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deetex
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Minimizing my MacBook Pro's heat

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What can I do, other then keep the heatsinks clean and monitor Fan speeds, to keep my system's thermals down?

Dabbling a bit into games(Torchlight, CnC3, Eve) and 3D modeling, the CPU tips almost 100 degrees C and the GPU(G86) hits 80 with ease.

I've cleaned out that mess Apple calls Thermal grease and used compressed air to clear out the heatsinks, but it seems to help only for a day or two, and a degree or so...

Edit Dec. 8, 2009:

I've considered purchasing a notebook stand/cooling assembly, but decided against it for mobility reasons.

My 'BookPro pretty much goes wherever I go, and that often means long train rides... I don't see myself hauling a piece of equipment along for the ride.

Additionally, from a design standpoint, the airflow of a cooling stand would fall on a flat surface, there's nothing there to promote heat-exchange... as the system's intakes, I believe, are alongside the keyboard.

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Sterling Hirsh

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Ben Eisenman
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One option (treating the symptom, rather than the root of the problem) is to install Fan Control. With it, you can manually control the temp that your fans kick in, see fan information, etc.

I hope this helps!

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rj713
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Had the same problem with an HP laptop. I purchased a USB powered stand with fans for it and the problem was solved. I don't know if it would work for you but those units are inexpensive and generally useful in reducing heat problems in modern laptops. Ralph

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rdklinc
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I'd say max out the RAM at 4GB, and upgrade to Snow Leopard if you haven't. Both these actions cause the laptop to operate more efficiently, which might help keep activity and therefore heat down to a slightly more reasonable level.

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deetex
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THe Memory cap for this system lies at 6Gb, but that 4Gb SO-DIMM is rather expensive. I already run Snow Leopard which took a full 2 degrees of the max back-then... but that's it.

SMCfanControl is currently running automatically at startup, and helps keep the heat down once it's there, if there's no real cure for the issue, I will let it slide, so long as that G86 chip doesn't go bad on me, it's no real threat to my health.

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