I can’t say that I’ve ever really paid that much attention to the iStat-reported temps beyond my initial, “this runs so much cooler than my Intel iMac!” surprise. Subjecting this 16" M1 Pro MBP to the heaviest loads that I ever do - Handbrake converting old AVI files - runs all cores close to max and the reported temps average about 190° F. I’m not worried that the computer is going to overheat. I am curious though if my stand or Fishskyn are somehow affecting any passive cooling, or if these temps are typical. I can see that the fans seem to not be spinning much, so clearly the system is not worried about the heat either. I still recall the old intel iMac running those fans very noticeably when using Handbrake!
I would be reluctant to let my M1 MacBook Air (with no internal fans) get anywhere near that hot. But it always sits on an old Belkin dual-fan laptop cooling pad which I would plug in to a nearby power strip if I were to notice it warming up.
At the moment, and only handling the computing power needed to talk to you on the MPU forum, it sits at a mild 73 degrees Fahrenheit, with no fans running. Of course it’s winter here in the state of Minnesota and the house is holding at 67 degrees, so that helps.
Those temps are similar to what I see on both a M2, pro, and M3 pro. However, only with handbrake. So I use threads=2 in the option tab, while it will lengthen the time of the en code, nothing gets above normal temp
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73? Interesting - I haven’t been running handbrake for an hour or so, and my temp has been hovering just below 130° F since. We’re in the midwest too and we keep the temp about the same as yours. I’ll let it sit here for a while and see what happens. I have not looked into how the cooling works on this computer but I will.
I was displaying my MacBook Air’s battery temp. It is warmer elsewhere. Also I was just editing a photo in Lightroom Classic so that has pushed the temps up a bit since my first post.
16" M3 Max: running all cores at 100%, fans kick on at 85c (185f) and keep the temperature between 80-85c, with about 1500 RPMs.
FWIW - my MBP has been unplugged and lid closed for 20ish hours. On wakeup, iStat is reporting 115° F immediately. Again, I’m not overly concerned. But I also think that knowing what to expect helps in recognizing when something is out of order.
A Mac won’t just run too hot until you do something to solve it. It’ll throttle, and if the temperature is sustained too high than the hardware can cope with for too long it’ll shut itself down. The likelihood of a Mac thermally damaging itself is exceptionally small. Short of a battery fire, it’ll take care of itself.
M2s and M3s tend to run a little hotter than M1s.
Anything under 100ºC (like 210ish Fahrenheit) is fine for extended periods (like, for actual years).