Another "why is my Mac so hot" question

w.markegard · Feb 24, 2010

I know this has been asked a billion times, and I read some old threads but it was always advice that I've done.

It started a few days ago where my Mac started running abnormally hot (I know people say theirs gets up to 80 and 90 celsius, or whatever, but mine is generally pretty low) all the time.

I've checked Activity Monitor and the highest CPU usage is iTunes at 13%. So there's nothing super high there.

I've restarted it, etc.

Any other advice? I know I don't have to "worry" about 70-ish degrees, but it just annoys me!

Thanks!

PsYkOoOoO · Feb 24, 2010

I noticed that whenever I am visiting websites with a lot of Flash content like, say, YouTube, my Macbook's fans will start spinning like crazy, and the temperatures would skyrocket. Could that be the case?

dtravis7 · Feb 24, 2010

PsYkOoOoO said:
I noticed that whenever I am visiting websites with a lot of Flash content like, say, YouTube, my Macbook's fans will start spinning like crazy, and the temperatures would skyrocket. Could that be the case?

For sure the latest version of Flash on OSX pushes the CPU usage WAY up. Really bugs me Adobe can't get it together.

To the OP, which model Mac is it? Macbook? MacBook Pro? And which version? If it's all of a sudden getting a lot hotter and nothing is pegging the CPU usage, might be a fan that died or dust and dirt inside. How old is your machine?

rippingviper · Feb 24, 2010

Use this app to block all flash on the page, helps with getting bugs, unwanted crap, also you click on the flash you want to load, like youtube you click the vid and it plays only that flash instead of everything else on the page. Helps to keep things alot cooler. heres the link.

Click to Flash

w.markegard · Feb 24, 2010

I guess it COULD be the flash thing, but I feel like it happens on other sites too. And I don't think anything is wrong with the fan, cause I can definitely hear it and I've been turning it up with Fan Control when it gets crazy hot.

Also, I have the basic 13" Pro.

rippingviper · Feb 24, 2010

Flash makes my macbook pro run at like 80+*C just watching utube if i dont use smc fancontrol to control my fanspeeds. I also run istat widget on my dashboard it will tell u everything about your temps and whatnot. try it out. I recommend click to flash for every mac. i use it on both my macs, theres always hidden flash on advertisements and whatnot that also launch those stupid extra advertisement windows. with click to flash on those windows dont come up cuz the flash can't run without you clicking on it first.

wirelessmacuser · Feb 24, 2010

w.markegard said:
I guess it COULD be the flash thing, but I feel like it happens on other sites too. And I don't think anything is wrong with the fan, cause I can definitely hear it and I've been turning it up with Fan Control when it gets crazy hot.

Also, I have the basic 13" Pro.

In my experience with my two month old 15" MBP, it seems that unibody MBP's run warmer than a comparable ThinkPad for example. I use both and find the ThinkPad can go for hours on flash intensive sites and run cool. Not even warm. It has to do with better thermal management of the ThinkPad, and more efficient fans (which are not needed as much as in the mac).
.
Also one must remember that the aluminum body of the mac conducts and retains heat. A high quality composite carbon fiber reinforced plastic housing (CFRP) like ThinkPads are made from is very good at dissipating heat. Thus the palm rest and body is much cooler. Also the thickness of my ThinkPad is 1.2" vs 1.0" of my MBP. While that's not much, it makes room for air to circulate through the case so I don't feel hot air flowing up out of the keyboard as I do on my MacBook Pro.
.
So... They are just different. A Mac is designed to run hot and will recover even if it gets so hot it shuts down. I've had a friend with the first generation MacBook Pro have that issue, yet the computer survives even when the screen goes black. Nothing to be concerned about unless it bothers you. Many people make the mistake of comparing a PC based Laptop to a Mac. That's not relevant as they are two completely different machines with two totally different Operating systems. If you go to forums for mainstream laptops, they _never_ talk about flash because its just never a problem. That's why its so popular and all over the web. Eventually at some point in the future the emerging technology known as HTML5 will begin replacing flash. But as of yet there are hundreds of pages to the document which describes a standard waiting for full approval.

thomas998 · Feb 24, 2010

wirelessmacuser said:
...A Mac is designed to run hot and will recover even if it gets so hot it shuts down. ...

I wonder if the reason Mac are designed to run hot is to ensure they don't last as long so you have to replace them sooner... like old cars in the 70's that had trim designed to encourage rust on the body. I mean the bottom line in electronics is heat is the enemy... and nothing wears out a piece of electronics quicker than heat (well.. maybe a liquid spill.. but that isn't something Apple can control).

clayneal · Feb 24, 2010

thomas998 said:
I wonder if the reason Mac are designed to run hot is to ensure they don't last as long so you have to replace them sooner... like old cars in the 70's that had trim designed to encourage rust on the body. I mean the bottom line in electronics is heat is the enemy... and nothing wears out a piece of electronics quicker than heat (well.. maybe a liquid spill.. but that isn't something Apple can control).

Just because your paranoid doesn't mean they are not out to get you !;D

Clay

the_shadow · Feb 24, 2010

when he says they are "designed to run hot", that doesn't mean they are intentionally designed to be hotter then normal. he means that they are designed so that if they get hot, it won't totally destroy them, or cause them to catch fire, or whatever.

and even if they supposedly were, I see not evidence of it. we have 8 macintosh computers (9 if you count the iPhone) and they all run as good as the day we got them. a couple are almost 7 years old now.

wirelessmacuser · Feb 24, 2010

thomas998 said:
I wonder if the reason Mac are designed to run hot is to ensure they don't last as long so you have to replace them sooner... like old cars in the 70's that had trim designed to encourage rust on the body. I mean the bottom line in electronics is heat is the enemy... and nothing wears out a piece of electronics quicker than heat (well.. maybe a liquid spill.. but that isn't something Apple can control).

Years ago before Apple made metal laptops they were plastic and very well made. I had several top of the line PowerBooks that ran cool & quiet. Once Apple decided to go to aluminum, especially the Unibody housings they use now, heating and over heating became just part of the package. That's why users like us have to install 3rd party software to control the fans if our MBP's begin to have heating issues. I know Apple does their best, and the Unibody is the best looking laptop I've ever seen. The problem is I don't care about that, when it affects the overall life of the computer. Heat _is_ the enemy and after Unibodies have been out for more than three years, I think we are going to see failures earlier than other laptops that are not made out of metal, and running hot. Once they've been out for some time perhaps Apple will decide to use a better material so the life of the laptop is extended. I have four, five, six, and seven year old ThinkPads that have all had a lot of time on them. I use my laptop 10hrs each day for work. Each of those ThinkPads look and run as good as new. It will be interesting to see how my new MBP holds up.

wirelessmacuser · Feb 24, 2010

dtravis7 said:
For sure the latest version of Flash on OSX pushes the CPU usage WAY up. Really bugs me Adobe can't get it together.

Apple is at war with Adobe. So "flash" is a bad word, and gets bashed.
However there is nothing wrong with flash. Just visit any forum for PC laptops, and you will notice there is _not one_ complaint about flash. Its never discussed. Why? Because PC laptops have better architecture and better thermal management. They run flash all day long no problem. The Aluminum Unibody housing of a MacBook Pro contributes to the heat problem. Yes its really beautiful, but its not a good choice if functionality is a top priority as it conducts heat. What a laptop needs is a housing designed to dissipate heat. That's why the older plastic PowerBooks Apple designed were so great. They were so far ahead in functionality. Now that a MacBook Pro is capable of running more than one OS, powered by multi-core processors, its time to create a better housing, and give us a professional laptop that runs cool, quiet, and is long lasting.

osxx · Feb 24, 2010

I read this in disbelief aluminum dissipates heat very well in fact it is why the auto and
motorcycle industry has wide use of the material, plastics and its associated families are
insulators therefore creating a barrier just because you can't feel the heat on the bottom
of a plastic laptop does not mean its not hot. A program to monitor your cpu and heat sink among other areas would be better at judging internal temperatures such as istat pro. You might ask a few that owned previous MBP's but the unibody runs a lot cooler than the older design or that has been my experience currently my base is at 85℉.

wirelessmacuser · Feb 24, 2010

osxx said:
I read this in disbelief aluminum dissipates heat very well in fact it is why the auto and
motorcycle industry has wide use of the material, plastics and its associated families are
insulators therefore creating a barrier just because you can't feel the heat on the bottom
of a plastic laptop does not mean its not hot. A program to monitor your cpu and heat sink among other areas would be better at judging internal temperatures such as istat pro. You might ask a few that owned previous MBP's but the unibody runs a lot cooler than the older design or that has been my experience currently my base is at 85℉.

For clarification finned aluminum cylinder heads (for example) are used in air cooled motorcycles, because aluminum is strong and the airflow will draw the heat away from them. If you hang your unibody mac out of your car at 65 mph it too will run cool. Holding ones hand on the bottom of _any_ laptop is meaningless. The only scientific way to measure temps is inside the computer, that's a given. Frying pans are made from aluminum because they conduct heat. Not dissipate it. Take a thick slab of aluminum, carve out the insides, and pack them full of heat generating electronics and you have the makings of a warm to hot laptop... period.
Apple's done a good job of trying to manage it. But why place style ahead of functionality? Apple builds great products, but sometimes gets distracted trying to make them look like jewelry. My new 15" MacBook Pro is one of my favorites, but I would still feel that way without the aluminum housing.

osxx · Feb 24, 2010

wirelessmacuser said:
For clarification finned aluminum cylinder heads (for example) are used in air cooled motorcycles, because aluminum is strong and the airflow will draw the heat away from them. If you hang your unibody mac out of your car at 65 mph it too will run cool. Holding ones hand on the bottom of _any_ laptop is meaningless. The only scientific way to measure temps is inside the computer, that's a given. Frying pans are made from aluminum because they conduct heat. Not dissipate it. Take a thick slab of aluminum, carve out the insides, and pack them full of heat generating electronics and you have the makings of a warm to hot laptop... period.
Apple's done a good job of trying to manage it. But why place style ahead of functionality? Apple builds great products, but sometimes gets distracted trying to make them look like jewelry. My new 15" MacBook Pro is one of my favorites, but I would still feel that way without the aluminum housing.

If you have a late model car or truck (water cooled) the heads,intake and cylinder block will be aluminum (no fins) for several reasons light durable and dissipates heat. Look inside of every high end amp there will be aluminum heat sinks look inside of every flat panel tv aluminun heat sinks.

clayneal · Feb 24, 2010

wirelessmacuser said:
Apple is at war with Adobe. So "flash" is a bad word, and gets bashed.
However there is nothing wrong with flash. Just visit any forum for PC laptops, and you will notice there is _not one_ complaint about flash. Its never discussed. Why? Because PC laptops have better architecture and better thermal management. They run flash all day long no problem.

You dont think that it has anything to do with Flash being written and optimized for windows while never being given any support for OS X do ya ? Apple is "At War " with adobe because on a Mac flash is junk ! And to give credit to the windows boxes for running it is bunk . It runs all day long on them because it was created to do so.

Clay

wirelessmacuser · Feb 24, 2010

clayneal said:
You dont think that it has anything to do with Flash being written and optimized for windows while never being given any support for OS X do ya ? Apple is "At War " with adobe because on a Mac flash is junk ! And to give credit to the windows boxes for running it is bunk . It runs all day long on them because it was created to do so.

Clay

Nice rant

And your point is?