MacBook heat issue...

Sorry to make a thread about this as I am sure there are tons. My MacBook is great. I love it. However it hits temperatures of 60-70 degress celcius at times. I mean this thing is hotter than I had anticipated. My powerbook was hot but this thing is scorching.

I rearely put it on my lap, and it is hottest when attached to the mag connector, but are these temps safe? should I have it looked at or should I not worry about it? thanks.

I haven't yet recieved my macbook, but when I went to the apple store, I was messing around with it, and it was cool to the touch actually. I know the pro's have alot of heat trouble. But this is the first I have heard of the macbook 13". I would call apple

really? I have heard heat issues with all MacBook models.

I think I will call them tomorrow then.

The White MacBook I messed with quite a bit the other night at CompUSA was only warm by the MagSafe connector. The rest of the machine was not that bad at all. I did not check the bottom as it was sort of locked into the display, but no way did it seem REAL HOT for a machine as powerfull as it is. Most modern laptops are far from cold. There is a lot of CPU power in a very small space.

Almost all of the heat is at the bottom of the machine. The entire back of the bottom is really hot. My PB was hot but this doubles it. I can deal with it but I just want to know if it is normal or worse, if it can damage my laptop.

oh yes, you are right, mine is so hot too. what the **** is this stuff. I have to call them. I got this apple laptop in 4 days shipping, but it's so hot whenever I use.

check to make sure the vent on the very back of your macbook is not blocked, some units were shipped with a protective plastic piece on them still.
-chris

Here ya go What Coach_Z said, but here is the report.


http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35931

yeah, I checked the vents. That was the first thing I did actually.

Is anyones MacBook hot as well other than me and gpc? I will probably take it in soon.

I have run my white macbook 2GHz for over 5 hours on and off the MagSafe and it gets noticably warm at the top of the keyboard, and quite hot underneath, but nowhere near the temperatures you're describing. I can certainly sit with it on my lap (with trousers) without it causing pain or discomfort.

yeah, i have the black macbook and it gets extremely hot. sometimes it gets up to 80 celsius, but that's only when i'm doing something really processor intensive like iMovie and flash movies in Firefox all at the same time. i think the temp is going to depend on how you're using it. if you're using it just for Word and Firefox and iChat then it won't get too hot and you also have to keep in mind that at places like the Apple store they have powerful A/C running all the time. i think ambient temperature definitely affects the heat inside your computer.

i actually went in to the apple store to see if there was an issue, but they said that if it doesn't crash or anything then there's nothing wrong with it. they said the macbook definitely runs hot, but that it's normal.

fasheezy, try putting your macbook on a flat surface (non cloth based) and make sure the room temperature is not warm and see how hot it gets...you may also want to lower the brightness of your screen.

I havent recieved mine yet, but I will let all of you know once I get it..

Just put an ice pack underneath, and you'll be good to go! hahaha

yeah, i actually only use it on flat surfaces. i don't put it on my lap. IF i do then i use a lap desk, but the heat even goes through the desk and makes me sweat. but yeah, when i use it on a desk or something i can't really tell it's hot unless i pick it up and put my hand under the left side.

yeah i am experiencing the same problems! is this normal?

These machines have very powerful processors that put out heat. It's going to run hot, to expect otherwise is not realistic. Even my G4 iBook gets hot.

It's really amazing how much the "heat issue" is upsetting the Mac community... PowerBooks have always been pretty hot, especially the 12", recent iBooks get quite hot too.
I agree that the MacBook and the MacBook Pro get hotter than the PowerBook and iBook respectively, but did anybody ever compare the specs?!

Faster running hardware means more heat, it's pretty simple and the opposite would be impossible, due to physical laws.

Actual PC laptops, even with bigger cases and ventilators running like crazy, are far away from cold, some models can't be held too long on the lap either. But interestingly, much less people seem to complain.

You want portability, a nice design, silence and high performance? Well, you have to make some compromises. Getting all those wishes together in a perfect computer just is what "perfect" is: impossible.

Amen Avalon, well said!

Avalon said:

Actual PC laptops, even with bigger cases and ventilators running like crazy, are far away from cold, some models can't be held too long on the lap either. But interestingly, much less people seem to complain.

Click to expand...

I think that this problem is a lot to do with perception. I don't complain about the heat of my macbook because it runs cooler than my 800MHz thinkpad. Now THAT is a laptop you could fry an egg on! If you've never had a PC laptop, or are used to having wads of space in a massive Dell or something with 3 fans, then the difference may be startling.

The problem is, they can do something about it if they really wanted too.

There is no reason for your leg hairs too be burnt off (HOPEFULLY...men only, if not...lady needs a shave!).

I can't remember the extact model, but I believe it was either an Acer or Dell.. they had like 2 or 3 fans on the bottom of the case.

They could easily add a couple of vents to the design, and keep it the same way it is now.

If they really thought that they could get away with more performance from intel, and use the same if not little change in airflow/cooling devices?
Then that was their mistake.

I haven't even recieved mine yet, I have been a Windows user for years, but I just came back from CompUSA and the Apple store. ALL..and I mean ALL the Macbook's
and Macbook Pro's burnt like ****!

The powerbook's and ibook at Compusa, weren't even hot at all. Maybe it's the mag connector? who knows. But apple can fix it. And they can start
by using the appropriate amount of Thermal paste on their chipsets/cpus.

EDIT: My mistrake, I meant the thermal paste on the PRO, not the 13" Macbook