Macbook Pro i5 Quad Core - Super Warm - Normal?

[chickensoup]

Halo,

Been a loyal user of Macs since the Powerbook G4s..., and just changed my 2014 13" MBP Retina to the 2018 i5 Quad-core 13" - and it runs pretty warm, especially near the G + H keys. Was on OS High Sierra and just updated to Mojave. Same thing.

Not doing anything power intensive, just streaming youtube, working on a couple of word documents, and have a few tabs open (not Chrome; just Safari).

Any insights? I really don't want to take it back to the Apple store and have them open a 2 week old laptop...

Thanks!

 

[fokmik]

strange to be around G H keys...it should be on the aluminium part between the touchbar and the display
This is happening after 1-2 days until you updated to Mojave?

 

[IngerMan]

Warm Temps is subjective. You need to give actual temps. You can download intel power gadget for free or pay for a very popular app like iStats. I attached a screen shot of each program just browsing the web.

 

[204353]

Yes, these quad-core models do get warmer than the previous versions, but it's nothing to worry about.

 

[chickensoup]

Thanks for the replies, folks.

strange to be around G H keys...it should be on the aluminium part between the touchbar and the display
This is happening after 1-2 days until you updated to Mojave?

I am also a little perplexed by that. By I read a review somewhere that said the same thing - can't seem to find the source though.

Warm Temps is subjective. You need to give actual temps. You can download intel power gadget for free or pay for a very popular app like iStats. I attached a screen shot of each program just browsing the web.

I did run Mac Fan Control, and iStats, the usual temperatures are around 47-55 Celsius (116-155 farenheit) for the CPU temperatures, palm rests are around 30-35 Celsius (85-95 Fahrenheit) for medium load. Battery around 39 Celsius (100 farenheit) when charging and using the laptop.

Yes, these quad-core models do get warmer than the previous versions, but it's nothing to worry about.

Any ways to mitigate it?

 

[fokmik]

when you are using just safari, what temp your cpu have?

 

[chickensoup]

when you are using just safari, what temp your cpu have?

The same - around 50-55 Celsius

 

[fokmik]

The same - around 50-55 Celsius

a little to high...on mine the temp are around 38-40C with just safari open 2-3 tabs
Maybe your mac is still indexing? when did you installed Mojave?
[doublepost=1540043313][/doublepost]and i don't think is due that i have an base clock of 2.2 ghz and you 2.3 ghz i suppose

 

[chickensoup]

a little to high...on mine the temp are around 38-40C with just safari open 2-3 tabs
Maybe your mac is still indexing? when did you installed Mojave?
[doublepost=1540043313][/doublepost]and i don't think is due that i have an base clock of 2.2 ghz and you 2.3 ghz i suppose

Are you sure you have the quad-core? But nice temperatures

 

[fokmik]

I have the six core i7 2.2 Ghz

 

[chickensoup]

I have the six core i7 2.2 Ghz

Oh! You have the 15" right? I think the cooling is much better for the i7 15" (as compared to the i9s or the 13 inches).

But I am fairly certain that Mojave finished indexing...

 

[Hadron]

Are you sure you have the quad-core? But nice temperatures

My 13" i5 quad core is currently running around 38 C (cpu heatsink temp, enclosure base around 32). Safari (few tabs), Thunderbird, a large number of Sublime Text windows, one Excel window, and charging (though nearing full).

 

[Significant1]

Check your cpu usage. Some sketchy homepages are running crypto-mining in the background, making your machine run at full power. At least on Chrome you can block it with add-ons like MinerBlock. Dunno about safari..

 

[chickensoup]

My 13" i5 quad core is currently running around 38 C (cpu heatsink temp, enclosure base around 32). Safari (few tabs), Thunderbird, a large number of Sublime Text windows, one Excel window, and charging (though nearing full).

Wow. Nice temps. What OS X version are you running? Does the area between/around G + H ever get hot for you? Thanks.

 

[Hadron]

High Sierra, not had it long enough to give a definite answer on "ever" getting hot, but as others have said you usually expect to feel heat through the metal wrist rest rather than the plastic keys. Though if you look at the images in the iFixit tear-down it looks like the cpu heatsink is approximately in that region (I'd have guessed closer to the T+Y from the images, but it's hard to judge precisely), so it's not an implausible place to get warm. Are your fans running?

 

[chickensoup]

High Sierra, not had it long enough to give a definite answer on "ever" getting hot, but as others have said you usually expect to feel heat through the metal wrist rest rather than the plastic keys. Though if you look at the images in the iFixit tear-down it looks like the cpu heatsink is approximately in that region (I'd have guessed closer to the T+Y from the images, but it's hard to judge precisely), so it's not an implausible place to get warm. Are your fans running?

I just checked, and it seems like my fans are not running according to Mac Fan Control. Are your fans running? Did you change the profile?

I also just checked my heat sink temps, they are around 45 degrees when I have Spotify, word, and some tabs open....

 

[Hadron]

My fans aren't running and I didn't change the profile. I don't think 45 is problematic for a cpu, but you'd think that if the casing is heating then the fan should come on at some point.

 

[chickensoup]

My fans aren't running and I didn't change the profile. I don't think 45 is problematic for a cpu, but you'd think that if the casing is heating then the fan should come on at some point.

Interesting. I changed the profile to keep the fan always running and it's much better now.

Anyone know if this impacts battery life a lot? Or have some negative aspects?

 

[fokmik]

Interesting. I changed the profile to keep the fan always running and it's much better now.

Anyone know if this impacts battery life a lot? Or have some negative aspects?

I've heard that the 13" mbp at idle or light usage keeps the fans at 0 RPM...so i think thats the difference between mine and yours...so 45C for an fan-less situations is not a problem at all

 

[Hadron]

Well I've been using mine more heavily this morning while charging it, and the combination of the two pushed the temps up to 50 without any sign of the fans. At this point I could feel the keys at the top-centre of the board were warmer than those at the periphery (though not uncomfortably so, more what you'd expect if they were left in sunlight). So I don't think there's anything too unusual in what you saw.

(I know that 50 C is no problem for a cpu, so as long as the battery temp isn't excessive this isn't an issue).

 

[chickensoup]

Well I've been using mine more heavily this morning while charging it, and the combination of the two pushed the temps up to 50 without any sign of the fans. At this point I could feel the keys at the top-centre of the board were warmer than those at the periphery (though not uncomfortably so, more what you'd expect if they were left in sunlight). So I don't think there's anything too unusual in what you saw.

(I know that 50 C is no problem for a cpu, so as long as the battery temp isn't excessive this isn't an issue).

Ah thanks for the report! I still feel mine gets too hot after a little pushing... so I implemented a permanent 1250rpm fan profile, and it keeps it much cooler. I honestly do think Apple needs to rework the fan profiles given how many people complain about this.

 

[fokmik]

Yes, keeping the fans always on its the way to go...the 15" has that by default...i dont know why apple considered not to do the same for the 13"

 

[Ries]

Intel chips pushing more cores and higher clocks on the almost same 14nm process results in more heat. Don't expect it to get better before you get 10nm.

 

[maflynn]

The same - around 50-55 Celsius

That's not too warm, that's more or less normal.

 

[chickensoup]

Another question for you lovely peeps - I put my laptop to sleep last night with the lid closed, and this morning, I woke up to find the laptop shut off, and extremely hot everywhere. I presume the computer didn't go to sleep and was running all night (and then overheated). Perhaps this may be a bit of a stretch, but does anyone think that the heat would've damaged the screen or any other components? Thanks again!