Cooling for MBP

[Jim Smith]

My MBP with 8 GB ram reaches 60 degrees C if the room is moderately warm, running only PM. It's probably OK to run it up to 70C, but I'd like a little less heat.

 

All of the so-called chill pads with fans use USB Power.

 

I've resisted that idea, since I use USB Asynchronous with my QB-9.

 

I have thought of buying a small, quiet battery powered fan. The MBP is on a collapsible stand that is supposed to aid in cooling. "Supposed to" being the operative phrase. So I thought of a simple and portable fan.

 

Or is there a fan cooling chill pad that is battery powered? I haven't seen one.

 

Any suggestions, pro or con?

 

I do have the internal fan control widget, but it's buggy - can't get it to hold a higher speed for long.

 

[wgscott]

All of Apple's laptops seem to run quite hot. I have this on my mini:

 

 

http://www.bresink.com/osx/TemperatureMonitor.html

 

 

It will tell you what is emitting the most heat, and then you can try to address the issue. The hottest thing in my mini is the CPU, but it runs about 57 C. The thing to worry about on the laptop is the battery heating up.

 

I googled Peltier Laptop Cooler and came up only with a solar-powered bikini for charging an iPod.

 

[Mister Wednesday]

Jim Smith,

 

Just out of curiosity, did you get the Apple SMC firmware update released back on May 2809? This SMC Firmware update adjusts the fan behavior in MacBook Pro systems (15-inch and 17-inch) when running under high workload conditions.

 

http://support.apple.com/kb/DL832

 

Hope this helps.

 

Regards,

 

Mister Wednesday

 

[Jim Smith]

Thanks.

 

I bought my MBP new from the factory in June. It had all the updates.

 

I also have a program that indicates what is producing the most heat. It's the CPU.

 

The thing is, there seems to be no agreement about how much heat is too much...

 

[wgscott]

The heat sensors are there to tell the computer to shut down if it starts to overheat. It shouldn't do that unless you over-clock the processor or some slob who assembled it put in too much thermal paste.

 

[Lars]

This program will give you your CPU temp. Then go to the Intel site and you can look up the specs of your CPU to see what the maximum temp is.

 

http://islayer.com/help/istatpro-manual/

 

[Jim Smith]

Thanks.

 

I was kinda hoping not to find out what is too much by experiencing a thermal shutdown.

 

But you have a valid point.

 

[Jim Smith]

Thanks.

 

Looks good.

 

I'll check it out.

 

[MadCow]

If you're worried that drawing power from the computer's USB port to power the cooling pad will affect sound quality, you can always use external USB power instead.

 

There are various USB power adapters that plug into the wall -- mainly for charging mobile phones or USB devices such as iPods -- that you can use. In fact, I am using one right now to power a cooling pad and draw heat out of my Onkyo receiver.

 

For a more portable solution, I've seen external USB battery packs meant to charge and/or power portable devices such as iPods.

 

[Jim Smith]

MadCow -

 

Thanks for your suggestions.

 

[Little Mick]

If I were you, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

The temperature you're seeing is normal. At 60, the fans will still only run at their minimum speed of 2000 rpm.

 

The best way to keep a MBP cool is to use the integrated graphics vs the discrete graphics card.

 

Anywho, I hope this helps.

 

[Jim Smith]

It helps a lot.

 

Thanks, Little Mick.