Disturbing 15' Macbook Pro temps

First off, I don't actually own a Mac, nor have I owned one since like '92, so I don't know much about them at all. Two of my friends have the new 15' pros though. Today, we installed XP on both of them, and I decided to download SpeedFan and check the temps on one of the laptops. I can't remember exactly what they were, but I believe I saw GPU at 70, and the cores at like 69 and 65. This was after idling for about 5 hours, and these are higher than what I'd have on my gateway if I were gaming for twice that long.

The one who's temps I checked wasn't on a cooling pad, and it had spent some time on the carpet. Of course, I don't really know if that matters. From what I can tell, it's exhaust vent is right under the screen on the back, and it's intake is god knows where. To be honest, I'm surprised it hasn't exploded yet. And this is with all the windows drivers from the disc that had "everything else" on it, so I'm assuming it's regulating its fans and power correctly. So is this normal, or should I be worried? It really doesn't seem normal to me.

 

edit: as long as load temps are less than 100C then I don't think Apple needs to do anything about it because the computer's components will be technically running within specifications, unless the computer is experiencing freezing or shutdowns, or if you want to send to an Apple Center for service.

 

Yeah, higher, sorry.

 

I have noticed the same thing on my last generation 17" MBP although not to quite that degree (it is a 17 incher after all). It seems that Apple is more aggressive with fan speed throttling. After discovering this, I've always used software to set a higher minimum fan speed. The two fans in mine range from 2k to 6k rpm so I set the minimum up to 3k. I highly recommend smcFanControl for this purpose in OS X. There arre numerous options for Windows.

 

Ok, I guess that's where I'll have to start. I can't change fan speed on my laptop, but I'll be RivaTuner has some options.

 

yeah, i noticed the same thing.. i installed XP today cause i couldnt take the BSOD's in windows 7 anymore.. it ran a lot warmer than windows 7...
however, game performance is a lot better on XP

 

15 feet, that must be a new model, eh?

 

Mine's fine

 

Which software can I use to check the temp in my MBP???

 

try smcFan control

 

for windows: coretemp

 

istat, MenuMeter for temps & more.

FanControl lets you control the fans. its an alternative to smcFan Control

 

Ok, well I am the guy Gamadaya posted for earlier here. So we're wondering, with XP and the Apple-Windows drivers installed, and boot camp and all that, if, in XP, something happens (I run 3DMark06) such that the temps go so high, is there a mechanism by which the computer will automatically shut down? Or will the computer melt?

 

I am very interested in the answer to this question as well.
That mechanism should be the bios and should key on temp's even while inside windows XP.


Buying this laptop saturday, going to play games for 1hour each night.
My older macbook pro 15" played Wow perfectly w/ bootcamp / windows xp.
Expecting the new unibody models work just as well.

I also like the new unibody because my friends 17" unibody never got the fans audible levels higher than a whisper while running world of warcraft in dense populated areas.

Are people suggesting than default / stock fan settings are incorrect and should be altered via 3rd party software for product safety? Is this another sales method like shipping all TV's at the brightest settings with the most colors turned on?

 

I were watching video and the CPU reached 69 degree C this afternoon in my macbook, but I think it should be fine....Because the temperature dropped immediately after I stopped watching video.... Maybe it was getting hot for my video .

I only use istat nano from dashboard to check the temperatures, so it doesn't contain my GPU temperature, it only shows the CPU, HD, heatsink, northbridge (I suppose it means the motherboard..) and the enclosure bottom.

 

I suppose his fans should ramp up quicker. When I play games on my 15" MBP (unibody) through bootcamp, the fans go very quickly to max speed and are very audible.

 

Yes, you will get a kernel panic somewhere around 100C and the C2D CPU has it's own protection feature which will disable itself around 125C.

Sort of. It is a balance between noise and heat. Since heat reduces the life of electronics, I've decided to err on the side of caution and perhaps put up with a little extra noise.

Because of the extra interior space, Apple has more efficient cooling systems in the 17" models than the 15" models.

 

Just pointing out you can buy the Mac version of WoW and save yourself the fan speed worries. I'm pretty sure you can download it from the main site if you don't want to purchase the retail copy.

 

My WoW CD's have the capability of installing either version.

 

I have no clue how those temps are "Disturbing"...

I use SmcFan control to up the speed whenever I need/want

 

Well I give up this 15" UMBP is going back for repairs. With out SMC fan control this thing will shut down at 105-110C and the Fans are still at 2k rpm. Does it in Windows 7 or OSx. And I am just plain sick of reseting the PRAM. Does anyone know if Apple would send me another system, I really can't afford to be without my MAC while it gets repaired. I woudl just much rather them send me a new one.

 

Ok so we ran a little experiment: 15"UnibodyMBP, in XP.

First, ran 3DMark06 using a cooling fan Zalman NC2000, and it really didn't help (no effect on temps at all). I aborted the benchmark when my GPU climbed very quickly to and past 80 at the very beginning.

Then, with out the Zalman fan:
I took two large ziploc bags, filled them with ice from my freezer, put them on my hardwood floor, and then put some antifreeze cold packs on top of the bags, and then put my macbook on those. Then I ran 3DMark06.
My GPU peaked toward the end of the benchmark at a max of 83, my core 0 maxed at 78, and core 1 at 83.
(I used Rivatuner to keep track of GPU temp during benchmark, and SpeedFan to get the graphs afterwards).

Macs always burn you when you touch them, but mine actually feels very cold.

So if I could keep this bag of ice in its current state forever, I would, and it would be the ultimate cooling solution. However, ice melts and even antifreeze gets warm.

So for a long-term solution, could passive cooling work? We're trying to find a long-term cooling solution. Permanent ice would work best. Realistic solutions?

 

I have a Zalman NC2000 and what I found to work for me is to move the MBP top hinge/vent area to the first vent blowing area from the top. This allows the air to be pushed into the vents of the MBP to cool it down. I just line it up and was able to lower my temp down to 35C when idling. I don't remember the exact temp when it was in full use. Plus the rest of the blow area cools down the chassis and keyboard area from getting hot compared to when I wasn't using the Zalman.

 

I installed SmcFan control... right now I put them running at 3350 and I have temp of 40 which are pretty good. =) I think...lol

 

Mine is usually running under 40 Degrees C. There could be something wrong with your laptop.

 

Maybe there's something wrong with my laptop, but the thing is my friend here is having the same temp behavior. Our idle core temps are 56-ish, GPU 65-ish.
Are you using [SmcFanControl] to get your mac so cool,? (or whatever the name of that program is). Or a fan cooling pad?

 

Ok, sorry to post twice in a seemingly dead thread, but I fixed my problem, and I think this is important information for everyone who wants it.

In OS X, I installed SmcFanControl 2, set the minimums to 6000rpm (or whatever the highest minimum is), and restarted into XP.
This kept my fan settings from smcfancontrol, and now in XP, ran 3DMark06 again, and this time my GPU never went past 63, core 0 56, core 1 62. Idle temps are 42, 35, 38, respectively. MUCH better!

 

I am using SMC and fan now is at 3241 RPM today with temperature at 44 Deg. C Temperatures will play around depending on what you gave running but still should not exceed 50 Deg. C. I have a SSD in my Macbook Pro and am running on Better Battery Life.

No cooling fan but If I do put a cooling fa on then I am in the mid to upper 30's.

 

Stylinexpat lives in an igloo where as whiteunibrow lives in Florida. That is probably where the temp differences come from.

 

Mine usually stays around 40 to 45 degrees C with the fans at default settings in smcfancontrol2. When watching flash a lot (like YouTube, especially HD), the temps will get up around 60 or so, so I turn the fans up to 4000 rpm. Mine gets up over 75 often during gaming or do a lot of Flash and iTunes stuff. It doesn't seem to be a big deal, though.

My Dell M90 used to get up over 90C sometimes when gaming, and the fans would be on full blast. The temperature threshold to start worrying for most laptop components is usually about 95C, or above 80-85C for extended periods of time. Temps in the 60s is really nothing for most laptops. The biggest problem with Macs is that aluminum is a conductor of heat, so they feel hotter than other laptops at the same temperatures.

 

another way to cool your system besides finding the right laptop cooler is pointing a small fan at the hinge/vent area. Works for me and it cools you down also esp on a hot day.

 

Actually I am in Taipei and room temperature is 28 Deg. C If the person weighs 300lbs. and has the laptop on their lap it could be where the temperature differences are coming from

 

Well I have the worst case scenario, I live in Puerto Rico... if you don't know where is it...is on the caribbean, so here's pretty hot (like 85 - 100 degree F after march, all thru september or so).

right now I'm running my fan at 3000rpm and I have from 42 to 45 of temperature in normal condition (itunes, web and like 10 windows open installing stuff and configuring since I jut go it on tuesday and I'm new to mac so Im passing all my PC stuff to the mac) So i think mine doesn't have any problem at all.

 

Mine gets pretty warm, but only when I use the 9600 graphic card. If I stick with the 9400 then it's fine.

 

Don't base your temps by another computer that has different hardware... and 69ºC is quite cold for the hardware that is in there... and nothing to worry about. when my machine is pushing hard and the fans are going max speed, its usually around 85ºC... which is also just fine... some people have completely unrealistic expectations of temperatures.

 

Today my Macbook Pro reached over 68 Deg. C for the first time but only because I had it on a pillow that was on my lap to raise the laptop. I guess my Macbook Pro didn't like sitting on a pillow that was on my lap Laptop is now on my desk and temperature is back at 42 Deg. C