10-11-2010, 04:05 PM

I recently (2 weeks ago) bought a macbook pro 15"

specs:
15"
4gb ram
2.66GHz
i7 processor

When only using firefox, with no other programs open, my CPU temp hangs around the 70-75degrees celcius. (measured using istat pro (widget) and smcFanControl). Always having had a macbook, i think this is rather high.
When using 'parallels desktop' and running more demanding programs/ games i get a temp of 80-85 degrees, also wondering if this is normal.


Also when fully charged (with still only firefox open, led backlight off, screen brightness on low) it says the battery life is 2:45 hours, this to me is shockingly low.

Just wondering if this is just me or if i should ask for a refund (since apple advertises with 8 hours of batter life on this model)

(i just read that most probably the temerature is normal, i still think its a little weird though)

Thanks in advance,
Bas

10-11-2010, 04:15 PM

Originally Posted by basgen

When only using firefox, with no other programs open, my CPU temp hangs around the 70-75degrees celcius. (measured using istat pro (widget) and smcFanControl). Always having had a macbook, i think this is rather high.

Depends what you're doing.

Originally Posted by basgen

When using 'parallels desktop' and running more demanding programs/ games i get a temp of 80-85 degrees, also wondering if this is normal.

Again...it depends on what programs/games you're running...but 80-85°C is not unusual.

Originally Posted by basgen

Also when fully charged (with still only firefox open, led backlight off, screen brightness on low) it says the battery life is 2:45 hours, this to me is shockingly low.

Did you calibrate your battery since you got this Macbook Pro? In any case...2:45 does seem pretty short.

Originally Posted by basgen

(i just read that most probably the temerature is normal, i still think its a little weird though)

"Weird" or not...it happens!

- Nick

10-11-2010, 04:20 PM

Nope i didnt calibrate it, is it too late for it? (did i mess up my battery already? lol)

I thought calibrating it only made it so a more accurate battery life will be indicated, but mine actually gives me the time it says (2:45ish)

10-11-2010, 04:29 PM

Originally Posted by basgen

Nope i didnt calibrate it, is it too late for it? (did i mess up my battery already? lol)

I thought calibrating it only made it so a more accurate battery life will be indicated, but mine actually gives me the time it says (2:45ish)

No you didn't ruin your battery...here's Apple's battery calibration procedure:

Apple Portables: Calibrating your computer's battery for best performance

As far as the 2:45 battery runtime you're getting. Something really does not seem to be right...if:

- your battery is at 100% charge
- screen brightness is at 50% or less
- your not watching any videos, music, or You Tube
- not playing any games on the computer

You should really be getting MUCH better than 2:45. Are you sure you're not missing something that you might be doing while unplugged?

I've got to tell you...if you're running temps in the 70's & 80's on a brand new Macbook Pro...you've got to be doing something VERY demanding...or something is wrong with the computer.

If you are not doing anything demanding...then I would take the computer back to Apple for examination.

- Nick

10-11-2010, 04:31 PM

Screen brightness was at like 30%, nothing open except my gmail in firefox, other than that no programs are open.

So i'm guessing the best thing to do is go back to the shop?

becuase even if i do calibrate i'm sure it wont make that much of a difference since its new anyway.
(it appears nothing is open on my 'force quit applications' list)

-Bas

10-11-2010, 04:36 PM

Originally Posted by basgen

Screen brightness was at like 30%, nothing open except my gmail in firefox, other than that no programs are open.

So i'm guessing the best thing to do is go back to the shop?

becuase even if i do calibrate i'm sure it wont make that much of a difference since its new anyway.

-Bas

I and others actually helped someone else just 1-2 days ago with problems similar to yours. The solution was they had to take their Macbook Pro apart...and blow compressed air into/on it to blow out the dirt & fuzz. But they're laptop was much older than yours. Their Macbook Pro's temps went from the 80's (before cleaning) to the 40's (after cleaning).

Since your Macbook Pro is practically new...dirt/fuzz shouldn't be an issue at this point.

- Nick

10-11-2010, 04:54 PM

When you're measuring temps and fretting over battery life, are you running a Flash site by chance? Flash is a hog and will be running anytime you happen to hit a webpage that has some Flash content.

10-11-2010, 05:00 PM

All i had open was my gmail on firefox, pretty sure that doesnt need flash... other than that no other tabs were open.

pretty sure dirt cant be an issue since its really new and not been in any dusty conditions

10-11-2010, 05:03 PM

Originally Posted by basgen

All i had open was my gmail on firefox, pretty sure that doesnt need flash... other than that no other tabs were open.

pretty sure dirt cant be an issue since its really new and not been in any dusty conditions

With all of the things we discussed above...taking it to Apple to be examined seems to be the next step.

- Nick

10-11-2010, 05:08 PM

Originally Posted by pigoo3

With all of the things we discussed above...taking it to Apple to be examined seems to be the next step.

- Nick

I know virus' are rare on macs, could it be that i have one?

10-11-2010, 05:11 PM

Originally Posted by basgen

I know virus' are rare on macs, could it be that i have one?

Nope! I highly doubt it. Take it to Apple...something's not right. The high temps & high fan rpms are the problem with the battery life.

Two last thoughts:

- Does your Macbook Pro have some sort of video/video card settings that you can "throttle back" the video capabilities? Some higher end Macbook Pros used to be able to do this (had two graphics "cards" to choose from). If you're running on the "highest performance" mode...this could be causing the problems as well.

- Or since you have an i7 CPU...can you throttle back it's performance while running on battery power?

- Nick

10-11-2010, 05:18 PM

maybe i have something open that shouldnt be? Any way of checking other than the force quit menu?

10-11-2010, 05:20 PM

Originally Posted by basgen

maybe i have something open that shouldnt be? Any way of checking other than the force quit menu?

Just reboot the computer...that would force anything to quit that might be open. Also please reread by last post about the CPU or Video card (I edited my post with some additional thoughts).

- Nick

10-11-2010, 05:33 PM

Check with Activity Monitor. I had to delete a process with a game that I had already turned off from the dashboard. It was maxing out the processor and burning up my MBP.

10-11-2010, 06:00 PM

Originally Posted by quin

Check with Activity Monitor. I had to delete a process with a game that I had already turned off from the dashboard. It was maxing out the processor and burning up my MBP.

Woah this seemed to have worked, Now it says i have 8:19 hours battery life and temp + fan speed is back to normal!!! thanks so much dude i fking love you.

Thanks all for your help, apparently i left a programming file open (eventhough it didnt show as a program running, only in activity monitor)


THANKS THANKS
Bas

EDIT:
Now i'm running at 44degrees celcius/ 2000rpm, with just firefox open.. that sounds very normal to me