Thenecron

Q: MacBook Pro Overheating [FIXED]?

I think i found a solution and the reason to why the macbooks are overheating. The cause? The CPU is doing all the work.

 

I watched the cpu and gpu temeratures. My GPU never got too hot(50 c at max?), basically just the heat from everything else heating it up. Meanwhile, my CPU will be up at 80-90 degrees celcius.

 

System Preferences > Energy Saver > Uncheck Automatic Graphics Switching.

 

What happens (from my understanding) is that to conserve power, it uses the CPU to do the work of the graphics card, and of course is rediculous when running HD flash vides and such. Unchecking it will force it to always use the GPU. Which, takes a heavy chunk off that CPUs load.

 

Try it out, see for yourself. All it is is a simple box to check or uncheck if it doesnt do you any good.

 

For me - It seems to be a lot cooler now that I unchecked that.

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7), 2.66 GHz i7 (1st gen) 4 GB RAM +SSD

Posted on Aug 21, 2011 9:38 AM

Close

Q: MacBook Pro Overheating [FIXED]?

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

Previous Page 2 of 6 last Next
  • by Tom613,

    Tom613 Tom613 Jun 6, 2012 2:58 AM in response to Thenecron
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 6, 2012 2:58 AM in response to Thenecron

    Thanks for this super-tip.

    I have a 2011 MBP and have been experiencing this overheating issue way too much. The computer is fast with a SSD, but still hangs too often.

    1-2 hrs after applying your tip, I found that the CPU (measured with iStat Pro) is down to 65-68°C from a before 79-85°C. The worst parts are always the flash animations/videos. The come up with almost every website and consume way too much computing power.

    Since I use the MBP mostly on my 27" Cinema Display, it plugged in 90% of the time. Only 1-2 a month a use it not at my desk, so I wouldn't even need it for now....(this feature)

     

    Thanks again!

  • by Chris Lelliott,

    Chris Lelliott Chris Lelliott Aug 14, 2012 6:05 AM in response to Arbabi
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 14, 2012 6:05 AM in response to Arbabi

    I had the same problem and could not find automatic grahics switch but i found that in the Energy Saver menu if i switch the system from Increased performance to Battery Saving my MacBookPro now runs a lot cooler infact it barely even warms up any more.

     

    Hope this helps

  • by MHN,

    MHN MHN Aug 14, 2012 11:26 AM in response to Chris Lelliott
    Level 1 (85 points)
    Aug 14, 2012 11:26 AM in response to Chris Lelliott

    +1 -- turning off the NVidia 9600GT and using the 9400 GPU significantly reduces the upper left corner temps in my late 200815" MBP.

  • by jopolo,

    jopolo jopolo Aug 18, 2012 7:31 AM in response to Thenecron
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 18, 2012 7:31 AM in response to Thenecron

    I have been having similar problems with my 2010 MBP 13".  It always ran a little hot and I had to place something between it and my lap.  Recently it started shutting itself off randomly.  So after reading several discussions about similar problems, I downloaded Fan Control 1.2.  After you install it, you can find it in the System Preferences.  Amazing results!  My computer immediately dropped in temperature.  The CPU Core Temperatures went from 85-90 degrees celcius to 39-43.  My laptop is nowhere near as hot as it was.  I also followed the advice of one poster who adjusted the settings slightly, but it honestly fixed the problem immediately and without any tinkering.  I'll repost it my problem reappears, but at this point I think I spared myself a trip to the genius bar and several hundred dollars. 

  • by mebyin,

    mebyin mebyin Aug 18, 2012 11:35 AM in response to jopolo
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 18, 2012 11:35 AM in response to jopolo

    hi...

     

    i have resolved it by downgrading to Snow leopard..

     

    It seems apple doesnt care to reply our issues or Fixing it with upgrades also..

     

    seems Lion is more resource hog that the Macbook pro cant handle..

     

    also to consider Lion doesnt have much features that will stick u to it....

     

    just some extra animations /interface for normal users like us.

     

    i had downgraded my MAC to snowleopard some months back and its running very fine.. no heat issue ..

     

    just dump LION... i paid for LION but seems like waste since APPLE doesnt care abt fixing issues that users face with it...

     

    best of luck.. if u need any advice reply..

  • by columbiapolitan,

    columbiapolitan columbiapolitan Sep 9, 2012 1:09 AM in response to mebyin
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 9, 2012 1:09 AM in response to mebyin

    hi, this is good news - how do I downgrade?  thanks!

  • by nscamuffa,

    nscamuffa nscamuffa Oct 20, 2012 10:02 AM in response to Thenecron
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 20, 2012 10:02 AM in response to Thenecron

    I have same issue. I have a late 2009 MBP unibody. When I purchased this it was the highest 15 in model you could buy. I've already had the Motherboard ( I forget what apple calls it) replaced while still under apple care because the usb and network ports stopped working. Hard drive has been replaced due to crash while under warrenty. Now I am out of apple care and the issue is still not resolved. 

    I have been reading here and I did not see any mention of other probs I am having. My MBP powers down automatically very frequently after being awaken from sleep mode. It also goes to gray screen telling me I have to hard restart. And it runs very slowly almost always. I have just ordered upgraded ram to see if this will help but I am lost if this does not help. I spent almost $3000 on a mac that has only lasted me 3 yrs. Not a great return on investment. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

     

    I also forgot to mention Genius bar has no idea what to do. They run test and it all shows ok so they say I must be wrong. Great customer service.

  • by George0WON,

    George0WON George0WON Feb 4, 2013 4:39 AM in response to Thenecron
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 4, 2013 4:39 AM in response to Thenecron

    I have a MBP 2011 i7 2 2 years now i have working with it. I have experience heat issues since then but never when i first bought it, based on the heating problems i had in, i think the mayor issue is with the fans, and air flow inside the MBP, its not overheating is just getting dusty and the fans not able to dismiss the heat genereted by the CPU- please not here that a processor that powerfull is not something alot people can undestand. Anyways all i have to say is very straight forward.. All you have to do in order to avoid heating problems on your MBP is 2 mayor thinks :1st dont use programs to monitor the behavior of your system and 2nd when your MBP gets hot just close it and leave it for 10-15 min.
    For me at list this works fine.

  • by steveauston,

    steveauston steveauston Feb 5, 2013 9:54 PM in response to Thenecron
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 5, 2013 9:54 PM in response to Thenecron

    hi all, my girlfriends crapbook/ i mean macbook 2011 was maybe overheating. well, the fan was on continually

    and shut down frequently after a year and a half old .

    so after a bit of hmmmmm and a bit more hmmmmm i decided to remove the avg files that i found in an avg search

    (because i coundnt figure out avg removal)

    and now the crapple ,opps ,i mean apple fan no longer comes on at all and is cool to touch.

    go figure??

    oh and its 36deg c today in the shade.

    so thats my story ,im going back to my samsung now cheers to all ,hope this helps someone.

    excuse the spelling ,only maca's know how to spell lol.

    speaking of maca's , a double quarter pounder and a shake would do nice right about now.

    my girlfriends shout i think.

  • by inyourbus,

    inyourbus inyourbus Feb 6, 2013 6:30 AM in response to Thenecron
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 6, 2013 6:30 AM in response to Thenecron

    Finaly upgraded my mac about a month ago.

     

    Never took it to the Genius bar as i had no real issues once I changed the GFX settings.

     

    Upgraded from

     

    512 HDD

     

    4Gig Ram.

     

    to

     

     

    512 SSD.


    16gig Ram

     

    Both from Crucial.

     

    Cost around 300GBP

     

    Improvements with heat is supprising.

     

    My mac now runs Cold to the touch. 30-42c Idle and  70+c under preassure.

     

    My fans hardley every kick in.

     

    Removed the CD tray and it helped even more.

     

    No Issues at all anymore and my MBP boots in 8 secconds.

  • by inyourbus,

    inyourbus inyourbus Feb 6, 2013 6:27 AM in response to steveauston
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 6, 2013 6:27 AM in response to steveauston

    Yea you should probably go back to samsung.

  • by jlauve,

    jlauve jlauve Feb 11, 2013 8:33 AM in response to Thenecron
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Feb 11, 2013 8:33 AM in response to Thenecron

    Thanks for the tip.

     

    After battling this for a long time, finally solved!

     

    My device is a 15" MBP, mid-2009, Unibody, Core 2 Duo 3.06 gH, 8 GB RAM, 512 GB HD @ 7200 RPM, OSX 10.8.2

     

    I use smcFanControl, and consider about 150 degrees at 3,000 rpm pretty normal

     

    However, I'd see it climb well over 200 and speed up to almost 6,000 rpm -- and get really hot to the touch -- whenever I did either of the following:

    • Access flash based websites
    • Run iPhoto

     

    I changed one setting, and am now running relatively cool again:

     

    > System Preferences > Energy Saver > Graphics: Better battery life

    (Previously it was set to "Higher performance")

     

    Thanks.

  • by nimmagna,

    nimmagna nimmagna Mar 29, 2013 7:09 AM in response to Thenecron
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 29, 2013 7:09 AM in response to Thenecron

    Hi All,

     

    I have same problem on my macbook 13'' (white). most of the time it's overheat and going to sleep mode when i am watching videos.

     

    but in System Preferences > Energy Saver >  Automatic Graphics Switching option is not exist.

     

    can some help

  • by imawsm,

    imawsm imawsm May 13, 2013 7:02 AM in response to Joni Chacho
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 13, 2013 7:02 AM in response to Joni Chacho

    Dear Joni,

     

    I agree about the product defect. I am using a MBP, 15" late 2011 model. Just 16 months after i purchased it my graphic card was spoiled. I dont use it for gaming, just light things like word processing, candy crush, movies, facebooking etc. But it happened due to the overheating problem. I heard many people with the same model have the same problem (spoiled graphic card) and it is all due to overheating.

  • by Shriz,

    Shriz Shriz Jul 23, 2013 6:17 AM in response to Thenecron
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 23, 2013 6:17 AM in response to Thenecron

    Hey! Umm, i dont have the option of automatic graphic switching. I have a 13" Mac book pro.. Its the mid 2013 version.. So it probably is the latest one.. Any idea of how to fix the issue?

Previous Page 2 of 6 last Next