Heat has always been a concern when I was working with my laptop. Unfortunately, it has become more apparent recently with my 16-month-old MacBook. The fan speed would go up to maximum of 6214RPM (rotations-per-minute) for just going to a few websites, especially when playing flash video.

The temperature, when new, would max at around 65-70℃. It is closer to 85-90℃ now. This would especially happen when I hook up an external monitor to it, which I do often at my desk. This is expected because it is using an Intel Integrated Graphics Card (GMA950). What I am using to measure the temperature is smcFanControl2, a donationware application can adjust the minimum fan-speed as well as monitor the temperature.

Typical Temperature and Fan Speed:

Fortunately, all of these temperatures are within Intel’s Processor Thermal Specifications of 100℃ (MacBook & Thinkpad). Therefore, it shouldn’t damage the CPU. But, I am just not used to having a loud annoying fan running all the time when I’m trying to concentrate on what I’m doing. Maybe that is just how I tend to work and it may not be as annoying to others. Recently, I have been using my Thinkpad a little more often for some Windows work and it is near silent even under load. Remarkably, even if it’s running a second monitor at 1680×1050 resolution.

Specs:

Apple MacBook Late 2006 Edition (Core 2 Duo T7200 – 2.0Ghz)

• Idle: 45-50℃ (4400RPM, set using smcFanControl2)
• Load: 85-91℃ (6200RPM)

IBM/Lenovo Thinkpad R50e (Intel Pentium-M 725 – 1.6Ghz)

• Idle: 35-40℃ (silent; managed through Notebook Hardware Control)
• Load: 70-77℃ (near silent)

If anyone has thoughts on this or similar problems, please leave a comment. I’m exercising my options to see whether I will do some repair work on my MacBook, as it likely has too much thermal paste appied (similar to: Air & Pro).