MacBook Pro - Super hot!

Check your Activity Monitor and see if you have any processes running that are using excessive CPU power.

-Bmer
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My MacBook Pro is doing this as well, my fans were running at almost 6000rpm for more than an hour.

Im running Leopard.

I have already checked the activity monitor and nothing else is really running other than iTunes and Safari.Battry wont last more than an hour 1.5 hours, even on one of the dimmest screen brightness setting.

Hey Xeneizes,

I've had the same problem as well.. I don't know if you're using coconut battery because I had that open in the background and all of a sudden my computer went up to 60 degrees Celsius and battery life was at 84% with like 1:04 remaining which is unacceptable!! Anyways I closed that and it seemed to run fine, don't know if that is your problem... ALSO I find that when my battery is plugged in and i'm running off of AC power my MBP gets way too hot, especially when gaming so I took the battery out and just ran it off AC power and my temp decreased by like 15 degrees Celsius..

when you use your system, do you have it on your lap? or sitting on a couch or bed?

The reason I ask is because laptop systems in general tend to overheat when they are not on a hard surface. I have no idea what the reasoning is and I know it sounds crazy, but I read about it in a knowledge base in the past and have also had first hand experience.

If you are using it on a desk or something similar, then the best thing to do is try and determine what programs may be running when you encounter the issue. Typically, a 3rd party software (such as coconut battery) can be responsible.

The reason I ask is because laptop systems in general tend to overheat when they are not on a hard surface. I have no idea what the reasoning is and I know it sounds crazy, but I read about it in a knowledge base in the past and have also had first hand experience.
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A laptop is cooled by fans blowing air over the hot parts inside the computer and out vents. Putting the laptop on a soft surface can cover these vents so the hot air is just blown around inside the laptop instead. This causes the heat to build up and overheat the laptop.

I'm new to Mac. How do you see temperature information and fan speeds?

Here is a free utility that will help you.

http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/systemdiskutilities/istatmenus.html

I'm sure there are others.

I've had my MBP since August & I have been amazed at how hot this machine gets. Using the iStat Pro widget I downloaded about a month ago, I frequently see "CPU A" (always the hottest component) reach 160ºF. The hottest I've ever seen my MBP get was last week, and I took a snapshot of the whole screen. I was copying a music CD to iTunes and had both Safari & iPhoto open at the same time. It was laying flat on my desk and had been on for ~3-4hours. I got as follows from the iStat Pro widget:
CPU (User-32%, System-8%, Nice-0%, Idle-60%)
Fans(Left-2002rpm, Right-1998rpm)
CPU A-180ºF
GPU Diode-176
GPU Heatsink-157
Heatsink A-148
Heatsink B-106
Enclosure Bottom-97
Memory Control-136
Airport Card-142

I seem to be having the opposite problem of you...my fans rarely speed up to cool my laptop down.According to Apple, however, operating this hot is not a problem. To answer cooling it down, if the laptop gets extremely hot you can buy a stand to increase air flow beneath it because the aluminum case is designed give off heat to the air (or you can do like me & pop the back up on a small book). If you prop it up, you can buy little desk fan to flow air over the keys and/or under the bottom (I have a $5 desk fan from Wal-Mart that does this job). The reason I don't do this is all the time is that propping the back makes typing awkward & my eyes dry out quickly with the fan blowing. Blame Apple for designing the first laptop that can't be used on a lap...then charging over $2k and calling it a "notebook" so they don't take the heat for 3rd degree burns on people's laps. Hope I've helped!

At least your cooling fans aren't on the bottom, like my HP 17" ZD8010, I have to keep it up off any surface.

MacBook Pro notebooks run hot, which is why at some point apple did produce an article on why they produce MacBook Pro (could of been PowerBooks when it was written) notebooks rather then laptops (since notebooks are portable and not designed for lap use, while laptops are assumed to be safe to use on a lap.

shamefully, that is what we all get for using a MacBook Pro. a warm lap and a worrying heat coming from them. all be it safe for the hardware, but not always for the user who may find it uncomfortable to pick up after its been on for a long period of time.

I had exactly the same problem. I made an appointment at the Genius Bar. They replaced the battery right there...covered under warranty. Since the battery has been replaced, I have not had any problems. I use my MacBook Pro on my lap, on the desk, on the floor...battery stays warm, never hot.

Hope this helps!