[wubrew]

Does Satarosa CPU runs hotter than the prev gen CPU? Seems like the larest edition 17" MBP get really hot to the point all programe will hang and shutting down with the button is the only way out?
Any opinion on this issue?

[Stout]

That definitely doesn't sound right. I have the same model MBP as you, with more RAM, and the heat doesn't get intense to the point of effecting performance as it sounds like yours does. Do you know exactly how hot she's getting?

You can monitor the head as well as other processes with the iStat Menus, located here:
iSlayer.com

A temp number would be really helpful in letting you know whether yours is extremely abnormal, which it sounds like it is.

[Simon]

The CPU is still the same even though your new MBP uses the Crestline chipset (which is part of the Santa Rosa platform). It will not run significantly hotter at 2.4 GHz than it did at 2.33 GHz. However, the new GPU does have a higher wattage and causes additional heat.

But regardless of that your apps should not hang due to the heat. Please download iStat from the link given by Stout above. Report what your temperature readings are. Also, you should run Apple Hardware Test (boot from the install DVD and hold d) and see if you get error codes for a fan or the MLB.

If your temp readings are actually too high it's likely that a fan or temp sensor has gone bad. That is something AHT should catch. If you give Apple the AHT error code(s) they will simply replace the faulty component(s) under warranty and your problems should disappear.

[wubrew]

Thank you guys. I notice that only when I have parallel with Vista Ultimate running plus another app like unrarx going at the same time did I notice the heat issue. I will report back on the actual temp.

[Kadarin]

Originally Posted by wubrew 

Thank you guys. I notice that only when I have parallel with Vista Ultimate running plus another app like unrarx going at the same time did I notice the heat issue. I will report back on the actual temp.

The only times I notice mine getting hot are when I'm running some CPU intensive app (i.e. a game) in either Parallels or on the native Boot Camp XP partition. Even then, it's not hot enough to affect anything unless I've got the MBP sitting on my lap.

[Simon]

When you're playing a 3D game or running Parallels under heavy load it's no surprise your notebook becomes warm. Mine does too and it's perfectly normal - even if warm to you feels really hot.

What is disturbing though is when people report their MBP 'hangs' due to heat. If it actually does that, something's acting up (broken fan, bad temp sensor, MLB issue, etc.). The C2D will start to throttle its clock at 85C IIRC but even that means stuff possibly becomes slower, but it certainly won't lead to apps hanging for sustained periods of time. OTOH 85C is also a temperature which the fans should get down fairly quickly if they crank up to full blast properly. In case the temp goes even higher OS X will eventually perform a forced shutdown. Even then there should be no actual hardware damage. The forced shutdown is a precautionary measure. The C2D will shut itself off at 125C to prevent what Intel refers to as 'catastrophic thermal damage'. However, due to OS X's temp monitoring (which would initiate the forced shutdown before the CPU reaches 125C), you should never experience that situation.

That's why it's important in such a case to monitor the actual temperatures and run AHT. Most likely the hanging apps are a software issue and unrelated, but if they are really caused by heat you're bound to find some sort of defect with either then fans, temp sensors, MLB, etc. Once you are certain about that it should be easy to get a free warranty replacement from Apple.

[wubrew]

well the temp reading 78'C. Pretty hot to touch. Usually have Vista/parallel on while surfing and iTunes on. Then opening other apps such as unRarX or loading a web page is when the beach ball make its appearance > 5".Even force quit app will hang.The fan noise is maddening. I guess it is scary to hear the max rpm of the fan. Shut down and rebooting solved the problem for awhile. Question: How many apps is too many? Which apps are memory glutton? I know apps such as Divx coder and iVCD are real CPU and ram intensive but never get that hot especially when the fan come on.

[wubrew]

Originally Posted by Simon 

When you're playing a 3D game or running Parallels under heavy load it's no surprise your notebook becomes warm. Mine does too and it's perfectly normal - even if warm to you feels really hot.

What is disturbing though is when people report their MBP 'hangs' due to heat. If it actually does that, something's acting up (broken fan, bad temp sensor, MLB issue, etc.). The C2D will start to throttle its clock at 85C IIRC but even that means stuff possibly becomes slower, but it certainly won't lead to apps hanging for sustained periods of time. OTOH 85C is also a temperature which the fans should get down fairly quickly if they crank up to full blast properly. In case the temp goes even higher OS X will eventually perform a forced shutdown. Even then there should be no actual hardware damage. The forced shutdown is a precautionary measure. The C2D will shut itself off at 125C to prevent what Intel refers to as 'catastrophic thermal damage'. However, due to OS X's temp monitoring (which would initiate the forced shutdown before the CPU reaches 125C), you should never experience that situation.

That's why it's important in such a case to monitor the actual temperatures and run AHT. Most likely the hanging apps are a software issue and unrelated, but if they are really caused by heat you're bound to find some sort of defect with either then fans, temp sensors, MLB, etc. Once you are certain about that it should be easy to get a free warranty replacement from Apple.

Simon are you saying that common app unique to OSX like 'force quit' should not hang under any temp setting?

[Big Mac]

No, temperature should never be high enough to cause operational problems. Your hardware may have problems.

[Simon]

Originally Posted by wubrew 

Simon are you saying that common app unique to OSX like 'force quit' should not hang under any temp setting?

No. A hot MBP doesn't hang. It might become slower (for a short while until the CPU cools down below 85C) or in the very worst case shut off, but it should never hang. You say 78C. That is hot, but it's still perfectly within the operating range. Your fans should be running at full blast, but you also report that's happening.

Have you tried running AHT like I suggested? Did you get any error codes?

BTW, how much RAM do you have? How many pageouts are you observing? From the scenario you mention, I'm wondering if your spinning beachball (which indicates i/o wait) is a sign of a lot of paging in/out rather than heat.

[wubrew]

Originally Posted by Simon 

No. A hot MBP doesn't hang. It might become slower (for a short while until the CPU cools down below 85C) or in the very worst case shut off, but it should never hang. You say 78C. That is hot, but it's still perfectly within the operating range. Your fans should be running at full blast, but you also report that's happening.

Have you tried running AHT like I suggested? Did you get any error codes?

BTW, how much RAM do you have? How many pageouts are you observing? From the scenario you mention, I'm wondering if your spinning beachball (which indicates i/o wait) is a sign of a lot of paging in/out rather than heat.

AHT says all OK. The only time it hangs and the CPU gets to 78'C is when Vista is running. Hanging helps alittle bit with maxed out 4.0G ram. CPU usage by Vista, 70-101 % according to the monior. Vista on MBP must be CPU intensive. I will try to allocate more ram may be it will take less CPU capacity.

[wubrew]

This is the situation with increased ram for Vita to 1.0G from 512mb.


While Parallel is doing this



The avtivity monitor show this



The temp monitor

[Simon]

What do you mean when you say 'hang'?

[wubrew]

Originally Posted by Simon 

What do you mean when you say 'hang'?

Sorry the previous post the images didn't take. Eternally spinning beach ball with other apps when Vista is on.
the images are supposed to show active Vista taking up 101% CPU, almost all of allocated 1g of memmory, and the CPU temp at 80'C. That is when everything else hang.
I hope that clarified things.
Seems like windows take up more capacity on a mac then a pc!

[PaperNotes]

Originally Posted by wubrew 

Seems like windows take up more capacity on a mac then a pc!

My MBP runs hotter under Vista but that appears to have something to do with software controlling the fan speeds. When Vista and Tiger boot up fresh with a few drivers loaded, both of them show 300-350MB RAM usage and idle CPU use of 5% on average.

[wubrew]

Problem solved! Switch from Parallel to VM ware. Still heating up to 76'c sometimes but ABSOLUTELY no more hanging using other apps. Parallel some how HOG the CPU while VM does not. Thanks guys,