A forum post over to the German MacUser.de web site has documented an instance in which a German MacBook owner left his laptop unattended as it played a DVD of “Scary Movie” and returned to discover that the heat from the laptop had actually melted some of its plastic.
A full gallery has been posted over at AppleDefects.com and an article over there describes the unit’s heat buildup and lack of adequate cooling:
“MacBook’s are well documented to produce tremendous amounts of heat. Our AppleDefects MacBook easily reaches and sustains processor temperatures of 95 degrees celcius (203 farenheit) when running under load, with absolutely zero cooldown despite the tiny fan blasting. The super-heated air that is produced is then blown out the small back port. You‚Äôd never want to use our particular MacBook on your lap without a thick book or some other protective pad, the heat produced is scolding – but so far not hot enough to physically melt the machine itself. It should be noted Apple doesn’t recommend using laptops on your lap, as we have reported on in the past.”
While there may not be any guaranteed means of preventing heat buildup on your MacBook (I love mine, but it does get toasty), several temperature monitoring programs such as CoolBook are available.
If you’ve seen anything similar in your own experience or discovered a better setup for letting the laptop function with better circulation, let us know.
A forum post over to the German MacUser.de web site has documented an instance in which a German MacBook owner left his laptop unattended as it played a DVD of “Scary Movie” and returned to discover that the heat from the laptop had actually melted some of its plastic.
A full gallery has been posted over at AppleDefects.com and an article over there describes the unit’s heat buildup and lack of adequate cooling:
“MacBook’s are well documented to produce tremendous amounts of heat. Our AppleDefects MacBook easily reaches and sustains processor temperatures of 95 degrees celcius (203 farenheit) when running under load, with absolutely zero cooldown despite the tiny fan blasting. The super-heated air that is produced is then blown out the small back port. You‚Äôd never want to use our particular MacBook on your lap without a thick book or some other protective pad, the heat produced is scolding – but so far not hot enough to physically melt the machine itself. It should be noted Apple doesn’t recommend using laptops on your lap, as we have reported on in the past.”
While there may not be any guaranteed means of preventing heat buildup on your MacBook (I love mine, but it does get toasty), several temperature monitoring programs such as CoolBook are available.
If you’ve seen anything similar in your own experience or discovered a better setup for letting the laptop function with better circulation, let us know.