The new MacBook Airs and MacBook Pros with M1 chip won’t need this as they rarely heat up to the point where we notice it. But if you have a portable Mac of a certain age, it is normal that you are afraid of summer. by the temperature that the computer can take.
It’s normal for your Mac to heat up more and more, especially as the years go by and dust inevitably accumulates inside. This translates to more effort to ventilate, more heat, and less CPU performance. So we will give you some tips to help you lower your Mac’s temperature on vacation.
Your Mac also deserves to stay cool this summer
You can control the temperature of your computer using data from its own sensors. To get them we can use the free Fanny app, which will be added to the macOS widget bar. Alternatively, you can also check this temperature in CleanMyMacX, as well as the rest of the functions it offers.
The normal thing is that the CPU fluctuate between 50 and 70ºC, although it could be more depending on the apps you use. If you find that you are approaching 100 ° C without anything too demanding, it is time to look for ways to cool your computer.
That said, here are the tips you can apply to make your MacBook cooler:
- If the temperature rises further with the daily programs, you can try use alternative applications that do not use as many resources. On more modern Macs this is not noticeable, but I have seen more than once how using Safari instead of Chrome on a 5-7 year old Mac results in increased performance and drop in temperature. The native integration of this browser does its job.
- Avoid having too many apps open. Start only the programs you are going to use and close the others. Beware of apps that start up in the background, without you realizing it, when you start your Mac.
- Watch out for blankets, especially the rigid ones designed never to be removed. They provide heat because they do not allow optimal ventilation.
- Shut down your Mac when using it. Having it all the time is a bad habit: in addition to consuming more energy, it makes it heat up. If you are going to be left without using it for more than two hours, turn it off.
- Don’t use your Mac on soft surfaces like cushions, beds or sofas. It is preferable to use rigid and smooth surfaces which allow good temperature dissipation. You can help yourself with a cooling base like this one from TopMate, which will help you lower the temperature of the Mac a bit with external fans.
- Don’t use or leave your Mac in direct sunlight, inside a car in the middle of summer, or over a burning stove or other heat source. The worst thing you can do is add external heat to the computer.
I don’t want to end without clarifying this: keep in mind that a Mac always tends to heat up when it’s turned on. Don’t be overwhelmed if this happens, it’s inevitable and especially older Macs with accumulated dust and mechanical hard drives. These tips will reduce the temperature, but they won’t turn your Mac into an ice cube, far from it.
Image | Tyler Lastovich
