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javadesigner · Oct 24, 2004, 10:02 AM

Hi all:

I will be purchasing a 15" powerbook and was wondering:
how hot does the 1.33 get vs. the 1.5 ? Is there an
appreciable difference between the two (that can be
felt on your lap) ?

Experiences ?

Best regards,

--j

fisherKing · Oct 24, 2004, 10:23 AM

my gf has the 1.5, and it doesnt get too hot at all
(not like my 12" pb

)

a great machine, worth the extra $.

Ryan1524 · Oct 24, 2004, 02:41 PM

the hottest it ever got on my 1.5 Ghz 15" is when it's plugged in and doing heavy work. with this setup, the hottest i ever got to was 63C. when doing regular stuff, web browsing, listening to music, etc...it hovers around 53-57C. merely warm, and most of it towards the back, so i don't feel a lot of heat while typing.

when it's not plugged in, the most likely situation when it's on your lap, the temp hovers around 43-47. which is not hot at all.

Snake · Oct 25, 2004, 10:51 AM

My 1.33 stays cool when I have it on my lap using safari or X-Chat Aqua. If, however, I start running CPU intensive apps, then the temperature skyrockets. Forget about playing chess on any surface besides a flat one.

Sometimes I will run SNES 9x to play some old school games, and it always causes the fan to kick on. I can't imagine there being a huge difference in heat between the two processors.

Peter Stevens · Oct 25, 2004, 01:42 PM

Hi All,

This is one problem which has been plaguing me since buying my new PB (15" 1.5GHz running OS X 10.3.5) a few months ago. As a professional photographer I mainly run Photoshop CS, batch processing 18Mb image files - up to 300+ in a single session. I've had a number of unexpected kernel panics and can only put this down to the excessive temperature generated.

I ran Thermograph X to monitor CPU temperatures and they were >150?F. A solution, which seems to have helped, is to prop up the rear edge of the PB on a tubular metal bar, raising it about 2" up off the desk to increase the airflow underneath. It's attached with velcro and the tubular bar is covered in rubber to prevent it slipping backwards. It's a very Heath-Robinson solution, but does have the added benefit of making typing slightly more comfortable.

I'd welcome any further comments on this subject.

Pete,
London UK

iREZ · Oct 25, 2004, 04:03 PM

Kernel panics are also a result of bad ram, maybe that's the culprit. You should always use some sort of ventilation apparatus when doing intensive stuff with your PB, even two rubber eraser at the rear will help in ventilation as well.

As for the 1.33 and 1.5, I really don't see why one would run hotter than the other. Maybe if you had the 1.5 with 5400+ HD and 128MB of VRAM fully loaded to 2 gigs, then I'm sure a stock 1.33 will run slightly cooler by maybe three-five degrees farenheit, but thats only in a certain situation.

Peter Stevens · Oct 26, 2004, 01:18 AM

Thanks iREZ,

I'll look into investigating if the RAM could be part of the problem too. I'm planning on fully loading it to 2Gb in the not too distant future, when prices fall slightly. I'm also wondering how much more heat could be generated by doubling the RAM. It's possible that the CPU is running at full speed already and an increase in RAM will not have any noticeable effect on either performance and/or heat generation....

We'll see.

Pete