MacBook Pro heat issues

[jeffyjones]

I don't know if you Mac nerds have been following some of the stuff about how hot the damn things gets, but several people have found solutions that work.

Here's a post highlighting the problem, with links to other blogs and forums showing the problem and how to beat it...

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=187

For the record, here's my story, with a pic of how ugly mine was before replacing the thermal compound...

http://www.campusfish.com/Jeff/4648

[Jarred Land]

yeah.. mines stupidly hot.. i am amost tempted to open it up.. did you have any issues?

[snodart]

I had no idea this was an issue. Thanks for posting. My 17" is on the way. I bookmarked the pages. Thanks again.

[The Sarlacc]

Hotter then the G4 powerbooks?

I wouldnt call it an issue if thats the case...yeah, they get hot. Its not bad...just dont put it on bareskin...or keep it on your lap too long....unless you are actually trying to lower your sperm count.

[snodart]

I wouldnt call it an issue if thats the case...yeah, they get hot. Its not bad...just dont put it on bareskin...or keep it on your lap too long....unless you are actually trying to lower your sperm count.

LOL. Editing and birth control in one sitting.

[jeffyjones]

yeah.. mines stupidly hot.. i am amost tempted to open it up.. did you have any issues?
Sorry for the delay in replying. No, I had no issues at all. As long as you follow the disassembly instructions carefully (I linked to them on my blog), it should go smoothly. Just make sure you're using a real T6 Torx driver. The screws have Loc-tite on them and anything other than a Torx will slip out and mangle your screws.

The fans finally became audible the other day, while I was running Windows (I'm actually a developer by day, and use Visual Studio). I was playing Roller Coaster Tycoon 2. :) The warmest I've been able to make it in OS X was while using Compressor to squeeze some stuff into H.264, but again, the fans turn up a little and the heat is actually passed out of the thing instead of burning your legs.

[akuepper]

I can cook an egg on my keyboard in 10 minutes after booting. This is silly. Also, why would I want to open my mac and kill the warranty? am I missing something? Speed in repair as opposed to sending it? That makes sense but...

[Jarred Land]

i totally agree with you akuepper.. apple should be taking these things back without question.. my fan has never turned on once and it gets so hot its starting to stick to plastic tables.

[The Sarlacc]

i totally agree with you akuepper.. apple should be taking these things back without question.. my fan has never turned on once and it gets so hot its starting to stick to plastic tables.

OK...mine PB gets hot....but not THAT hot. That's a little crazy.

Take it to the genius bar and see what they say? or have you attempted that already?

[Jarred Land]

yeah.. they fixed the manufactuing somewhere down the line or so they say.. i bought mine from the Las vegas mac store during NAB, but i dont know what time mine was actually made.

Havnt taken it to the genius bar yet... Im a new Mac guy and the apple stores still seem very gay to me. (not that there is anything wrong with that)

[akuepper]

I just got mine in the mail last week straight from the Secret Apple Cave. How HOT is too hot? I've also ordered the laptop holder thing from Apple. I have one for my PC laptop. Aluminum heat sink is what it is, and works great. I wonder if it will do good on the MAC, seeing as the heat is on TOP.

What is the heat like on "fixed" macs?

[The Sarlacc]

yeah.. they fixed the manufactuing somewhere down the line or so they say.. i bought mine from the Las vegas mac store during NAB, but i dont know what time mine was actually made.

Haven't taken it to the genius bar yet... Im a new Mac guy and the apple stores still seem very gay to me. (not that there is anything wrong with that)

Well, drop by sometime during a weekday...generally it isn't too crowded. And It's while the idea seems gay...I much prefer dealing with someone in person then some guy named "Adam" with a distinct and thick Indian accent trying to figure out what the problem is.

I don't know if he is still there or not...but there one guy at the genius bar at the glendale store...he wears a kilt (whatever floats your boat) who knows his macs like there is no tomorrow. Its pretty amazing actually.

[The Sarlacc]

I just got mine in the mail last week straight from the Secret Apple Cave. How HOT is too hot? I've also ordered the laptop holder thing from Apple. I have one for my PC laptop. Aluminum heat sink is what it is, and works great. I wonder if it will do good on the MAC, seeing as the heat is on TOP.

What is the heat like on "fixed" macs?


The g5 towers can get really hot...but they were easier to design an airflow into.

My older Ti PB ould get hot and had a very loud fan that would come on a lot. My newer Al PB gets hot...but the airflow and design is much better...never had the fan come on. I'd have to spend a day with a new MBP to compare heat.

[jeffyjones]

i bought mine from the Las vegas mac store during NAB, but i dont know what time mine was actually made.
Funny you mention that, because that's the store where I first saw one in real life back in March, and that one was uberhot too.

How hot was mine? You couldn't let it sit on your bare lap wearing shorts. The little strip between the keyboard and stream was almost burn worthy.

Now that it has been a couple of days, I'm impressed, no, amazed, at how cool it really is now. It's just a little warm, but not uncomfortable. In addition to doing "real" work, I consider the thing a lifestyle device as well for checking e-mail, looking up stuff on IMDB while watching TV, instant messaging, etc. It spends a lot of time on my lap, and now it won't put me at risk for not having babies.

[liquidigital]

Guys,

Went to Staples in Studio City and bought an Antec Notebook Cooler, for my Macbook (not pro). The cooler works great, relatively quiet, looks cool, and has decent build quality... compared to something like Targus. CoreDuoTemp has me at 44 C. I bought two, one for me and my girl, and there was a rebate I didn't even know about. Got both for $43.00 total. Don't know how long the rebate is going for.

Good luck. :)

[liquidigital]

i stand corrected. After awhile of use, I'm back up to 65 degrees. Ohhhhh me.

[Zim]

Before I got my Powerbook last december I read how hot they got too. But it gets warm if I use it on my lap, but most of the time it's on my desk.

Jarred the people at the apple stores are great. They can help. Melting plastic is not good.

[jeffyjones]

Well, since actual numbers seem to be appealing, I looped a 720/60p H.264 clip. The CPU hovered in the 80% range and the temperature got up to 52... while on a blanket on my lap. The fans kicked in and it went down to 48. When idle, it went down to 45. Then putting it on a surface like my glass coffee table, it went down to 44. That entire temperature range is less change than we get here in Northeast Ohio between midnight and noon!

Were my actions worth it? You bet.

[rbilsbor]

Mine gets up to 150 degrees F, which is 68+ celcius. It's pretty hot, but some people's seem to be getting up to 88+. My MacBook Pro (15") is acceptable--any hotter and it'd be too hot to handle. YMMV--which could be a good or bad thing.

[coolguy007]

You guys know that there is a firmware update to fix this problem and recalibrate your fans

[CINEMANIAC]

I had this issue to so I bought one of those Targus Dual-fan 4-USB port things and it works very well and is portable, being roughly the same width and size as the 15-inch Pro. When it's on, the onboard fan doesnt need to turn on and it can be in your lap fine, and I've put it though Compressor fine without a noticable increase in heat, and I have the 2.16. I agree left alone it gets very hot, but with $25-$50 (if you like the extra USB ports) it can be remedied.

[jeffyjones]

The firmware update didn't do jack for me. You can't more efficiently move heat off the CPU with firmware.

[eddavid]

the firmware update has actually been helping the heat issues on many users's macbook pros...check out the forums on macrumors.com for more about this:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=201445


In general your CPU should not go over 60 degree celsius. A program called Core Duo Temp will give you a reading of your tempature : http://macbricol.free.fr/coreduotemp/

Remember that we're working in celsius.

[eddavid]

...As explained in the macrumor forum, the firmware update triggers the intel Mac's fans to turn on earlier than before, and according to one user: stay on - this will lower cpu temp.

[jeffyjones]

It will also tank your batteries. Like I said, making the fans come on earlier doesn't magically pull the heat off of your CPU more efficiently. With the blobs of thermal paste, it gets trapped in the blob instead of being transferred to the heat pipe where it can be more efficiently carried away without the use of jet engine fans. The fans don't pull air across the surfaces of the three main chips. Heck, they really don't pull air from anywhere because the inside is so dense with stuff. But they do push air through the radiator fins at each end of the heat pipe, so again, the heat needs to get off the CPU and into the pipe.

I was still in the upper 60's with the firmware update. Some have reported 80's. Now I'm comfortably idling around 44 and peaking in the low 50's.

[The Sarlacc]

I was just reading a story...


CHECK your exhaust vents. Apparently, some laptops have been going out with some of the vents accidentaly blocked from the factory...unblock them and POOF no more heat issues.

I think it was only with the macbook....but its worth checking on all units.

[Jarred Land]

i think that vent thing turned out to be a hoax.

[Jarred Land]

hey does anyone know of the best step by step guide to doing the goo thing? im so sick and tired i think im gonna do it today.

[for_mlove]

Jarred,

This is the best one I've seen. Someone else posted it, but I can't seem to find that thread to point you to it.

http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2006/05/23/thermal-paste-question.html

Let us know if your results are any more dramatic than the author's.

[jeffyjones]

Jarred... this is what I used...

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/85.1.0.html

That shows you the step-by-step disassembly. You can skip the hard drive removal, but it still needs to be disconnected from the main board. I strongly advise a big area where you can map out your screws. You MUST have a T6 Torx driver, as these things are secured with Loc-Tite and you'll strip the heads with any other tool. As for the actual goo replacement, you probably have lint-free lens tissues, and I suggest getting it off the chips and heat pipe as best you can. Be careful not to pull off any of the little nubby things on the graphics chip. It will wipe off pretty cleanly.

Then get a little tube of Arctic Silver. People talk about AS5, but I already had AS Ceramique lying around, so I used that. It's thermal transmission properties aren't quite as strong, but it's perfectly adequate.

Apply just a thin coat on the little chip surfaces themselves. Don't go nuts here, just a little dab spread around with the end of the tube is enough. Be careful when you reassemble (follow the directions in reverse) to make sure you don't get it on anything else when you put the main board back in.

Remember that the chemical properties of the AS are that it has to heat up and cool down something like three times before it reaches its most efficient thermal transmission. Heat it up, turn it off, let it cool. Lather, rinse, repeat. :)

[Jarred Land]

thanks guys.. off to radio shack to get a t6.

[jeffyjones]

http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2006/05/23/thermal-paste-question.html

Let us know if your results are any more dramatic than the author's.
His results are flawed, which is odd because he linked the very page that would show why his results weren't right. If you read the AS5 page, it spells it out in terms of the stuff having to thin out and fill the cracks, and the way it takes many hours to reach its "final consistency." Turning the thing on and measuring the heat right after you do the procedure won't result in anything.

[for_mlove]

Interesting, that makes sense and it's too bad he missed that. The whole article seemed very thorough and in his pictures it was obvious that he was meticulous about the whole thing. If Jarred get's good results, I'll be sold.

[Isaac_Brody]

Not sure how much two degrees difference will make. You could invest in a laptop cooler. I have one for my Sager and it's been great for keeping my system running cooler. Thermal paste plus a laptop cooler has kept my laptop running pretty quiet. Check it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?DEPA=0&type=&Description=laptop+cooler&Submit=ENE&Ntk=all&N=0&minPrice=&maxPrice=&Go.x=0&Go.y=0