macbook pro is literally 'cooler' than macbook

[MRU]

We have in the house now 2 macbooks (white & black) and a MacBook Pro.

All three machines are 2ghz Core Duo - 2gb Ram

The white macbook seems to hover around 55c and can rise to 75c when on full load.

The black macbook fares a little cooler with temp hovering around 51c and can also rise to 68-72c on full load

The macbook pro is so much cooler. It seems to hover around 40c and rises to 55c on full load. And to add to this - my macbook pro is additionaly inside a clear speck shield case which would increase heat you would have thought.

Even with SMC fan control 2 - my macbook pro at 1000rpm remains around 40c whilst surfing etc, and yet the macbooks are 50c + and are at 2000-3000rpm

So my question is WHY ? Is the cooling solution in the macbook pro so much better, or is the macbook a simply a very flawed design.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Ultimately, the temp isn't going to matter as much as the perceived temp. I would guess that the perceived temp is a lot cooler in the macBook because it is plastic, so it doesn't have to be as efficient as the Pro model, which radiates heat quite well, but "feels" much hotter. because it feels hotter, it needs to have a better cooling system so that it's not burning hot. I hope this made sense.

 

[djpl]

That's funny, my parents have a 1.83 Macbook CD and I have a 2.16 MBP CD. Mine seems to run MUCH hotter, but then again, I am using more than just Safari and Mail.

 

[Chile Mac]

I think that the differences between MB and MBP is entirely a technic fact: the MB have only one fan, (dont know if MB C2D have one or two fans) and the MBP's have two fans.
Hope to help with this.

 

[DaLurker]

I don't know how you keep it at 40 degrees c, mine idles around 56 degrees c. Still cooler than my Macbook though.

We have in the house now 2 macbooks (white & black) and a MacBook Pro.

All three machines are 2ghz Core Duo - 2gb Ram

The white macbook seems to hover around 55c and can rise to 75c when on full load.

The black macbook fares a little cooler with temp hovering around 51c and can also rise to 68-72c on full load

The macbook pro is so much cooler. It seems to hover around 40c and rises to 55c on full load. And to add to this - my macbook pro is additionaly inside a clear speck shield case which would increase heat you would have thought.

Even with SMC fan control 2 - my macbook pro at 1000rpm remains around 40c whilst surfing etc, and yet the macbooks are 50c + and are at 2000-3000rpm

So my question is WHY ? Is the cooling solution in the macbook pro so much better, or is the macbook a simply a very flawed design.

 

[dvader]

We have in the house now 2 macbooks (white & black) and a MacBook Pro.

All three machines are 2ghz Core Duo - 2gb Ram

The white macbook seems to hover around 55c and can rise to 75c when on full load.

The black macbook fares a little cooler with temp hovering around 51c and can also rise to 68-72c on full load

The macbook pro is so much cooler. It seems to hover around 40c and rises to 55c on full load. And to add to this - my macbook pro is additionaly inside a clear speck shield case which would increase heat you would have thought.

Even with SMC fan control 2 - my macbook pro at 1000rpm remains around 40c whilst surfing etc, and yet the macbooks are 50c + and are at 2000-3000rpm

So my question is WHY ? Is the cooling solution in the macbook pro so much better, or is the macbook a simply a very flawed design.

I applaud your mini experiment.

 

[djellison]

Perhaps the metallic chassis of the MBP is acting as a heat sink of some sort?

There was a phase of PC mod-culture when everyone was raving about aluminium cases because they would help get rid of heat.

Doug

 

[MRU]

I don't know how you keep it at 40 degrees c, mine idles around 56 degrees c. Still cooler than my Macbook though.

mmm. I'm doing nothing special as far as I'm aware.

The only thing different about my mbp compared to our mb's is the fact it was a refurb.

 

[taildragger]

Aluminum "pulls" heat away, acting like a big heat sink. While this might actually make the machine cooler, the aluminum transfers heat a much much faster rate to you, which is why it feels hotter, that and the exterior is probably hotter as well.

 

[nazmac21]

The MacBook probably runs cooler because it's plastic and MacBook Pro's aluminum case is a good thermal conductor(heat included).

 

[Chile Mac]

The MacBook probably runs cooler because it's plastic and MacBook Pro's aluminum case is a good thermal conductor(heat included).

The OP is talking about inside temperature, or not? I ask this because I'm looking a small confussion about on what we talk. According to what I read, the OP ask why the MBP is cooler than MB... not the other way.

 

[Cybix]

my MBP's cpu was around 85C the other day.

I thought this was a thread on 'how cool' (looks) more than literally temp.

The macbook looks cute, the MBP looks more professional and 'ardcore.

Right now, idling, iStat says my MBP is 71 C cpu, 48 C heatsink A, 63C GPU heatsink, 45C heatsink B, 55C GPU.

Fan 1 is spinning at 1001rpm, Fan 0 at 999rpm

 

[NewSc2]

The OP is talking about inside temperature, or not? I ask this because I'm looking a small confussion about on what we talk. According to what I read, the OP ask why the MBP is cooler than MB... not the other way.

The MBP has better heat dissipation with its aluminum case than the MB does, so the insides will run cooler. It's also bigger than the MB, so the hotter components don't need to be as close together.

 

[Chile Mac]

The MBP has better heat dissipation with its aluminum case than the MB does, so the insides will run cooler. It's also bigger than the MB, so the hotter components don't need to be as close together.

Ok... thanks for the aclaration.