[VValdo]

Hey all-- I just installed SL on my macbook pro (3,1) about 12 hours ago and have noticed the fan coming on MUCH more frequently, especially when playing video (flash or iChat... doesn't seem to matter). The laptop- er, notebook- seems to be running much hotter overall too.

I've tried resetting the power manager (shutdown, remove power cord & battery, & hold power button down for 10 seconds) to no avail.

With MenuMeters broken, I'm relying on Activity Monitor to show CPU usage, and it seems that I don't get anywhere near 100% before the battery springs to life. In fact, the fan is whirring along at low RPMs over 80% idle. At about 50% idle, say playing a video on NYTimes, the fan races up..

I'm wondering if it's possible that the VIDEO CARD is heating up due to sharing the load. Maybe it doesn't cool as quickly as the CPU?

Anyone else noticing their laptops becoming a furnace under SL?

[VValdo]

Updating w/some stats from Temperature Monitor:

CPU A Temperature Diode: 72.0°C
Graphics Processor Heatsink 1: 62.0°C
Graphics Processor Temperature D: 78°C
Main Heatsink 1: 63.0C
Wireless Module: 67.0°C

Fan going crazy. This is at 80% CPU IDLE! Watching a tiny NYTimes Video playing full screen.

Can these #s be right?!

This seems directly related to screen activity as far as I can tell, not CPU usage.

W

[cgc]

Maybe SL is using the GPU more which causes heat to be centralized at that point (rather than divided between GPU and CPU).

[VValdo]

Originally Posted by cgc 

Maybe SL is using the GPU more which causes heat to be centralized at that point (rather than divided between GPU and CPU).

Yeah that's what I'm thinking too. That would be very bad if my GPU had inadequate cooling now that it's much more involved in daily usage.

Seriously, 80°C is almost 180 degrees in Fahrenheit. That's insanely hot, and a notebook should not get so bad from watching a Youtube video.

Others are reporting the same problem:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread....359&tstart=255
http://discussions.apple.com/thread....600&tstart=105
http://discussions.apple.com/thread....123&tstart=180
http://discussions.apple.com/thread....ID=10062895�

I have ruled out:

VMware Fusion-- totally uninstalled & rebooted. No change
MacFuse -- same thing

Update:

Booting into "Safe" mode by holding down Shift does not seem to have improved things. The computer, freshly-logged in, without anything except for Temperature monitor still had the GPU, CPU and other temps significantly higher than in Leopard... this suggests a problem in SL or the firmware or something as opposed to a conflict with 3rd party add-ons...

If anyone could duplicate this and report results, it would be much appreciated.

W

[jay3ld]

I have experienced the same issue. Mine is actually on screen saver. I have the "Shell" one setup, if I run it, I hear my fans start to kick in.

[Simon]

Originally Posted by VValdo 

Seriously, 80°C is almost 180 degrees in Fahrenheit. That's insanely hot, and a notebook should not get so bad from watching a Youtube video.

Why do you say that? Flash on OS X is known to cause very high load. Note also that Intel's mobile CPUs work normally all the way up to 100C. Mobile GPUs are the same. 80C is a hot chip, but it's nothing to be scared about. I agree though that Flash is a terrible resource hog on the Mac. Always has been.

[VValdo]

Well, it's crossed the 80°C for CPU and GPU simultaneously threshhold since posting above, and my laptop was never anywhere near this hot previously. It certainly wasn't this hot when idle.

(Admittedly, today was one of the hottest days of the year and that may be affecting my perception/tolerance, but I didn't have fans kick in within 15 seconds of using iChat previously, and the bottom of the machine is almost too hot to touch from watching a simple youtube video... that's definitely new.)

I wonder if the cooling system was designed for a processing load distributed between CPU and GPU... I dunno.

W

[OreoCookie]

Originally Posted by VValdo 

Updating w/some stats from Temperature Monitor:

CPU A Temperature Diode: 72.0°C
Graphics Processor Heatsink 1: 62.0°C
Graphics Processor Temperature D: 78°C
Main Heatsink 1: 63.0C
Wireless Module: 67.0°C

Fan going crazy. This is at 80% CPU IDLE!

The temperatures don't seem very unusual, a cpu temperature of ~70 degrees is quite normal on my first-gen 2 GHz ProBook -- under 10.5 and 10.6. Especially if it is hot outside.

[VValdo]

Originally Posted by OreoCookie 

The temperatures don't seem very unusual, a cpu temperature of ~70 degrees is quite normal on my first-gen 2 GHz ProBook -- under 10.5 and 10.6. Especially if it is hot outside.

There's a definite increase in heat at idle w/SL over Leopard. It's very noticeable, and I've had other Macbook pro users make the same observation w/their own computers post-install, totally unprompted. And FWIW, the apple.com discussion threads above have grown with others reporting the same issue.

That said, I have followed some advice there and reset the power manager (SMC) via instructions at http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1411 and will try to do the PRAM as well via instructions at Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM to see if it makes any difference.

Ambient temperature may make a fair amount difference too. Right now, post SMC-reset, it's idling at a relatively healthy 47°C with a 75°F room temperature. Earlier, during the heat of the day, it was idling w/no activity except an open browser and Temp monitoring program around ~60°C. So add a warmer room and that may account (partially?) for a hotter laptop. Or it may be due to the SMC reset... off to reset PRAM and see if it makes any difference. In any event, watching any kind of video kicked it up like crazy.

I can rule out spotlight though as being the source of the problem.

W

[mackandproud]

Any reports from Blackbook users? I have a 2.4 ghz. The fan comes on from time to time in normal use with 10.5.8.

edit: I've been doing some casual web browsing and opening up a few other apps, and it's running no hotter than normal. Kudos to Apple! Again!

[VValdo]

Resetting the SMC *may* have addressed at least some of the problem for me. I wish this were less subjective and didn't have so many variables... It's not blazing hot when idling now, but it's also 10 degrees cooler in the room today... (hovering around 50-56° GPU/CPU in 33° room temp) so for anyone on the fence, this may be worth giving a shot and there have been other reports of a SMC reset making a difference.

Also, menumeters now has a Snow Leopard version (beta). Also, I've discovered atMonitor, which is SL compatible, free, and shows both CPU and GPU temps and activity... highly recommended.

W

[mackandproud]

My computer seems to be running a bit warmer after SL install. Then again, it's about 20 degrees fahrenheit warmer this evening than it was last evening. So, it's a wash until the evenings cool down a bit.

[besson3c]

I wouldn't put too much stock into your CPU consumption states, as Grand Central Station is designed to help make better use of multicore processing. A load of 100% relates to the consumption of a single core, and a load average of 1 means that you are utilizing one processor as well (although there are many other variables which need to be accounted for, including disk I/O). I would try to figure out exactly what is consuming resources and what these resources are rather than worrying too much about the overall numbers.

[mackandproud]

I've done some more casual web browsing and typing up emails and so forth. The computer is running very cool, as cool if not cooler than prior to SL.