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Running Macbook Pro at high CPU for long periods of time

F

funnyent

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 26, 2007
152
4
Hi,
I'm going out of town soon, and want to leave my 2007 MacBook Pro monitoring my house using EvoCam. I have two cameras set up and when evocam is running the MacBook Pro is running at about 80% CPU and the fans are quite loud. Is this bad for the computer? It would be running like this non stop for about 2 weeks.

Thanks!
TIM
 
funnyent said:
Hi,
I'm going out of town soon, and want to leave my 2007 MacBook Pro monitoring my house using EvoCam. I have two cameras set up and when evocam is running the MacBook Pro is running at about 80% CPU and the fans are quite loud. Is this bad for the computer? It would be running like this non stop for about 2 weeks.

Thanks!
TIM
Click to expand...
While the MBP may handle it without a hitch, I would recommend against running at that level non stop for more than a day. One alternative, if you have a computer you can take with you or access while you're out of town, is to use a remote desktop app like TeamViewer or LogMeIn to remotely access your MBP and check on things, then shut down the app until the next time you check in.
 
A newer machine yes, yours will have several years of dust reducing cooling efficiency and the fans equally will have an element of wear, and clearly the CPU is heavily loaded. This is something that you would definitely have to trail, as temperatures may raise over an extended period of time. I would certainly recommend a stand such as Rain`a iLap or Mstand to help the MBP dissipate heat
 
GGJstudios said:
While the MBP may handle it without a hitch, I would recommend against running at that level non stop for more than a day. One alternative, if you have a computer you can take with you or access while you're out of town, is to use a remote desktop app like TeamViewer or LogMeIn to remotely access your MBP and check on things, then shut down the app until the next time you check in.
Click to expand...

I don't see what good that would do. If there's a problem it'll more than likely shut down the machine or make it inaccessible by a remote desktop program.
 
miles01110 said:
I don't see what good that would do. If there's a problem it'll more than likely shut down the machine or make it inaccessible by a remote desktop program.
Click to expand...
The point is, if you remotely turn on the cams for a short period of time to check things out, then turn them off, there is little chance of overheating.
 
funnyent said:
Hi,
I'm going out of town soon, and want to leave my 2007 MacBook Pro monitoring my house using EvoCam. I have two cameras set up and when evocam is running the MacBook Pro is running at about 80% CPU and the fans are quite loud. Is this bad for the computer? It would be running like this non stop for about 2 weeks.

Thanks!
TIM
Click to expand...

I'm not familiar with that software, but it seems odd that it normally runs with 80% of your CPU activity. I'd investigate different app settings or emailing support to check if this is normal behavior.
 
MBPs were not designed to run under load nonstop for several days. It's hard to predict if there will be a problem, but it seems like this setup is not an optimal solution.


Off topic: Why do you need to monitor your house?
 
thundersteele said:
Off topic: Why do you need to monitor your house?
Click to expand...

The cameras are actually monitoring the outside, I have a computerized Christmas lightshow and have many people that drive by each night, I want to be able to keep an eye on it and remotely shut it off if something bad were to happen.


Thanks for the replys everyone! I'm testing it tonight overnight and seeing just how hot the computer gets.
 
funnyent said:
The cameras are actually monitoring the outside, I have a computerized Christmas lightshow and have many people that drive by each night, I want to be able to keep an eye on it and remotely shut it off if something bad were to happen.


Thanks for the replys everyone! I'm testing it tonight overnight and seeing just how hot the computer gets.
Click to expand...

You might run into a problem considering the machine is a few years old. did you mean the program uses 80% of the CPU? I know in istat it shows the percentage that is idle.
 
Can you put the computer in a cooler place (garage?) with a cooling pad or something? That might help.
 
I just did a google search on the OP's app and high CPU usage and I only saw a a guy in a 2006 post complaining that his CPU usage was high at 8.5%.

I seriously doubt that a well written surveillance program would intentionally use 80% of the CPU constantly.

I would still make sure the app is the most recent version and email their support for suggestions.
 
VMMan said:
I just did a google search on the OP's app and high CPU usage and I only saw a a guy in a 2006 post complaining that his CPU usage was high at 8.5%.

I seriously doubt that a well written surveillance program would intentionally use 80% of the CPU constantly.

I would still make sure the app is the most recent version and email their support for suggestions.
Click to expand...

I have a feeling the OP is misinterpreting the CPU info
 

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