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Unibody MBP getting hot

N

Nitro1

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 16, 2009
303
0
I have a brand new unibody MBP and sometime when i am downloading the laptop will get very hot. I have iStat and sometimes the temps get all the way to 175 F. also the fans start to go crazy sometime all the way to 3500RPM.

My question. What is the best way to keep it cool. I have looked into the chill mat and all that but i know the MBP only has the two fans in the back and those are the only hot air exit point. So i don't know how well a chill mat or anything along those lines will work.
If anyone has any idea's it is very much appreciated.

Thanks
 
Look into Activity Monitor or iStat to see what process is hogging the CPU...
High CPU usage = higher temp = higher fan.

And if the fan doesn't go to 6000 RPM it is not that hot.

You can also use FanControl to adjust the fan speed according to the temperature.

You could also use two books to elevate the MBP and let air flow between them and under the MBP.
 
That's interesting. 175F is about 79 degrees C.. and the fans aren't going above 3500 RPM in OS X?

I have a unibody MBP too and the fans seem to kick in pretty aggressively. After about an hour on Call of Duty 4, IStat will show the computer at 69 degrees C and the fans are running at about 5000 RPM (this is in OS X with the NVIDIA 9600 on). Even at 5000 RPM fan noise was loud but still a lot quieter than the fans on my old Dell.

When not gaming, I think maybe once I've seen the MBP peak briefly at 72 degrees C while downloading something but the fans were also running pretty high and the temps came back down.
 
When your temps increase, do you know if your fans are also speeding up?

Did you try reset the SMC

I use smcFanControl to manually adjust my fan speed/temps however with that said my temps hover around 45-60c depending on the task at hand. They (the fans) do ramp up faster if the temps increase, even if I have smcFanControl running.

My point is before loading software to correct the issue, make sure your MBP is operating as it should.
 
I know that the fans speed up when it gets hotter. But i do not think they ever get to that speed of 5000RPM. but i will watch for that. Maybe i have nothing to worry about. I jsut wanted to make sure. I have heard some things about chill mat and others and wondered if anyone would recommend one or the other.
I have tried SMCfancontrol and found it to be annoying at best. I have come to the conclusion that the stock fan controls work just fine.

Also when my mac gets hot like i said earlier and the fans start to get moving the temp does not come down but it does not get hotter.
 
It all depends on what's occurring. If you're using handbrake to rip a DVD, its going to boost the temps because the CPUs are going full bore creating heat so the the fans will keep the temps in check, but not necessarily cool it down, at least now until the cpu consumption is reduced.
 
Yes it is only when using handbrake. Sorry should have included that. But that is the only time.
 
So like maflynn said it is alright that the fans start. I mean 3500 RPM is not that much, mine are currently spinning at 3000 RPM with 50°C (I set it that way with Fan Control), and if you're playing music the fan noise shouldn't be a problem.
 
Ya i am not worried about the noise. i was worried about my lappy overheating but it seems like that is not something i need to worry about. Thanks for all the help guys and gals.
 
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