Closed lid - effects on screen life

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Closed lid - effects on screen life

Hi,

I recently bought a 15" retina quad-core MacBook Pro. During the working week I have it permanently hooked-up to a couple of external monitors. In this mode, I don't really need the extra screenspace of the built-in display. So potentially I could leave the cover closed all week. But I've noticed that the aluminium deck around the keyboard is frequently hot to touch (but not hot enough to burn my skin). I'm concerned that having the cover constantly closed would expose the screen to too much heat, too often, which might result in long-term damage. Am I right?

I guess another way of asking this question, is which option will result in shorter screen life, having the retina display switched on for 10+ hours a day, or having it closed and exposed to heat of the deck for a similar amount of time?

Thanks.

SR

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013), OS X Mavericks (10.9.2)

Posted on Apr 4, 2014 9:09 AM

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Answer 1

SmallRocks Author

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Apr 7, 2014 4:18 AM in response to Andy-J-D

I decided to do my own round of tests, which gave broadly similar results to yours. Using one of the temp monitoring apps, I logged 25 different temp areas (ie different components in the mbp) every minute for a half-hour with the lid open & another half-hour set with the lid closed, doing similar tasks in both cases. With the lid closed, the overall average temp was 89% of the temp with the lid open. In terms of actual temperature, the lid-closed-average was 7.1 deg celsius lower. The only temp in the set that was higher, with the lid closed, was "palmrest proximity" which went up from 28 to 31 deg celsius.

After an hour of working with the lid closed I opened it & felt around the display with my hand. The lower half of it was noticibly warm, but not "hot". I suspect its temperature was well within the healthy range.

So I think from now on I'll be leaving the lid closed, except when I'm doing CPU-intensive stuff.

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Answer 2

Andy-J-D

Level 3

645 points

Apr 4, 2014 11:06 AM in response to SmallRocks

I can't answer your question directly as I don't know which will give the longest lifespan for the display. That being said, this may help you.

I have a similar situation - I use two external monitors about 80% of the time I use my rMBP.

I've decided to leave it open, despite not really needing the third (smaller) screen and the possible effects on display lifespan. My concern is for the effect closing the lid has on heat dissipation - not just the display being exposed to heat, but higher overall operating temps. A lot of air escapes through the open area at the hinge, and it's blocked when the lid is closed.

I lost a 2010 MBP to a failed Main Logic Board that was likely caused by running it too hot. So for me, any possible reduction in display life is offset by the reduced heat (and associated wear on the internals). And as you point out, that heat may be bad for the display as well.

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Answer 3

SmallRocks Author

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Apr 4, 2014 12:12 PM in response to Andy-J-D

Thanks. That makes a lot of sense.

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Answer 4

Andy-J-D

Level 3

645 points

Apr 4, 2014 2:21 PM in response to SmallRocks

Well, I'm afraid I need to backtrack. After answering your question, I was bothered that there wasn't an easier way to do this. I looked into ways to run the internal display open but off. I found basically four suggested ways of doing it, none of them worked for me. Just FYI, they were the magnet hack, the command-line revert-to-pre-Lion configuration hack, a clamshell-then-open-after hack and an InsomniaX hack.

After all that, I did an experminet and just put it in regular clamshell mode and compared temps. Running the same programs and doing the same tasks, I'm averaging 20 degrees F lower in clamshell mode than I was with all three screens on. 20 degrees is a LOT. So apparently the heat dissipation with the top up isn't that big of an issue, and the graphics processing that doesn't have to be done more than makes up for it. If these lower temps persist, I'll be keeping it in clamshell mode instead of running all three screens. If Apple saw fit to add the ability to turn off the internal display to OSX that would be awesome, but I'd be surprised if it happens at this point.

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Answer 5

kkwan77

Level 1

52 points

Apr 4, 2014 3:35 PM in response to Andy-J-D

What are the temps when you leave the lid open and turn down the MacBook Pro screen brightness to zero?

I've been using this as a work-around (have no need for the macbook pro screen -- use 2 external monitors) as the other solutions do not work and I don't want to open and close the lid all the time.

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Answer 6

Andy-J-D

Level 3

645 points

Apr 4, 2014 7:10 PM in response to kkwan77

With the lid open and the brightness all the way down, temp is at best about -5 F from with the brightness up (which is still +15 from clamshell mode). It looks like it's the extra processing power and not the backlight that cause the heat with the internal monitor running.

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Answer 7

kkwan77

Level 1

52 points

Apr 4, 2014 10:08 PM in response to Andy-J-D

I see, thanks for checking.

And are there any viable solutions for turning off the MBP screen?

(i.e.,

magnet hack
the command-line revert-to-pre-Lion configuration hack
a clamshell-then-open-after hack
InsomniaX hack

)

Opening and closing the lid isn't ideal every single time and I prefer the air flow with an open lid.

I really don't understand why Apply doesn't give you ability to just turn it off, I mean really is it that difficult or do they just want to be different? 😮

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Answer 8

Andy-J-D

Level 3

645 points

Apr 8, 2014 11:56 AM in response to SmallRocks

That makes sense, probably still best to open it up when the CPU's cranked all the way.

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Answer 9

Andy-J-D

Level 3

645 points

Apr 8, 2014 11:57 AM in response to kkwan77

I wasn't able to get any of those tricks to work. It looks like the command-line trick to get the Pre-Lion behavior (internal stays off after you open it when external's hooked up) works for one monitor, but I couldn't get it to work with two. If you find a way that works let us know.

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Answer 10

kkwan77

Level 1

52 points

Apr 8, 2014 4:58 PM in response to Andy-J-D

Well, Tip 1 from this link worked for me while using 2 monitors connected. (HDMI/Mini-Display-DVI-D) But you have to close the lid right after boot up or reboot then once the login screen appears you can re-open it.

http://www.cultofmac.com/176329/turn-off-internal-lcd-display-of-your-macbook-ai r-os-x-tips/

This of course, is a pain in the arse to have to open and close the lid each time doing this.

APPLE please implement an option to turn off the rMBP screen when external monitors are connected.

For now I am just turning the brightness down until a more viable solution is provided from Apple, which will most likely never come.

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