Worrying Statistics.

[Riverrun]

Hi Folks,

My MacBook (2.16 GHz, Intel Core 2 Duo, 2 Gb Ram) is less than a month old.

At times, particularly if I watch video clips for 20 m. or so, CPU will shoot up to 25%, the temperature will rise to as much as 72 degrees Celsius (162 Fahrenheit) and the fan will rotate at up to 8,000 rpm.

Do these statistics signal trouble?

If my PC was behaving like this, I would be very worried.

When I drew their attention to this in the shop where I bought the computer, the assistants told me not to worry. Hmm, I wonder about that.

The source of these statistics? iStat pro.

It's been like this from day one and I'd like to know if this normal behaviour for a Mac or does it indicate trouble?

 

[iBookG4user]

Try using handbrake to rip a DVD to your MacBook, that will max out your processor, then tell us the temperatures after its almost done. Although those temps do seem a bit high for only using 25% of the processor.

 

[Wolfpup]

I don't know about the rest of it, but 25% CPU utilization doesn't sound terrible, depending on what's being played back. Flash ads and the like can chew up a ton of CPU power too (more than that sometimes).

 

[Animalk]

I have the same model as you and as far as i'm concerned, 6000rpm is the max these fans are set to by the factory. Also 72C for a 25% load is on the high side. Try full load as suggested by others and see what temps you get. Anything more then 80C, in my opinion, deserves Apple's attention.

 

[Riverrun]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I'll keep a close eye on how she performs over the next while.

Odd that about the fan, Animalk. You're the second person that told me the speed shouldn't exceed 6,000. Mine gets close to 8,000 at times.

 

[polycat33]

It's probably no biggie but see what maxing it out does to the temp.

My fans start spinning faster sometimes when I'm just surfing these forums!? Sometimes I think it's bad to know so much about what's going on. Ignorance is bliss.

 

[Osarkon]

My Core Duo macbook acts exactly the same.

I don't know about the fans not designed to go past 6000rpm, mine have hit 7200rpm before, probably higher.

It doesn't seem to do any damage (or at least it better not be).

 

[joehack]

A little bit of topic, but how loud does your MPB gets?

Thanks!

Jochen

 

[BlackMax]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I'll keep a close eye on how she performs over the next while.

Odd that about the fan, Animalk. You're the second person that told me the speed shouldn't exceed 6,000. Mine gets close to 8,000 at times.

Wow, 6000-8000 seems really high. I have a Black MacBook C2D 2.0 GHz and I've never seen my fan get above 3800. The temperature has gone up to 70 degrees centigrade, but my fan has never gone above 3800.