Temperature and Mac speeds...whoa!

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stevegongruistevegongrui
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
I was biking outside in the cold with my ibook in my bag and when I got back home the book was really cold and felt like it was frozen. I opened it up and...



everything was quite noticeably faster, especially window resizing, which for my iChat window was smooth (usually it's quite jagged)



I was so surprised. After half an hour the speed went back to normal.



This was a purely qualitative experience but I'd like to test just how much faster it is quantitatively.



I'd heard stories of temperature affecting processor speeds before but never realised there is actual perceived difference



Anyone have any ideas about this or have experienced this?
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 41
    messiahtoshmessiahtosh Posts: 1,754member
    Interesting...***opens window***
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  • Reply 2 of 41
    sonofsylvanussonofsylvanus Posts: 579member
    We need refrigeration units inside our Macs
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  • Reply 3 of 41
    ghost_user_nameghost_user_name Posts: 22,667member
    This is why people build ridiculous refrigeration and water-cooling systems for their PCs.
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  • Reply 4 of 41
    knappaknappa Posts: 106member
    Does it really work that way ? I mean does the iBook have built-in control to increase its performance when the processor is cold enough. I know (well pretty surely) that it has the inverse. Or am I way off ?
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  • Reply 5 of 41
    macusersmacusers Posts: 840member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Messiahtosh

    Interesting...***opens window***



    haha, I did the same, but it has to be colder than that to work.
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  • Reply 6 of 41
    opuscroakusopuscroakus Posts: 317member
    Maybe the iBook worked at the same speed all along. Maybe after biking around in the cold your brain functions slowed from the colder temps and the perceived speed boost was your chilled brain processing slower and therefore making time and the iBook seem faster.



    Why am I hearing Rod Serlings voice??? I'm getting creeped out now...



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  • Reply 7 of 41
    stevegongruistevegongrui Posts: 771member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by knappa

    Does it really work that way ? I mean does the iBook have built-in control to increase its performance when the processor is cold enough. I know (well pretty surely) that it has the inverse. Or am I way off ?



    No,



    the way it works is that at lower temperatures semi conduction is more efficient.



    it is true for every machine, I just for the first time experienced it.



    I always thought it would increase in speed but nothing you can perceive, but I'm very positive it was faster.



    It was like, wow!
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  • Reply 8 of 41
    stevegongruistevegongrui Posts: 771member
    And i think it has to be quite cold for you to see the difference. Like, the scale between speed and temperature is not linear.



    the iBook also has to be chilled to the core, so to speak. thus, it has to be outside for not too short.



    does anyone have scientific info to add?
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  • Reply 9 of 41
    messiahtoshmessiahtosh Posts: 1,754member
    I have an interesting, slightly related bit of info to add! The iPod has an operating temperature range from 32 degrees to 95 degrees.
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  • Reply 10 of 41
    ast3r3xast3r3x Posts: 5,012member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Messiahtosh

    I have an interesting, slightly related bit of info to add! The iPod has an operating temperature range from 32 degrees to 95 degrees.



    Interesting?
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  • Reply 11 of 41
    macusersmacusers Posts: 840member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Messiahtosh

    I have an interesting, slightly related bit of info to add! The iPod has an operating temperature range from 32 degrees to 95 degrees.



    wow that is so intresting I will add to it.. the iPod has a storage temperature range of -4° to 113° F



    Wait.. don't forget relative humidity: 5% to 95% noncondensing
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  • Reply 12 of 41
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    A ridiculous anecdote.
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  • Reply 13 of 41
    stevegongruistevegongrui Posts: 771member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Eugene

    A ridiculous anecdote.







    yup
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  • Reply 14 of 41
    stevegongruistevegongrui Posts: 771member
    But I swear on mother mary that it really was faster.
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  • Reply 15 of 41
    billybobskybillybobsky Posts: 1,914member
    do your computing in the freezer then. or submerge your destop in constantly refreshed dry liquid N2.
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  • Reply 16 of 41
    cosmonutcosmonut Posts: 4,872member
    I had heard that it's really bad to use your laptop immediately after bringing it in from the cold, because the warm air will cause condensation inside the machine and potentially fry its internals? Myth?
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  • Reply 17 of 41
    stevegongruistevegongrui Posts: 771member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by CosmoNut

    I had heard that it's really bad to use your laptop immediately after bringing it in from the cold, because the warm air will cause condensation inside the machine and potentially fry its internals? Myth?



    sounds logical and I would certainly not put my ibook in the refrigerator.



    I think it depends on the relative humidity. My room is only about 20% humidity so it's really dry.
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  • Reply 18 of 41
    billybobskybillybobsky Posts: 1,914member
    putting it in a refrigerator wouldnt be a problem. taking it out would be.
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  • Reply 19 of 41
    gabidgabid Posts: 477member
    Cold will also kill your battery life. Particularly iPod battery life. Plus, I don't think the iPod hard drive likes the cold all that much.



    Case in point: last winter I kept using my iPod outside during a Montreal winter, putting it in the pocket of my GoreTex shell (meaning no insulation). How cold was it outside? Around -30 Celsius with wind chill. This caused me to have very short battery life at the time, and my hard drive locked up on at least one occasion causing a total crash.
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  • Reply 20 of 41
    billybobskybillybobsky Posts: 1,914member
    the battery life "decrease" might have been software related.
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