OS only and isn't hardware switching.
Click to expand...

This isn't false advertising at all. The feature exists and works on the machine as it was shipped.

While I'd like them to be able to provide a driver that uses the integrated card or allows switching. They haven't.

Apple is under no obligation to make all versions of Windows work on their Macs (see recent removal of XP as a supported install), nor are they obligated to fully support and provide drivers for all features on the machine on a non-native OS.

Multi-touch is another one. The Mac OS X gestures which are advertised as a feature of the Mac and OS X won't and can't be supported under Windows. How should they implement a four finger swipe down (which brings up Exposé) ?

Time Machine is another feature listed for the Mac does this also need to be re-implmented under Windows.

B
 
balamw said:
While I'd like them to be able to provide a driver that uses the integrated card or allows switching. They haven't.

Apple is under no obligation to make all versions of Windows work on their Macs (see recent removal of XP as a supported install), nor are they obligated to fully support and provide drivers for all features on the machine on a non-native OS.

Multi-touch is another one. The Mac OS X gestures which are advertised as a feature of the Mac and OS X won't and can't be supported under Windows. How should they implement a four finger swipe down (which brings up Exposé) ?

Time Machine is another feature listed for the Mac does this also need to be re-implmented under Windows.

B
Click to expand...

Apple supplies Bootcamp. They should support key features on Windows 7 (latest Microsoft OS) or they should specify what is and isn't supported.

Time Machine is Mac software so obviously this shouldn't work under Windows 7. As for multi-touch on the trackpad, where applicable, this is supported (ie. two finder scrolling).

All the other components work ie. my i7 runs with all four cores under Windows 7. Should I not expect this to work? The SDXC card reader and webcam works under Windows 7. All hardware works except the Intel graphics and the graphics switching.

Apple can do what they like, however, they should provide a clear breakdown on their website on what works and what doesn't under Windows 7!

PS - This thread wouldn't exist if Apple was upfront and clear.
 
balamw said:
... but it generally will run warmer under Windows than OS X. This is also reflected in lower battery life under Windows.

B
Click to expand...

The battery life is worse under Windows 7 because the discreet graphics card is always being used and the Intel graphics is disabled. It has nothing to do with Windows 7 being less efficient that Mac OS.

Apple and Intel need to ship the proper drivers!!
 
alust2013 said:
Windows will just naturally run warmer and use more battery
Click to expand...

Sorry but Apple is not your friend. They are in business to make money. They are deliberately screwing people using Windows by not providing proper software drivers.
 
rturner2 said:
The battery life is worse under Windows 7 because the discreet graphics card is always being used and the Intel graphics is disabled. It has nothing to do with Windows 7 being less efficient that Mac OS.
Click to expand...

How do you explain shorter battery life and more heat on my 2008 MacBook that has no discrete graphics then? (And many other Macs that don't have discrete GPUs).

B
 
rturner2 said:
Sorry but Apple is not your friend. They are in business to make money. They are deliberately screwing people using Windows by not providing proper software drivers.
Click to expand...

I really think that's true on some of their product lines. On my iMac Windows 7 runs about the same temperature as OS X, but, on my Macbook Pro Windows 7 ran ridiculously hot compared to OS X, almost 20+ degrees warmer on idle (also, I always had the Nvidia card enabled, never used the intel one).

So either Apple either intentionally slows the hardware under OS X or has terrible drivers for Windows when it comes to MBPs. Or maybe both, who knows.
 
Hastings101 said:
So either Apple either intentionally slows the hardware under OS X or has terrible drivers for Windows when it comes to MBPs. Or maybe both, who knows.
Click to expand...

Slowing down = less heat not more. (At least that's how Turbo Boost and related technologies work) as the system heats up it slows down to cool off.

In most cases Apple uses and you can install and use the latest OEM video driver, so how is Apple involved?

There may be some peripheral issues about how and when the fans turn on, which may be Apple's fault.

I'm sorry that the automatic discrete/integrated graphics switching is a feature that is supported by means of the tight hardware/software integration of Mac OS X on Mac hardware, but that's just the way it is.

B
 
balamw said:
Slowing down = less heat not more. (At least that's how Turbo Boost and related technologies work) as the system heats up it slows down to cool off..
Click to expand...

Sorry if I wasn't too clear, what I mean is Apple might be slowing down the hardware on the Macbook Pro under OS X to keep it cooler but it can't do that when you're running Windows, which could be why Macbook Pros runs hotter under Windows than OS X.
 
Hastings101 said:
Sorry if I wasn't too clear, what I mean is Apple might be slowing down the hardware on the Macbook Pro under OS X to keep it cooler but it can't do that when you're running Windows, which could be why Macbook Pros runs hotter under Windows than OS X.
Click to expand...

Sorry. I see how how meant that. I've run hard-core CPU intensive MATLAB under both OSes and the (slight) edge goes to OS X, so there's no evidence of those kinds of shenanigans. I do believe that even at idle Windows does more than OS X.

B
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back