My Mac Gets Insanely Hot

Question

My brand new MacBook Pro i7 is becoming very hot when I use flash or java (Minecraft is a big one) and lowers my battery to 40 mins on a full charge. I understand the flash and java may drain it a little, and make it a little hot, but you could cook stuff on the back of my mac. Is this normal???

Answer 1

Which model of MacBook Pro do you have? (processor speed, RAM, year model)
What speed are the fans running at ? (download something like iStat Pro, it will tell you)
There are a number of ways of making your MBP run cooler. Raise it from the surface its sitting on, preferably with a laptop stand - this will give it more room underneath for the heat to dissipate from the unibody case.
Check the rear exhaust vent isn't blocked with dust.
Consider using something like smcFanControl, increasing the fan speeds by 500-1000 rpm can dramatically reduce your temperatures with little added noise.
Running your Mac at high temperatures frequently for long periods will only reduce the lifespan of its components.
Even with an external monitor plugged in and discrete graphics in action, your Mac shouldn't be nearing the point where it is essentially cooking itself.
I am running the fans higher than their stock speed, at 3500 rpm each, and my temps are (when playing Flash video fullscreen on an external monitor):
CPU      35 C
GPU      41 C
HD        29 C
This is even when its using the Nvidia GeForce GT 650M graphics!
However, at the stock fan speed of 2000 rpm it was running way hotter.
These temps are with a MBP Mid 2012 15" 2.3 GHz Core i7 on a Griffin Laptop stand.