MacBook Pro overheating problem.

[Tmt97]

So for a while now I had noticed my MacBook pro was running a bit hot. To the point that it was uncomfortable to use with all the heat(not that this is much of a surprise for a laptop with no vents). Two days ago I decided to monitor the temperatures just to be on the safe side. What I noticed shocked me. With just two Firefox tabs open, and one word document it was heating up to the low 90s. It varied a little bit, but the lowest I ever observed it under that load was 85. So is this normal for macbook pros? I knew they ran hot, I even went as far as to put ice packs underneath the cpu while gaming, but I never thought I was getting to this high of temps. Do you think it's going to die soon? Personally I don't see how it can keep going for much longer in that state, so I backed up all the data I had on it. Thoughts?

[Sam Z Man]

They are built to thermal throttle to hell.

[Enderman]

you need to clean out the dust from the heatsink with compressed air and maybe replace the thermal paste

[Tmt97]

They are built to thermal throttle to hell.

But to 90? Seriously? If that's healthy for it, I gotta hand it to Apple. Very impressive.

[Lord_Karango17]

It shouldn't not be anywhere near that if you are just using a browser and word. The macbook pros have similar cooling designs to the one in my blade and that does not get that warm.

 

Check that dust isnt clogging the vents, and worse comes to worse, replace the thermal paste. Also how long have you had the laptop for?

[comicsansms]

But to 90? Seriously? If that's healthy for it, I gotta hand it to Apple. Very impressive.

The more it throttles, the more people want to upgrade sooner.

That is the way apple rolls!

[Tmt97]

you need to clean out the dust from the heatsink with compressed air and maybe replace the thermal paste

Unfortunately the person who bought it for me practically has a heart attack at the mere mention of me opening it up, and I refuse to pay the geek squad $100 to spray a can of compressed air at the damn thing. Sadly it is more likely that it will die in a molten puddle of aluminum before I ever get the chance to do that. On the bright side, the parts just came in for my custom pc.

[pwn_intended]

But to 90? Seriously? If that's healthy for it, I gotta hand it to Apple. Very impressive.

Hand what to apple? It's intel that should get the praise for having their CPU's be fine with running at 90 for extended periods. Apple needs to be smacked in the face for allowing that to happen constantly.

 

But to answer the question, it isn't totally outta the question to see macs get that hot, especially if youre watching online/flash video. There is a decent chance that your heatsink is a little clogged and could use a bit of dusting.

Having taken countless macbooks apart, it may seem daunting at first, but taking the heatsink out is actually really really simple, once you remove the back cover, its only held on by 3 screws.

[Tmt97]

It shouldn't not be anywhere near that if you are just using a browser and word. The macbook pros have similar cooling designs to the one in my blade and that does not get that warm.

Check that dust isnt clogging the vents, and worse comes to worse, replace the thermal paste. Also how long have you had the laptop for?

4 years, and what vents? I've looked all over the damn thing, and I can't find one spot that air can go into or out of that system. My only guess is that the entire case is one big heat sink and that's it's only form of cooling...

Edit: Didn't know it was intels CPUs could handle those temps normally, I had assumed that Apple pulled off some sort of Magic that I had yet to understand. Gratz to Intel then.

[Lord_Karango17]

4 years, and what vents? I've looked all over the damn thing, and I can't find one spot that air can go into or out of that system. My only guess is that the entire case is one big heat sink and that's it's only form of cooling...

The intake/ exhaust is between the body of the laptop and the hinge, sort of like in the picture attached.

[Enderman]

4 years, and what vents? I've looked all over the damn thing, and I can't find one spot that air can go into or out of that system. My only guess is that the entire case is one big heat sink and that's it's only form of cooling...

Edit: Didn't know it was intels CPUs could handle those temps normally, I had assumed that Apple pulled off some sort of Magic that I had yet to understand. Gratz to Intel then.

air intakes are small slits around the sides of the laptop, near the front, as well as through the keyboard

 

exhaust is a huge line of vents right between the hinge and the screen, at the back of the keyboard

[Enderman]

The intake/ exhaust is between the body of the laptop and the hinge, sort of like in the picture attached.

that's just the exhaust

i mentioned where the intakes are in my other post ^^^

[Sam Z Man]

But to 90? Seriously? If that's healthy for it, I gotta hand it to Apple. Very impressive.

Apple can't make X86 processing cores, why the fuck do they deserve any praise, they just buy the shit have some underpaid suicidal Asians asemble it in China and sell it for three times what it's worth to a fucktard who didn't know any better, Intel is the one who actually makes the CPU developments.

-rant over

[Lord_Karango17]

that's just the exhaust

i mentioned where the intakes are in my other post ^^^

I dont think the non retina version of the macbook pros have the intake slits.

[Enderman]

I dont think the non retina version of the macbook pros have the intake slits.

the old non retina macbooks only intake air from the keyboard

 

but pretty much all new macbooks have the slits now...so yeah

[Lord_Karango17]

But to 90? Seriously? If that's healthy for it, I gotta hand it to Apple. Very impressive.

Apple has not done anything to the chip to make it handle the higher temps. They are just playing it risky because in most cases you will have gotten a new system before the chip does because of heat/ something else broke first.

[ClownFace1511]

Use a program called SMC Fan control. My macbook runs that high normally but i turn up the fan speed to help it a bit. Cooling is a joke on all of their laptops.

[Tmt97]

Apple can't make X86 processing cores, why the fuck do they deserve any praise, they just buy the shit have some underpaid suicidal Asians asemble it in China and sell it for three times what it's worth to a fucktard who didn't know any better, Intel is the one who actually makes the CPU developments.

-rant over

Please don't take your anger at Apple out on me. I had thought Intel CPUs died at 90, hence why I gave the praise to Apple as I assumed they pulled off some kind of tech wizardry to get around this. Apparently, I was wrong, and I accept this. Praise to Intel.

air intakes are small slits around the sides of the laptop, near the front, as well as through the keyboard

 

exhaust is a huge line of vents right between the hinge and the screen, at the back of the keyboard

I know what air intakes look like on laptops, I've had several in my day. The slits you mentioned simply don't exist on the one I had. Not in any of the sides. Not too sure about between the hinge of the screen, when I put my hand there I'm not feeling any airflow, but I can't see in between the hinge very well so I could be wrong. Checked the keyboard, and I am feeling some airflow there now that I think about it. So I guess there's ventilation but it's just a very faint breeze coming out of the keyboard

[pwn_intended]

I had thought Intel CPUs died at 90

Intel CPU's will work up to 105 and then they automatically shut off. That is their max operating temp.

As far as intake, there isn't really any on those older MB Pros. The intake is pretty much just sucking air in through the back where the exhaust is. They do not bring in any air from the keyboard since the keyboard is totally sealed off.

 

If this is a 4 year old laptop, I would HIGHLY recommend taking the back off and then taking out the CPU fan to dust it and the heatsink out.

It is super simple, you just need a small phillips head and I believe its a T5 or T6 bit for the fan.

[Tmt97]

Intel CPU's will work up to 105 and then they automatically shut off. That is their max operating temp.

As far as intake, there isn't really any on those older MB Pros. The intake is pretty much just sucking air in through the back where the exhaust is. They do not bring in any air from the keyboard since the keyboard is totally sealed off.

If this is a 4 year old laptop, I would HIGHLY recommend taking the back off and then taking out the CPU fan to dust it and the heatsink out.

It is super simple, you just need a small phillips head and I believe its a T5 or T6 bit for the fan.

Like I said, if it was just me, then I would have dealt with this already and probably upgraded the ram while I was at it. I'm handy and I have the tools. Unfortunately I gotta live with the person who bought it for me who has a heart attack if you even mention taking the back off without paying someone like the geek squad to do it for you. At this point, I've already bought parts to make myself a new build, and the MacBook is just a little too under powered for me anyway, so I'm probably just gonna let it live through the last years/months of its life and move on.

Also your dead wrong about the sucking air through the back. If you want I can show a pic of the back. There is absolutely no holes, no vents, and nothing even remotely resembling an opening for which air could pass through. It's just solid aluminum. And I'm definitely feeling some warm air coming out of the keyboard now, so yea.

[pwn_intended]

Also your dead wrong about the sucking air through the back. If you want I can show a pic of the back. There is absolutely no holes, no vents, and nothing even remotely resembling an opening for which air could pass through. It's just solid aluminum. And I'm definitely feeling some warm air coming out of the keyboard now, so yea.

The back meaning under the screen exactly where the intake is, not the bottom of it. (look at the pic someone posted above of the razer blade.) As I said, I have taken many many macbooks apart at work and I really don't need a picture of it...

No air should be coming out of the keyboard, just heat rising off of it.

As far as taking it apart, just do it, if as you say you are handy with tools, you can take the bottom and the fan off, dust it and put it back on in under 15 minutes. Your parents don't have to know...

[Tmt97]

The back meaning under the screen exactly where the intake is, not the bottom of it. (look at the pic someone posted above of the razer blade.) As I said, I have taken many many macbooks apart at work and I really don't need a picture of it...

No air should be coming out of the keyboard, just heat rising off of it.

As far as taking it apart, just do it, if as you say you are handy with tools, you can take the bottom and the fan off, dust it and put it back on in under 15 minutes. Your parents don't have to know...

Well I guess, your right that I could probably just do it while no one is looking. Knowing my luck I'd probably scratch the motherboard, and not be able to explain why it won't turn on but, meh. Not like they would know I caused it anyway.

[pwn_intended]

Well I guess, your right that I could probably just do it while no one is looking. Knowing my luck I'd probably scratch the motherboard, and not be able to explain why it won't turn on but, meh. Not like they would know I caused it anyway.

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Unibody+Late+2011+Fan+Replacement/7654

 

That may not be your exact model but the procedure is the same for the fan removal. Once you take out all the bottom screws, the scariest part for a first time apple tinkerer is how much force it can take to pull the bottom off. Don't worry about it as you will not break or bend it, that is how it was designed to work.

[neebuilda]

Like I said, if it was just me, then I would have dealt with this already and probably upgraded the ram while I was at it. I'm handy and I have the tools. Unfortunately I gotta live with the person who bought it for me who has a heart attack if you even mention taking the back off without paying someone like the geek squad to do it for you. At this point, I've already bought parts to make myself a new build, and the MacBook is just a little too under powered for me anyway, so I'm probably just gonna let it live through the last years/months of its life and move on.

Also your dead wrong about the sucking air through the back. If you want I can show a pic of the back. There is absolutely no holes, no vents, and nothing even remotely resembling an opening for which air could pass through. It's just solid aluminum. And I'm definitely feeling some warm air coming out of the keyboard now, so yea.

If you have the 2012 non retina model then the intake/exhaust is on the hinge above and below the screen