PBook Heat

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
How hot does the PBook G4 really get, like would I not want to lay with it in my bed in summer nights? Not sexually of corse...well probably not

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 13
    satchmosatchmo Posts: 2,699member
    I've had the same feeling. The thing is I'd like a G4 PowerBook but know I'll be using it in bed to write quite a bit.

    The iBook seems more suited for that but I need a laptop to serve also as a desktop.



    Hoping the 667 is not too hot.
  • Reply 2 of 13
    serranoserrano Posts: 1,806member
    The 800 is reportedly much cooler than the 667, which my hallmate would leave on for days at a time with no real heat issues.
  • Reply 3 of 13
    pyr3pyr3 Posts: 946member
    Are you talking about the old 667 or the new 667 that is cooler than the 800. From what I understood, the new 800's and the new 667 all are cooler (apple made things funky with this 'old' and 'new' 667 business).
  • Reply 4 of 13
    trevormtrevorm Posts: 841member
    I have the current Tibook 800Mhz and leave it on for days on end, it doesnt get to warm when I am using it... Sometimes on a bed it produces heat but that isnt too hot.



    It is much cooler than the previous models!
  • Reply 5 of 13
    vikingviking Posts: 127member
    I have a new 667mhz powerbook and it gets pretty warm. I wouldn't call it hot. But it definitely would not last too long if it were sitting on something soft, like a pillow. Apple says not to do this in the manual though.
  • Reply 6 of 13
    blinkblink Posts: 5member
    I had a rev1 400MHz Ti but sold it quickly thinking there was a combo drive around the corner, which actually took quite a while to show. The combo drive and new screen rez told me it was time to replace it at last and I have a new 800MHz. The new machine definitely runs cooler on the whole and you'll be OK with it on your lap for everyday use.



    However what really heats it up (I know this is stating the obvious) is processor intensive activities.



    I have been using the new machine for a while now and I was hardly hearing the fan kick-in at all, when it did it was for short periods. Now I am using it for Lightwave 7.5 rendering - firing up process viewer shows that LW is using 97+% of processor. The fan is on CONSTANTLY and this thing is getting hot. But I still tink its cooler than the older models and what heat there is is disipated better.



    If this thing does blow up after months of 24hr rendering apple can't turn round and say 'you used it too much' can they!? I mean these machines should be able to operate constantly shouldn't they. I don't remember a clause any where stating the machine is only guarenteed for lighy daily use!



    That's good timing, just finished rendering a big file and the fan stopped a few seconds later. What an incredible machine!
  • Reply 7 of 13
    pyr3pyr3 Posts: 946member
    [quote]Originally posted by viking:

    <strong>I have a new 667mhz powerbook and it gets pretty warm. I wouldn't call it hot. But it definitely would not last too long if it were sitting on something soft, like a pillow. Apple says not to do this in the manual though.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Wouldn't the fan help though? I'm getting a new 667 TiBook and I would like to use it on my bed sometimes. I know that the sheets would be insulating the bottom, but wouldn't the fan kick in and help to disappate the heat? How much more suitable is the 800 for using in bed or on a pillow? I thought that both the new 667 and the new 800 had the same changes made to reduce heat, wouldn't that mean that they are both the same amount cooler than previous versions ?
  • Reply 8 of 13
    I've got a 800MHz (my wife's but I like to say it is mine).



    I use it in bed quite a bit (and no, not like that - get your head out of the gutter!).



    It stays nice and cool until you do something that taxes the system - I was playing Civ III for a while in bed and it got so hot that I had to balance it on my knees to try to get airflow under the bottom - when it is hot like that it is uncomfortable to have it next to bare skin (I said not like that! Geeez).
  • Reply 9 of 13
    pyr3pyr3 Posts: 946member
    [quote]Originally posted by The Pie Man:

    <strong>I've got a 800MHz (my wife's but I like to say it is mine).



    I use it in bed quite a bit (and no, not like that - get your head out of the gutter!).



    It stays nice and cool until you do something that taxes the system - I was playing Civ III for a while in bed and it got so hot that I had to balance it on my knees to try to get airflow under the bottom - when it is hot like that it is uncomfortable to have it next to bare skin (I said not like that! Geeez).</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Define 'taxes the system'. Because I don't consider civ3 to be THAT graphically taxing on a system as compared to WarCraft3 or Quake3. I would mostly be doing web browsing , document editing ( power point, word, excel, etc ), or software dev (project builder). I don't think that these are particularly taxing on the system. Am I wrong?



    (btw, do they have civ2 for OSX?)
  • Reply 10 of 13
    vikingviking Posts: 127member
    I didn't know the 667mhz DVI had a fan? I haven't heard it turn on if it does. Does anyone know? I thought only the 800mhz had the fan.
  • Reply 11 of 13
    ebbyebby Posts: 3,110member
    My PBook G3 (Firewire) has a fan, but it has only tuned on twice. They only activate if the computer is in danger of overheating.
  • Reply 12 of 13
    pyr3pyr3 Posts: 946member
    [quote]Originally posted by viking:

    <strong>I didn't know the 667mhz DVI had a fan? I haven't heard it turn on if it does. Does anyone know? I thought only the 800mhz had the fan.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    I would think that they all have fans. The video from Tom's Hardware melting an Athlon that didn't have a heatsink comes to mind....
  • Reply 13 of 13
    [quote]Originally posted by pyr3:

    <strong>



    Define 'taxes the system'.



    I would mostly be doing web browsing , document editing ( power point, word, excel, etc ), or software dev (project builder). I don't think that these are particularly taxing on the system. Am I wrong?</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Well, I am not the person to define taxes the system really. But from my layman's point of view anything which is constantly using the CPU and/or GPU is taxing the system. Things like you mention aren't constantly taxing the system because most of the time is spent waiting for you to do something - you are typing, reading, using menus, etc... But games are constantly rendering new graphics (even in Civ III you are scrolling around), using the CPU to do AI, etc.



    I can surf the web with the thing on my lap and the fan won't come on. Any time I play a game (at least in bed) the fan will come on - play poppop and it comes on low after a minute or two and will stay there - low is quiet. Play Civ III and it comes on after about a minute, kicks into high about a minute later, and won't go off until after I stop playing.



    Put the thing on a desk and the situation is better. In bed it is typically on a sheet and can't circulate air underneath.
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