Macbook becomes incredibly hot during use

mauve · 12-17-2013, 12:54 AM

I have a 3-month-old Macbook Pro with 15" retina display, and I've noticed it gets REALLY hot on the keyboard and metal edge near the hinge when I play games on it, even when I'm putting it on a solid surface like Apple suggests. The problem also occurs sometimes when I'm watching youtube videos, and occasionally when I'm just charging the battery (the charger itself heats up too). It's not hot enough to physically burn me, but it certainly feels like it comes close-- There's times where it's actually mildly painful to touch the keys on the left side of the keyboard.

Considering I bought this thing so I'd have something portable that could run Final Cut Pro, the fact that Minecraft is enough to make it overheat is pretty disappointing. I actually went out of my way to buy the version with the most RAM, etc so it would have a better chance of running said software.

I looked at Apple's support site and found several people with similar problems, although most of them were for the 2011 model. The general response was "Meh. It's within an acceptable range of heat. Deal with it." Does anyone know if this is a common issue and whether I should bother to take it in? I kinda hate to send it in for repairs/examination around Christmas since everyone and their brother will be turning in their new iPhone/iPad/macbook/all-in-one for support then. On the other hand, I'd like to make sure the heat isn't damaging my computer. My sister's sending hers back to Apple for a battery issue and a dead pixel on the monitor, and she's only had hers for about a month longer than I've had mine. So I'm a little disappointed with that too.

Any advice, computery-types of NPF?

rpgdemon · 12-17-2013, 02:33 AM

I've never used a macbook which doesn't burn your lap, unfortunately. The aluminum casing really is not a good design, from a heat-flow point of view (Or, I suppose it is: Gets the heat away from the components, and into everything else around the laptop)

One thing you can try, in case the fans are getting clogged with dust, is to spray into it with compressed air, it's amazing how dusty computers get inside, and that can cause the computer to overheat.

Azisien · 12-18-2013, 12:50 PM

1) To some extent, laptops just get hot. Phenomenal cosmic hardware, itty-bitty living space. Running games, fullscreen video, or intensive applications will ramp up your CPU and GPU and that will start blasting out a lot of heat. However, it probably shouldn't burn you, especially not the keyboard itself. Power bricks, too, will get hot in time.

2) I don't deal much in Apple stuff, but heating issues are a very common problem with the most recent MacBook Pro models. If you have a warranty, I recommend you exercise it.

3) Whether you do or do not send it in for repair/replacement, I suppose there's a few other things to try. What's the fan situation like? When you run more intensive apps, can you hear/feel the fans work harder? Are they dispersing the heat much (blowing heat out vs. weakly letting heat trickle out)?

There seem to be several free fan control software apps for MacBook Pro, but I don't know your exact specs, so you'll have to find the right one for you. Perhaps this: https://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/23137/fan-control

You can crank up your fans above their presets and see if that helps.

mauve · 12-18-2013, 02:52 PM

Quote:

3) Whether you do or do not send it in for repair/replacement, I suppose there's a few other things to try. What's the fan situation like? When you run more intensive apps, can you hear/feel the fans work harder? Are they dispersing the heat much (blowing heat out vs. weakly letting heat trickle out)?

I rarely hear/feel the fan at all, actually. And the heat isn't on the underside: it's mostly on the top, on the aluminum around the keyboard portion on the left half of the laptop.

Azisien · 12-19-2013, 12:34 AM

Sounds like a problem. Even on a laptop or computer with quiet fans, you should be able to easily hear/notice them under heavy load. You could always try a fan control application, try maxing them out and see if that gets them going and alleviates the problem.

However, you shouldn't have to even do that at all. I would get it looked at if it's under warranty.

mauve · 12-19-2013, 03:58 AM

Thanks, I'll do that!

12-17-2013, 12:54 AM	#1
mauve So Dreamy Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Someplace magical Posts: 6,863	Macbook becomes incredibly hot during use I have a 3-month-old Macbook Pro with 15" retina display, and I've noticed it gets REALLY hot on the keyboard and metal edge near the hinge when I play games on it, even when I'm putting it on a solid surface like Apple suggests. The problem also occurs sometimes when I'm watching youtube videos, and occasionally when I'm just charging the battery (the charger itself heats up too). It's not hot enough to physically burn me, but it certainly feels like it comes close-- There's times where it's actually mildly painful to touch the keys on the left side of the keyboard. Considering I bought this thing so I'd have something portable that could run Final Cut Pro, the fact that Minecraft is enough to make it overheat is pretty disappointing. I actually went out of my way to buy the version with the most RAM, etc so it would have a better chance of running said software. I looked at Apple's support site and found several people with similar problems, although most of them were for the 2011 model. The general response was "Meh. It's within an acceptable range of heat. Deal with it." Does anyone know if this is a common issue and whether I should bother to take it in? I kinda hate to send it in for repairs/examination around Christmas since everyone and their brother will be turning in their new iPhone/iPad/macbook/all-in-one for support then. On the other hand, I'd like to make sure the heat isn't damaging my computer. My sister's sending hers back to Apple for a battery issue and a dead pixel on the monitor, and she's only had hers for about a month longer than I've had mine. So I'm a little disappointed with that too. Any advice, computery-types of NPF? __________________ Yoo Hoo!

12-17-2013, 02:33 AM	#2
rpgdemon Not a Taco Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 3,313	I've never used a macbook which doesn't burn your lap, unfortunately. The aluminum casing really is not a good design, from a heat-flow point of view (Or, I suppose it is: Gets the heat away from the components, and into everything else around the laptop) One thing you can try, in case the fans are getting clogged with dust, is to spray into it with compressed air, it's amazing how dusty computers get inside, and that can cause the computer to overheat. __________________ I did a lot of posting on here as a teenager, and I was pretty awful. Even after I learned, grew up, and came to be on the right side of a lot of important issues, I was still angry, abrasive, and generally increased the amount of hate in the world, in pretty unacceptable ways. On the off chance that someone is taking a trip down memory lane looking through those old threads, I wanted to devote my signature to say directly to you, I'm sorry. Thank you for letting me be better, NPF.

12-19-2013, 12:34 AM	#5
Azisien wat Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 7,177	Sounds like a problem. Even on a laptop or computer with quiet fans, you should be able to easily hear/notice them under heavy load. You could always try a fan control application, try maxing them out and see if that gets them going and alleviates the problem. However, you shouldn't have to even do that at all. I would get it looked at if it's under warranty. Last edited by Azisien; 12-19-2013 at 12:59 PM.

12-19-2013, 03:58 AM	#6
mauve So Dreamy Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Someplace magical Posts: 6,863	Thanks, I'll do that! __________________ Yoo Hoo!

12-18-2013, 12:50 PM	#3
Azisien wat Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 7,177	1) To some extent, laptops just get hot. Phenomenal cosmic hardware, itty-bitty living space. Running games, fullscreen video, or intensive applications will ramp up your CPU and GPU and that will start blasting out a lot of heat. However, it probably shouldn't burn you, especially not the keyboard itself. Power bricks, too, will get hot in time. 2) I don't deal much in Apple stuff, but heating issues are a very common problem with the most recent MacBook Pro models. If you have a warranty, I recommend you exercise it. 3) Whether you do or do not send it in for repair/replacement, I suppose there's a few other things to try. What's the fan situation like? When you run more intensive apps, can you hear/feel the fans work harder? Are they dispersing the heat much (blowing heat out vs. weakly letting heat trickle out)? There seem to be several free fan control software apps for MacBook Pro, but I don't know your exact specs, so you'll have to find the right one for you. Perhaps this: https://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/23137/fan-control You can crank up your fans above their presets and see if that helps.