My MacBook smells like a hot iron
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Quick poll for MacBook users as I am becoming ever worrisome of the temperatures this incredible machine creates. With four applications running – Firefox, Mail, Newsfire, and TextMate – the little shiny white thing that could hovers around 70 degrees celcius. That doesn’t seem too high, let’s convert that into fahrenheit shall we? How does 153 degrees fahrenheit from a Core Duo MacBook sound?
I’m just curious, but does anyone else’s MacBook smell like a hot iron? The next time your MacBook is starting to feel a little toasty, stick your nose near the USB / Firewire ports and take a quick whiff and let me know what you smell. Apple is so right! These aren’t laptops. These are notebooks.
Anyhow, I’m nearing a month and a half on this MacBook. Look for a great hands-on review soon which focuses on the actual value of the machine.
Hmm, Rather Bizzare. I have a 2.16Ghz (15.4″) Core Duo MacBook Pro with 2GB of RAM and 7200RPM hard drive, and the processor temperature hasn’t ever been over 52 degrees Celcius, even when the processor has been running at 2.16 Ghz. The extremities of the case have never been over 35ish degrees, even running BF2 at full spec. I swear this MBP is cooler in temperature than my iBook G4 12″.
The ONLY time it’s been hot is when it’s installed Windows XP. And that’s because it was sitting at the install screen for a fat hour because the serial key that came with my OEM didn’t work.
*Kills Microsoft*
If you’re getting concerned about temperatures however, purchase an MacMice iBreeze or a Targus Tornado Chillpad. Good investments IMO.
Ok now I’m ot happy. I heard MacBook run cooler than their sibling MacBook Pros. Senda screenie to tips@uneasysilence.com with your apps and current temp so I can do a little homework on the matter.
I have an IBM Tablet which is about the same size as your MacBook Pro and it frequently runs at ~150ish and the hard drive tends to get a bit hotter when actually being used. I have had it working perfectly fine for about a year now, so I’m sure the hardware can handle the heat, if not your lap. Although if mine ever breaks I’ll have a tech at my door the next day to fix it. :) I would recomend getting a warrenty like that :-d
did you get the new firmware update yet? that’s solved a lot of people’s heat problems, but it also makes them go slightly slower :(.
A lot come factory standard with the firmware update. (Mine did.)
I’ll send you a screenie soon Derek, I only ever tend to use all 2.16Ghz when I’m using Final Cut Pro and Motion, (I get more footage tomorrow :D).
My experiences with MacBooks and MacBook Pro’s however have been nothing but fine when It comes to heat (And I work at an Apple Service Center, so I do see a few).
Might be because I’m Australian and we’re used to the heat, But I really dont notice any Mac Notebook being too hot… We’re yet to see a MBP or MB come in for heat issues either. =\
Hey guyz, just curious where can i get the current temp of the cpu?
I’ve also got some questions regarding macbook:
1. I heard my hardisk “mooing” when it is really quiet around me. Is this normal?
2. Sometimes, my iSight (the grren light) automatically turned on when I turn on my macbook. I had to shut it down and start it again to get rid of this problem, while restarting doesnt work. What cause this?
Thanks guys. Other than that, I love my Macbook really much. ;)
IkonQ:
Try running final cut pro, or compressor 2 for about 2 hours and youll see it get up there in temperature. Exporting through compressor 2 to 1080 or 720 HD video will get it up to 80 celcius in about 2 minutes. Ive had it running before exporting video for about 5 hours at once, runs SUPER HOT, but works like a charm. I was perfectly comfortable with this though, since it is a Mac.
If you wouldn’t mind, Derek, once you get the screenshot from ikonQ, could you post it? I’m really curious about any MBP that stays at those kinds of temperatures. Mine floats around 60 C under regular load (browsing, chatting, etc).
ikonQ: What week is your machine?
Here\’s Ians screenie. This isn\’t the first that I\’ve seen at these types of temps.
http://aycu07.webshots.com/image/326/1747697204629571032_rs.jpg
FWIW, here’s mine: http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/30/picture20zx.png
Still waiting on ikonQ’s screen of his amazing temperatures…
Yours looks to be running at acceptable normal levels.
Reading this i wondered how it would go on my iMac…
Running almost the same programs (Safari, Mail, NewsFire)
http://img209.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0033qm.jpg
Note: My iMac did a very annoying sound when i ran the CoreDuoTemp app. Deleted as soon i took the screenshot…
Derek: Not very acceptable if you ask me… Note the temperature is in Celsius, not Fahrenheit. When on battery power, I can use it in my lap (not bare skin, but with pants on, which is 100% of the time :D). But I’d like it to idle around 50C or less; this is ideal. it idles in the 60s right now.
Also, check out this: http://www.tuaw.com/2006/07/07/apple-quietly-responds-to-whining-of-macbook-pros/
People are claiming it fixes the whine and, in some cases, even the heat. Let’s hope this fixes everything and I can get my MBP fixed through AppleCare.
Here’s a screenshot of the temp in F: http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/8945/picture19tt.png
And just for fun, in Kelvin: http://img48.imageshack.us/img48/8117/picture26vs.png
Ah thanks for the updates. I would love to see the temp drop on mine as well. While plastic and metal deal with heat differently, I can agree that using these machines for prolonged periods on your lap can be mildly uncomfortable.
Mine has the whine also. It’s much louder when on AC power, and seems to disappear when on battery power. However, I can’t hear the whine at all in my usual environments. I can only hear it at night when not a creature is stirring, not even a mouse.
I think once the new MLB story develops further, I’ll try calling AppleCare for a repair, say, in early August.
[...] Hey, I believe it’s possible. My MacBook gets up to 159 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s definitely hot enough to slowly make a sunny side up egg to go. [...]
Well, I just recently got a MacBook 2.0GHz, 1GB of RAM. I was worried about heat issues, but have discovered none. In fact, I had never heard the fan come on (And I hate noise) until I tried maxing out the CPU and letting it sit here. While using the computer on my lap, I’ve felt it get warm but not hot, and it’s EASILY cooler than my Dell D800 2.0GHz Pentium M. Also, the fan is still VERY quiet at the temperature I’m posting. This is all the hotter it got. I’m quite satisfied, even if 178 degrees is quite hot, it’s still handling it quite well. (Note that this converts to around 82 degrees Celcius)
http://homepage.mac.com/codydh/stuff/temp.png
yeah yeah, that’s A FACT, thanx APPLE, for that expensive HEATER…
AN EGG !!! waaaaoh !! i wont need that machine at home
where is the sony pc model ???
My macbook normals out at around 135 degrees, but it has been up to over 180 before. I think part of the problem is Apple’s natural tendency to release a new product and have the first of that new product be buggy and have some defects. My MacBook seems to have a common problem that’s well-known to MacBook users, where the cooling fan doesn’t kick in until it becomes way too hot. Oh well.
Hmm…I got mine about 2 weeks ago. It worked amazing, no problems except for it being slightly slow with some programs even though I maxed it out at 2gigs of Ram (I have the Black MacBook by the way ;) After updating the software and to 10.4.7, works AMAZING! The fan only kicked in when I was importing hundreds of photos to iPhoto as well as when I’m doing serious computing stuffs with loads of programs running. Maybe I’m lucky, but the MacBook just gets warm, no where new as scorching as my aging, but still well-loved, Dell Inspiron Pentium 4-M based laptop. I dropped it the very day I got it, and it stopped working! Jz a slight bump! But a quick trip to the local dealer proved what I thought happened, the hdd connector came off, and after plugging off and on again, works like a charm…but I feel the MacBook is hotter than before…or maybe I’m jz being paranoid that I’ve ‘hurt’ my new baby…LOL. Anyways, all fears aside, I think the MacBook is a solid machine and I’m just loving it so much…EXCEPT that iron smell! Maybe i’m very sensitive to smells, but jz typing this now, I can catch a whiff of it! Another use for the MacBook (this is no exxageration), you want the crisp bed sheets look? Use your macbook on your bed, and move it up and down! Realli, it DOES work!
my macbook pro right hand fan just died, and it was runing hot anyway,
and now it is running at 90 celcius, which might cook the processor…. better get it fixed….
the right hand fan started making a squeaking noise that got worse and worse over the day, then it just stopped suddenly, and no air is being blown out of the right hand side of the grille at the back….. hasnt crashed yet…
I love MACs but I recently brought a Macbook 1.82 Ghz and its slower than my Powerbook G4 633 MHz. It has the following problems:
1. the iron smell – its horrible and making me sick.
2. it gets hot after an hour – I haven’t measured the temperature – not acceptable since my other Macs and PCs don’t get this hot.
3. Like I said before, its really slow. It’s 1.83 Ghz – it shouldn’t be slow especially when its a new machine and I haven’t done much with it.
4. I hear grinding/mooing sound sometimes but this is definitely not the CD burner.
I’m taking it into the Mac store and requesting a new one. It’s only been 5 days since I brought the machine.
[...] At times, I joke that to own a modern laptop portable, you need to pack a small generator. But as these portable space heaters laptops, become more power hungry with their larger screens, and faster processors, it is impossible to plug them into the 12 volt sockets provided in cars and airplanes. [...]
mine smells like an iron too, and as I write this (I only have the following programs running; firefox, mail, ichat, text edit) my cpu is 145F.