[masugu]

Reminds me of the Bagels w/ Cream Cheese at Noah's :-)

[Gamoe]

You know it might be useful (or at least informative) if all the MacBook and MacBook Pro users could list their CPU temperatures while running idle and while running at maximum load. Maybe from this information we could discern which ones might have to much thermal paste and which ones might not.

[JAR]

Good idea, Gabriel. I'm new to Macs; is there a specific tool that people are using to measure the temps? I tried iStat and it does not display any temps. Someone else told me there are no tools out yet that can measure MB temps... but then how are other people here reporting temps?

Also, some people say the pics of the MB chips and heatsinks look normal, i.e. not too much thermal paste applied. Check this closeup from kodawarisan:
http://mactree.sannet.ne.jp/~kodawar...image/1417.jpg

I dunno about you guys but to me that looks like too much. Not ridiculously too much like Apple's instructions, but still too much. Look at all the gunk oozed on the sides of the heatsink, and the thick patches of paste on the heatsinks - that's bad.

[Seamus]

Stupid question: How does one remove thermal paste efficiently without damaging the chip? Is it okay to just scrape it off with a plastic ruler or something similar?

[Draco]

Originally Posted by Seamus

Stupid question: How does one remove thermal paste efficiently without damaging the chip? Is it okay to just scrape it off with a plastic ruler or something similar?

Rubbing alcohol and qtips... it will loosen up and start to wipe off. No need for something harsh like a ruler or anything metal.

[Gamoe]

Originally Posted by puffarthur

Good idea, Gabriel. I'm new to Macs; is there a specific tool that people are using to measure the temps? I tried iStat and it does not display any temps. Someone else told me there are no tools out yet that can measure MB temps... but then how are other people here reporting temps?

Welcome to the Mac, puffarthur! Perhaps you've hopped on at the most opportune time in recent history, with the Intel transition and all. On the matter of temperature reading: I don't know much about that either, but check out what this guy says on the Ars Technica MacBook review (p. 4):

Originally Posted by Clint Ecker

To test out the temperatures, I loaded up an application called CoreDuoTemp that loads a kernel extension and then monitors the machine's temperature, processor speed, and CPU loading. I then put together a python script that looked like the following:

import math
while 1:
for x in range(10000):
y = math.cos(x)

I then ran two instances of this script in order to peg both processor cores.

[Simon]

Originally Posted by puffarthur

Good idea, Gabriel. I'm new to Macs; is there a specific tool that people are using to measure the temps? I tried iStat and it does not display any temps. Someone else told me there are no tools out yet that can measure MB temps... but then how are other people here reporting temps?

You could try CoreDuoTemp.

[JAR]

Gabriel, Simon, thanks for the welcome and the links. I just installed Coreduotemp and I'll be testing the temps under different CPU loads. Any ideas on what programs I can run that will max out the CPU?

[clbell]

A lot of these issues have been discussed in detail in the Apple MBP forums. I am a MBP owner that had a very hot computer and decided to do something about it myself. I didn't get a chance to measure the temps before the operation but using the postings of others as far as temps go, I decreased the max temp my processor reaches by about 30C. It really was a major difference in my case. My idle temp now is about 47C and max is about 57C.

Here is one of my posts on the subject:
http://discussions.apple.com/message...305896#2305896

Here is a temp graph screenshot after the surgery:
http://www.pbase.com/eclecticphoto/image/60056125

This is what was used to create the graph (Install and run CoreDuoTemp before running Hardware Monitor):
http://www.bresink.de/osx/HardwareMonitor.html

Here is the correct method to apply thermal paste which I followed religiously:
http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_s...structions.htm

By the way, I just wiped off the existed paste really well with paper towels. I used no chemicals. Someone previously asked about it.

[stebert7837]

clbell,

I've created a new site that allows you to easily submit temperature information and view the entries in a chart with different filtering options available. We'll be able to see if there are any trends in serial and manufacturer dates, MacBook Pros vs MacBooks vs iMacs, compare similar configurations, factory vs modded thermal paste and a lot more.

Take a look at http://www.intelmactemp.com and submit your temperature readings. Read the Howto before doing the temperature measures.

Feel free to mention the site whenever you see fit.

-ivc

[JAR]

Quick update after using CoreDuoTemp:

At first boot it idled around 50C, which only made the bottom slightly warm. After a while, idling around 5-10% CPU the temps were around 65C. If the CPU went to 25-50%, even briefly, the temps shot up to 70C easily. That is frightening to me because on my Athlon 64 desktop, I have it automatically shut down if the temps exceed 65C to avoid damaging the CPU and motherboard.

ivc, I will submit my info on the database as soon as I have time.

[Cadaver]

My MacBook Pro, 2.16GHz (W8612... serial #) idles at about 55°C, and peaks at about 78°C under full load. Not bad for a mobile processor. High for a desktop part, but acceptable for a mobile CPU.

[baw]

[Simon]

Nice one.

[Star-Fire]

LOL, that's to funny!!

[alphasubzero949]

Apple Legal should be here shortly to demand that those pics be taken down. Just remember what happened to SomethingAwful for posting pics from the official Apple MBP manual.

I, for one, will be sticking with my PowerBook for a long time to come. Then again, us PowerBook G4 owners also seem to have CPU sandwiches as well (Link).

iBook owners have nothing to fear as thermal pads were used.

[JoeGuido]

Originally Posted by Gee4orce

Hello, the voice of reason here:

Apple is one of the worlds biggest computer companies, and their machines are manufactured by some of the biggest fabricators in the world.

Do you not thing they know what they are doing ?

From my experience as an engineer in electronics manufacturing there are many simple explainations for such mistakes. Typically development engineers write a tehcnical specification, that goes to the manufacturing plant. The technical specification is then put into a manufacturing specification which is what the techs on the floor follow.
One simple mistake could have been the technical specification from the design team said to use 2cc of thermal compound, when infact they really meant 0.2cc. Or it said 2g which got interpreted as 2cc by the manufacturing engineers trying to convert it to something an operator on the manufacturing floor could more easily follow, forgetting that although 1cc water = 1g, thermal compound is denser.
Then typically you have a trainer, who may or may not be involved in the actual content of the manufacturing spec, who takes the pictures according to the wrong specification, and trains the techs on the floor. Even if the techs are experienced and know its the wrong amount of compound, they are still forced to follow it. It's also possible they communicated back up their chain of command, but since the manufacturing is probably subcontracted, even the manufacturing engineers and supervisors can't enact changes without permission from the customer. And customers don't like being told they are wrong.

Everybody knows what they are doing, just a simple mistake or poor communication can result in big problems.

Now that the issue has been discovered, why hasn't it been fixed? Bureaucracy. First Apple has to fix the the technical specifications, then communicate it to the manufacturer. Then new manufacturing specs need to be written up, new pictures and training done, then a new round of testing done to ensure quality and reliability (make sure they didn't go too far the other way and not have enough grease). Once all those things are done, they can implement it on products for customers.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by servognome

Everybody knows what they are doing, just a simple mistake or poor communication can result in big problems.

Very well said. Communication is a terrible thing to waste!

[stuffedmonkey]

Heh. This is now on the front of Powerpage, with pix and this thread referenced by name.

[jamil5454]

We've seen in the past that Steve has often preferred quiet operation over heat dissipation in his Macs, even if it meant system instability.

I wouldn't be suprised if the MacBook/Pro is one of those cases.

[Draco]

Originally Posted by jamil5454

We've seen in the past that Steve has often preferred quiet operation over heat dissipation in his Macs, even if it meant system instability.

I wouldn't be suprised if the MacBook/Pro is one of those cases.

Somehow I doubt Mr. Jobs would sanction unstable machines just to cut down on a little noise pollution.