Macbook Heatsink

[Danny99]

I own a 13" Macbook, which heats up and makes the fan go super crazy.

I am looking into heatsinks, but I don't want to spend money on these fancy duty mechanical things, but was looking into some kind of material that would do the same thing. The only thing I've seen so far is marble.

What would you guys/girls suggest?

 

[Mr. B]

You shouldn't have to buy any third party accessories for a notebook to cool properly. Are you using the Macbook on a flat surface with some ventilation underneath? Is it a couple years old and/or in need of cleaning inside? If the internal cooler is coated in dust it won't be as effective.

 

[Danny99]

I've had it for a year and a half and have never taken it apart to clean it. Could that be my problem?

 

[Hedbergian]

With an 18-month coat of dust, a can of compressed air alone will get the temp down considerably. And if you're a power user with your laptop (anywhere north of 4 hours a day), you really should have an external heatsink; otherwise, you're just begging for thermal failure. Laptops are not large enough to efficiently cool themselves for long stretches of time.

 

[Deks]

A can of compressed air will probably do the trick.
Although be careful with it because it has to be done while the laptop is turned off, and sometimes, the air can push the dust further into the laptop.
I usually take my lower panel off and clean out the cpu cooler plus the area between the cpu and the air vents (and the vents themselves) manually.

I usually do it once in 6 months ... and on a more regular basis (once per week I press a vacuum cleaner head to the exhaust vents).

 

[Danny99]

Does the fact that it's an aluminum unibody make any difference in cleaning it?

 

[spinnerlys]

Does the fact that it's an aluminum unibody make any difference in cleaning it?

No, it might make the access different though.

Look here for some guides: http://www.ifixit.com/Device/MacBook_Unibody_Model_A1278

Btw, if you haven't done it already, you can download iStat Pro (a widget) and read the actual temperatures and also the fan speed.


Have a look at Activity Monitor ( Applications / Utilities / ) and select All Processes and sort by CPU to see what the culprit may be.

image below uses sorting by CPU as an example, also hosted on my Flickr account

 

[Danny99]

^^ Thanks for the visual. I appreciate everyone's help.

A couple more questions:

1) I read online as I searched that aluminum unibodys don't bring in much dust and I shouldn't have that big of a problem.

2) If I'm looking at the activity monitor, what processes should I be turning off?

3) What would be optimal temperatures for the different processes? Is the cooler the better the way to go?

I do have IStat Pro, when my first battery was in its death throws, best thing I've ever downloaded in my opinion.

 

[spinnerlys]

1) I read online as I searched that aluminum unibodys don't bring in much dust and I shouldn't have that big of a problem.

That I don't know about, but since dust can also enter through the keyboard, dust can be inside. I once opened my Unibody MBP and as have that good habit of smoking, I found some ash particles inside.

2) If I'm looking at the activity monitor, what processes should I be turning off?

None really, as many processes are essential, unless it is a rogue application or process. Sometimes "mds", "Finder" or "QuickLook Helper" can use a bit of CPU for no apparent reason.
"mds" is the Spotlight indexing service and should go away after some time.
"Finder" is not really quit-able, but it often helps to close all windows if you don't use them. You can do that via OPTION/ALT+CMD+W.
"QuickLook Helper" can be helped by turning of previews in Icon or List View (Finder: CMD+2, CMD+3; previews can be disabled via CMD+J)

3) What would be optimal temperatures for the different processes? Is the cooler the better the way to go?

The temperature is not dependent on single processes, but on the overall CPU activity. If your CPU is used for 100% out of its 200% capacity, the CPU gets hot, thus the fan starts to slowly spin. Idle fan speed is 2000RPM, maximum fan speed is 6000RPM. Normal temperatures range from 45°C to 65°C. The CPU can handle up to 105°C. If your CPU is constantly over 80 or 90°C and the CPU activity is below 150%, you might need to take it to Apple.


If you could post your CPU temperature, fan speed and your CPU activity, we could help you to find the culprit.

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[Danny99]

The problem really occurs in a hot room, when I'm in my cold basement, every thing is fine.

I have never seen a CPU temperature over 75 F, but my fan hits 6200 RPM at its highest point and I can hear it going hard. The most activity I do is having either videos online or Itunes running in the background, along with Microsoft Messenger and whatever else I might be doing, whether it be another page on Firefox or Microsoft Word.

 

[spinnerlys]

The problem really occurs in a hot room, when I'm in my cold basement, every thing is fine.

I have never seen a CPU temperature over 75 F, but my fan hits 6200 RPM at its highest point and I can hear it going hard. The most activity I do is having either videos online or Itunes running in the background, along with Microsoft Messenger and whatever else I might be doing, whether it be another page on Firefox or Microsoft Word.

75 °F would be a dream (23° C), you meant 75° C, didn't you?

Watching videos online, mostly embedded into Flash, will cause the CPU to get used a lot, thus more power is used.
Word can be a CPU hog sometimes too.

You could try an SMC reset and see if that lowers the fan speed, but if you experience constant temperatures of 75° C due to your use of the CPU, a higher fan speed should be expected. You can also enhance the airflow by improvising a small stand for your MacBook, as plastic is not a good heat conductor.

There is also the possibility of using SMC Fan Control to control the fan speed of your Mac if you want.

 

[Deks]

Mac laptops had an issue with the cooling system being sub-par.
It allowed the laptops in question to reach pretty high temperatures.

Now, I'm not entirely certain, but it's possible they resolved this issue recently, however I'd be on the lookout just in case.

 

[Hedbergian]

Mac laptops had an issue with the cooling system being sub-par.
It allowed the laptops in question to reach pretty high temperatures.

Now, I'm not entirely certain, but it's possible they resolved this issue recently, however I'd be on the lookout just in case.

Having a 2009 17" Macbook Pro, I can tell you they haven't fixed the issue. Thus, I bought a Zalman NC-2000 as insurance. Brings down the temps by 15C on average for me.

 

[spinnerlys]

Having a 2009 17" Macbook Pro, I can tell you they haven't fixed the issue. Thus, I bought a Zalman NC-2000 as insurance. Brings down the temps by 15C on average for me.

I have the same June 2009 MBP, what kind of temperatures do you get?
I observed, that using the 9600M makes the MBP up to 10K hotter than it needs to be.

If you haven't, maybe take a look at gfxcardstatus, which allows me (and others I guess) to switch from the 9400M to the 9600M and vice versa without logging off.

 

[Hedbergian]

I work with Final Cut, including Motion. The integrated chip is WAY too slow for Motion, unfortunately.

After half and hour, without the ext. heatsink (at load) I hit upwards of 72C and higher. And the top left corner (where the PS is) gets hot enough to nearly burn my hands. With heatsink, I top out under load at 58 to 60C. No dust.