Retina Macbook 15" Running Very Hot

Yes in the long run running any electronic device at high temps will shorten its life span.

Even if you go to the Apple store and show them they will say it is normal, which it may be while you are running such CPU & GPU demanding programs. Simple fact is all Mac notebook don't cool that well. On all of them the air intake and exhaust are in the same place, the screen hinge. The Retina does have vents on the botton sides which helps a bit but not that much.

I suggest if you haven't already that you buy the Applecare extended warranty because once your one year warranty runs out the Retina models are basically throw away computer and to get one fixed out of warranty will be very expensive (that's why I say they are throw aways. To fix one will be close to the cost of a new one).

Good Luck & Best Wishes.

kimberleefromvancouver wrote:

Will running my Macbook at these temps cause any problems? Is this normal? Should I get it examined at the Apple Store?

Thanks,

Dakota

It's possible that there's not enough thermally conductive paste between the processors and their heatsinks - that can result in temperatures getting abnormally high when the CPU and/or GPU are heavily loaded. A visit to the Apple Store and comparison to an identical machine doing the same task can help determine whether the behavior's normal or not.

One of our products, App Tamer, _may_ help, but it depends on whether the CPU use is all from one application, or if it's a result of some applications using CPU in the background when they shouldn't be. You can grab a free demo from http://www.stclairsoft.com/AppTamer/index.html and use it to see what's using CPU cycles (you can use Activity Monitor to do this too) - if some of CPU overhead is coming from background applications, you can use App Tamer to stop them when they're not needed and see if that helps.

- Jon

The macbook pro's are designed to reach near 100 C degrees. This is the max temp allowed for the processors and surpassing it may be a danger for the components. Althogh, the system is designed to shut down on overheating. If your system don't surpass 100 C degrees, and don't work abnormally, I think it is ok, and it is working normal. If it passes 100 degrees, it means something is wrong. Always remember to use your MBP on a flat and hard surface, never on lap or worse, over the bed. Under Windows, you can limit the processor speed at energy settings. Setting maximum processor speed to 80% or even less, 40-60% may not drop your framehate that much, but will definitely lower the temps. I have done it on my MBP and sometimes, i can drop close to 20 degrees only setting to 80% max processor speed, without having much impact on gameplay, cause it is a processor setting. Only the loading times is increased. Sometimes it can impact framehates, with 60% or lower, but it can be worth the increased durability of your entire system. Always remember that energy settings under windows have some profiles, with plugged or unplugged settings. Be sure to do it right. If you are running OSX, I can't say how could it be done, cause I use only Windows to play in bootcamp.

Sorry my english, I try do to my better.

Regards.

My MacBook Pro 15" (Retina, Mid 2012) runs 102 C when compiling source code that takes hours to build. I have it elevated so it has airflow below it. I just cancelled my software build when I saw my temperature was running 102 C. Five minutes later I am now at 75C.

Driving a second monitor increases temperatures. Turning down the retina's backlight brightness helps reduce temperatures. In my opinion they have already limited the backlight brightness to reduce temperature maximums. Maximum brightness is not as bright as it should be in my opinion.

I bought an i7 because I need to work my notebook hard. I think buying the Apple Warranty in this case is insurance that will have a good chance of being needed. Personally I would rather have a fatter, thicker notebook with good airflow that would allow me to use the i7, 16GB RAM, and 750GB SSD that I purchase to do my work efficiently.

I just restarted my compile. One minute later I am at 104 C.

-Ed

This Apple article may help:

Runaway applications can shorten battery runtime, affect performance, and increase heat and fan activity - Apple Support

Thanks for the link. I am compiling many tens of thousands of lines of source code. It is *not* a "runaway" application. It is a demanding professional application. I should be able to compile for hours and run one or more virtual machines simultaneously and not have to worry about overheating issues.

It is not only compiling. I can be running a virtual machine or working on developing OpenGL applications and 100C will be exceeded.

My 2011 MacBook Pro 15" has already failed due to working it hard and overheating. The MacBook Pro hardware should be designed to sufficiently cool itself when working hard. I think the term "Pro" should not be used if it does not mean that graphics and software professionals can rely on Apple quality to do their professional work.

Apple did recently announced a free logic board replacement for the 2011 MacBook Pro due to the high number of GPU failures. However it is not a design fix. You work it hard, doing your professional work, and it is likely to fail again.

-Ed