Thermals on M2 Pro MacBook Pro

[Performa640]

Hey all -

I got a brand-new 14-inch M2 Pro MacBook Pro with 16GB of unified memory and a 1TB SSD a little over a week ago, and I'm absolutely loving it - but I have one question that's been kind of nagging at me since I've been using it. I installed iStat Menus so that I could see what's going on internally, and was surprised to see that the MacBook temperature seems to sit at 100 degrees Celsius, and sometimes jumps up to 107, 108, 110 for a couple of moments. When I went back to the Apple Store to purchase an iPad Mini (which I also absolutely love), I asked the employee with whom I was working about the MacBook temps, and he reassured me that there was no reason for me to be concerned - basically, he told me that powerful laptops like the MacBook Pro are designed and built to run hotter for longer. I've been using iStat Menus to turn on the internal fans when I see the temperature go up, but I haven't seen the MacBook go below 100 degrees for longer than a few seconds, and then it only goes down to 98 or 99 degrees before going right back up to 100.

The keyboard and palm rests are never hot. They don't even get warm to the touch. And the performance is always top-notch.

So, I guess what I'm asking is...is this really normal? Is there really no reason for concern? Intellectually, I can accept and understand it if that's indeed the case, but emotionally, I'm like, "Oh no! This is my baby! How can I help it to cool down?" I've got it sitting on a cooling pad, but this one is kind of old and probably not powerful enough, so I'm probably going to get a more powerful one soon. Is there anything else I can, or should, do? Or is this truly not something about which I should be worried?

Thanks in advance for any and all replies.

 

[quagmire]

Is it at 100 C when just idling? Or is it hitting 100 C when it is under load?

Idling, yeah not normal.

Under heavy load, would say normal. M2 seems to get to 100 C easier/quicker over M1. Apple tends to let it get hot before spinning up the fans.

 

[NikkoTuason]

I just edit my fan rules through iStats. It does seem odd why Apple only runs the fans when the CPU reaches 96C. But running stock settings my M2 Pro running Resident Evil Village or running CineBench will reach 100C.

 

[Performa640]

Is it at 100 C when just idling? Or is it hitting 100 C when it is under load?

Idling, yeah not normal.

Under heavy load, would say normal. M2 seems to get to 100 C easier/quicker over M1. Apple tends to let it get hot before spinning up the fans.

Okay, I'm going to try something here. I'm going to quit out of Brave and Apple Mail, and close the one Finder window I've got open, then let the MacBook sit idle for a few minutes. We'll see if the temperature drops at all, and then I'll report back.

 

[quagmire]

Okay, I'm going to try something here. I'm going to quit out of Brave and Apple Mail, and close the one Finder window I've got open, then let the MacBook sit idle for a few minutes. We'll see if the temperature drops at all, and then I'll report back.

Sounds like you mean it is hitting 100C when just idling/no load....

Gonna have to ask the stupid question here..... Do you have iStat Menu set to read Fahrenheit? As my 14" MBP M1 Pro idles at around 100 degrees Fahrenheit or 40 degrees C.....

 

[Performa640]

I'm an idiot. iStat is showing Fahrenheit, not Celsius. Could somebody please delete this thread before I die of embarrassment?

 

[dmccloud]

I'm an idiot. iStat is showing Fahrenheit, not Celsius. Could somebody please delete this thread before I die of embarrassment?

Actually, something like this can help others verify their settings. Better to share information and give everyone a chance to be on the same page than to hide it. The vast majority of users here won't judge you for it, because they've probably done the same thing themselves once upon a time.