Another macbook pro overheating?

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Hi all,

Im an owner of a macbook pro, 15", C2D 2.16 ghz, 120gb hd for the past year. Recently, I've noticed that during encoding with handbrake - ipod profile - H264, the temperature of the cores is reaching up to 99C - 100C as monitored in iStat.

The laptop while doing the encoding is placed on my wooden desk, with nothing blocking the venting slots. Ambient temperature is close to 18C, as I live in London which is quite cold this time of year.

The laptop itself feels quite hot underneath, being just bearable to touch. Also, Handbrake quits unexpectedly, usually after a couple of chapters into the encoding.

Should I be worried? I talked to one of the Apple "Geniuses" and they told me that the laptop is supposed to get warm during processor intensive work but this is verging to boiling....

What is your view on it?
 
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Your Mac's Specs
MBP 15" Gloss, 2.4 GHz C2D, 4GB DDR2, 160 GB @ 7200 HDD, 256 MB 8600M GT
try downloading SMC Fan Control...

Then when you are doing your intensive processor work, setting the fans to MAX speed right from the start.

The MacBook Pro cools down noticably when running at full fan speed. My laptop goes from 70 C to 35 C in a matter of a couple minutes when set to 6000 RPMs
 

cwa107


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14" MacBook Pro M1 Pro, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD
Yes, it will get downright hot during processor intensive work. The processor has built-in protection that will shut the entire system down before it overheats. If the machine is shutting itself down, you have a problem - if not, you're probably OK.
 

cwa107


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Your Mac's Specs
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try downloading SMC Fan Control...

Then when you are doing your intensive processor work, setting the fans to MAX speed right from the start.

The MacBook Pro cools down noticably when running at full fan speed. My laptop goes from 70 C to 35 C in a matter of a couple minutes when set to 6000 RPMs

The fans are thermostatically controlled. The system should be throttling the fans up by itself.
 
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the fans are running full speed within seconds of starting encoding.

The only slight issue is random crashes of programs while encoding, which usually don't occur during normal operation. The machine is not shutting down randomly. Worst case is that it will burn out and I will have to get it repaired with applecare :-(

I believe that SMCFan control is not working with leopard...
 
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MBP 15" Gloss, 2.4 GHz C2D, 4GB DDR2, 160 GB @ 7200 HDD, 256 MB 8600M GT
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The fans are controlled by the thermostat by the computer- but in my experience- it does not get the fan speeds anywhere near what is needed- and I get program freezes and computer shut down as my temp climbs to 160F or higher. smcFanControl has completely stopped that from happening- I can monitor my temp the entire time I'm working and jump the speed if needed, or set it automatically for higher speeds when I am using a program that I know drives the temp up.

I too get the genius bar response of "it's supposed to run hot" even when I am very specific about it shutting down. I also had my computer tuned up... if anything it seems to be worse after that.... But... smc seems to be saving my butt for now- as I continue my quest for what is going on.
 

cwa107


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If your machine is running that warm, I'd suggest you get it looked at. There is a known problem with some MacBook Pros where the thermal compound is over applied, resulting in way higher than normal temps. I've had two MacBook Pros, one first generation and this one, an early 2008 model. Neither have ever run uncomfortably warm, even when running processor intensive apps or games.
 
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I use a Belkin laptop cooler. Works great!
 
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use iCyclone, works with leopard and brings my processor heat down up to 15 degrees. That little bit more rpm to 6200 rpm really does help.
 

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