MacBook Pro 2012 13" operating temperature

Hello,


I have a MacBook Pro 2012 with 2,9Ghz i7 CPU and integrated graphics.

I haven't touched it or opened it since I bought it back in 2012.

I saw the last couple of weeks, that the bottom is very warm, and the fan is running high at that point while watching a movie for example. I downloaded an application called Fanny to monitor the temps.

It showed me an idle temperature for the CPU around 65-70 C, and for the GPU 70-75 C.

I assumed it is really warm, and since I haven't done anything to it, time to clean it up a little bit.

I have disassembled it, cleaned out the dust, and replaced the thermal paste.

After reassembling it, to my surprise the idle operating temperature is being shown as 80 C for the CPU and 85 C for the GPU.

I have already reset the SMC and the PRAM, but it did not help.

Have I messed up something? Or is the temperature reading off? Hovewer the fan is not starting, so I assume this temp is not too high, but I have read somewhere that the idle temp should be around 45-50 C.

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Sep 25, 2020 3:45 AM

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2 replies

Sep 25, 2020 4:33 AM in response to dlestar1984

The first set of temps are likely normal. The second set are likely too high (maybe not, if ‘watching a movie’ is streaming a high-res video from YouTube in Chrome).


More concerning is your statement that they fan is not starting’. The fan always runs, idle speed is 1,500-2,000 rpm, speeds up if more cooling is needed. At idle, it cannot really be heard, and it’s audible at high speeds. But if your fan app says it’s not moving, I suspect you caused a problem during your clean out.

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MacBook Pro 2012 13" operating temperature

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