Silicone keyboard cover & heat issues?

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iMac 21 Inch - 3.1 GHz I7 Quad Core - 16 GB RAM - 512 GB SSD, iPod Nano, iPad Air - 16GB Wifi Only
The Apple Store sells a silicone cover for the MacBookPro keyboard. I have excessive oil in my skin/fingers and the keys on every PC I have owned (Dell, HP, Toshiba) were all left without the "marking" on the keys in short time. I looked at the silicone keyboard cover for the MacBookPro but reading this and other forums someone mentioned that cooling air circulates though the keyboard (actually around the keys) so using a silicone keyboard cover might cause excessive heat build up. Any experience with the silicone keyboard cover or thoughts on this? Thx.
 

chscag

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2017 27" iMac, 10.5" iPad Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Mini, Numerous iPods, Monterey
Unlike most PCs the MacBook and the Pro models dissipate heat through convection. The Pro seems to do better because of its metal body. I use my MacBook quite a bit at my desk with an external monitor and keyboard. I also keep the top lid closed except for a small space created by several felt furniture tabs. I have not noticed any difference in temps whether the lid is closed or open. I suspect the silicone keyboard cover won't make any significant difference.

To be safe, install the iStat Pro widget or smcFanControl and monitor the temperatures. Both free.

Regards.
 
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17" MacBook Pro 4GB Ram, LED HD display, 200GB 7200RPM HD, 2.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo; Macbook 2.4Ghz
The MBP has holes underneath the keys on the keyboard (if you look carefully under the keys, you can see). I believe this goes right into the inside of the computer which would mean, yes, the keyboard is used as a vent. (If I'm wrong, someone please correct me so I don't mislead the OP.)

I bought a generic silicone cover on ebay and it doesn't seem to overheat my MBP when I check my temperature stats. However, when I'm using higher applications particularly video playing, the temps start to rise and the fans become quite audible. In that situation, I remove the cover just in case so that airflow isn't restricted. It's not like it's hard; the cover just lays on top of the keys. If you need it, I'd say get it. If your computer starts getting hot, just take it off.
 
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MBP 2011 15" 2.0Ghz (hi-res, Momentus XT). 32GB iPhone 4.
just get smcfancontrol, its great, just make the min fan speeds higher which should compensate for any extra heat that the keyboard cover is causing, however i doubt it will make the temps higher i mean when your typing you don't feel hot air coming up onto your hands but if you put your hands where the vents are you feel it...
 

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