Will Moshi case on MacBook cause overheating?

[Mike Boreham]

I have used Moshi iGlaze case on my MacBook Pro for two years and been very pleased with it (tried all the others).

I am now on brink of getting an rMB and wondering about getting a Moshi case for it.

My concern is that with an rMBP most of the heat is extracted by the fans so the presence of a case has a second order (if any) effect on cooling. With the fanless rMB all the heat must be conducted through the case, so the presence of the case could have a first order effect on cooling.

Anyone using one of these cases or similar?

Moshi imply it is fully compatible in the link above and owners on Amazon seem satisfied.

Thanks.

EDIT...maybe there is some natural convection cooling via slots? if so the Moshi case would have less impact.

 

[Queen6]

As the rMB is passively cooled it's better to allow the maximum air circulation. A case may result in higher temperatures, although I doubt it will be a significant increase, unless your pushing the system hard. Personally I don't bother with a case on my 1.2 rMB.

Q-6

 

[SteveJUAE]

My wife removed her speck case as she found her rMB was over heating on her lap, part of the problem was using a pillow so the heat was not on her legs

This case like the speck has no additional vent slots on the underside, you adding a trapped air layer and a less conductive skin. As Q6 notes above depends if your pushing it hard or a lot of streaming possibly.

 

[Mike Boreham]

Tha

My wife removed her speck case as she found her rMB was over heating on her lap, part of the problem was using a pillow so the heat was not on her legs

This case like the speck has no additional vent slots on the underside, you adding a trapped air layer and a less conductive skin. As Q6 notes above depends if your pushing it hard or a lot of streaming possibly.

Thanks. I have the Moshi on at the moment. I have SystemPal running, with CPU temp in the menu bar. So far not seen it go over 60 degC even when running Parallels. Mostly round 30-40. Much cooler than my late 2013 rMBP.

 

[doboy]

Tha


Thanks. I have the Moshi on at the moment. I have SystemPal running, with CPU temp in the menu bar. So far not seen it go over 60 degC even when running Parallels. Mostly round 30-40. Much cooler than my late 2013 rMBP.

Likely because it's throttling more.

 

[Mike Boreham]

Likely because it's throttling more.

Wouldn't it get hotter than 60 before it throttled?
I will try removing the Moshi and see if I can do some like for like tests.
I seem to remember a little Intel app called Intel Power Gadget which shows what the CPU is doing.

 

[Mike Boreham]

Wouldn't it get hotter than 60 before it throttled?
I will try removing the Moshi and see if I can do some like for like tests.
I seem to remember a little Intel app called Intel Power Gadget which shows what the CPU is doing.

Used it now for a few days with and without case. Engineering logic must be that the case will affect cooling but I can see no noticeable effect even when simultaneously doing the most intensive CPU activities I ever use. That is Hiarcs chess running in analysis mode, simultaneously with Fritz chess running in analysis mode in Parallels. CPU temp peaked at 63C, but was mostly less.
This link has some test data about CPU throttling using Cinebench. Seems that throttling occurs at much higher temps, like 75/80C.
So for now I am going to keep the Moshi case on, and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with not needing to worry about knocks and scratches. This is obviously a personal thing...I like to keep stuff pristine while still using it to the full.

PS The Intel Power Gadget app doesn't work for the M processor.

 

[Queen6]

PS The Intel Power Gadget app doesn't work for the M processor.

Intel Power Gadget Works fine on the 2015 models, likely needs to be updated for Skylake. Correct throttling won't occur until the CPU is past 80C. Never bothered with hard cases for my Mac`s including this 2015 1.2 rMB, I find that that the surface finish holds up very well unless the notebook is dropped, and my Mac`s get around, just touched down in Papua New Guinea, back to the Land of the Unexpected...

Q-6

 

[Eggtastic]

This might be a little off from what you are asking, but is it absolutely necessary for you to need a case? I don't know what your travel / uses are, but hard cases in my mind end up doing more damage then non-incased laptops.

Hear me out as that last line sounded weird, but if you are generally careful with your tech, you should have minimal scratches even after years of use. I bought an incase soft sleeve to carry my MBA around and when I needed to use it outside the house, I would simply rest it on top of the case.

I only ask this because my girlfriend has a 2011 MBP and she got a snap on case for it to use all through college. Well, she was planning to sell it and asked me to take photos to post online. Well, the amount of dust and dirt that got trapped in between the case and laptop over the years causes several scratches beyond repair. Now some people could care less, but for me and a lot of people in the macrumors community would flip over one little scratch.

Again, I don't know what your needs are, but I would recommend a sleeve that way the laptop is protected during transport.

 

[Mike Boreham]

This might be a little off from what you are asking, but is it absolutely necessary for you to need a case? I don't know what your travel / uses are, but hard cases in my mind end up doing more damage then non-incased laptops.

Hear me out as that last line sounded weird, but if you are generally careful with your tech, you should have minimal scratches even after years of use. I bought an incase soft sleeve to carry my MBA around and when I needed to use it outside the house, I would simply rest it on top of the case.

I only ask this because my girlfriend has a 2011 MBP and she got a snap on case for it to use all through college. Well, she was planning to sell it and asked me to take photos to post online. Well, the amount of dust and dirt that got trapped in between the case and laptop over the years causes several scratches beyond repair. Now some people could care less, but for me and a lot of people in the macrumors community would flip over one little scratch.

Again, I don't know what your needs are, but I would recommend a sleeve that way the laptop is protected during transport.

I have seen people say what you are saying, that the case itself can inflict damage by trapping dust and dirt. All I can say is that in four years of using hard cases on my rMBPs (one 15 and one 13) this has not happened to me. I recently sold the 13 and took the case off and it was absolutely pristine. I take the case off the 15 from time to time and find no damage.

My usage is not extreme and I have never dropped or scratched a computer. My concern is not so much about damage in transit but about things being dropped on it while visiting my family and grandchildren, and denting the lid. Might never happen, but only has to happen once to be sorry. IMO the rMB is still a very neat machine even with the Moshi case.

 

[Mike Boreham]

I have now got Intel Power Gadget (IPG) working, so have done some back-to-back tests with and without the Moshi case.

The method I used was to open Intel Power Gadget,with no programs running and wait until temp had stabilised. Then I started HIARCS deep chess in analysis mode and the stop watch at the same time. HIARCS deep chess uses 350% CPU in Activity monitor.

The sequence of events is then:

1. The CPU turbo boost immediately goes to 2.4Ghz (why not 2.7GHz as spec?) and the temp rises rapidly flattening off at about 92 degC (see screenshot)

2. CPU stays flat at 2.4GHz with the temp at about 92 degC.

3. At this point the CPU starts being throttled to 2.3 Ghz, but cycling between 2.3 ad 2.4 (see screenshot) with temp down to 89 degC.

4. After a short while the throttling becomes steady at 2.2Ghz and the temperature drops to 84 degC. This appears to be a steady state showing no further change after 15 minutes.

I did six runs, three with Moshi case and three without. The main measurement I took was the time to reach the steady throttling state of 2.2Ghz and 84 degC. Longer is better.

With the case the three times were 4 mins, 2mins 50 secs and 2 mins 40 secs.
Without the case the times were 6 mins, 3 mins 20 secs and 2mins 30 secs.

Quite a bit of variability, but the without case results include the fastest and slowest time to throttle, but on average it takes slightly longer to reach the steady state throttled state without the case.

My overall conclusion is that there is no temperature related reason not to use the case.

 

[Mike Boreham]

1. The CPU turbo boost immediately goes to 2.4Ghz (why not 2.7GHz as spec?) ......

I found a comment in another thread that implies that the spec 2.7Ghz turboboost is for single core, but if both cores are in overboost the number is 2.4Ghz.

 

[Queen6]

I found a comment in another thread that implies that the spec 2.7Ghz turboboost is for single core, but if both cores are in overboost the number is 2.4Ghz.

Yep thats right, max turbo is for single Core application, all Cores in use the value is reduced.

Q-6