- Joined
- Apr 29, 2012
- Messages
- 39
- Motherboard
- HP ProBook 4540s
- CPU
- Intel i5-3230M
- Graphics
- Intel HD 4000 (onboard), AMD Radeon HD 7650M
- Mac
- Classic Mac
- Mobile Phone
I did test in Windows 7 with 7 Google Chrome tabs open resulting in battery life in the range of 5 to 5.5 hrs. The fan remained rather cool while running slow (estimating in the 2500 rpm range). I used CPU Hardware Monitor Pro and Crystal Disk Info to monitor. With normal startup items and only the monitoring software and Chrome open, this is an approximation of what I recorded in Windows.
ambient temp: 115°F ( 46°C )
CPU1: 115°F ( 46°C ) - 120°F ( 49°C )
CPU2: about same as CPU1
HD: 100°F ( 43°C )
In most cases, the CPU temps fluctuated within a couple of degrees from these marks. I didn't check fan speed directly since the environment was normal for my Windows setup.
OK, I did another fresh 10.9 install while paying specific attention to my bios settings and software installations. After several hours of temp testing and rebuilding my system, I found what I think was the main culprit: Switchable Graphics (SG). It appears that the reason I had success in the past was because I left it off after installing OS X. I got a hint from another thread on this site to experiment with it to see if it affected system performance. From what I see, it definitely does. I tested this in the same environment several times while toggling SG on/off. I monitored with Activity Monitor and iStat Menus in 10.9.
So, everything seems OK for now. I am going to back up the entire partition in Time Machine so I don't have to install everything again from scratch. I didn't mind this time since I had to do the brute method to get to the bottom of the issue. I am multitasking several apps and my temp is staying below 133°F ( 56°C ). That is much better than the 150-163°F ( 66-73°C ) I was getting before with only Chrome running and consuming too much CPU time. My theory is that when an an application was opened that required graphics, somehow the SG created some interference with the HD4000. Let's see if this currrent setup stays stable. Hopefully so.
ambient temp: 115°F ( 46°C )
CPU1: 115°F ( 46°C ) - 120°F ( 49°C )
CPU2: about same as CPU1
HD: 100°F ( 43°C )
In most cases, the CPU temps fluctuated within a couple of degrees from these marks. I didn't check fan speed directly since the environment was normal for my Windows setup.
OK, I did another fresh 10.9 install while paying specific attention to my bios settings and software installations. After several hours of temp testing and rebuilding my system, I found what I think was the main culprit: Switchable Graphics (SG). It appears that the reason I had success in the past was because I left it off after installing OS X. I got a hint from another thread on this site to experiment with it to see if it affected system performance. From what I see, it definitely does. I tested this in the same environment several times while toggling SG on/off. I monitored with Activity Monitor and iStat Menus in 10.9.
So, everything seems OK for now. I am going to back up the entire partition in Time Machine so I don't have to install everything again from scratch. I didn't mind this time since I had to do the brute method to get to the bottom of the issue. I am multitasking several apps and my temp is staying below 133°F ( 56°C ). That is much better than the 150-163°F ( 66-73°C ) I was getting before with only Chrome running and consuming too much CPU time. My theory is that when an an application was opened that required graphics, somehow the SG created some interference with the HD4000. Let's see if this currrent setup stays stable. Hopefully so.