How Hot is too hot?

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I have a 18 month old MBP, I just installed the SMC Fan control app Before I used the app the temp was about 150 Degrees. Is that normal or too hot ??? Now its running about 115- 117 Degrees with the app.
 
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This is not an exact science!
It all depends what you are running.....
ie. Skype video chat will send it up there, watching flash, etc
There are so many variables. Apple laptops are designed to shut down if the temps get to high in order as to not damage the logic boards.
It is common for people to install these apps and get paranoid as they see the temps high or the fan running high.
 
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My Macbook runs about 110 degrees on average with smcfancontrol, I keep my fans set at 6000RPM. Have been doing this for about 3 years with no problems and my Macbook stays a lot cooler.
 
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Are you guys talking Fahrenheit or Celsius?
As in Fahrenheit this a farely low temp, where as if you were talking Celsius then that would be considered pretty hot.
As for keeping fans at 6000rpm, that's working the fans pretty hard!
 
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i run at about 125 normally.
 
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Are you guys talking Fahrenheit or Celsius?
As in Fahrenheit this a farely low temp, where as if you were talking Celsius then that would be considered pretty hot.
As for keeping fans at 6000rpm, that's working the fans pretty hard!

Fahrenheit, Ya I know but it's just a fan and like I said I have been doing it for a few years. No problems what so ever.
 
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Unless things have changed there are failsafes built in to keep it from damaging itself
do to overheating it should shut down and if your watching videos with flash it not uncommon for you to see temps of 150℉ and over.
 
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Unless things have changed there are failsafes built in to keep it from damaging itself
do to overheating it should shut down and if your watching videos with flash it not uncommon for you to see temps of 150℉ and over.


If it's sitting on a desk 150 is not bad,But I always keep my Macbook in my lap so I got tired of the constant heat.

Don't get me wrong these machines are tough,Can take the high temps and long hours or even days of use. I just prefer mine to be a little cooler.
Other than a direct fall or liquid their is not much your going to do to these Macbooks.
 
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There really is NO NEED for you to EVER think about "fan control" and "heat management" on a Mac unless you believe the machine is defective.


This is just your opinion. Because someone uses fancontrol or some other form of cooling doesn't mean defective.Me personally I simply like to keep my Mac cooler when it sits on my lap. Plain and simple it has nothing to do with being defective or being difficult to grasp....
 
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This is just your opinion. Because someone uses fancontrol or some other form of cooling doesn't mean defective.Me personally I simply like to keep my Mac cooler when it sits on my lap. Plain and simple it has nothing to do with being defective or being difficult to grasp....

I wasn't speaking to you but to the OP (of course).

Your reasoning for using SMC is sound, but I didn't say anything like "SMC is verboten," I said there's no rationale for using it to override Apple's design for the cooling system.

Apple *specifically says* not to use their notebooks on your lap (and tells you why). That's why they don't refer to them as laptops:
Apple - Support - MacBook - Care and Handling
 
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I will say that the base on my new MBP stays around 85℉ which far cooler than my 06
MBP.
 
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I wasn't speaking to you but to the OP (of course).

Your reasoning for using SMC is sound, but I didn't say anything like "SMC is verboten," I said there's no rationale for using it to override Apple's design for the cooling system.

Apple *specifically says* not to use their notebooks on your lap (and tells you why). That's why they don't refer to them as laptops:
Apple - Support - MacBook - Care and Handling

Ok, Fair enough.
 
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It is common for people to install these apps and get paranoid as they see the temps high or the fan running high.
I think the paranoia comes from people using human temperature comfort levels as a reference point. 100˚F seems hot to humans but for machines it's nothing. I wonder how paranoid people would be if they knew how hot their cars ran. ;D If the heat is indeed uncomfortable then there are several ways to keep it running cooler as it's already been mentioned.
 
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Recall reading an article that pointed to 170 Faranheit being about the cut off point. My MBP usually turns off if left on a desk for 6 hours- have background software that pushes the CPU to max all the time. Put a temp reader on it and it was running at 165 faranheit on average. This drops if I close down certain processor intensive apps like Photoshop, BOINC, dreamweaver etc. They're processor intensive because I'll work on 10 images at a time of 100 web pages open at once (before someone asks!)
 

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