Why does my Macbook pro heat up?

Perfectly normal. The Macbook will shut down if it gets too hot, but it's incredibly rare. It won't hurt to make sure the device is properly ventilated and the fans aren't obstructed at all.

Mine gets up to 80'C when using intensive programs, so you're not alone.

Hope this helps!

Temperature is a function of the applications that you have open and in use.

Install a temperature monitoring application such as Temperature Monitor:

http://www.bresink.com/osx/TemperatureMonitor.html

Also open Activity Monitor and set it to ALL PROCESSES and %CPU to display values from high to low. When your MBP gets hot, use SHIFT COMMAND 4 to take images of both and post for evaluation.

Ciao.

nshorvon wrote:

Also, just realised, I dont always have it sitting on something - its often on my lap or settee. Does this mean the fan and ventilation is obstructed ?

Yes, that could be part of the problem. Apple considers them notebooks, not laptops so always use them on a hard surface.

Ciao.

nshorvon wrote:

Also, just realised, I dont always have it sitting on something - its often on my lap or settee. Does this mean the fan and ventilation is obstructed ?

What I meant by ventilation is the hinge at the rear of the Macbook Pro. This is where the Macbook fans are located and you should notice this area to be warm. This is normal and shows everything is working.

It is fine to have the device on your lap, just make sure the area by the hinge isn't blocked. Also, if it becomes very hot, place the Macbook on a solid surface until it cools down again. Don't worry, it isn't going to break! Keeping the ventilation clear is all you need to do, and the Macbook will do the rest.

As said above, the Macbook is a notebook, so a solid surface is always best if possible.

- Dude4

nshorvon wrote:

Also, just realised, I dont always have it sitting on something - its often on my lap or settee. Does this mean the fan and ventilation is obstructed ?

Several points:

MBP is a notebook, not a laptop. The metal outer skin is part of the heat dissipation, and sitting on a lap does not help disspate heat.

It should sit on a flat hard surface to allow air ro flow around it.

The vent is at the hinge, and shout not be blocked. Do not even blow air to clean it, as that can force dust onto internal surfaces.

It is in your Utilities folder. You can use SHIFT COMMAND U to bring the Utlities folder up on the desktop.

Ciao.

What is the deference between Notebooks and Laptops?

Cool Grumpy wrote:

What is the deference between Notebooks and Laptops?

One may argue that there is no or little difference between the two terms. I suspect that due to the design principles that Apple uses to dissipate heat, the MBPs can get very hot on the outside (a function of the aluminum case). Therefore they discourage the use on ones lap and promote the use of MBPs on solid surfaces such as table tops. In order to help promote and reinforce that concept, Apple uses the term notebook rather than laptop. See this support article:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1778

Ciao.

Thaaanks !

I got my MacBook Pro i7, 2.5 GHZ with Retina display recently. it was heating up every single time i watch videos or do some heavy work (office work). I went to Apple store but the guy over there said it's quite normal and they haven't done anything about it.

I later installed Boot Camp with Windows 10. The system then started over heating and I could feel the heat in the keyboard as well. I took it the same store again but there was a different guy this time. I explained him what's happening and he was ready to give it to their repair team to fix it.

Finally i got it today and they said both the fans (left and right) were not working. They replaced both of them and now it's lot better.