macbook protemperature
My Macbook seems to be running pretty hot lately. iStat Pro is stating that my CPU temp is nearing 180 degrees F, and that the heatsink is approaching 150. The laptop is noticeably warmer than normal on my lap even as I type this.
The usage patterns for the laptop really haven't changed all that much, except that my wife takes it to work with her now that she's started her new job as a realtor.
Thanks for any advice.
I tend to remain sceptical of anyone making claims without valid and reliable data. With that said, some practices you list are of critical importance; others, I'm not sold on one bit. Please don't take this a slight against you, but rather as a criticism of your general claims (and lack of scientific data therein). Moreover, if you enacted all those changes at once, you'll never know which one made a real difference, and which one did absolutely nothing. Proper scientific methodology calls for the manipulation of one variable against a control (unless you want to run the more complex ANOVA).
Clean your MacBook Pro fans from within... it's simple, open the bottom closure and blow the hell out of these fans
Absolutely. This is by far the most effective way to ensure your system continues to operate nominally over the years. It is sadly also the most neglected. Dust sticks to the blades (and most of the internals) creating a "sticky" residue and not only prevents the fan's blades from spinning at their optimum, but seriously restricts air flow. Computers generally accumulate far more dust than people expect. Regular cleanings are essential!
Download and install Fan Control and run your fans @ 2800-3000 RPM
This of courses comes at a sacrifice to noise (increasing it) and I'd like to see data on how much cooler the chips operate with such a small increase to RPM.
Ditch all browsers to Safari, I tried them all Firefox up to version 5 and 7 (Aurora), Chrome and Opera... nothing beats the CPU usage (less of it) than Safari. Also flash youtube videos run with less resources on Safari for some reason
Again, I'd like to see some data being this claim. These guys have conducted some very loose tests that support your assertion, and I'm inclined to agree that Safari, being so tightly integrated into OS X should net improvements over its competitors across the board, but a few CPU cycles here and there aren't going to amount to a drop (drastic or modest) in temperatures (these saw extremely small differences in performance).
Use your faster GPU on AC Power, and lower on Battery power (use http://codykrieger.com/gfxCardStatus for source-based GPU switching)
GPUs put off heat, wether they're integrated or discrete. I can see a reduction in power, but a reduction in heat, again, I'm not sold. In the case of MBP, models that possess discrete video cards have dual fans (one for the CPU and one for the GPU). So using the discrete card may kick off additional heat, but it's also got a dedicated fan to push that heat away from the machine. Stressing the integrated chip will see the CPU spike in temperatures, which means that fan will be doing more work to handle the additional load. It may be the case that the fan on the CPU (together with the integrated GPU) may be sufficient in pulling away the excess heat, but at no doubt the cost of excessive noise (generated by 6,000 RPMs). I don't know if anyone has done testing, but from my own anecdotal experience with my old MBP1,1, the GPU fans rarely switched gears (unless playing intensive games and then the issue would be moot as you'd want to use the discrete video). It was always the CPUs fans that took the brunt of the work.
Replace your internal hard drive with an SSD
Not only will this greatly improve performance, but it can't hurt in reducing temperatures. The idle/active power consumption of an SSD is about 0.5W to 2w, respectively. The average power consumption of a traditional HDD is about double that (1W to 2.5W, respectively). I won't know what that transfers to in the temperatures department, but it certainly can't hurt.
Keep your monitor running @ 90% brightness and keep your keyboard lights off or low
I'd love to see data on this. LED backlighting is already quite efficient and distributing heat, but I'm not sure a reduction (at least that small) in power would have any effect. As for the keyboard lights, those are LEDs and as is with such small LED bulbs, they are incredibly power efficient and produce little to no heat as a result.
With all that said, I'd saying re-application of Arctic Silver 5 (or thermal compound of equal quality) and the cleaning of dust from the internals is the most effective (and proven) way to keep your system cool. I've never seen data to convince me that turning off some service, or placing your system on a pad with a couple of fans does anything (other than perhaps keep the case cooler to the touch) worth merit.
According to the intel, spec-sheet, Page 20, the maximum allowed temperature of all the new i3,i5,i7 cpus is 105 Celsius degrees so you are approaching the limit. However all cpus are designed in a way that they will send a signal to the motherboard in case the cpu is overheating to either shut-down the pc completely or dramatically reduce the performance (by lowering the clock-speed).
Studying Anandtech's review of the latest MacBook Retina it's clearly visible that the Macbook pro retina automatically reduces the performance in case of really high temperature over a longer period of time. According to them while running various benchmarks in Half-Life 2 the performance of the retina model dropped by about 5% compared to the old model which dropped by about 20%).
I think you don't need to worry to much about the temperature. If the cpu is reaching its thermal limit it will automatically try to do something about it. You may even think about investing in a cooling pad as the enclosure of the mac is made out of aluminium, it acts a a massive heat-sink and theoretically you could lower the temperature by using a cool-pad for laptops and fit it underneath.
Best Answer
It's the fans. They are clogged with dust and other debris from the years of use. Notebooks are not air-tight and intake quite a bit of air over their lifetime (they need to push the air to the central components like the CPU/GPU to cool them). The units must be opened and cleaned periodically (depending on environment) to maintain peak operating performance. High fan speeds and poor thermal dissipation are signs that the fans aren't doing their job (they are likely clogged with dust and the exhaust is also likely blocked, preventing the output of the hot air blown off from the processing units). Computer fans work by pushing air taking from the environment onto the CPU/GPU. The hot air blown off the chips move through air vents in the back of the unit. Over time, dust settles on the fans, dropping their efficacy, and the vents, preventing the hot air from escaping. This bakes the components and results in the spike in over temperature.
Visit www.ifixit.com and pull up a guide on how to partially dismantle your notebook. If you are not technically proficient, bring it to a credible repair shop.
There are no "normal" operating temperatures for Apple notebooks, but there is an acceptable gradient. 82 degree Celsius is pushing the limits. The CPU's thermal threshold is 105 degrees Celsius (when that temperature is reached, the system will shutdown to prevent thermal damage).
And just an aside, regardless of locale, all temperatures should be reported as Celsius, never Fahrenheit when dealing with computer components. Official documentation always refers to Celsius.