Using my MBP makes me sweaty and uncomfortable =(

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Hey guys,

Does anyone else feel discouraged to really use their MBP for 'professional' type things?

I feel like I can't do anything...converting video, playing games...because the heat generated makes my arms sweat and then my fingers get moist and it just makes the whole experience unpleasant.

At normal usage my MBP is at 53'C and the fans are at 2500 RPM, but once the fans go above 3000 RPM they won't go back down...they just stay like that until I shut down the notebook.

Not to mention the fan noise...when I'm doing things that put load on the notebook, the fans shoot right up to 6000 and drown out whatever I'm doing. It's so bothersome....I mean, I wanted a great notebook that would replace a desktop, which this is, but there's so many times that I feel irritated to be using it. The thing just seems to radiate heat...I swear it makes my face sweat too. Also, since the keyboard surface gets hot, resting my hands on it while typing makes my skin hurt after a while...I can live with the underside heat, but the keyboard and topside heat is just too much.

And don't even get me started on the jagged edges...my wrists are in so much pain after a few minutes of typing.

Does anyone else feel this way?

I've honestly looked into selling it and looked into other brands and whatnot, but there simply isn't anything comparable. I even looked at the regular Macbooks, but I don't think I could live with on-board graphics =\
 
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Pick up one of these, it makes a dramatic, noticeable difference in the temperature of the case. It helps with CPU temps, but it does a great deal more to reduce the temperature of the case itself (both top and bottom)
http://www.svc.com/lpc-301.html
 
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Get a wireless keyboard and mouse and sit a little farther away! :Angry-Tongue:
 
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I use a Bluetooth mouse as of right now (A Kensington si670, about 40 bucks, I highly recommend it)

Getting an external keyboard sounds like a good idea as well!

That way when I'm sitting at my desk, which I usually am, I can use the external peripherals, thus avoiding contact.

The noisy fans will still bug me...because even if you adjust volume to drown them out, they are still background noise to whatever you're doing.
 
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OH! Another thing,

Does anyone else's AC charger get really HOT!?

I mean, painful-to-touch hot?
 
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I feel you about the sharp edges. That's one of the reasons why I've held off on trying to purchase a MBP / macbook, because the edges are so freaking sharp they kill my arms / wrists. It makes me feel emo.

Joking aside, it is a disappointment. I hate that they get SO hot, even when doing simple tasks they get warm. My lady friends Macbook gets so hot after a few minutes of use just browsing the web or doing something else that's not very demanding at all. I sweat like a pig when I use her macbook, my powerbook gets decently warm, but it stays cooler than her macbook. The fan seems to always be on, on my powerbook, the macbooks fan kicks in allot too.

I thought these new intels were supposed to be cooler and use less energy but they are blazing hot, i feel, hotter than the ppc's. I wish they would get fixed, or run cooler, there needs to be a better cooling system heat pipes and dinky fans just don't cut it anymore. Or there needs to be a different type of a heat pipe or something.

I wish we could go back to the days of a rounded corner, that would feel nice.
 
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I thought these new intels were supposed to be cooler and use less energy but they are blazing hot, i feel, hotter than the ppc's. I wish they would get fixed, or run cooler, there needs to be a better cooling system heat pipes and dinky fans just don't cut it anymore. Or there needs to be a different type of a heat pipe or something.

The Core architecture is considerably less power hungry than the PPC970FX (the G5), particularly as the speed of the G5 slides up past 2GHz; there's an old IBM whitepaper which I can't find at the moment that showed the TDP and vCore requirements for the 970 increasing dramatically as clock speeds pushed beyond 2GHz.

It's a different story though, when the C2D is compared to the 74xx series (G4). The G4 is a far simpler CPU with far, far fewer transistors. They don't put out a lot of heat at all. In fact, the oldest G4s (a 450 and a 466, in the case of the following example) run so cool that it's possible to boot a machine with one into OSX and let it idle for several minutes while using your finger as a heatsink. They're not very power hungry. Tradeoff is they're also much slower than the Core2, clock-for-clock.

As far as the cooling system goes... heatpipes are *extremely* effective. Yes, flattened ones like those used in the MBP (and most other notebooks) can be less efficient than perfectly round ones because the squished cross-section can cause the wick structure inside the heatpipe to interfere with the flow of the working fluid to the cold end of the pipe, but even with that drop in efficiency, they're far more effective than say, a solid metal plate would be.

Given the results-both good and bad-that people have had with reapplying thermal compound, it's unlikely (inconceivable, in fact, to my way of thinking) that the cause of the high temperatures MBPs tend to run at lies in the heatsink itself.
 
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I've never heard anyone complain about the edges of the MBP. As far as the MacBook goes, they are pretty sharp.
 
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I've never heard anyone complain about the edges of the MBP. As far as the MacBook goes, they are pretty sharp.

The edges on a MBP are deadly.

Try playing World of Warcraft for a half hour and you'll find little indented lines on your skin where your arms were resting by the trackpad.
 
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I noticed the sharp edges before, but I realized while reading this I haven't noticed them in a long time. I must have subconsciously adjusted the way I hold my hands while typing.

As for the sweating, I've never had a computer make my whole body sweat! Maybe you need to push the AC down a tick.
 
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I noticed the sharp edges before, but I realized while reading this I haven't noticed them in a long time. I must have subconsciously adjusted the way I hold my hands while typing.

I think I've done the same thing with my MacBook. At first the edges really bothered me, but lately they just don't. I don't remember making any sort of adjustment or anything, but now it doesn't really bother me. Crazy. ^_^
 
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get one of these.
rain_ilap.jpg


gives you a nice pad to rest your wrist on. avoids the sharp edges. plus it helps with overall cooling. takes away a lot of the heat and allows good air circulation.
 
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Feelin' hot hot hot

Hi,

Well, going back to what the original poster said about using the MBP in a professional capacity, I run my own freelance business doing animation, compositing, DVD authoring and editing.

I bought a MBP when they first came out using a business grant I got for doing a course and setting up my business. I felt it was pretty hot too, and if I use it on my lap and I'm wearing jeans and I'm doing intensive work with it, I too sweat (my lack of healthy eating doesn't help though :D ) and I find my knees working further and further to the edge of the laptop to minimise my knee/leg contact with the bottom of the machine. I also find my fingers dancing over the trackpad and keyboard after a while as it is too uncomfortable to remain in constant wrist contact with the laptop (due to heat).

Anyway, what I was going to say is that I barely ever use the laptop on my lap, and instead have a little foam mat (An A4 size mat of that foam you use to make 'cooky' models from) and a piece of mahogany left over from one of my Uncles projects to rest the laptop on. It basically means it has room underneath to breath and the mat keeps it from getting scuffs on the bottom.

I bring the laptop everywhere with me when I go to work on a project or go round to a clients house and just put the mat and piece fo wood in the case too. I also chuck my £10 optical mouse in there to minimise having to use the trackpad when on the go.

I have been running my business since the start of 2006 and I do EVERYTHING on the laptop. It is quick at rendering video, multitasking (I'm talking FCP editing, DVD studio pro open and photoshop and hopping between the apps throughout a work session) and it flys. I know it flys because I have used PC's for over 8 years for the same things and honestly, they aren't up to the scratch of my little laptop in terms of speed AND style (which I have found to be important when working with so many different people and projects).

I think the heat thing is an issue Apple need to work on, but at the same time, I think the heat problem could be so much worse than it is, and maybe what we are witnessing is the coolest this system can run. (maybe)

I remember when I got my laptop, in the booklets that came with it, Apple mentioned it as something like not necessarily a laptop, but a mobile replacement for most desktops, meaning, keep it on a desk and use the fact it is in a laptop formfactor to take it with you when you go out.

As for the edges, I kind of know what you mean, but as most people have stated that goes away after a while of use (to be honest, I never noticed it to start with).

I use an Apple keyboard and mouse with mine when at home, and I also use SMC fan control to turn up the fans when need be, and the noise to be honest is loud, but then, what else can you do? make the fans circumferance half the width of the laptop just to keep noise down? I like to think the noise reminds me my laptop is working it's behind off to do complicated things :Smirk: .

Maybe live with the laptop for a bit longer and keep in mind there are people using them on a daily basis for professional purposes. If it really gets that infuriating for you after trying to use it more like a desktop replacement, or if you really need to use it on your lap trying that padded thing up above, then maybe you don't suit a macbook pro, which is understandable.

It's like buying a pair of jeans because everyone says they look good on you and that you should allways wear them, but they itch like and you hate the colour. Nothing can make you like something you genuinely have a discomfort of using.

However, do keep in mind that simialr laptops may well bring the same discomfort, or if not, new ones.

Ps. My powerbrick gets insanely hot when charging, when in idle, after the battery has charged and the laptop is using mains power, it is fine. I think the extra heat is generated when the powerbrick is trying to charge AND run the laptop. To fix this problem, don't hold it during use :)

Let us know how you get on after trying a few solutions.

Mel.
 
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Hey Mel, thanks for the great reply.

My MBP is about 10 months old, and I've used it for many things including DVD authoring and video editing...and it's performed wonderfully...I think my problem is that I haven't been accepting of the fact that the notebook is made to be a portable professional system, not an HP laptop or something that delivers so-so performance while remaining cool.

I'll certainly look into solutions for avoiding discomfort, but the notebook itself is definitely for me. I've grown to love this thing and couldn't see myself using another system, to be honest.
 
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Really glad I could be of help.
 
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OH! Another thing,

Does anyone else's AC charger get really HOT!?

I mean, painful-to-touch hot?

yes! totally feel you!

at one point my AC charger for my powerbook nearly, err.. i mean LITERALLY exploaded and apple had to send me a new one.
 
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get one of these.
rain_ilap.jpg


gives you a nice pad to rest your wrist on. avoids the sharp edges. plus it helps with overall cooling. takes away a lot of the heat and allows good air circulation.

were can i get that?? will it fit in a macbook??or this only for the macpro?? do they sell it thats fit macbook?? thanks:)
 
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I've noticed that the MBP does get warm, but nothing compared to my old Toshiba laptop. That thing gets hot. Maybe I'm just used to that, but the MBP doesn't seem like it gets that hot to me.
 
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were can i get that?? will it fit in a macbook??or this only for the macpro?? do they sell it thats fit macbook?? thanks:)

Its called iLap, and it fits Macbooks as well as Macbook Pros, and i believe ibooks etc as well. You can get them from amazon.

By the way:


Mac Pro



Macbook Pro
 

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