Is a laptop cooling pad worth it for high-temp AI work on an M1 MacBook Pro?

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Level 1

4 points

Is a laptop cooling pad worth it for high-temp AI work on an M1 MacBook Pro?

i have a setup where my mac is raised above the table, on a stand but still while running ai llms locally on my mac it reaches temps above 80 degrees c and i have to use an external app called macs fan control to not let the temp go till 100degrees c , which has also happened quite a few times now, and usually in normal use cases the temp always remains at a normal 30-40 degrees c but specially while computing some heavy problems with ai locally.

so for this i thought about buying a good laptop cooler and keep it under my mac for even better airflow as well as some extra cool air pushed into the machine

for reference i have the base m1 macbook pro, 16gb ram, 512gb storage

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 15.3

Posted on Feb 4, 2025 4:08 AM

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Answer 1

Allan Jones

Level 9

78,410 points

Feb 4, 2025 9:09 AM in response to lokavya

The original Macbook Pro design (silver keys) used the bottom of the case as an auxiliary heat sink. Underside cooling devices worked quite well.

With the advent of Unibody Macbook Pro about 2009, the logic board was "hung" off the keyboard deck, making any cooling applied to the bottom plate far less effective—virtually no contact with the heat dissipation systems. Because of airflow issues, a fan pad below could theoretically interfere with needed air going in the side vents.

The first thing to do is understand and respect critical areas on the computer that relate to cooling:

—With all Macbook Pro variants, hot air is exhausted through hinge area on the back. That must not be obstructed at all. I try to keep roughly 100mm (~4 inches_ of open space between the hinge on my Macbook Pro and anything on the workspace.

—Your MBP14 has side intakes similar to those in the image. Some hard case designs cover those vents. So can loose paper or cloth under the computer.

—On some models, extra cooling air may be taken in through the keyboard. That likely explains this bullet point in Apple's tech article on keeping notebook computers cool:

Of course, ambient temperature is a major contributor. I've worked posts here from people in hot climates with no conditioned air. When it's 30°C or more in the work area, it takes very little workload to shove the temps over the top.

Are you running any anti-virus software or so-called "cleaning" apps? They WILL increase temps.

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Answer 2

John Galt

Level 10

155,882 points

Feb 4, 2025 4:34 AM in response to lokavya

Attempting to circumvent the Mac's cooling system with clever apps such as "Macs Fan Control" will ruin the Mac.

So will "pushing" air into it.

Stop messing with it. Unless of course you want to buy a new Mac every once in a while, which will be perfectly ok with Apple.

Read Keep your Mac laptop within acceptable operating temperatures - Apple Support. You can certainly place a Mac on a cool surface if you want, provided it doesn't result in internal condensation, which will also ruin a Mac.

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