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Level 1

121 points

Is it normal for an old 15" MacBook Pro to be hot on its left side?

Hello!

Is it normal for an old 15" MacBook Pro (bought in 2008) to be burning hot on its left near the keyboard? Are there fans? I saw no vents and felt air flows. Its battery feels warm, but it is old and doesn't hold a lot of juice (powers off after a few minutes when using it only). It is running Mac OS X 10.5.8. The room temperature is almost 80F degrees.

Thank you in advance. 🙂

MacBook Pro (15-inch Early 2008), Mac OS X (10.5.8), 2.4 Ghz; A1260 model; 15" size.

Posted on Mar 2, 2013 9:30 PM

Best reply

mende1

Level 10

93,538 points

Posted on Mar 2, 2013 9:45 PM

Apple normally separates the parts of a MacBook that generates more heat, the processor and the graphic card, and puts them in different places. That's the reason why you may be noticing that the left part is hot. Anyway, I recommend you to check the temperature of the computer, using iStat Menus

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19 replies

antdude Author

Level 1

121 points

Mar 3, 2013 10:14 AM in response to mende1

mende1 wrote:

In that case, forget about my last comment. I thought you had the CPU running at 104ºC. Anyway, you should consider a new Mac if you are having all of those problems. A new computer may be cheaper than repairing your actual computer, if the temperature is really high. If not, your fans are working without any problem, except for those problems

So, it's normal to be hot to touch? Weird.

mende1

Level 10

93,538 points

Mar 3, 2013 10:17 AM in response to antdude

It's aluminum, and aluminum gets hot with the use of the Mac. It's normal, and your Mac temperature is normal, too. I thought that your Mac showed the temperature in Celsius and gave you a wrong answer. Sorry

antdude Author

Level 1

121 points

Mar 3, 2013 10:19 AM in response to mende1

mende1 wrote:

It's aluminum, and aluminum gets hot with the use of the Mac. It's normal, and your Mac temperature is normal, too. I thought that your Mac showed the temperature in Celsius and gave you a wrong answer. Sorry

Interesting and thanks. 🙂

mende1

Level 10

93,538 points

Mar 3, 2013 10:20 AM in response to antdude

You are welcome

Is it normal for an old 15" MacBook Pro to be hot on its left side?