MBP running hot

I have a mid 2012 MacBook Pro 15" (MacBookPro9,1) that sometimes runs very hot. In fact it often gets up over 100 C. I've been running smcFanControl and cranked the Higher RPM profile to up 4000 RPM. The default is 2000 RPM. The RPM will get above 3000, but never 4000. I can't find any setting to lower the temperature threshold that increases the fan speed.

I can't find any common cause for the high temps. Two things that seems to increase heat are graphics in discrete mode and running Windows under Parallels. But this is not always the case. I can sometimes run Parallels without over heating.

Any ideas or insight before I fry my beloved toy?

Perhaps you have something running in the background? AV software, or tools like MacKeeper (gag)? Next time it's overly hot, open up Activity Monitor and make a note of anything showing a high percentage of CPU usage.

I would suggest getting rid of smcFanControl and let the system control fan speed as it sees fit. I had smcFanControl installed for a while and my mbp ran hot a lot of the time. Getting rid of it has cooled things nicely for me. And Parallels can make it run hot, particularly if you are doing any major graphics work in Windows. The emulation seems to consume a lot of CPU cycles in that case. And every once in a while on my mpb, the Spotlight indexing application, mds I think, takes off and eats up a lot of cpu, driving the fans into jet engine mode.

skallal said:

I have a mid 2012 MacBook Pro 15" (MacBookPro9,1) that sometimes runs very hot. In fact it often gets up over 100 C. I've been running smcFanControl and cranked the Higher RPM profile to up 4000 RPM. The default is 2000 RPM. The RPM will get above 3000, but never 4000.

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If your computer is running as hot as you say it is (100 °C)...then your computers fan's should be running at 6000rpm (which I believe is the highest rpm setting). If they're only running at 4000rpm...then you have a problem.

As already suggested...get rid of smcFanControl...and let the system run as Apple designed it.

And FYI...Apple laptops will run hot depending on what your doing. And other times they will be silent when they are not being pushed very hard. And of course...there is always the possibility that things could be getting dirty inside (need a cleaning).

But first things first...get rid of smcFanControl.

- Nick

Okay, if I get rid of smcFanControl, I'll still need something to monitor the temp. If smcFanControl is the cause, then I need another app in the menu bar to monitor things.

Any recommendations?

skallal said:

Okay, if I get rid of smcFanControl, I'll still need something to monitor the temp. If smcFanControl is the cause, then I need another app in the menu bar to monitor things.

Any recommendations?

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Two apps to choose from:

- iStat Pro
- Temp Monitor (Mac)

Got to do a Google search to find them.

- Nick

p.s. I rarely if ever...worry or monitor my MBP temps. Apple has designed them to run without user monitoring. But monitoring the temp is certainly ok...just don't let it stress you out!

Surprisingly, removing smsFanControl did the trick!

I am using Temperature Monitor to observe the temperature for a while until I am satisfied things are not over heating.

skallal said:

Surprisingly, removing smsFanControl did the trick!

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I'm not surprised! Why were you surprised...don't you trust us??

Glad to hear everything is better..and thanks for the update!

- Nick

I'm not surprised, either. Apple knows what they are doing with hardware, we tend to get into trouble when we try to second-guess them.

Okay, I've been running without smsFanControl for a few days now and using Temperature Monitor instead. There have been a few times when at least one of the CPU cores approaches 100 C. Right now the ambient temp is 42 C and one CPU core is 95 C.

I've noticed when copying a large amount of data over the WiFi, the temp shoots up. Also when the same when discrete graphics kicks in.

I often use the MBP literally on my lap. And that makes high temps more noticeable. Right now I am using a laptop tray on the couch, so I don't notice the heat so much.

Lets get back to basics here.
Your computer can only run hot if you block the air vents at the back of the computer or if your machine is burning CPU Cycles.
Make sure your computer is on a hard surface when you use it and verify that you don't block the air vents.
Secondly, open Activity monitor, select all processes and sort the processes on %CPU. That will tell you which process is burning your CPU cycles.

If you can, send us a print screen of the activity monitor and we will take it from there.

Cheers ... McBie

Nothing you noted is that abnormal, skallal. With WiFi going and a large data transfer, particularly if it's a video file that you are simultaneously watching, driving the GPU, my temps get into the low-to-mid 90 C also. But they quickly drop back down when the fans get into high speed and when the download ends. Occasionally the mds service that indexes my data for Spotlight goes crazy and eats up a ton of CPU, taking the temp up with it as well. I'd say don't obsess over it. If it really overheats, it will shut down to protect itself.

If you want to try to figure out what is the driving factor, do as Mcbie said and open Activity Monitor's CPU page, sorted by % CPU so that the heavy users are on top. Just leave it running, minimized. When it runs hot, look for what's driving the CPU. Screenshot not really required, just the name of the process that is the heavy user.

I've also tried "Mac Fan Control App", which I do NOT run continuously. I only use it to determine the current fan speed and close it.

That said, I've noticed the fans do kick in at 6000 + RPM when it gets REALLY hot. I've found that HandBrake converting a DVD extracted into a VIDEO_TS folder put my MBP under the most strain and heat I've experienced so far.

I also run Temperature Monitor most of the time. While running HandBrake converting a DVD, many of the 8 cores listed shoot up to 100 + C. That is when the fans reach 6176 RPM, the max value. The ambient temp is about 45 C at this point.

Still it makes me nervous seeing a core reaching 100 C. I've never had such a high powered notebook before!

Converting video is one of the most hard core things you can do - no surprise there it ramps up all the cores.

After you spend a couple years monitoring the temps and see that the computer just keeps on chugging away, you'll give it up. At least, 2 years is about how long it took me.

And you'll get use to using a laptop stand to put it on - or you'll live with semi-permanent red marks across the top of your legs - especially if you do a lot of gaming or video conversion. Trust me, I know.

The most hard core thing I do on a regular basis is run Windows 8.1 Pro in a Parallels VM. And that is running and compiling with Visual Studio 2012.

The video thing is a recent itch I've been scratching. Recently got interested in streaming video to my iDevices and Chromecast on my home WiFi LAN. And that is with an older Mini still running a Core 2 Duo.

I do the video conversion on my REAL machine the MBP 15".

Contrary to what most would think since I hang out in a Mac forum, do practically all my video work on a custom built quad core Windows rig.

That to me still seems to be a very high temperature, even for video work.
Sure there are no other activities going on the background ?
On my MBA, temps go up to 85 C when using handbrake. I know you can not compare 2 different machines, but my MBA is not an MBP either, it does not have the CPU power of an MBP to begin with.

Anyway, when things get too hot, the OS will shutdown one or more cores or even cleanly shut down the whole machine.

Cheers ... McBie

skallal said:

The most hard core thing I do on a regular basis is run Windows 8.1 Pro in a Parallels VM. And that is running and compiling with Visual Studio 2012.

...CLIP

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Parallels is a real CPU hog, and drive my temps up just with Windows idle. Adding to that video work, it's not surprising how much CPU is demanded and how hot the machine gets. You are demanding a lot from the machine with that combination.

MacInWin said:

Parallels is a real CPU hog, and drive my temps up just with Windows idle. Adding to that video work, it's not surprising how much CPU is demanded and how hot the machine gets. You are demanding a lot from the machine with that combination.

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I rarely if ever run both at the same time. I've recently been running HandBrake on OS X to convert some DVDs.

And yes I frequently run Parallels. Lately I've been running Parallels in Coherence mode, which puts each running Windows app in a separate window on the Mac desktop. Surprisingly it was running relatively cool the other day. I was running VLC on the Mac side and Visual Studio on the Windows side. Yet other times I've seen Parallels really drive the temps up.

Edit: I just did a little test. Started to run Visual Studio in Parallels and things really heated up. Switched to Parallels from full screen to coherence mode, a presto things have cooled off a bit. The CPU temps lowered about 20 C or so. This is is with two Visual Studio instances in two separate Mac windows. Maybe I'm on to something? Or not?