heat in new pbg4
got my first powerbook a couple weeks ago- 15in 1.5Ghz G4 with applestore upgraded harddrive and graphics (to 5200rpm and 128MB, respectively) and stock ram. the thing is an absolute beaut, and has me grinning all day every day. i had been waiting to get a powerbook for 7 or 8 months. no regrets.
an observation, tho, has me a little concerned, and i'm wondering how concerned i should be. when playing with garageband for an hour, or some demo versions of fps games, the upper-left corner gets extremely hot- to the point that touching it is uncomfortable. the apps perform very well, but, does the ridiculous amount of heat being generated indicate that i am, like, overloading the processor or graphics card or something? am i risking damage to the hardware by running certain kinds of software? are there time limits on how long graphics intensive apps can be safely used?
i'm not a big gamer, so it wouldn't kill me to lay off the fps games and such, but, it's frustrating to be unsure of what normal operating limits are.
would the computer let me know if i was over using it? working it to hard? "Your computer is about to melt. OS X is going to force itself to sleep for a while. Recommend placing machine on ice for an hour."
i'm habitually kind to machines and technology, so when things get hot, i feel like i'm hurting it. am i?
an observation, tho, has me a little concerned, and i'm wondering how concerned i should be. when playing with garageband for an hour, or some demo versions of fps games, the upper-left corner gets extremely hot- to the point that touching it is uncomfortable. the apps perform very well, but, does the ridiculous amount of heat being generated indicate that i am, like, overloading the processor or graphics card or something? am i risking damage to the hardware by running certain kinds of software? are there time limits on how long graphics intensive apps can be safely used?
i'm not a big gamer, so it wouldn't kill me to lay off the fps games and such, but, it's frustrating to be unsure of what normal operating limits are.
would the computer let me know if i was over using it? working it to hard? "Your computer is about to melt. OS X is going to force itself to sleep for a while. Recommend placing machine on ice for an hour."
i'm habitually kind to machines and technology, so when things get hot, i feel like i'm hurting it. am i?
Comments
Originally posted by orchidstrat
i'm habitually kind to machines and technology, so when things get hot, i feel like i'm hurting it. am i?
Does the Powerbook fan works when you stress the system? If yes, then there is nothing to worry about.
maybe i'm just paranoid, but, this kind of heat production doesn't seem healthy for electronics in general.
Originally posted by orchidstrat
maybe i'm just paranoid, but, this kind of heat production doesn't seem healthy for electronics in general.
You cannot tell for sure, since the Powerbook casing is essentially a heat sink. You can control the temperature levels inside the Powerbook with a utility like Temperature monitor, but I am not sure if it will work with the new Powerbooks. When CPU and GPU run at full blazing power, the CPU temperature normally does not exceed 60 degrees Celcius (140 deg. Fahrenheit), at least in the previous models. But in some parts of the casing, you can feel really high temperatures since it is made from metal, and from a very conductive one.
Keep also in mind that in the latest iBook models, the CPU temperature can rise up to 75 degrees Celcius (167 deg. Fahrenheit), while the fan still remains inactive. Now this is high temperature and I don't know if it feels like in the Powerbooks, since the iBook casing is from plastic and does not conduct well the heat. If I am not mistaken, those G4s are rated to work up to about 100 degrees Celcius.
the temp stays around 54-55 while doing basic things. it jumped up to 61.5 after 5 minutes of playing the Allied Assault Spearhead Demo.
the fan seems to turn on at 60.
Originally posted by orchidstrat
the temp stays around 54-55 while doing basic things. it jumped up to 61.5 after 5 minutes of playing the Allied Assault Spearhead Demo.
the fan seems to turn on at 60.
Hmm, this is a rather high operating temperature, not by any absolute meaning but according to my personal experience and taste. My first generation 12" Aluminun Powerbook (867 MHz, 10.3.3) runs under light load at around 46-52 C, the fan is activated at 51.5 C and runs non stop until it brings the temperature down to 47 C, and the maximum I have seen is around 60 C. But then it has almost half the clock speed of yours.
The first 12" Powerbooks worked initially under 10.2 and they could go up to 63 C while the fan was still sleeping. That was a burning experience, since the lack of fan operation means no air circulation and, at these temperatures, the Powerbook surface was really hot. And let's not forget here that the 12" Powerbook is much smaller than the 15", and so is the available surface to diffuse heat.
All I am trying to say is that having the CPU at e.g. 60 C without fan and having the same with fan are significantly different for the user, since the air circulation helps keeping the casing temperature at more confortable levels. Also, the previous situations feel differently (more hot) in a 12" in comparison with a 15" Powerbook, due to limited available diffusion surface. And I repeat that this surface is metal and very conductive.
Originally posted by PB
You can control the temperature levels inside the Powerbook with a utility like Temperature monitor
You can only check the temperature with it, not control it.
T. I.
Originally posted by The Installer
You can only check the temperature with it, not control it.
T. I.
Of course, that's what I mean. Sometimes my english go very bad
again, the game doesn't slow down, even with graphic settings at their highest. i don't get the feeling while playing that the machine is struggling or being asked to do too much. it's just the scalding temp that keeps me cautious.
also, the cruising temp of this machine is much lower then i wrote- i guess i didn't let it cool down long enough after my last garageband experience before downloading the temp gauge utility. it seems to stay around 51-52 after an hour of web browsing or texting.
god i love this machine.
Originally posted by orchidstrat
if i spent a couple hours playing, i wonder how much hotter it would get.
I would say, try to play such a game for half an hour or so, then quit it and see immediately what temperature monitor says. I would be surprised if you see anything above 62-64 C.
again, the game doesn't slow down, even with graphic settings at their highest.
I believe this means that the system does not need to lower the CPU/GPU power (clock speed or whatever), in other words, operating at this temperature should be completely safe.
i get paranoid too.. so i try to have a fan and blow from underneath and back..
love my pb.. thanks apple!! just wished it wasn't soo hot.. but all laptops suffer this problem. and i feel apple knows what they are doing.. espeically seeing that they did for the g5 tower.
Note: I would get the usb extender cable (3 bucks) cuz the line that comes with it expects that your usb ports are on the right side, which obviously isn't on a powerbook 12" Lucky I had a extra extender cable lying around.
For example, I noticed that Safari uses all available processor time (up around 80%) in some cases. One is when viewing the International Herald Tribune. Another is when posting messages on AppleInsider. Viewing AI is not a problem.
In these cases the PB gets really hot.
Originally posted by PB
You can check the temperature levels inside the Powerbook with a utility like Temperature monitor
ThermographX http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/20905 is more comprehensive, although it it is not freeware.
- T. I.
Originally posted by neutrino23
For example, I noticed that Safari uses all available processor time (up around 80%) in some cases. One is when viewing the International Herald Tribune. Another is when posting messages on AppleInsider. Viewing AI is not a problem.
This is due to animated web content. You can avoid high CPU usage when posting in AI, if you adjust the size of your Safari window so that those animated icons are hidden. Furthermore, the text field becomes more responsive again
Seems to me this is the way they are.
Rarely seems to use the fan, which is nice.