MBP's heat is pissing me off, how are the Macbooks?

[erkanasu]

First off, i love this computer in almost all aspects. I can play games, great screen, my first mac, and its sexy. But when im on the road, or in germany like i am right now, and i dont have a desk, this beast is going anywhere but my lap from the intense heat. I seriously get sweaty if i place it on my lap too long, and therefor i avoid it sometimes.
How hot are the Macbooks? I would feel stupid to downgrade my self based purley on heat, but this ****ing thing is annoyingly hot. What do you guys think? Should I stop being a *****? haha

 

[Sequence]

The Macbook is also very hot... The major difference I think is that the Macbook is made of plastic so the heat stays on the back. On the other side, the MBP is made of aluminium so the heat propagate everywhere or almost everywhere. We could always arrange a trade

 

[Cooknn]

The MacBook probably stays a little cooler because of the integrated graphics as well...

 

[xfiftyfour]

my macbook doesn't get very hot at all. i don't know, i seem to be the only one that thinks so? i had a powerbook before this and it definitely ran HOT, so perhaps this is just a big relief for me.

 

[nickelbackmac]

my macbook doesn't get very hot at all.

I have a 17" MBP and a blackbook they NEVER get hot...

 

[vv-tim]

From most of the reports I've heard, the MacBook actually runs hotter than the MacBook Pro. Whether the case temperature is above that of the MacBook Pro or not I am unsure of, but it is hotter inside.

 

[aristobrat]

I returned three MacBook Pros because I didn't like how hot they got. Ended up with a white MacBook.

I wouldn't say that the MacBook is a cool notebook, but for me, it was "cooler" enough in the right areas, so I'm pretty happy.

On and around the MB keyboard area, the top left area gets warm, but not as hot as the left speaker area of the MBPs that I used. The place where you wrest your wrists stays warm, but again, a fair bit cooler than the MPBs.

As for the bottom of the MB, it's only the upper left side (by the MagSafe area) that gets hot hot. The rest is still very warm, but not as extreme as those MPBs that I used were.

 

[w7ox]

My Black MacBook is not unpleasantly warm.

But yesterday I did pick up a Targus Chill Mat. It has a couple of quiet fans which pull heat out the back .. and provides an insulator between the MacBook and my lap (or furniture). Fans are powered from usb port.

A test I read shows this device does make the CPUs run a tad cooler. The bottom of the MacBook definitely stays cooler.

Phil

 

[keysersoze]

My Black MacBook is not unpleasantly warm.

But yesterday I did pick up a Targus Chill Mat. It has a couple of quiet fans which pull heat out the back .. and provides an insulator between the MacBook and my lap (or furniture). Fans are powered from usb port.

A test I read shows this device does make the CPUs run a tad cooler. The bottom of the MacBook definitely stays cooler.

Phil

Targus Chill Mat is by far one of the best accessories for a notebook computer. Just say NO to scrotum scorching.

 

[erkanasu]

Targus Chill Mat is by far one of the best accessories for a notebook computer. Just say NO to scrotum scorching.

hahha amen

 

[lonepilgrim]

On and around the MB keyboard area, the top left area gets warm, but not as hot as the left speaker area of the MBPs that I used. The place where you wrest your wrists stays warm, but again, a fair bit cooler than the MPBs.

I quite like the top of my MBP getting warm - reminds me that it's very bad for one's wrists to rest them while typing.

 

[count chocula]

my black macbook gets hot, but it isnt too bad. i've had it on my lap for about an hour and a half and it its certainly bearable.

 

[erkanasu]

So I just got back from Saturn( Germany's Bestbuy), and they had the macbooks on display, they are kinda cute... but there is just no way i could convince my self to ditch the mbp... i love this computer, even if i can't have children anymore. Im going to have to blow some money on a decent cooler...

 

[generik]

Perhaps someone should get a MBP, a Dell, a Thinkpad, all of which are running on the same processor, and using one of those thermal probe thingamajids measure the temperature off the base of each laptop, and post conclusive results once and for all showing that... the MBP is not really hotter than the competition.

Then again it might be, but if it weren't so I'd be glad to finally see all that 2nd guessing and whining amongst the Macheads put to rest.

 

[dmw007]

So I just got back from Saturn( Germany's Bestbuy), and they had the macbooks on display, they are kinda cute... but there is just no way i could convince my self to ditch the mbp... i love this computer, even if i can't have children anymore. Im going to have to blow some money on a decent cooler...

Good idea, just spend some money on a decent cooling device. You will be sorry if you downgrade from a MacBook Pro to a MacBook.

 

[Zadillo]

Perhaps someone should get a MBP, a Dell, a Thinkpad, all of which are running on the same processor, and using one of those thermal probe thingamajids measure the temperature off the base of each laptop, and post conclusive results once and for all showing that... the MBP is not really hotter than the competition.

Then again it might be, but if it weren't so I'd be glad to finally see all that 2nd guessing and whining amongst the Macheads put to rest.

Actually, someone has done almost exactly what you described:

http://www.krischeonline.com/staticpages/index.php?page=macbook

The average temps actually are not that different, but as you can see at the end of it, there is a quadrant of the bottom of the MBP that registers as almost 120 degrees after the end of playing a movie, and the hottest quadrant of the Dell is about 106 degrees. On the top of the laptop, the upper left-hand quadrant of the MBP is 102 degrees, and only 93.4 degrees on the Dell.

So, clearly, this is at least one example of some incredibly hot temperatures with the MBP compared to a Dell.

 

[plinden]

Good idea, just spend some money on a decent cooling device. You will be sorry if you downgrade from a MacBook Pro to a MacBook.

Over the weekend, when the temperature in our house reached 35˚C (95˚F) (we're near San Francisco, on the peninsula just over the top of the ridge on the bay side, where it never gets that hot, and we never need A/C), we had a humungous (about the size of a 20" iMac) fan running.

It was too hot to sit anywhere but near the fan, so to get my daily Mac fix, I sat directly in front of it using my wife's MacBook, so the air flow was directly over the MacBook. I was curious about how hot the CPU was getting, considering how hot I felt, so I started Core Duo Temperature. The temperature was 10-15˚C lower than normal - about 50˚C compared to 60-65˚C.

So if you don't have a cooling device or can't currently afford one, an ordinary fan might just work until you get one.

I suppose I should do some research into fan sizes and the cooling effect, but I have only one fan.

And of course, that defeats the purpose of the silent operation of the MacBook ...

 

[generik]

Actually, someone has done almost exactly what you described:

http://www.krischeonline.com/staticpages/index.php?page=macbook

The average temps actually are not that different, but as you can see at the end of it, there is a quadrant of the bottom of the MBP that registers as almost 120 degrees after the end of playing a movie, and the hottest quadrant of the Dell is about 106 degrees. On the top of the laptop, the upper left-hand quadrant of the MBP is 102 degrees, and only 93.4 degrees on the Dell.

So, clearly, this is at least one example of some incredibly hot temperatures with the MBP compared to a Dell.

The test was for a MB vs a Dell... how does the MBP fare against the MB then?

I suppose with the aluminium enclosure it should be better right?

 

[aristobrat]

The test was for a MB vs a Dell... how does the MBP fare against the MB then?

I suppose with the aluminium enclosure it should be better right?

This page shows the MacBook Pro bottom temp at 114'F & 116'F, but it wasn't after playing a DVD for 1.5 hours, so I'm not sure how it directly compares:
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/mac/2006/05/23/thermal-paste-question.html?page=3

I don't have the link to the thread, but folks were comparing their MBP case temperatures and the bar above the function keys was 130'F on most.

 

[Zadillo]

The test was for a MB vs a Dell... how does the MBP fare against the MB then?

I suppose with the aluminium enclosure it should be better right?

Ahh, sorry, you're right, just the regular MB.

I'm not so sure the MBP would be better though. The aluminum does help dissipate heat more, but that could still leave the surface and bottom very hot (which seems to be people's main complaint). Plus, you would seem to have extra heat generated from the ATI X1600.

-Zadillo

 

[ironic23]

Try getting an iLap for your MBP. It should cool it down substantially while using it. I'll try and get you some numbers for comparisons as i gather the data.

 

[erkanasu]

Try getting an iLap for your MBP. It should cool it down substantially while using it. I'll try and get you some numbers for comparisons as i gather the data.

Thanks alot!