Looking to buy a MacBook:QUestion about HDD heat

[yabai]

Hi all.

I'm looking to switch to a Mac and make a MacBook my first machine. I'm currently using a wonderful Panasonic W2 notebook (and love the machine itself) but I'm growing tired of Windows.

Anywho, the laptop above uses a fanless design that keeps the HDD at a toasty 38-43 degrees Celsius. I'd like to know from some current users what their temperature ranges are for the MacBook. It's not that big of a deal, since the HDD can be replaced if it dies, but I'm just curious.

(Oh and I already know that going from "fanless" to "fan" will make a difference, but the Panasonic is also very underpowered compared to the Core 2 Duo of the MB)

Thanks for any info you can give me!

 

[purelithium]

It's not the harddrive that gets hot, it's the CPU and Video chip. That said, my original Core Duo MB has an airplane engine for a fan and is hot as hell. There's actually warnings in the manual not to use it on your lap for extended periods of time because of the risk of burns.

THAT SAID, this is an excellent machine, it is a freaking workhorse, the only problems i've had are battery life, but apparently that's been fixed by apple, and if you have problems, you can go back to apple for a new battery(which i'm doing tomorrow). I LOVE this machine, I wouldn't trade it for the world. I swear I love it like a child haha!

 

[kellah]

my laptops hard drive heats up pretty hot too. thats what i can feel most when its sitting on my lap.

 

[operator]

My MB C2D right now is only browsing MacRumors, and here are my temps (in celsius):

CPU: 45
Heatsink 1: 40
Heatsink 2: 41
Enclosure Bottom: 22
NorthBridge 1: 38
NorthBridge 2: 39

I'm used to using an iBook that had a fan that rarely came on. My iBook would run around 40 degrees all the time - it was a very cool running laptop. This MB runs much warmer, and the fan is on all the time. It idles with the fan at 1800 RPM, and the temps can reach high 70 degrees so far - but the fan revs up then and brings the temps down to 60's.

Overall, it runs quite hotter than the iBook, but is very usable. I never place the laptop directly on my lap. Always on a flat binder instead - this works like a charm.