Resolved Dual SSDs + TRIM = Overheating Macbook Pro, why?

[Obsidian6]

Good morning everyone,
I have a 2012 15" cMBP, 2.7ghz i7, which originally came with a 1TB 5400rpm HDD and was slow as molasses. I first upgraded the RAM to 16GB from OWC, and then to a Crucial M4 256gb SSD for the boot + applications drive and stored all media on the 1TB now located in the superdrive bay. Better performance but still too slow.
I decided to really give it the beans and put another Crucial M4 SSD (a 512GB this time) into the Superdrive bay and moved the original HDD to an enclosure. Noticeably better performance now, but still not "lightning-fast" for my Photo / video work, so I've given up because I can't push it any further.

Anyways, ever since I installed the second SSD I have been dealing with two problems, massive heat buildup (my CPU will reach 210ºF+) and woeful battery life (1-2 hours on a full charge) with minimal usage like web-browsing and writing articles.

I figured I was going to have to take out the second drive and then take it into the apple store to see what they could do, but I came across a blog posts late last night (http://mwholt.blogspot.com/2012/09/macbook-pro-runs-hot-with-ssd-and-trim.html) that suggested TRIM enabler was causing their computer to run super hot, just like mine.

I disabled it, rebooted, and let the computer run idle overnight (expecting to come back to it this morning still in the high 180s-200 even sitting idle) but my CPU was a chilly 74ºF this morning.

How could enabling TRIM have such a negative impact on my system? I want to have it enabled because I don't want to ruin my SSDs, but what else can I do?

Has anyone experienced this before?

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Unfortunately I may have spoken too soon. Just in writing my original post my computer spiked up to 201º with Chrome being the only application running. Also, the drives are both Crucial M4 6Gbps and the drive sled taking the place of the superdrive is from OWC.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Open Activity Monitor and select All Processes and then sort by CPU to show you the process(es) slowing down your Mac or speeding up your fan(s) or causing more heat.

Using Activity Monitor to show you CPU and RAM usage​

Btw, I have, and many others too, fared quite well with modern SSDs without using TRIM.

 

[Obsidian6]

I just pulled the second SSD out to see if that was part of the problem. I think that may have been it some how. The computer is idling at 173º currently with one SSD and the original superdrive back in place. I'm not sure what to do though. Do I just put the second drive back in?

 

[simsaladimbamba]

I just pulled the second SSD out to see if that was part of the problem. I think that may have been it some how. The computer is idling at 173º currently with one SSD and the original superdrive back in place. I'm not sure what to do though. Do I just put the second drive back in?

You could have used Activity Monitor while the second SSD was inside to actually see, what process was causing more CPU usage to find out, what actually happens, but then again, why should you look for answers.

 

[Obsidian6]

You could have used Activity Monitor while the second SSD was inside to actually see, what process was causing more CPU usage to find out, what actually happens, but then again, why should you look for answers.

Well I put the SSD back into the MBP to see if I can observe. After I wrote my previous post it was still running quite hot even with just one SSD. I am looking for answers though, and I do appreciate your help, so please don't start throwing sarcasm my way.

It seems Java is using a lot of resources (between 80-150% CPU usage), which surprises me because I didn't think Java was even on OS X 10.8.

 

[Obsidian6]

I still haven't been able to resolve this matter, the Java process previously mentioned is constantly utilizing 100%+ CPU (mind you this is an i7 machine).

It is also causing my fans to run nearly fullspeed almost at all times. My internal temps still seem rather high and the computer is VERY hot to the touch. I have it elevated on a stand so it's not making direct contact with my wood desk, there should be ample airflow underneath.

 

[Kashsystems]

Close Google Chrome and see if your java usage goes down.

If that seems to be the case, here is a link on how to disable java in chrome.

http://www.podfeet.com/blog/tutorials/how-to-disable-java-in-chrome/

 

[Obsidian6]

I do believe I just found out what it was and frankly it surprised me.
I did some tracing to figure out what was utilizing so much Java (besides me and my coffee consumption) and it turns out the CrashPlan uses a whole bunch of java and was running my computer all the time, I shut it down and almost immediately, no fans, temps dropped over 50º and my estimated battery life jumped up 6 hours.

I'm thinking this was the cause, but I'm also a bit dismayed because I like the crashplan service, but if it is hogging that much resources in the background, I don't necessarily want to have it running.

Thoughts?

 

[Kashsystems]

I do believe I just found out what it was and frankly it surprised me.
I did some tracing to figure out what was utilizing so much Java (besides me and my coffee consumption) and it turns out the CrashPlan uses a whole bunch of java and was running my computer all the time, I shut it down and almost immediately, no fans, temps dropped over 50º and my estimated battery life jumped up 6 hours.

I'm thinking this was the cause, but I'm also a bit dismayed because I like the crashplan service, but if it is hogging that much resources in the background, I don't necessarily want to have it running.

Thoughts?

I don't have this problem and I use crashplan.

Go into the program in settings. There are cpu options there. You can reduce it greatly, but the default settings should be ok.