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MacOsX 2007 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, Overheating CPU a Temperature Diode

So, my issue is that my CPU a Temperature Diode is overheating constantly whenever I stream online video. Netflix, Hulu, Youtube, the lot basically. I see its temperature start at 47 to 57 and jump to 77 to nearly 90 degrees Celius in a matter of minutes. I am wondering what the issue could be and what I can do to prevent this. Whether it is getting a new fan or Video Card. My computer is elevated and has an external cooling fan. Please help!

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.6.8), Processor 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

Posted on Oct 19, 2011 6:31 PM

Reply
9 replies

Oct 19, 2011 8:13 PM in response to VestMan

Hi V,


Flash and everything up to date?


How much RAM?


Checked Activity Monitor page outs/swap used and for other processes using CPU?


At least 15% free space available on HD?


Cleaned caches/run background maintenance lately?


Repaired permissions?


Verified/repaired disk?


How fast is your download speed?

Oct 20, 2011 9:11 PM in response to VestMan

I know you said you're working on it, but which ones have you done and some are just questions . . . .


Flash and everything up to date?


How much RAM?


Checked Activity Monitor page outs/swap used and for other processes using CPU?


At least 15% free space available on HD?


Cleaned caches/run background maintenance lately?


Repaired permissions?


Verified/repaired disk?


How fast is your download speed?

Oct 20, 2011 10:08 PM in response to VestMan

If you're not getting thermal shutdown, technically, you're not 'overheating', just 'heating'.

Yes, a 6000 rpm fan is not a pleasant sound.


The design limit is specified as 100-degrees Celsius (212F) http://ark.intel.com/products/27256/Intel-Core2-Duo-Processor-T7400-(4M-Cache-2_ 16-GHz-667-MHz-FSB)


Blame it on the early T7400 Core2Duo relatively power-hungry 65nm design, and the GMA 950 provides only 64Mb of VRAM.


So, the mid-2007 2.16Ghz Intel Core2Duo and the Intel GMA950 video chipset generate lots of heat when you stream Flash video. And using iChat. And Secure Emptying the trash with many large files. And generate video files. And lots of other CPU-intensive tasks.


And the inside of your 2007-era MacBook might be full of dust and dirt by now, limiting the efficiency of the cooling fan further.


Have you tried Google Chrome, Firefox, or Opera? Some browsers and corresponding (Flash) plug-ins seem more efficient than Safari for some websites.


Message was edited by: kostby

Oct 20, 2011 10:15 PM in response to kostby

Hi k,


kostby wrote:


If you're not getting thermal shutdown, technically, you're not 'overheating', just 'heating'.


The design limit is specified as 100-degrees Celsius (212F) http://ark.intel.com/products/27256/Intel-Core2-Duo-Processor-T7400-(4M-Cache-2_ 16-GHz-667-MHz-FSB)


Blame it on the early T7400 Core2Duo relatively power-hungry 65nm design, and the GMA 950 provides only 64Mb of VRAM.


So, the mid-2007 2.16Ghz Intel Core2Duo and the Intel GMA950 video chipset generate lots of heat when you stream Flash video. And Secure Empty the trash with many large files. And generate video files. And lots of other CPU-intensive tasks.


And the inside of your 2007-era MacBook might be full of dust and dirt by now, limiting the efficiency of the cooling fan further.


All good points, but to clarify, that logic board comes with an ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 GPU with 128MB VRAM, which doesn't really change any of what you said. 😉

Oct 23, 2011 5:15 PM in response to tjk

I know you said you're working on it, but which ones have you done and some are just questions . . . .


Flash and everything up to date? Yes


How much RAM? 1GB


Checked Activity Monitor page outs/swap used and for other processes using CPU? I am unsure as what this means, I am not sure how to do that.


At least 15% free space available on HD? I have only 18.5 GB available on my 120 GB HD, so barely.


Cleaned caches/run background maintenance lately? Yes


Repaired permissions? Yes


Verified/repaired disk? I need to locate my disk, it is currently misplaced.


How fast is your download speed? Where might i look that up, and specifically which download speed?

Oct 23, 2011 8:12 PM in response to VestMan

VestMan wrote:

How much RAM? 1GB


That probably related to your issue. I'd plan on upgrading RAM. Max is 3GB (you can actually install two 2GB modules, but only a bit over 3GB will be usable). I recommend checking out Macsales, Kingston (not their value RAM), and Crucial among others with a 100% compatibility guarantee and a lifetime warranty. Macsales, ifixit, youtube, etc. have illustrated installation instructions.


Checked Activity Monitor page outs/swap used and for other processes using CPU? I am unsure as what this means, I am not sure how to do that.


One way to get an idea whether more RAM will help or not, is to check Page outs and Swap used. First, use your Mac as you normally would, the longer the better (checking this right after starting up isn’t likely to show you anything). After you’ve used your Mac for awhile (again, the longer the better), go to Applications > Utilities > open Activity Monitor > in the top menu at right, select All Processes in the drop down menu > near the bottom of the window click on System Memory. If Page outs is more that about 10% of Page ins, and/or Swap used is large, chances are good that adding RAM will help. http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1342


At least 15% free space available on HD? I have only 18.5 GB available on my 120 GB HD, so barely.


Although it isn't helping, that's probably not at the heart of the current issue; it's something to think about upgrading in the near future though.


Verified/repaired disk? I need to locate my disk, it is currently misplaced.


You can run Verify from Disk Utility while booted to your HD normally.


How fast is your download speed? Where might i look that up, and specifically which download speed?


That's the speed you're paying your ISP for. IDK if it's related, but it would seem that if you have, say, 20Mbps download speed and you're using all of it for whatever, that's going to make things toasty on your MBP. One place to look is on iStat Pro; if you don't have it, I recommend getting it, as it's a good app to have.

MacOsX 2007 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, Overheating CPU a Temperature Diode

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