So can machines actually get ruined due to running to hot? Is this an issue one should actually worry about? I've noticed my iMac (aluminum) gets very hot on top but I assumed they were meant to run that way and that Apple had everything under control...

[ Reply to This | # ]

Yes. All other things being equal, the hotter a system and its components run, the short its life. While this is not a practical concern at some temperatures, modern-day systems are quite capable of generating enough heat to significantly shorten their lives. See another reply for additional comments.

Personally, I think that something like Fan Control should be part of Mac OS X.

[ Reply to This | # ]

BTW, on my old PowerBook G4 the excessive heat fried the optical drive connector (it couldn't write DVDs anymore) and the firewire ports. On the new MacBook Pro I always try to keep the temperature as low as possible (reasonably)

[ Reply to This | # ]

Re: ...the excessive heat fried the optical drive connector...
---
Ouch! Must have been "one hot movie" you were watching! <sic>

[ Reply to This | # ]