Filed under: Hardware, Portables, Apple, MacBook
MacBook vs. Dell in a heat match
We all know that MacBooks run a little hot, but do they run unusually hot? Well, Krische onLine wanted to find out so they did a fairly unscientific test. Take one MacBook and one Dell Latitude D620 and have them play a DVD. While they are playing measure the temperature and see what the data says. Both machines sport the same processor (how odd is it that the latest and greatest from Dell and Apple both have the same chip in them?) and they were both in the same environment for the test.
The result? At first glace the MacBook seemed to run much hotter than the Dell, but on average they kicked out about the same amount of heat.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
John from Buffalo said 11:51AM on 7-17-2006
Well, lucky for me, I've actually experienced LESS heat with my new white MacBook vs. the previous two black ones.
Overall "bloggy" review, with most recent updates.
http://www.johnwaller.org/macbook/
and
Black MacBook Thread
http://www.johnwaller.org/bb/forum.php?id=4
and
White MacBook thread
http://www.johnwaller.org/bb/forum.php?id=19
But the upgrades in both 100gb 7200 serialATA from NewEgg and 1GB of ram vs. 512 have proved to be a non-factor in heat. I don't really know how to explain the difference between the 2.0ghz models and the 1.83ghz models, but spend LESS and get MORE for your buck. Just because the black model seems "cooler" doesn't mean its better. I had more problems with these than the cheap-o white one I own now. I'm extremely happy.
I've been using iState to monitor the temp. of my computer and it never pe'ks over 55C. That's a HUGE difference than the 70-75 I suspect was avg. of my old black MacBook.
Go white.
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Thorn said 11:52AM on 7-17-2006
The only reason the MacBook "on average" kicks out about the same amount if heat is because 75% of the MB temperature readings in this test were fairly close to the Dell's, "averaging down" the two extremely hot MacBook temperatures (the top/bottom left corners).
Unfortunately for MacBook owners, statistical averages don't make the MB feel any less hot.
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Joshua Ochs said 12:08PM on 7-17-2006
Thorn - people aren't saying that the MacBook runs cool, but that it runs the same temperature as similar PC's.
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Fellipe said 12:44PM on 7-17-2006
I thought iStat did not support temperature readings for intel macs?? What is the name of the program that does though ? I think you got it wrong maybe....
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Gareth said 1:00PM on 7-17-2006
Whilst my Mac runs hot I have found a solution, and that is to use a Lapinator avialable from www.pocketpc-solutions.co.uk, which makes using my Mac whilst sat in front of the TV a pleasant experience.
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John from Buffalo said 1:04PM on 7-17-2006
Fellipe, they do. You have to get Rosetta to work with the espgs DMG. I installed THAT which works with PPC explicitiy, just incase it might work with Intel through Rosetta, and I was right ..... after that, I installed iStat which calls espgs to get it's readings to the GUI ... and worked perfectly.
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GadgetTV said 1:06PM on 7-17-2006
Had two of the dell D600 series and they seem to run hot.
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Thorn said 1:08PM on 7-17-2006
If you have the SpeedIt kernel extension installed (which CoreDuoTemp installs for you), iStat Pro and nano can read Intel temps. (At least on the MacBook Pro and MacBooks that I've used...)
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John from Buffalo said 1:08PM on 7-17-2006
Just another follow-up. You need two things, I believe. If you download and try and install the DashBoard Widget found here :http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/status/istatnano.html ...
It'll tell you which two packages you need, one of which was the espgs installer .. which requires a terminal command line install, I believe .. and another iheader? ... but it'll tell you when you TRY to install.
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Tony said 1:21PM on 7-17-2006
Maybe those little "Intel Inside" and "Windows Genuine Advantage" (or whatever they have now) stickers are a secret source of insulation?
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artMonster said 1:29PM on 7-17-2006
While it is hotter than my G4 iBook, I haven't had any problems with my black 2 GHz MacBook. I don't think average temperature means much here, at least for "laptop" use. That's like saying the temperature on the moon "averages" out to be comfortable.That hot spot is the problem. But I never use it on my lap anyway.
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GadgetGav said 1:36PM on 7-17-2006
@ #2,
How is it just a statistical trick as you imply when every reading on the underside of the Apple is lower than the corresponding one on the Dell..??
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GadgetGav said 1:41PM on 7-17-2006
My bad... I was only looking at the TUAW picture
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addabox said 1:51PM on 7-17-2006
? I don't see how we even get to "at first appears much hotter".
I see that the MacBook is 2 degrees warmer in the top left corner, an insignificant half a degree and .2 degrees warmer in the top right and bottom left corners respectively, and cooler everywhere else, by margins that more than offset the warmer areas.
When I first looked at the graphic I thought "huh, the MacBook is cooler than the Dell, except for slightly in the upper left corner."
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Stephen Waits said 2:24PM on 7-17-2006
Umm. ok. So they're both too hot.
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Thomas said 2:34PM on 7-17-2006
Of course the only ones you hear about having "problems" are the Mac's
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Vince said 3:16PM on 7-17-2006
I've got one foot in boiling water, and the other in an ice bath. On average I'm feeling fine.
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kc! said 3:41PM on 7-17-2006
So does the white 1.83 Macbook run cooler than the 2.0? Is it that noticeable? (I imagine that the difference in processor speed is not noticable between 1.83 and 2.0, whereas heat issues might be?)
Also, are there instances where some people have Macbooks which run warmer than others? Or is it just that all Macbooks run hot and it bothers some people more than others?
I am hoping to get one soon (saving $$) and want to get all the facts before I decide.
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kaylah said 11:12AM on 7-20-2006
But it's not a problem of the surface temperature, I think. it's the problem of cpu temperature... it's about 65 C while just using safari. while trying to watch youtube video it rises very quickly to over 80 degrees!!!
such temperature can cause a demage!!!
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