I'm in Egypt. It's heading towards summer. And I don't always have the option of working in an air-conditioned office.
What can I do to get my macbook to run cooler?
I can turn one processor off. Is there any way that I can have the 2nd processor run at 1/2 speed?
posted by:
|
SF Bay Area
|
-
Re: Cooling down a Macbook
Sun, May 13, 2007 - 12:34 PMGood question. I'm not sure there's a good answer. I'd probably resort to running the fans at full speed much of the time. Have you installed smcFanControl? It allows you to monitor the temp and adjust the fans accordingly. -
-
Re: Cooling down a Macbook
Sun, May 13, 2007 - 12:40 PMhave a fan in the room near laptop to circulate air might help.
-
-
Re: Cooling down a Macbook
Sun, May 13, 2007 - 1:45 PMthe macbook is a core duo (or core 2 duo) processor. it's a single processor with two cores, not two different processors. so, i'd guess, no, you can't turn off one of the cores. and i doubt it would have much effect on the temperature even if you could. the one remaining processor would still have to run as hot.
smc fan control and sleep your drives when possible. -
-
Re: Cooling down a Macbook
Sun, May 13, 2007 - 8:59 PMActually, you can turn off one of the cores. There is a utility in the Developer Tools. -
-
Re: Cooling down a Macbook
Mon, May 14, 2007 - 3:08 AMOkay, thanks guys.
It's not a huge issue, it was mostly for curiosity sake. I can always just turn up the fans. I was just hoping for a way to slow down the processor when I was just typing or doing some other activity that is not CPU intensive.
And btw, it is very easy to shut off one core. Go the the control panel, and choose "Processor". In there, you'll find a checkbox to enable or disable CPU2. You can also add the processor menu to the menu bar. And I'd recommend doing so because from it you can easily show the "Processor Palette" which gives a nice graphical view of your processor usage. -
-
Re: Cooling down a Macbook
Mon, May 14, 2007 - 9:30 AMi sit corrected.
btw - the processor preference pane is installed as part of the developer tools as alberto said.
-
-
-
-
Re: Cooling down a Macbook
Sun, May 13, 2007 - 4:26 PMthis would be a good question to ask AppleCare!
is there an Apple Store in Egypt?
Also, you can get a laptop stand with one 2 or 4 fans on it.
-
-
Re: Cooling down a Macbook
Sun, May 13, 2007 - 7:29 PMi don't know what is available in Egypt, but maybe something like this could help:
www.geeks.com/details.asp
-
-
Re: Cooling down a Macbook
Sun, May 13, 2007 - 9:02 PMA big heat sink...
Occasionally, I'll get my Macbook or Macbook Pro screaming hot while working at home. I have a marble coffee table. A matter of seconds after placing the laptop on the table, the fans spin down.
I don't expect you to cart around a piece of marble ;-) but several materials will work well as a heat sink. -
-
Re: Cooling down a Macbook
Mon, May 14, 2007 - 7:46 AMin my office at home I have a wire rack from a toaster oven... it's inverted, and I put my MBP on it when I'm working at my desk (when it's plugged into a monitor, keybe, mouse, etc.) I get a lot more air circulation around it, and it seems to keep much cooler. -
-
Re: Cooling down a Macbook
Mon, May 14, 2007 - 9:23 AMI'll second the wire-rack solution. I use an inverted wire-closet-shelf.
But does the unit generate so much heat that room temperature air just isn't cool enough? -
-
Re: Cooling down a Macbook
Mon, May 14, 2007 - 9:33 AMdepends on the room. summers in NYC I can't even think of using my fan-less external drives. they'll overheat and lock up after about 5 minutes.
-
-
-
-
Re: Cooling down a Macbook
Mon, May 21, 2007 - 12:44 PM
... would this work?
meritline.stores.yahoo.net/lapt....html
$15.99
Laptop Notebook Cooler Pad
-- 3 Quiet Cooling Fans
-- 4 USB 2.0 Ports Hub
-- On/Off Switch for Fan
-- Black Color
-- Free Ground Shipping
Specifications:
Air flow: 28 CFM
Speed: 1500 rpm
Noise Level: 25 dBA
Rated Voltage: DC 5V
Power Consumption: <0.9W
Rated Current: <180mA
Fan: 60 x 60 x 10 mm (LxWxH)
M.T.B.F. : 20000 Hours
Dimensions: 300 x 230 x 16.8 mm (LxWxH)
-
-
Re: Cooling down a Macbook
Mon, May 21, 2007 - 1:56 PMThis is my favorite way of keeping my laptop cool and its pretty cheap $30 US.
www.drbott.com/prod/db.lasso -
-
Re: Cooling down a Macbook
Mon, May 21, 2007 - 3:20 PMI had one of those with my TiBook. But when I tried to use it with a 17" PBG4, the weight of the machine caused it to always slide down and fall off the stand. -
-
Re: Cooling down a Macbook
Wed, May 23, 2007 - 11:55 AMMy favorite insulator to use with my ibook is a gardening pad from home depot/lowes/osh or if you are lucky enough, a neighborhood gardening store. It has texture to grip....lightweight, non breakable and oh so cheap. Blessed that my ibook has never had overheating issues, but it does get hot against the legs, so the gardening pad fits the bill nicely. -
-
Re: Cooling down a Macbook
Wed, May 23, 2007 - 4:45 PM
>> My favorite insulator to use with my ibook is a gardening pad
What the heck are u talking about?
Plz post a pic (if possible)! -
-
Re: Cooling down a Macbook
Fri, May 25, 2007 - 11:09 PMI don't have a pic to post, but the thing is a thick piece of dense foam. it's 24 inches long and about 12 inches wide and about 1 1/2 inch thick. It is designed to kneel on while pulling weeds in the garden. It costs about $4.00 at the hardware store. I will try to get a picture up for you this weekend, but really, its a rectangular piece of dense foam. -
-
Re: Cooling down a Macbook
Sat, May 26, 2007 - 4:28 AMThis does not sound like it gives airspace to cool under the laptop.
please show a picture....
and if y ou can - show us a temp chart from TempX or which ever one
you have used to prove it's working....
-
Re: Cooling down a Macbook
Sat, May 26, 2007 - 8:14 AMthat sounds like it would do the exact opposite of what you want. "dense" foam -- like pillows -- would hold heat directly on the macbook, preventing the air from flowing underneath, causing the machine to overheat faster.
-
-
-
-
Re: Cooling down a Macbook
Sat, May 26, 2007 - 8:18 AM>I had one of those with my TiBook. But when I tried to use it with a 17" PBG4, the weight of the machine caused it to always slide down and fall off the stand.
pull some of the lego bits off the back to lessen the degree of incline. a couple of my offices use them all without a problem.
oh and as an aside, we were talking about the sleep modes of my macbook when you were in town. Deep Sleep widget seemed to set my sleep mode on battery from the default 3 to 1, where it hibernated every time it slept if i didn't have external power connected. i terminal'd it back to 3 and it functions normally now.
-
-
-
-
Re: Cooling down a Macbook
Sat, May 26, 2007 - 6:29 AMI use a cake/cookie cooling rack I stole out of the kitchen - (www.leroux.ca/admin/dsp_view.cfm ). My wife said they run $1. I use this in conjunction with SMC Fan Control works well.
How do you turn one processor (one core, actually) off?
-
Re: Cooling down a Macbook
Mon, June 4, 2007 - 3:50 PMThis might sound crude but in absence of a tech fix in Egypt would sitting your laptop on a cool moist cloth work? I'm thinking that it might work as a crude heat sink that might draw heat through the board and into the cloth somewhat/
Just a suggestion. -
-
Re: Cooling down a Macbook
Mon, June 4, 2007 - 3:53 PMIn fact, maybe a large ziplock baggie partially filled with crushed ice and rubbing alcohol. Set on a table surface and cover with a dry rag to keep moisture away from the laptop. Sit laptop on top and see if the sink is working by checking the fan exhaust port in the bak of the laptop for a temperature change. -
-
Re: Cooling down a Macbook
Mon, June 4, 2007 - 4:32 PMLast I heard, moisture + electronics weren't the best of friends.
-
-
