wow, is this the normal temp for G4 powerbooks?

[maclova]

got my Targus Notebook Chill Pad today and am pretty happy with it , when playing a N64 ROM it seems to be able to keep my processor at a study 130F...is this a safe temperature for my mac or should I still be worried (used to go up to 140F and beyond without the pad)?

[maclova]

update: it seems to be going up to 133F but more often 132F max and tends to stay at 131-130F...is this ok or should I continue to be worried? please let me know, any help is greatly appreciated. thanks!

[maclova]

I decided to look in the help file for Temperature Monitor and I found some very interesting information which solved my question ...here's what I saw that I think'll be of interest to you guys and others wondering what temperature their processor can handle:

Quote: Originally Posted by Temperature Monitor help file I have measured a high reading x. Is this normal? Apple doesn't publish any specifications for the temperature values measured at individual sensor locations. In most cases however, the answer is "yes". All up-to-date Macintosh models automatically shut down or enter sleep mode if one of the readings exceeds a critical limit. For this reason it is impossible that your computer can be damaged in an overheat condition. Regarding concrete temperature values the following facts are known: For most Power Mac G5 systems, the design limits for temperature and fan speeds can be read out by using the MPU information panel of the application*. The maximum on-chip temperature for the PPC 970 is 85 degrees Celsius (158 degrees Fahrenheit), for the PPC 970FX it is 105 degrees Celsius (221 degrees Fahrenheit). The cooling system of the "Power Mac G4 (Mirrored Drive-Doors)" is designed to hold the temperature of the processor board in a range of 58 to 60 degrees Celsius (136..140 degrees Fahrenheit). Under full load the values can go up to 70 degrees Celsius (158 degrees Fahrenheit). After that point, the critical limit has been reached. Most older G3 or G4 processors are designed for a maximum operating temperature of 105 degrees Celsius (221 degrees Fahrenheit). G4 processors of type 7455 or later (typically used in Macintosh systems with 867 MHz and above) are designed for a maximum operating temperature of 65 degrees Celsius (149 degrees Fahrenheit). This limit applies when directly measuring the on-die temperature. Because the sensors are often mounted in some distance from the processor and measure cache memory temperature at the same time, the displayed value can be higher than the value measured at the actual chip die.

*This is a feature availible in the application 'Temperature Monitor'

[Juz10mac]

Quote: Originally Posted by maclova update: it seems to be going up to 133F but more often 132F max and tends to stay at 131-130F...is this ok or should I continue to be worried?

I've found that a good rule of thumb is that if the fan is coming on, then it is hot enough that the system is trying to do something about it. If the fan does not come on, it's fine. I was trying to get my iBook to warm up a little to see at what point the fan comes on (by doing processor intensive tasks with little ventilation). It looks like it comes on when the processor is at about 150F. I wouldn't worry about anything lower than this. Also, it looks like the fan stays on until the CPU is back down to 130F. All of this is assuming that the CPU temperature sensor is the trigger for when the fan comes on and when it goes off. It might stay on for a certain amount of time after it drops below a certain point instead of simply waiting until it drops below that point. All of this is speculation based on observation, but it seems to fit the facts.

[ThreeBKK]

Quote: Originally Posted by hayne I've heard of some people using ordinary freezer packs ($1-$2 at department stores or supermarkets) under a PowerBook. Of course you need to figure out some way to make it a stable platform, and you need to re-freeze them after a few hours - but it does make for good cooling.

That would be inadvisable (in theory). The cooling packs are so cool that they could cause condensation inside of the 'Book. Think about ice cubes inside of a glass. The condensation would be more severe in more humid atmospheric conditions. Moisture inside of a 'Book could be disastrous for the electrical components.