How do you know if it's overheating?

I'd just like offer an alternative viewpoint. The way I see it: If the hardware is there, it is there to be used. Why would anybody buy a MBP with a high end CPU and graphics chip if they weren't going to use it? People buy high end computers for demanding tasks; be it gaming, video editing, or otherwise. These sort of tasks all generate a lot of heat. Apple even advertises that the new MBPs are pretty adept at gaming.

Also, I've never experience overheating issues on my MBP. If you look at the readout for the CPU or GPU diode, yeah its hot, but the computer does a pretty good job of dissipating heat. Put it on a hard flat surface, maybe throw a fan mat under there if you're really concerned.

And If my MBP burns out in 6 months, I'll be expecting Apple to replace it.

There's no single answer, because different components overheating would cause different symptoms.

If the CPU overheats, you can expect the system to either shut down or reboot unexpectedly. If the GPU overheats, that's usually when the computer "freezes". Screen appears to lock up, can't move the cursor, etc. If the HDD overheats, then the system will continue to run fine until it needs to get data off the HDD, at which point things will fail and you'll likely get a kernel panic screen.

Ultimately, despite the fact that Apple is putting halfway decent graphics chips into laptops now, people need to come to grips with the fact that they aren't designed for gaming. Just because you CAN do something with a laptop doesn't always mean you SHOULD. I could use my laptop to swat flies for example, but I don't see myself recommending that to anyone at any point in time. Laptops, no matter who makes them, make for very poor gaming platforms. Disposing of waste heat in a confined space like that just creates problems. Most "gaming laptops" are sold to people with more money than sense. They often burn themselves out in 6 months or less.

You want to play SC2, get an iMac, Mac Pro, or a PC to play it on. Leave your MBP for other things.

One suggestion: Get the iStat widget, it gives a nice display of output from your various temperature sensors. It also tells you the fan speeds, and other useful bits of info. This way you can at least see what is going on. (When it's getting a good workout, the machine can get hot to the touch without anything overheating.) Many people use it.

You can find the widget here:

http://www.islayer.com/apps/istatpro/

charlie

Thats the program I use when I want to know something like that.

I also think people should be aware that the temperatures aren't necessarily intuitive. 78-80 degrees Celsius while under high load might make someone think "whoa, my computer must be melting" but really, thats the temperature directly at the diode, and the computer (though small and cramped) is engineered to dissipate that heat in a manner that makes it safe for all the components inside.

Yes, performing tasks that generate high heat on a daily basis will statistically increase the likelihood of failure in the future. But I'm of the opinion that if I take good care of the machine, make an effort to help dissipate the heat when I'm generating high amounts of it (with a cooling pad), then the computer should last for as long as I am using it.

It also doesn't hurt to buy AppleCare.

Well, since you have iStat there IS an answer, sort of. You can tell us what kinds of temps you're seeing, say, on you CPU, and compare with others whose machines are running normally.

For example, my CPU sits around 50 C, give or take, when I'm not doing much of anything. (I have a fair number of apps going.) When I am doing simple stuff, not too intensive - web browsing without lots of animations, typesetting - stuff like that, it will go to the high 50s, or 60 or so. When I am running an intensive computation, the temp can climb to 90 or so until the fans get a hold of things and keep it in the 80s until the computation is finished.

charlie

Why not game on my MBP? I play SC2 and WoW on it daily and don't have any issues. I travel a lot for work and love to be able to carry my computer with me. I got tired of the PC and Laptop combo.

This sounds about right (Starcraft is pretty intensive on the graphics and CPU and so heats things up to about those levels).

charlie