The MBP heat issue revisted

beats me · Post by **beats me** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 1:59 am

I've mentioned my problems and symptoms with my 2006 MBP in other threads but I think I've narrowed it down to one main thing, heat. This is hard to tell because all MBPs run from very fucking hot to extremely fucking hot, but I've noticed when I shut it down for a little while to over night the performance is fine....until the heat builds, unless I am totally wrong about this being related.

So wtf is going on under the hood? Could it be that I replaced my 5400 rpm drive with a 7200 rpm drive? People are always going on about this but I don't know what the technical reason or explanation is. To prove my technical stupidity, the heat isn't coming from anywhere near the drive but in the back above the keyboard, so how can a drive be related?

What is some other heat related info I should know about on these things?

udp · Post by **udp** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 2:09 am

Do you use it on your lap a lot? or do you usually have it stationed at a desk, like me? I bought a fifty dollar thing to elevate it and it uses usb power to drive fans that keep my Macbook cool. I got it at Best Buy. I don't know if it would help with your situation, but maybe....

beats me · Post by **beats me** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 2:21 am

udp wrote:Do you use it on your lap a lot? or do you usually have it stationed at a desk, like me? I bought a fifty dollar thing to elevate it and it uses usb power to drive fans that keep my Macbook cool. I got it at Best Buy. I don't know if it would help with your situation, but maybe....

I almost always have it on a table top. At Tone Deft's suggestion I put some CD cases under it (well he said books) but it still freezes from time to time, especially when working with Live.

Has this fan device worked for you? Were you having problems before and this helped or are you just using it as a precaution?

lerky · Post by **lerky** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 3:07 am

do you use smc fancontrol?

Jekblad · Post by **Jekblad** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 3:12 am

you can try this too

http://www.coolbook.se/CoolBook.html

i installed it but haven't figured it out yet

Tarekith · Post by **Tarekith** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 3:28 am

Never had heat issues with my 2006 MBP, but I do like these just to be safe:

http://www.bluelounge.com/coolfeet.php

Tone Deft · Post by **Tone Deft** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 3:55 am

buy a mac.

errr wait, wha??

on the CD case thing, make sure the fan airflow outlet isn't being blocked. obvious, but I had to check

I don't think disc drives get hot, they don't have a heat sink on them, all microprocessors do. that's probably not the cause.

have you ever blown the dust out of the case?

video cards get hot, but that's probably on the mother board.

beats me · Post by **beats me** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 3:36 am

Thanks for all the tips guys. I'll be looking at some kind of cooling fan/rack thingy and/or those lil' feet. People in reviews say they really help.

Tone,

I'll be blowing out the insides soon enough here.

On a related note I just got a new MBP and I've been downloading and installing stuff off CDs all day long and there is hardly any noticeable heat. Meanwhile, I'm cooking an omelette on my old one 6 inches from it that's been doing little more than just being on and responding to the occasional email.

udp · Post by **udp** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 3:46 am

I use it as precaution. It seems to run smoother/ faster. It never gave me a lot of trouble, but I figured the extra ventilation couldn't hurt. When I had my G3 tower, it used to freeze up when it got hot and I added an extra fan to it. I figure if you can afford it, it won't hurt your situation. Good luck.

dysanfel · Post by **dysanfel** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 4:12 pm

My Mac doesn't get that hot. Hmmm.

SubFunk · Post by **SubFunk** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 4:22 pm

dysanfel wrote:My Mac doesn't get that hot. Hmmm.

mine not either, i mean it does go very warm... but not to a temperature that concerns me...

every now and then, when he has to work really really hard the fan kicks in for about 1 or 2 minutes that's all.

i installed a temperature messure apps, and it shows at a max value about 70 degree... then the fan kicks in and it goes down to about 50-60...

and i think that is totally normal... i would be concerned if the temperature would stay over 80 degrees for longer / permanently.

i mean he works like that since over 2 years...

beats me · Post by **beats me** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 4:32 pm

Sparklepuff recommended a temperature measuring app that I will install and I will report back and dazzle you with a reading that rivals the heat signature of the summer sun.

glitchrock-buddha · Post by **glitchrock-buddha** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 4:44 pm

My 2006 MBP Pro isn't too bad with heat at all. In fact I can comfortably keep it on my lap (although I try to avoid doing so), even though I keep it running at max clock most of the time with coolbook. I found the lowest voltage that can run the max speed and everything's golden.

I'd say your 7200 rpm drive adds significant heat. I use a 320gb 5400rpm. I don't think the energy/heat increase of a 7200 is really worth it over a 5400 personally. Also, you can get bigger 5400 drives.

beats me · Post by **beats me** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 4:59 pm

glitchrock-buddha wrote:My 2006 MBP Pro isn't too bad with heat at all. In fact I can comfortably keep it on my lap (although I try to avoid doing so), even though I keep it running at max clock most of the time with coolbook. I found the lowest voltage that can run the max speed and everything's golden.

I'd say your 7200 rpm drive adds significant heat. I use a 320gb 5400rpm. I don't think the energy/heat increase of a 7200 is really worth it over a 5400 personally. Also, you can get bigger 5400 drives.

That's what I'm thinking. The thing got pretty hot with the stock 5400 drive and I think the 7200 pushed it over the edge. I haven't noticed any real performance boost either so I will be putting a 5400 rpm 500 gig in the new MBP.

buzby · Post by **buzby** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 5:05 pm

i think i am having some over heating issues - but then i havent been having the laptop elevated so the battery could have some breathing space

i got the white screen of death this morning which would nt allow me to start my mac until after an hour of turing it off and letting it cool down

just purchased a coolbook but matching the frequencies and voltage isnt making much sense to me - can anyone give me examples of what pairings they are using and also does the pairings depend on which country you are in

plus - what does booting the mac in safe mode do and when do you do it? when you hold down shift button and turn on the mac

thanks