Macbook Pro 17" with Boot Camp Question

I was hoping to get some input with actual owners of the 17" Macbook Pro and Boot Camp.

I've been doing my own research and it seems that everyone points out that using Windows via Boot Camp makes their systems hotter. This is due to the drivers (or lack of it) for the Macbook's fan.

I'm truly hoping that Apple updates their drivers once Windows 7 comes out...I was looking forward to buying a Macbook Pro this month too. I guess I'll have to wait.

For those who have the 17" unibody version, what has your experience with Boot Camp been so far? Thanks.

 

My experience has been fantastic.

I play game like Battlefield 2 and Command and Conquer.
I use Vista via Boot Camp for programming, I use Visual Studio 2008 for this. Now my laptop does get a little hot in Boot Camp and you have 2 options to control this:

1) Use SMC Fan Control from Mac OS X, you set a fan speed and reboot the laptop and load Boot Camp, the desired fan speed will run and your laptop will be cool

2) You can also use Lubbo fan control in Windows, however I don't use this method because I can't get it to work for me! However I know other on here have, so maybe they will post their experience with it.

Hope this helps.

 

irishhenshin, thanks for the quick reply...so with SMC Fan Control, is your Macbook Pro warm at all when just surfing the internet, doing word documents, listening to music? I usually do all 3 for multitasking. A little Photoshop CS4 here and ther as well.

Do the palm rests get pretty warm under Vista in these situations?


**What chipset is Apple using for the latest Macbook Pro 17" Unibody?

 

I have the 2.66ghz Unibody 17". Between OS X and Windows 7 I notice no noticeable increase in temperature, and the system doesn't appear to be working any harder. The metal chassis of the Macbook Pros has always exhibited a bit of warmth compared to your typical plastic PC notebook, and the Macbook Pros are also designed in such a way that they have limited venting. Instead of big obvious vent holes, the Macbook Pros appear to be sealed units, with only expansion ports and the speaker holes providing any kind of possible air escape.

My Macbook Pro uses the nVidia MCP79 laptop chipset.

 

I'm not quite sure were to find the chipset, in the system profiler?

Yup my laptop is not even warm at all when the fans are running high in both Mac OS X and Vista. For Vista I crank them up to 5500. For Mac OS X, I never really have to go above 3500, even with Logic Studio running, and my other DJ software Traktor. If you run the fans high enough in Vista, the laptop won't get warm, but if you aren't doing too much heavy stuff in Windows, then you won't have to run the fans so high.

 

it has holes for vents-check the area under the screen (under the black plastic part)

 

I know about that, but it barely qualifies as an open vent. It's especially a weakness if the unit is closed, though the rounded hinge would still allow some airflow.

Regardless, the units simply "run warm" compared to plastic notebooks. Instead of heat just concentrating above hot components, it gets sort of conducted throughout the shell. On my pre-Unibody MBP it was common for this conduction to result in the bottom third of the LCD panel getting warm due to the heat from the rest of the unit rising up the panel.

 

mbps are designed to take cool air from "keyboard" and get it out from holes behind the screen.

 

i have read somewhere that it takes air on the side of the cents and then pushes it out in the middle of the vents.

 

So, what you guys are saying is that...even under OS X, the laptop runs pretty warm?

 

is it still comfortable to have the macbook on your lap (also when running windows?)

 

it depends what you are doing... the harder the machine is working, the warmer it will get.

Due to power issues in Windows, on average it will run slightly hotter... but the min and max temperature do not change, just most of the time its slightly warmer.

 

i suggest you not using it on your bare legs. either put on your jeans or shorts or put it on a pillow.

 

Am really wanting to convert. SOund like W7 doesn not have the heat issues that XP or Vista does?

Also, is the heat issue a deliberate design? Meaning, the unibodies are aluminum and should efficiently conduct heat. Therefore, the heat is drawn away from the board, memory and drive and into the shell? Should help reduce chance of heat damage, right/

 

^right-there are only 1-2 reported cases of real overheating!

 

w7 generates less heat but the battery life is still poor.