Overheating of your Mac computer can lead to several issues such as slow performance, system crashes, and even permanent damage to your computer. This issue can especially appear if you use your Mac computer regularly for demanding tasks like video editing or gaming.
To avoid thermal damage to your Mac, it's important to understand why your computer gets hot and how you can prevent it from overheating. Below we explain the causes of high temperatures in Mac computers and practical solutions to keep them running smoothly:
Reasons why your Mac is overheating:
Here are the main factors that can cause your Mac to overheat:
1- Overheating of the processor:
Mac computer processors often generate heat while running. When the processor performs many operations, it consumes energy and electricity, which generates heat. The graphics processing unit (GPU) responsible for rendering and 3D graphics also consumes a lot of power when editing videos and playing HD games.
GPUs can sometimes generate more heat than CPUs, especially when used for gaming, 3D design tasks, and so on.
2- The internal storage disk:
Whether your computer uses a hard disk drive (HDD) or an SSD, processing large amounts of data generates a lot of heat. In general, SSDs are quieter and use less power than hard drives, but sometimes they can use quite a bit of power, especially when moving large files.
3- An increase in the ambient temperature:
Apple recommends that Mac computers be used in temperatures between 50 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit (10 and 35 degrees Celsius). Using your Mac computer at higher temperatures can cause the processor to overheat.
It can be difficult to stay within the recommended temperature limits in very hot or cold weather, so take extra care when using your Mac computer in these weather conditions.
How to determine thermal damage on a Mac computer:
Thermal damage to a Mac computer can come in many forms, including:
- Mining activity has slowed significantly.
- System crash or sudden shutdown of the computer.
- Parts of your Mac computer can be permanently damaged if the temperature continues to rise. Examples include damage to computer batteries, monitors, and storage drives.
Tips to avoid thermal damage to your Mac:
Thermal damage can permanently damage your Mac computer if you don't take immediate steps to reduce the temperature. You can follow these tips to keep your Mac computer cool and prevent heat damage:
1- Delete folders on your Mac:
When your Mac is hot, the case and chassis get very hot because the Mac's shell and keyboard are designed to dissipate heat to cool the computer when it's very hot.
Placing your Mac in a case or placing a cover over the keyboard will slow down the cooling process. So, it's best to remove any covers or casings to cool and organize your Mac faster.
2- Restart your Mac:
Restarting can fix overheating problems of the computer. If you are using your computer to perform heavy tasks like gaming and video editing without shutting it down properly, then you need to give your computer a break. Leaving your Mac to sleep without properly closing all programs and processes prevents the computer from resting and can lead to overheating.
You can schedule breaks between activities to give your Mac time to rest and relax. Take short breaks to increase your productivity and cool down your Mac before it gets too hot.
3- Clean your Mac and avoid covering the port:
To keep your Mac computer's cooling system operating at its maximum capacity, avoid using it on a bed, pillow, or other fabric surface, as using the above methods can block vents and fans that help maintain the computer's temperature that regulate computers.
On the other hand, clean the inside and outside of your Mac computer regularly to prevent dust and dirt from building up on the internal hardware, vents, and fans.
4- Update the operating system:
Sometimes, overheating issues are software-related and can be caused by a bug in the macOS operating system. Apple fixes these issues through system updates, and updating macOS could be the answer to preventing your computer from overheating.
You can update your operating system by going to (System Preferences), (General), then (Software Update). You can also turn on automatic updates so that your computer can automatically download the latest version of the software.
5- Close unused applications and browser tabs:
Sometimes your Mac computer can overheat due to too many apps running in the background and browser tabs open. To reduce the effects of heat damage on your Mac computer, you can close browser tabs and programs that you're not using.
You can also use Activity Monitor to check and close apps running in the background. To do this, follow these steps:
- Click both buttons (command and spacebar) to open Spotlight.
- Type (Activity Monitor) and click on the first result to open it. Then all the processes running on your computer will be displayed.
- Close programs you don't need, but avoid closing processes you don't know about because they might be macOS processes.