3 Ways To Keep Your Macbook Pro Running Cool
One of the most annoying “features” of the Macbook Pro is how hot the notebook gets after prolonged use. Depending on what you are doing, temperatures can get far too hot for the notebook to sit on your lap. No matter what Apple says, I can’t imagine how temperatures that hot could be good for the system. Like a lot of Macbook Pro users I decided to see what I could do to minimize the amount of heat generated in an attempt to make using the system on my lap somewhat bearable.
In my quest to reduce the heat from my Macbook Pro I discovered several tricks and some products that have finally helped me to reduce the problem to the point where I can regularly use the notebook on my lap without fear that I might burn myself.
1. Cooling Pads - By far the most obvious solution is the use of a simple, yet effective cooling pad. I have purchased several types trying to find one that was both effective and comfortable enough to use for several hours at a time. For those who use the notebook on a desk try the NC-500 Notebook Cooler from Bytecc, Inc. It’s not quiet but it really gets the job done and keeps the notebook nice and cool even while running games like World Of Warcraft. Since it uses two regular sized cooling fans this cooler really can push air over the bottom of the Macbook like there is no tomorrow. I highly recommend this cooler if you intend to use the Macbook Pro as a desktop replacement.
For those who need something a little less noisy you may want to try the LPC-401 LapCool 3 Notebook Cooler which still has two fans but they run a low RPMs for less noise. This cooler also works on your lap which is something I can’t say for the Bytecc cooler.
The best cooler I have found so far that does not use fans is the Rain Design iLap. This cooler is a padded metal cooler which elevates the notebook over your lap so heat does not become a problem. The only downside to this approach is the angle that this puts the notebook, which does not seem optimal for typing with the Macbook Pro.
2. Screen Brightness - Something simple I discovered was the relationship between the screen brightness and how much heat was produced. You can significantly reduce the amount of heat produced by the Macbook Pro during normal use by reducing the brightness of the screen to the minimum. Of course this also reduces the amount of power being used so your battery life will be longer if you are running on batteries. However, doing this while plugged in also reduces the power draw and thus heat output. Another interesting fact is the use of an external monitor may also significantly reduce the heat produced if you only use the external display and not external plus the internal LCD.
3. Control The Macbook Pro’s Fans - Another awesome way to reduce the heat output from the Macbook is to use SMCfancontrol to increase the RPM of the Macbook’s internal fans. It is nothing short of amazing how much this can reduce the heat output. Even upping the RPMs to 3500 is barely audible but seems to cut the heat by at least half. I recommend using this program when a external cooler is not available or practical.
Through a combination of the above strategies I have managed to significantly reduce, and in some cases completely eliminate my Macbook Pro’s heat problems.
hmm…interesting and maybe usefull. I’ll try the smc-fancontrol but the point is really that you spend thousands on a laptop that is way more expensive than the non-apple makes and then it heats up so strongly that you can’t have it on your lap.
Dimming the screen might change the heat but is hardly the point here. I want to use a laptop with my prefered screen brightness, without having to keep a look out for the temperature of the computer. I have measured temperatures of up to 89 celsius !!! that is way too much. I’ve got my macbook pro on a glasstable top which should really give it a bit of extra coolage…but this isn’t the case.
No one can tell me that a computer that is confronted with a regular temperature of approx. 67 celsius isn’t going to have problems with the electronics in the future. Keeping the one year warranty in mind, you’ll only know when it’s too late and I doubt that apple will be of any help after that. Also I personally know someone whose keyboard went out of shape from the heat!!! I want to be able to use my computer without worrying about whether its going to burn up!
I am also unhappy about the frequent crashing of programms. My last computer was a pc and I had far less crashes. So much for the applemyth of being more stabile.
I am going to take my macbook pro back. I have heard that the new MBP don’t have as much heat problems. I hope there will be a possibility for a 1:1 swap but I doubt it.
for the guy complaining, if you are not happy with macbook, then please go back and get a pc, if you are getting more crashes than on windows, then you are obviously doing something wrong. To tell you the truth, we need less ignorant people in the Mac world…so bye bye
if you want to see an instantanious heat drop, even with heavy processor usage, try removing the battery, if you are plugged into the charger.
My laptop had been working pretty hard for about 15 hours straight, sitting at around 70+ degrees celcius. I pulled out the battery and within a minute it was down to mid-high 50’s.
I too have the “frying pan Mac” and have had the same problems. however, most people seem to be having their heat issues around the connection between the MagSafe plug and the computer, whereas my problem is above the function keys (f1, f2, etc.) I noted the person saying that they (or maybe it was their friend) had a warped keyboard from the heat. I had a similar problem, however, it was my battery which came probably very close to exploding. to remedy this, I heard that a marble slab would very much cool the laptop down.
Well, I’m rather annoyed at Apple too. It is true that when you spent thousands on a laptop you should not have to do additional tweakings of any sorts. It should simply work, and work well.
Not only am I disappointed with the heating problem, there is also the latch to open it which is difficult to reach, and then the worst of all, are the crashes and little rainbow. I told so highly of Apple computers to my friends over the last years, but the MBP is not reaching my expectations. I owned an Ibook G4 and I’m wondering if it not be better to get rid of the MBP and get a Powerbook or an IBook…. after all, do I really care if MBP run windows?
I’ve heard all these stories about the hot Macs, but was so frustrated with all the P.C. nonsense that I bought a Macbook anyway. All I can say is that it runs way cooler than the P.C. The top of the unit around the keyboard area is almost room temp! The P.C. was definately scorching in these areas. So far this laptop is killer. Fast, quiet, and dependable. And a big plus is I don’t have to “warm it up” like the P.C. before I can really start using it. No wonder Bill Gates left Microsoft!
to the pc guy up top, no one said the mac was a fix for everything, it still exists in this plane of reality, and last time i checked, physics and heat exchange sitll apply here.
and now im starting to think that maybe the pc wasn’t so bad, its just that the smart people bought the macs, and the dumb people stuck with pcs don’t know how to work a computer so that it doesn’t crash.
that’s my rave, thank you.
I use both macs and PCs daily.
Both platforms have their problems and as stated above both are slaves to physics.
My PC is hands down way faster than the Mac even though the Mac is newer.
Some functions of the Mac are just nicer and a little nicer looking.
Mac users are definitely in denial about most of the issues with Macs where as a PC user will never hesitate to ball out microsoft or any of its counter parts.
I can not figure out why Apple would even sell a Mac with less than 1gb of RAM.
I thought the Mac would be much more stable since the same manufacturer engineers the hardware, OS and some of the software. If microsoft controlled all the hardware that its OS would be supporting it might actually run slightly better.
Definitely no Clear winner in this never ending battle.
I’ve been using smcFanControl on my MacBook for months now and it seems to do the trick quite nicely: A cheap solution for a potentially expensive problem.
Erick : don’t be such a prick, its people like you who give us mac users a bad name.
For the first guy: there have been several cases of missaplied thermal paste in mbps, you may have this as while mine gets very hot it never crashes. Get it looked at before you get hardware damage.
I too have had this issue, and too be honest the best solution is simply to turn it off for ten minutes. Its not ideal sure, but it works. I’ve been using smcfancontrol too, it really is fantastic!
I’ll definitely try the screen brightness change, I don’t think I need it quite that high anyway:)
Pulling the battery out will clock your processor down to 1GHz, this is necessary due to the wildely changing loads of the intel speed step technology, the power adapter can’t react quickly enough, so it needs a battery present to keep the system stable, without it it clocks to a fixed minimum speed.
For the record to everyone the reason that the casing itself gets warm is because the system uses the aluminum casing to cool the system… So just put something under your MacBook that will not disrupt the air flow and you should be fine, if you would like it to cool down and dont mind a little hum just use the smcFanControl works like a charm, I placed a cool down speed at the max so that if it gets to warm just throw it on for a minute or two and it will cool down, but the best piece of advice i can give is just make sure to allow airflow to the casing itself since it is vital in the transfer of access heat. Keep in mind MacBook Pro’s are using hardware that would in any other laptop case produce large amounts of heat but most other laptops are much bulkier.
BRING YOUR TEMP BELOW 50° C.
1. Take battery out. 2. Download and install smcFanControl- set exhaust fan to 6200 rpm for 5 minutes. 3. Buy a cheap cooling pad(cost about $35-$45)
The 5 minutes of 6200 rpm allowed the heat to dissipate. (If fan(s) rpm are too high for an extended amount of time, then you’ll have another problem down the line.)
I had my Macbook on my lap while I wrote this, and my °C floated around 45°-49° C.
With battery out, clock speed wasn’t greatly affected. I ran both Maya and Photoshop and was able to be productive.
Let me know if this works for you. Interested in hearing your constructive criticism @ jwaterman@tec-con-vt.net . Anybody own the MacPro? pros and cons?
(Side Point for those that bicker about “PC or Mac”)
I own both PC and Mac, and use both on a daily basis. I’ve had an even amount of crashes but nothing that stops productivity significantly. A lot of these crashes are caused by crap that finds its way into your computer from the internet. Keeping tabs on downloaded content and having virus/adware/malware protection both PC and Mac will reduce the amount, and severity, of crashes. Plus proper maintenance, like blowing out dust buildup from inside computer, helps greatly.
wish smc fan worked for my HP. i bought a cheap little cooling pad off ebay for 20 bucks and my laptop idles at 38 degrees. i got these temps without the cooling pad but i liked the lights. just make sure your laptop has heaps of clearance off the desk, i used to use 2 stacks of coins to hold the screen side abit higher, so the intake at the bottom got better airflow. works a charm 10 degree cut in no time. and just incase your wondering, all my comps are PC’s but i wouldnt mind a mac if i had the money.
My MBP gets extremely hot while playing World of Warcraft (as opposed to running any non-graphic intensive applications such as Excel, Word, Mail, Safari, etc.). It gets so hot that I have to put a newspaper, book, or pillow between the notebook and my lap to insulate myself from the heat. This in spite of the fact that I am running SMCFanControl at 6K RPM.
It occurs to me that the problem is not as much a CPU heat dissipation issue as it is a graphics chipset heat dissipation issue.
That said, I still have to live with the MBP in its current configuration until Apple’s engineers and their chipset vendors get their act together.
The problem with using non-conductive insulation between lap and laptop is that the heat dissipation problems remains. Pillows, newspapers, books, etc. do not dissipate heat, and all that is being accomplished is that the notebook retains much of the heat that it builds as long as the bottom of the laptop is in direct contact with the insulating media.
Other than re-engineering my hardware, it would be nice to have something that I could rest on my lap, that would suspend the MBP in the air about an inch by its corners to allow heat trying to dissipate from the base of the unit to radiate effectively yet be comfortable enough to allow use on my lap. Whether or not the device would include a fan to circulate air, or simply provide passive dissipation or both can be subject to further debate.
But so far, non of the products that I have seen to date appear to measure up to my needs without being bulky, noisy, or ineffective.
FWIW
I just got a MacBook Pro 2 weeks ago, and I have to say, it does get ridiculously hot. I use SMCFancontrol, and prop it up as soon as I get a chance. It runs on an average of 60°C, and I’ve seen it up to 90° when using big applications that require alot of CPU ressources.
But let me tell you, it was made to actually bear these temperatures. I’m not going to buy any extra gadget to keep it cool, it was expensive enough.
I love every bit of it so far (it’s so much better my old Dell which honestly was a piece of shit) but if anything happens to it, it’s going straight back to the freakin store and that’s all there is to it.
I paid for the portability and I want to be able to carry it around as much as I want, and buying one those cooling pad thingies would definitely defeat the point of that.
To be honest, it stays quiet and I can actually watch movies and hear the sound… my old laptop was as noisy as a lawn-mower and would get about as hot as the Mac cuz the venting system was absolute CRAP … so I dont regret spending that money. I am now a MACUSER and i freaking love it!