[PJJames]

[/QUOTE]


Has anyone else tried this??? Will it void warrenty??? Mines running at 1.5ghz 66 degress according to CoreDuo Temp.

[harrisjamieh]

Originally Posted by PJJames

Has anyone else tried this??? Will it void warrenty??? Mines running at 1.5ghz 66 degress according to CoreDuo Temp.

Are you not capable of reading the post almost 3 posts ago... someone has put in the same picture.

[PJJames]

Harrisjamieh....I used it as a quote....sorry. I figured that if I simply put "Has anyone else tried this??? Will it void warrenty??? Mines running at 1.5ghz 66 degress according to CoreDuo Temp," some people might not understand what I was talking about. Again, I apologize for inconveiniencing you.

[harrisjamieh]

Ah yes I see the quote thingy. Sorry maybe I got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Anyway, it will not void your warrenty at all, but it is highly unlikely your macbook actually has this plastic

[ThinkInsane]

Originally Posted by Simon

From all I've heard, that's a single incident. Probably a mishap somewhere along the assembly. Somebody 'forgot' to fully remove the protecting film that is normally applied to shiny plastics to prevent them from scratching (like a brand new iPod's screen cover). These things happen. When you manufacture thousands of units, a few are bound to show some anomaly. There's no reason to blow these things out of proportion. Stay cool, take a deep breath and don't panic.

I 'm still debating on whether or not to get a macbook, so I didn't have one hand to check and see if that bit o' plastic was there. So I'm still cool as a cucumber and definitely not panicking.

Just thought I would pass it along in case it turned out to be something stupid like the whole run still had protective plastic covering the vent.

[Eug Wanker]

Mine didn't have the plastic covering the vent.

My MacBook does get fairly hot. Not enough to burn my legs, but enough to make them uncomfortable. Much warmer than my iBook 1.33.

In terms of fan loudness, it is fairly quiet most of the time. When I do heavy duty stuff like ran benchmarks or downloaded Photoshop CS updates (WTF?!?! - it took over 100% of my CPUs), the fan came on loud.

Loudness ratings: Windtunnel TiBook 1 GHz > MacBook 2.0 > 12" iBook 1.33

More importantly, the MacBook feels a bazillion times faster than the iBook and TiBook, in most activities.

P.S. In a very quiet environment, I have notice the MacBook "moo". I didn't believe it when I first read about it, but yes indeed, my MacBook sounds like a very quiet cow. What the heck is it? I've rarely noticed it, and it doesn't really bother me, but it's still very strange.

[Voch]

Originally Posted by Eug Wanker

P.S. In a very quiet environment, I have notice the MacBook "moo". I didn't believe it when I first read about it, but yes indeed, my MacBook sounds like a very quiet cow. What the heck is it? I've rarely noticed it, and it doesn't really bother me, but it's still very strange.

For me it's the fan spinning up and shutting down quickly several times. It doesn't bother me too much.

[01AWW18T]

Currently my 2.0ghz Macbook idles at 48 degrees celsius, with absolutely NOTHING with a room ambient of 27.5 degree celsius. This is checked with coreduotemp. However, whenever I use the computer for anything, the temp will shoot to 50-60s and peaking at around 70.

My question is, since from the disassembly pics the cpu and gpu are located near the middle of the computer, whereas the extreme heat I'm experiencing is directly above the ports to the left, could it be that the heat problem isn't attributed to the thermal grease issue?

I see that there's an Intel chip (northbridge?) near the left on the bottom of the motherboard, normally these chips should be cooled, with a heatsink or even a fan. This is not the case with the Macbooks. Could it be that this is what is causing the heat issues?

PS. My serial number also seems to be the newest compared to those listed on the online intel core duo temp database.

I have a serial that starts with #4H620

[kw14]

01AWW18T, sounds like you've got a good one. That's quite encouraging since you mentioned that it is one of the newer model. So how does it feel when in use? The reality is that high performance CPU will produce a lot of heat. But is it so much that you are afraid to get near your MB? Or is it only so much that you notice it peripherally?

[01AWW18T]

IT does get unacceptably hot (to me) on the left side of the keyboard, right over the ports area. It's hot to the touch in this area. I also noticed, if I touch the metal parts of the ports, they radiate alot of heat as well!

But this contradicts the fact that people are reporting the problem to be thermal/heatsink related because they are located in the middle, not to the left.

I'm going to buy a bottle of AS5 and see what I can do. The fans haven't come on at all yet, but I've only managed to push it to around 70 degrees.

I might add, no whinning noise whatsoever, not from the computer, not from the AC adapter.

[kw14]

That's not good. I have not seen the Macbook yet. But the heat is suppose to be conducted away from the CPU through the heat pipe. So I would expect the exhaust of heat pipe to be hot. Now I thought this was the port in the middle under the screen. But if it is radiating out through the keyboard, then the heat that's not exhausted through the heat pipe is dissipating through the MB innards. Maybe the fans need to kick on sooner. I guess I am concern that your machine seems to be running at the temperature range that people gets AFTER applying AS5. If this is unacceptable, I am not sure if I want to get the MB.

[01AWW18T]

Originally Posted by kw14

... But the heat is suppose to be conducted away from the CPU through the heat pipe. So I would expect the exhaust of heat pipe to be hot. Now I thought this was the port in the middle under the screen. But if it is radiating out through the keyboard, then the heat that's not exhausted through the heat pipe is dissipating through the MB innards. Maybe the fans need to kick on sooner...

I think you're absolutely right!, it's not that the heatpipe or thermal paste is applied incorrectly, but possibly because there's no active airflow to draw the heat away from under the keyboard. From the pictures, it doesn't seem to have any vents other than the rear ones near the screen. Heat does come out of there though, just not actively.

Maybe if we can tweak it so the fan kicks in at a really really low rev, it'll solve the problem. Like I said before, I haven't heard the fan come on at all.

I'm still going to apply AS5 to see if it'll help.

[andreas_g4]

My MB does get hot, but not too hot to touch. It is in a range that I can accept, considering what computing power it has. I think it would be great if Apple allowed the user to choose whether the fan kicks in early, keeping the machine cooler, or rather late, to keep it more quiet. This would not be too complex for anyone, just one click in the control panels.

[kw14]

Hey, post back after AS5 and let us know what you got. This is the main concern holding me back from a purchase. Also, some pics would be nice. I am curious if less than a rice grain is enough to spread across the CPU. I would think that with that little amount, a spreader like a credit card someone suggested is needed.

One thing I thought of, if you can get to the extra goop around the edges without removing the heatsink, perhaps, just cleaning that off may be enough. That's if it is truely radiating excessive heat energy into the case.

Hey, if you can't get pictures, no sweat. Just let us know how you make out.

[kw14]

Originally Posted by andreas_g4

My MB does get hot, but not too hot to touch. It is in a range that I can accept, considering what computing power it has. I think it would be great if Apple allowed the user to choose whether the fan kicks in early, keeping the machine cooler, or rather late, to keep it more quiet. This would not be too complex for anyone, just one click in the control panels.

Hey, maybe one of you out there can whip up a kext to do this. Just a lil old graph with temperature and fan ramp up control. hint hint. Anyone.

[01AWW18T]

for those testing the idle temp of your macbook. Be sure to shut off the screen saver. I notiecd mined runs at least 5 degrees celsius higher with the screensaver on. Not surprising though, since the heat pipe of the GPU conducts heat to the CPU as well. Just thought I'd share this info so we have a controlled baseline for testing.

[Hi I'm Ben]

I wish people would stop testing their MacBooks heat. They run hotter than previous laptops, they're not as hot as MBPs, and end of story.

Sorry some of you are experiencing kernal panics and random shutdowns. Mine has been up since I bought it without a hitch. I use parallels, multiple desktops, iphoto, itunes, safari, adium, colloquy all at the same time. It's great.

If heat really is an issue, apple will eventually do SOMETHING about it. Or I'll buy Apple care and get a different revision unit in a year. Mine runs at 50-80C. It's warm at times, but never hotter than my old mini sony viao I owned one time.

[01AWW18T]

Originally Posted by Hi I'm Ben

I wish people would stop testing their MacBooks heat. They run hotter than previous laptops, they're not as hot as MBPs, and end of story.

I don't agree, being this is an enthusiast website, people are interested in reading what potential problems or solutions there are in the product they purchased. Sharing this information will benefit the community. I'm happy that you find the temperatures of your Macbook acceptable, however, many do not. Yes, these intel core duo chips run hotter, but that doesn't mean it should stay hot or operate at higher temperatures.

After applying AS5, I have successfully gotten a 10 degree celsius decrease in idle temp.

Originally Posted by Hi I'm Ben

If heat really is an issue, apple will eventually do SOMETHING about it.

I must say, Apple did seem to make changes to the manufacturing process because my Macbook without modification iss already reporting lower temps than those listed here previously. However, I am not satisfied. After disassembling the heatsink, I noticed Apple has substantially reduced the use of thermal compound. This is good news (I have a #4H620 build).

Right now, my Macbook idles at 30-35 degrees celsius with an ambient temp of 26 in my room. Under load it is the same 79 degrees, but the keyboard area and the area above the ports on the left are cool to the touch. This means, with proper application of thermal paste, the heatsink/pipe + fan is doing an outstanding job at removing the heat from under the keyboard area.

The fan kicks in later as well, so it remains silent longer. Also, after max load, the temp drops quicker as well.

Hope this provides more info for those wondering about using AS5. Feel free to ask questions. I'll try my best to answer.

[powerbook867]

Hey, I noticed the "moo" as well a minute ago! Must be the fan kicking on....

[harrisjamieh]

Originally Posted by 01AWW18T

I don't agree, being this is an enthusiast website, people are interested in reading what potential problems or solutions there are in the product they purchased. Sharing this information will benefit the community. I'm happy that you find the temperatures of your Macbook acceptable, however, many do not. Yes, these intel core duo chips run hotter, but that doesn't mean it should stay hot or operate at higher temperatures.

After applying AS5, I have successfully gotten a 10 degree celsius decrease in idle temp.


I must say, Apple did seem to make changes to the manufacturing process because my Macbook without modification iss already reporting lower temps than those listed here previously. However, I am not satisfied. After disassembling the heatsink, I noticed Apple has substantially reduced the use of thermal compound. This is good news (I have a #4H620 build).

Right now, my Macbook idles at 30-35 degrees celsius with an ambient temp of 26 in my room. Under load it is the same 79 degrees, but the keyboard area and the area above the ports on the left are cool to the touch. This means, with proper application of thermal paste, the heatsink/pipe + fan is doing an outstanding job at removing the heat from under the keyboard area.

The fan kicks in later as well, so it remains silent longer. Also, after max load, the temp drops quicker as well.

Hope this provides more info for those wondering about using AS5. Feel free to ask questions. I'll try my best to answer.

I also have the 4H620 build, and mine gets very hot on the top left of the kayboard area/port area. My idle temp is aprox 50C, with max temps at around 85C

[inspirationroom]

my white macbook 2.0 1 gig ram idles about 52C plugged in i palyed wow on it (1200 x 800) very smooth about 20-30 fps constant VERY playable for 4 hours and my temp NEVER went over 71C i was also on adium and playing music via itunes at the same time.

after using it for an hr on battery for internet browsing and music my idle temperature was 42C according it coretempduo, looks like i gota pretty good machine

[andreas_g4]

I monitored the temp over the last day, and with a CPU usage of approx. 10%-15% per core due to various apps running, my CPU temp is at 63-66°C with then fan off. Occasionally I get the moo.

[Xmas2Dump]

Originally Posted by nforcer

If you boot up in single user mode (Command + Option + S) and then type "reboot" are the fans constantly spinning on full when it restarts?

What is this supposed to accomplish?

[JAR]

I redid the thermal paste in my Macbook, and I only saw roughly a 6-7C difference. There definitely was way too much thermal paste on mine, because when I pushed down on my heatsink when I first opened it, I could feel I was squeezing the stuff underneath. Anyway, my temps are much more stable (they never go above 80C), but I noticed a curious thing: the hottest part of my Macbook used to be right under the CPU, but now it is in the back right where the heatsinks are. I guess that proves that the heatsinks are collecting more heat from the CPU now. I think the Macbook simply wasn't designed for efficient heat dissipation. Things get especially toasty when I have my power charger plugged in.

My brother has a Core Duo Sony Vaio SZ120, and my father has a Core Duo Dell Inspiron, and both barely get warm at all. I'm betting now that it is a design flaw, or simply that Apple decided to go with form over function (wouldn't be the first time). I'm tired of hearing people say the Core Duo is supposed to be that hot.

BTW how would I go about getting a newer revision of the Macbook? Do I just stroll into an Apple store and ask for a replacement? The manager at my Apple store said he wouldn't do that unless I had a malfunctioning problem with mine... (come to think of it, my arrow keys are unresponsive and I have to push very hard for them to register)

[jclarkv]

Thanks for that post. I'm considering taking my MacBook to a place that does Mac repairs and paying them to redo the thermal paste for me (I don't trust myself to do it without damaging the machine).

In buying this machine I broke two of my 'buying-a-mac' rules:
1) never buy a BTO (because the return and cancellation policies are different)
2) never buy a brand new model

[Xmas2Dump]

Originally Posted by nforcer

If you boot up in single user mode (Command + Option + S) and then type "reboot" are the fans constantly spinning on full when it restarts?

nope, not here. what does this confirm?

[Guy Kuo]

Originally Posted by HarriganC

Well, I will admit, the bottom left of the unit does get REALLY hot, much hotter than my powerbook, to the point I won't be touching that area w/o caution, but i'll get used to it, and doesn't bother me as long as it doesn't affect performance.

Indeed it does get warmer there than my PB12 does. If I don't have it on flat surface and instead have it on a blanket (not recommended), the bottom left outer case temperature is 130 deg F as measured by an IR thermometer.

[harrisjamieh]

The bottom left of mine is fine, its the top left that burns!

[maximusbibicus]

I brought it home last night, reinstalled OSX and installed XP right after. By the time it was all said and done that puppy was SMOKIN!

Fiddling around after that, it was fine. Hot, but no different than other Apple laptops I have had.

[Tarcat]

I just went to the store and played aroud with various models. The MacBooks felt to be a good bit cooler to the touch than the MacBook Pros on display. The only place they seemed to get hot is torwards the back of the case on the left side.

[maximusbibicus]

Anyone's power adapter sizzle? During sleep it was fine, but while charging its quite audible. I put it up to my ear to make sure it was the power adapter. Oddly, near the end of the night, it didn't do this while using XP. Likely a coincidence, but still.

[ChuckD]

Originally Posted by maximusbibicus

Anyone's power adapter sizzle? During sleep it was fine, but while charging its quite audible. I put it up to my ear to make sure it was the power adapter. Oddly, near the end of the night, it didn't do this while using XP. Likely a coincidence, but still.

I've noticed my power adapter sizzling; depating whether or not to take it into the Apple Store.

[eatinwokout]

Mine runs no hotter than my old Powerbook. I did however notice that I could probably have had the opportunity to fry an egg on the underside of hte MacBook during the Boot Camp Windows install.

[Nebrie]

I decided to run some quick CPU temp test on a pair of Thinkpads I have here (which have excellent thermal design) which can also get unbearably hot. They've been idling for a few hours.

Thinkpad X41T
1.5Ghz Pentium M, GMA 900
Idle 53-56 C
After 10 minutes of gaming 63-67 C
I gave up trying to play after 10 minutes, unbearably slow.

Thinkpad T41P
1.7Ghz Pentium M, FireGL T2
Idle 54 C
After 10 minutes of gaming 80-83 C
10+ minutes, got up to 85-89 C eventually

[Eug Wanker]

Originally Posted by ivc

I've created a site that allows you to upload temperature information to the database and share that information with the rest of the users visiting the site. This enables us to see any trends in serial numbers, manufacturer date, configuration options, before and after thermal grease fix, and more.

Submit your temperature readings and screenshots to the database, but make sure you read the howto to correct measure the temperatures to make them accurate and more valuable.

http://www.intelmactemp.com/

Great site! Here are my results:



The load temps measure pretty consistently when repeatedly done on the same machine.



However, it's going to be hard to get consistent idle temps even on the same machine, given that it really varies depending on the prior usage, even if it has been sitting for 10-15 minutes. I was getting about 48 degrees 10 minutes after sleep, but more like 65 degrees 10 minutes after full load.



BTW, at idle, my machine fluctuates between 1333 MHz, 1500 MHz, and 1666 MHz, with it mostly at 1500 MHz even if there's only a few % of CPU usage. I wonder why. It would have made more sense to me to have the GPU step down to 1333 MHz for when the usage is under say 20%.

I wonder how much longer battery life I'd get if I used the developer tools to turn off one core. This might come in useful on the plane. Plus, can you force a slower speed like 1333?

P.S. I just want to reiterate that although 85 degrees seems hot, the chip is actually built to operate at up to 100 degrees. That's very warm on your lap, but within acceptable parameters of the CPU.

[harrisjamieh]

Aparently, if you turn off one core, battery life is actually less, as the single core is having to work harder than the 2 cores together... or so someone on this board told me once....

[Eug Wanker]

The other thing that www.intelmactemp.com page tells us is that the 2.0 GHz iMacs are 50-60°C at full load.

This does make me wonder if the next generation iMacs will use Merom or Conroe. Merom would make for a nice quiet iMac, since its 35 Watt TDP isn't much higher than Core Duo's. Conroe would be faster, but it would mean higher temps and potentially a louder fan, since its TDP is 65 Watts. I wonder if it would be significantly louder than the G5 iMac though, since I suspect the 2.1 GHz G5's max power usage was probably around 50 Watts.

Anyways, the reason I bring this up is because I would have expected the iMacs to be faster than the MacBooks. Then again, I had fully expected the top end MacBook to be 1.66 GHz.

2.0 GHz for the iMac is respectable, and 2.0 GHz for the MacBook is downright stellar.

[icruise]

It's interesting that the MacBooks get so hot. My 1.83Ghz iMac is 37 to 39 degrees when idle and seems to top out at about 56 degrees when encoding h.264 and playing it at the same time.

[Eug Wanker]

Originally Posted by Icruise

It's interesting that the MacBooks get so hot. My 1.83Ghz iMac is 37 to 39 degrees when idle and seems to top out at about 56 degrees when encoding h.264 and playing it at the same time.

It's not that surprising given the fact that the iMacs and MacBooks use the exact same chips at the exact same speeds, and the iMac has so much more space in it and much larger fans.

That's one reason why I expected the MacBooks would be slower than the iMacs. However, assumption was probably misguided, because even the 1.66 GHz Core Duos have the same TDP of 31 Watts that the 2.16 GHz chips in the top end MacBook Pros do. (Part of that assumption though was based on cost. Slower Core Duos still cost less, which is one big reason I assumed the 13" MacBooks would be slower.)



BTW, that 15 Watt TDP for the T2300E is incorrect. It is actually 31 Watts as well, but it's a chip that is missing virtualization support.

[Simon]

I'm afraid I might take some heat for this, but I have the feeling that my MB actually gets hotter on the bottom than my MBP.

I recently used both to watch a DVD in bed. It put them on the blanket but the vents on the back were clear. After watching for about 1.5h I touched the bottom of the case on both and the MB clearly felt hotter than the MBP. I'm going to repeat the test with an infrared temp sensor (we have one at the lab where I work, but it's being used by somebody else right now) to get some exact readings, but right now, this is all I got. To me there was a clear difference and amazingly the MBP was cooler. Go figure.

[Eug Wanker]

Are you really that surprised that your MBP is cooler? The MacBook is much smaller, but it's using the same 2.0 GHz chip as your MacBook Pro. Plus, the MBP has a metal case, which could help heat dissipation.

[harrisjamieh]

If anything, the metal case should make the MBP hotter to the touch than the MacBooks plastic. Also, the MBP has the added heat of a graphics card, which, as I understand it, gives out loads of heat - hence the reason it is underclocked in the MBP

[Simon]

The way I see it, the MBP has

• a hotter GPU
• more power dissipation overall (see amperage and voltage readings in ioreg output)
• metal case which will conduct the heat better to the outside
• a horrible rep for being hot

Funny thing is, my own comparison tells me the MB was clearly hotter. I hope I'll soon be able to say by exactly how much.

[Eug Wanker]

Originally Posted by Simon

The way I see it, the MBP has

• a hotter GPU

Have you tried doing GPU intensive tasks? (My tests were with Handbrake, which maxed out the CPU, but which doesn't use the GPU at all.)

• metal case which will conduct the heat better to the outside

True, but it will also make for a less hot CPU, and thus a less hot case. Or something like that. It depends on the contact points with the case though.

• a horrible rep for being hot

Well so does the MacBook.

[Hi I'm Ben]

This is going to sound crazy, but my MacBook has started running cooler the last few days. I've gone done to 54C idle 60C usage 75C Load. This is down from 64C Idle 75C Usage 85C load.

I've done nothing to it.

[masugu]

Dum question....where do I get the app to monitor the heat on my MP???

Thanks!

[powerbook867]

http://speedit.increw.org

[masugu]

Thanks !!!!

[crispin14]

67C, 1500mhz, 7.4% cpu usage

black macbook

[Eug Wanker]

Originally Posted by powerbook867

http://speedit.increw.org

After you install that, install this: http://macbricol.free.fr/coreduotemp/

Or else just download this: http://www.bresink.de/osx/HardwareMonitor.html