macbook pro in the freezer

Question

macbook pro in the freezer

Hi everyone,

I have a 2.53 ghz macbook pro, and it gets to be as hot as over 180 degrees.. At that point, I can't even tolerate typing on it because the keys are so hot... I have smcfancontrol installed, and have the fan cranked up to the highest possible-- it still gets this hot.

Is it safe to wrap it in a towel and throw it in the freezer periodically? I was thinking a towel would prevent condensation......... Is this an ok thing to do?

-patrick

powermac pro 3ghz xeon 8core, Mac OS X (10.5.3), 9gb ram, 4tb internal storage, 30" cinema display, 17" hitachi, fireface800

Posted on Jun 22, 2010 8:30 PM

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Answer 1

Rod Hagen

Level 7

32,000 points

Jun 22, 2010 9:07 PM in response to Patrick Collins

No. Sudden temperature changes are not good for computers (worse than the heat you are experiencing). They can lead to things like the detrioration of soldered joints etc, quite apart from the potential condensation issues - which stem from the greater capacity of hot air to hold water than cold air, and which will still occur internally even if you throw a towel over it).

The best solution would be to work out why the computer is getting so hot and if possible doing something about it!

A CPU temp of 180ºF isn't an unusual temperature to reach when rendering video and the like, but even then it shouldn't make use of the keyboard itself uncomfortable.

Personally I'd dump the smcfancontrol software, as , in some circumstances, it seems to lead to more problems than it solves on MBPs.

How do you use the computer? On your lap? on a table? No evidence of blockage to the vents? Can you actually hear the fans running flat out when the temp is high?

What are you actually running when the temps get this high? Is it happening under OSX or are you running Windows at the time? Any sign of a "runaway process" if you take a look at "all processes" or "active processes" with Activity Monitor? (see http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1473 for instructions).

Cheers

Rod

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Answer 2

maanco

Level 1

65 points

Jun 22, 2010 9:00 PM in response to Patrick Collins

I'm pretty sure the sudden shift in temperature can't be good for any type of electronics. You might not harm your mbp in the short run but eventually you might.

You should get it check out at your local Apple store or AASP.

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Answer 3

Jun 22, 2010 9:07 PM in response to Rod Hagen

Rod Hagen wrote:
How do you use the computer? On your lap? on a table? No evidence of blockage to the vents? Can you actually hear the fans running flat out when the temp is high?

I have a "rain design iLap".. It probably would absorb some of the heat, but I have the 4 rubber stickers on it to prevent the macbook pro from getting scratched, so there's no heat absorption happening. No blocked vents.. and yes, I hear the fans running-- even now and I am only at 163 degrees right now.

Rod Hagen wrote:
What are you actually running when the temps get this high? Is it happening under OSX or are you running Windows at the time? Any sign of a "runaway process" if you take a look at "all processes" or "active processes" with Activity Monitor? (see http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1473 for instructions).

It's mostly just application development.. So, several terminal windows, textmate, xcode...

The other thing that happens oddly with this machine is after X amount of time, suddenly ichat / quicktime / itunes, and even irc chat will not work. If I try to launch the apps, they just bounce on the dock forever, and I have to reboot my machine. I usually have to reboot this machine 3-4 times a day if I want to watch a video or listen to music after a significant amount of time has passed. I talked to applecare about this, and they said to do a clean install.. I have not been looking forward to doing that because it took me a few days just to get all the tools I needed installed on this machine, and I can't really sacrifice that time right now.

-patrick

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Answer 4

Rod Hagen

Level 7

32,000 points

Jun 22, 2010 9:14 PM in response to Patrick Collins

Patrick Collins wrote:
It's mostly just application development.. So, several terminal windows, textmate, xcode...

The other thing that happens oddly with this machine is after X amount of time, suddenly ichat / quicktime / itunes, and even irc chat will not work. If I try to launch the apps, they just bounce on the dock forever, and I have to reboot my machine. I usually have to reboot this machine 3-4 times a day if I want to watch a video or listen to music after a significant amount of time has passed.

I'd definitely be inclined to keep Activity Monitor open for a while when working, to see if any particular processes are chewing up CPU cycles etc. Might also be worth keeping an eye on free memory availability.

Plenty of free space on the HD?

Cheers

Rod

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Answer 5

Jun 22, 2010 9:23 PM in response to Rod Hagen

Rod Hagen wrote:
Plenty of free space on the HD?

Yeah.. approx 30gb.. and this is a ssd.

-p

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