Question to current MBA owners! Please Help

[eboroian]

Hello all,

I am considering buying a macbook air (not 1.6 hdd), so i guess this question is to all the current owners. I used to own a black macbook, but returned it because of a very annoying, constant, high pichted buzzing/hissing sound coming from the top left of the keyboard. Apple stated that this sound was normal, and macbooks were indeed louder than MBPs and indeed have a slight hiss...

Before I decide to buy the MBA I was wondering if anyone with one has had a similar sound, or if it's silent like the mbp?? The sound can usually be heard in a quiet room or if you put your ear against the top left side of the keyboard...if your very sensitive to sounds (like me), you may have more ease hearing this...

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Eric

[RedAbundance]

my air is surprisingly quiet overall, although the hard drive makes some really negletible clicking noises every now and then, and there's no hissing noise coming from the upper left hand corner. i assume the ssd will be more quiet, and i also recall reading some post on here saying so.

[joegomolski]

No sounds for me. I have the SSD, and I don't hear anything, what a blessing!

[clayj]

No sounds for me. I have the SSD, and I don't hear anything, what a blessing!Same here... the only thing I ever hear is the fan, typically when I play videos or do a large WiFi file copy.

[Santa Rosa]

So far with the SSD Air only hear the fan when it is getting above idling which I suppose is reasonable. The MBP is a noisier machine simply due to the fact that it has the hard drive spinning in it the whole time.

[aussieinrome]

I've got the SSD version and it's totally silent, the fan has only ever gone on once and I could barely hear it.

[eboroian]

Thanks for the replies. Does anyone with the 1.6 80G drive have any sort of buzzing or hissing noise??

Thanks e

[MarkF44]

Thanks for the replies. Does anyone with the 1.6 80G drive have any sort of buzzing or hissing noise??

Thanks e
Yes, I have the basic MBA and there is a hissing noise, it is specially noticeable when the house is quiet, early in the morning, when you wake up, you have fresh ears and a quiet house, just power on the MBA and hissing is annoying.

once the environment get noisy it is not an issue, however, if I use the MBA the fan get 6200 RPM and then it is very unconfortable, the MBA is pretty nice, done by the designer to stay on the shelving.

IMHO it is not the 4200 HDD, the hissing seems to match the 2500 RPM fans when MBA is IDLE....

[eboroian]

oh wow. That's what i was wondering about. Has it been like that since you got it? Does it ever stop or does it happen constantly? What exactly does it sound like...is it very noticable or not?

Anybody else with the basic model notice this?

E

[AstroHouse]

Thanks for the replies. Does anyone with the 1.6 80G drive have any sort of buzzing or hissing noise??


I've been very happy with my MBA 1.6/80. It's a week 5 that I have been using heavily for 6 weeks and it is blessed!

I've had no noises - no HD noises, no clicking, clacking, or wheezing. No core shutdowns, no fan problems and for some unknown reason the display opens to almost 180 degrees with no stability problems and it lays flat! If I could clone it everyone would be happy, happy, happy.

I could be the poster child for Win to Mac switchers.:D

[w00tini]

no noises or hissing here...i think anyone with that problem should see the Genius bar pronto.

[steve31]

SSD here and zero noise!:D I sold my black macbook for it but I did not notice any high pitch noise with it. Just the fan and hard drive clicking. It might have been just a few that were affected with your problem. It was the poorly lit screen that was the reason I sold it. The MBA has a very bright screen that makes it a pleasure to use.

[stakis]

beware of a clicking noise that happens every once in a while from the hdd model... apparently this is normal with 1.8" Hdd drives...

[xparaparafreakx]

Your fan noise might be high depending on where you put the laptop and what you do on it.

[sir. mac]

Yes, I have this hissing sound on my MBA (week 11) 1.6 80hdd. Just delivered in for repairs and they came back to me saying there was no sound. I just told them that they had to check it in a quiet room, haven´t heard from them since. Seems my sound increases when using the touch pad (like you can do morse-code tapping the mousepad). The sound is gone if I restart the machine in safety-mode. It also looses the sound if I connect a live USB-unit. Meaning a mouse or a loading ipod.

Hoping for them to fix it, as I find it very annoying when the room is quiet. It started suddenly, and I noticed it right away. There was nothing I can think of causing it.

[MarkF44]

Yes, I have this hissing sound on my MBA (week 11) 1.6 80hdd. Just delivered in for repairs and they came back to me saying there was no sound. I just told them that they had to check it in a quiet room, haven´t heard from them since. Seems my sound increases when using the touch pad (like you can do morse-code tapping the mousepad). The sound is gone if I restart the machine in safety-mode. It also looses the sound if I connect a live USB-unit. Meaning a mouse or a loading ipod.

Hoping for them to fix it, as I find it very annoying when the room is quiet. It started suddenly, and I noticed it right away. There was nothing I can think of causing it.
same for me except that I use the USB port, hissing can be fan, HDD or the famous "Intel Core Duo Whine"
For many reasons ( I am trying to switch to MacBook Pro with my reseller :(

battery life, hissing, fans at 6200 RPM...
I don't enjoy my MBA anymore:(

[eboroian]

I'm starting to think this is simply a sound that is audible to some people, and isn't to others. My experience with apple, concerning this, was not a good one, as they refused to change my black macbook after the 14 day return period (thanks ebay lol)...

I'm just wondering if anyone who is very sensitive to sounds, noticed this on a prior mac, but hasn't on the MBA.

E

[Thomi]

I'm starting to think this is simply a sound that is audible to some people, and isn't to others. My experience with apple, concerning this, was not a good one, as they refused to change my black macbook after the 14 day return period (thanks ebay lol)...

I'm just wondering if anyone who is very sensitive to sounds, noticed this on a prior mac, but hasn't on the MBA.

E


Hi! It seams that I am one of these "high sensitive" audible users too. I currently only can compare my MBA 1.6/80 with the white Penrin MB of my wife, since you definitively have to be in a complete silence to hear it. And I am not experienced with prior Macs.

However: The MBA has some sort of a high pichted buzzing/hissing sound which sometimes can be temporarily suppressed with cpu loading tasks. But it's really barely noticeable, compared for instance to the idle HD spinning sound which is coming from the MB (!) when both machines are in operation side by side in idle mode with minimum fan rpms (even tough there is a HD in my MBA as well!)

So yes, my MBA is constantly emitting a quite silent buzzing sound, and I believe that every unit out there might do this. But apart from that it is still more quiet than anything else I know, including a non-buzzing, new generation MB. May be the casing of the MBA is just a bit less damping these sounds than the thicker MB does. But I wouldn’t tax the buzzing sound as annoying, since it is quite stable and can’t be compared with a fan running at higher rpm or anything else.

Finally it may be a very individual question. Some users won’t hear it at all, some won’t bother about, while a few ones might become nuts about it. I might be wrong but that's my two cents.

Rds

[aussieinrome]

Hi! It seams that I am one of these "high sensitive" audible users too. I currently only can compare my MBA 1.6/80 with the white Penrin MB of my wife, since you definitively have to be in a complete silence to hear it. And I am not experienced with prior Macs.

However: The MBA has some sort of a high pichted buzzing/hissing sound which sometimes can be temporarily suppressed with cpu loading tasks. But it's really barely noticeable, compared for instance to the idle HD spinning sound which is coming from the MB (!) when both machines are in operation side by side in idle mode with minimum fan rpms (even tough there is a HD in my MBA as well!)

So yes, my MBA is constantly emitting a quite silent buzzing sound, and I believe that every unit out there might do this. But apart from that it is still more quiet than anything else I know, including a non-buzzing, new generation MB. May be the casing of the MBA is just a bit less damping these sounds than the thicker MB does. But I wouldn’t tax the buzzing sound as annoying, since it is quite stable and can’t be compared with a fan running at higher rpm or anything else.

Finally it may be a very individual question. Some users won’t hear it at all, some won’t bother about, while a few ones might become nuts about it. I might be wrong but that's my two cents.

Rds

I've used my Macbook Air (SSD version) in a completely quiet room and I hear nothing, even when I press my ear up against it. Thank god mine doesn't make this sound, I'd send it back, I've got incredible hearing...

[sir. mac]

Finally it may be a very individual question. Some users won’t hear it at all, some won’t bother about, while a few ones might become nuts about it. I might be wrong but that's my two cents.

Rds

I for one think it´s slightly annoying when working in a quiet room. But that could be just my brain obsessing about my MBA not being without flaws :p

Got it back from repair the second time just today, and although they didn´t refuse to acknowledge the sound, they never the less refused to do something about it. Claiming that it was "below the mac official noise threshold", and that machines make lots of strange sounds. It probably is below the threshold, but irritating still.

The thing that annoys me the most though, is that it appeared suddenly. I´m dead certain it wasn´t there all the time, as I had already worked for hours in a quiet room when I noticed it. I tried a clean install, but that wasn´t it.

A strange thing is that the noise is different now from before the repairs (they also adjusted the MBA so it sits steady on the table). Tapping the mouse-pad creates a longer lasting pitch than the former morse-code pitch response. Or then again, maybe I am just going insane :D

I guess I´ll have to use a USB mouse (active USB-plugs make the noise go away as well as safety-mode), or just use ear-plugs when working.

My last, albeit remote, hope for remedy is to try the coolbook-app. Will report back here if any results at all.

[Heavenkittykat]

I have the 1.6GHZ 80 GB HDD version and I don't hear any clicking, hissing or any noise whatsoever, I don't have any fan, core or heating problems either. I don't even hear my fan. Even in a very quite room I would try to load a video and try my best to hear the fan that everybody is talking about, but I couldn't hear anything. Perfectly silent. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. I have the 10 week MBA by the way:)

[pgharavi]

the MBA is the loudest laptop I have ever owned, all due to fan noise (nothing to do w/ the HDD).

I found the terminal command for smcFanControl to limit the max fan speed to 4000rpm (from 6200) and you can't hear anything.

[sir. mac]

the MBA is the loudest laptop I have ever owned, all due to fan noise (nothing to do w/ the HDD).

I found the terminal command for smcFanControl to limit the max fan speed to 4000rpm (from 6200) and you can't hear anything.


What is it, the command I mean. And is it safe to initiate? Do you use this together with coolbook?

[eboroian]

Sir mac (or anyone who can hear this buzzing), have you ever listened to other MBA's to see if you could hear this with them? I initially thought the problem with my black macbook was case specific, but when i listened to other MBs i realised they all made this annoying sound, and that some people simply couldn't hear it well, or it didn't bother them...

It would be interesting to see if you can hear this on other MBAs aswell. You may be like me i.e very sensitive to certain sounds...if you get a chance, check it out and get back to me. If you can't hear it on other ones...you should defo let apple know and see if they can exchange yours...

If you can hear it on others however, i'll just conclude that apple kind of sucks and quality controle in general lol...Your thoughts??

E

[pgharavi]

What is it, the command I mean. And is it safe to initiate? Do you use this together with coolbook?

Yes (w/ caution) and Yes (to no avail).

I bought CoolBook after seeing the glowing reviews here and I've found that it does nothing for me. I'm not sure if I'm using it right, but I've read through the thread, read all the manuals, and I'm simply not seeing the drops that everyone else magically is. If you want to do what I am doing, in Terminal:

/Applications/smcFanControl.app/Contents/Resources/smc -k F0Mx -w 60e0

(that's the default 6200 RPM)

/Applications/smcFanControl.app/Contents/Resources/smc -k F0Mx -w 3e80

(That's 4000 RPM Max)

I obviously gain a few degrees C when limiting to 4000, but at least my MBA shuts up. I wouldn't watch 720p mpvs w/ this, but 99% else, it's great.

I think most people are seeing a placebo effect w/ CoolBook (or they are not including values for the full 1400 and 1600 settings).

[jlanuez]

[QUOTE=eboroian;5278658]...Before I decide to buy the MBA I was wondering if anyone with one has had a similar sound, or if it's silent like the mbp...[QUOTE]

Using our new MB Air for the first full-day today!

Had to return right back to my Apple store (30 miles R/T) after buying one yesterday morning due to a dead pixel in the center of the screen.
Second time is a charm. All works well. VERY quite.

I did the compete re-install of the OS using the perfect directions from here. :D

We did buy the external drive. If you are doing this and loading other software, it came in VERY handy as the wireless crap did not work at all. maybe too much GB to transfer???

Did not install a bunch of stuff like: GarageBand, Drivers, language support, etc... to save room and have a cleaner install.

I can tell you that the wireless transfer from old Mac to this Mac did not work! Got hung up after hours of chugging way. :mad:

I used TuneRanger to transfer all the iTunes files wirelessly that worked great. Moved some eBooks via DVD. Used iDisk to transfer all other types of files.

Selling the 17" C2D MacBook Pro tonight.

.

[sir. mac]

Yes (w/ caution) and Yes (to no avail).

I bought CoolBook after seeing the glowing reviews here and I've found that it does nothing for me. I'm not sure if I'm using it right, but I've read through the thread, read all the manuals, and I'm simply not seeing the drops that everyone else magically is. If you want to do what I am doing, in Terminal:

/Applications/smcFanControl.app/Contents/Resources/smc -k F0Mx -w 60e0

(that's the default 6200 RPM)

/Applications/smcFanControl.app/Contents/Resources/smc -k F0Mx -w 3e80

(That's 4000 RPM Max)

I obviously gain a few degrees C when limiting to 4000, but at least my MBA shuts up. I wouldn't watch 720p mpvs w/ this, but 99% else, it's great.

I think most people are seeing a placebo effect w/ CoolBook (or they are not including values for the full 1400 and 1600 settings).


Thanks! Will most def try this.

Also, as for Coolbook, I agree on the placebo. Clearly I can monitor my voltage w/ using coolbook, and already the cpu is pretty tightly throttled on mhz and voltage already.

[sir. mac]

Yes (w/ caution) and Yes (to no avail).

I bought CoolBook after seeing the glowing reviews here and I've found that it does nothing for me. I'm not sure if I'm using it right, but I've read through the thread, read all the manuals, and I'm simply not seeing the drops that everyone else magically is. If you want to do what I am doing, in Terminal:

/Applications/smcFanControl.app/Contents/Resources/smc -k F0Mx -w 60e0

(that's the default 6200 RPM)

/Applications/smcFanControl.app/Contents/Resources/smc -k F0Mx -w 3e80

(That's 4000 RPM Max)

I obviously gain a few degrees C when limiting to 4000, but at least my MBA shuts up. I wouldn't watch 720p mpvs w/ this, but 99% else, it's great.

I think most people are seeing a placebo effect w/ CoolBook (or they are not including values for the full 1400 and 1600 settings).


Thanks! Will most def try this.

Also, as for Coolbook, I agree on the placebo. When I monitor my voltage w/o using coolbook, already the cpu is pretty tightly throttled on mhz and voltage.

And I just decided that I will either ask for a new one or sell this. The pitched sound is driving me crazy. Dont think I can get my hands on another MBA in a silent room anytime soon, though.

[eboroian]

And I just decieded that I will either ask for a new one or sell this.

Does that mean that your going to give another MBA a try? Do you think that the hissing might not be on all MBAs, but only on certain ones? Thoughts??

E

[sir. mac]

Does that mean that your going to give another MBA a try? Do you think that the hissing might not be on all MBAs, but only on certain ones? Thoughts??

E


I just tried listening near the vents (on the left side facing the monitor) and the sound is extremely loud from there whenever I´m tapping the touchpad. As far as I know the hdd is behind there. I will go tomorrow and ask them to check if the drive is the problem.

Will report back. They might not even be interested in getting it back unless I have a new service# from apple, we´ll see. Would be really happy if hdd was the problem. Apart from this the machine is perfect on all accounts.

[sir. mac]

Apple Europe phoned me up today and said that I will get my MBA replaced because of the noise. Hopefully it will be a brand new one.

Looks like I´ll get my hands on another MBA to check in a silent room afterall :cool:

[eboroian]

Apple Europe phoned me up today and said that I will get my MBA replaced because of the noise. Hopefully it will be a brand new one.

Looks like I´ll get my hands on another MBA to check in a silent room afterall

That's great man! Could you please report back to me once you've got the new one and let me know if the sound is still there. I'm really interested to see if this is something that is on all MBA or is just something that is audible to certain people (me being one) on all machines...When do you expect to recieve it?

E

[evirob]

Mine won't make much noise except when system resources are really taxed...

The fans are pretty audible....Can only hear them when spinning in 5 - 6K rpm..

My mini seems quieter maybe cos the fans do not spin as fast though.

[Scott6666]

Yes (w/ caution) and Yes (to no avail).

I bought CoolBook after seeing the glowing reviews here and I've found that it does nothing for me. I'm not sure if I'm using it right, but I've read through the thread, read all the manuals, and I'm simply not seeing the drops that everyone else magically is. If you want to do what I am doing, in Terminal:

/Applications/smcFanControl.app/Contents/Resources/smc -k F0Mx -w 60e0

(that's the default 6200 RPM)

/Applications/smcFanControl.app/Contents/Resources/smc -k F0Mx -w 3e80

(That's 4000 RPM Max)

I obviously gain a few degrees C when limiting to 4000, but at least my MBA shuts up. I wouldn't watch 720p mpvs w/ this, but 99% else, it's great.

I think most people are seeing a placebo effect w/ CoolBook (or they are not including values for the full 1400 and 1600 settings).

So this really works? And is reasonably safe?

smcFanControl is a 3rd party app, is it not? I looked at their web page and did not see anything regarding setting fan max, just fan min. Why don't they promote this on their page?

Why is this not mentioned in all the heating forums? Seems simple enough; simpler than Coolbook.

If this really worked I would buy one again!

[pgharavi]

So this really works? And is reasonably safe?

smcFanControl is a 3rd party app, is it not? I looked at their web page and did not see anything regarding setting fan max, just fan min. Why don't they promote this on their page?

Why is this not mentioned in all the heating forums? Seems simple enough; simpler than Coolbook.

If this really worked I would buy one again!

Trust me, it works. smcFanControl is a 3rd party app, but you don't even need it running for this little command to work.

I even found a command that had the fans going up to 8500 RPM but I thought the MBA might implode so I stopped that ASAP...heh. :D

Like I said, I don't think coolbook is working. People are saying they have drops in temps but 1) coolbook reports lower temps then either iStat or smcFanControl (anywhere up to 3 degrees C), and 2) placebo effect.

I hope I'm wrong on this, to be honest. But I'm sure I have my settings right.

[sir. mac]

Trust me, it works. smcFanControl is a 3rd party app, but you don't even need it running for this little command to work.

I even found a command that had the fans going up to 8500 RPM but I thought the MBA might implode so I stopped that ASAP...heh. :D

Like I said, I don't think coolbook is working. People are saying they have drops in temps but 1) coolbook reports lower temps then either iStat or smcFanControl (anywhere up to 3 degrees C), and 2) placebo effect.

I hope I'm wrong on this, to be honest. But I'm sure I have my settings right.

Did you actually try coolbook or is this just a theory of yours?
I think what many reported also was that the MBA got more stable on higher freq, and didn´t downthrottle as much as before the manual voltage settings.

[pgharavi]

Did you actually try coolbook or is this just a theory of yours?
I think what many reported also was that the MBA got more stable on higher freq, and didn´t downthrottle as much as before the manual voltage settings.

See attachment.

[Thomi]

See attachment.

Me too, I gave CoolBook a try, but couldn't see any dramatic difference, apart from having frozen my MBA twice. :o

So I've de-activated it. Sometimes I am still running it in passive and hidden mode just to monitor voltages and temps in the top menu bar as a nice feature.

Back to topic: I think that all MBAs might emit a very very silent "buzzing/hissing sound"! Some or most users won't even notice it. I can notice it but it is far away from disturbing me and never comparable with the level of sound coming from higher fan rpms or other machines hard drive or whatever. (The sound coming from the spinning HD in a normal MB is even much louder that what I can hear from my MBA)
But finally it’s an individual question “which” sound is annoying one and which not.
Cheers

[JasO]

My fan gets a bit annoying when i've got it on my bed, but it's usually only on there to just do late night browsing then i go to sleep, so nothing that major.

[Dekimasu]

Hi! It seams that I am one of these "high sensitive" audible users too.

Hmm. I don't have a MBA (yet), but I do always notice a high-pitched sound coming out of my Nintendo DS, particularly when plugged in - and no one else I know can hear it. So I think it's quite possible that we're just "blessed" with sensitive ears.

[aussieinrome]

Hmm. I don't have a MBA (yet), but I do always notice a high-pitched sound coming out of my Nintendo DS, particularly when plugged in - and no one else I know can hear it. So I think it's quite possible that we're just "blessed" with sensitive ears.

My wife's Vaio laptop does the same thing - when I remove the battery and run it off the mains, it's totally silent.

[BeachChair]

I'm not sure what you guys mean by hissing, but I know desktop PC's will sometimes make a very highpitched noise (inaudible to some) that afaik comes from vibrating transistors on the power supply. And thats the power supplys fault.

Could the same thing be happening here?

[bence8810]

Hi

I had a White MB and now the MBA. Both had/have the high pitched noise coming approximately below the Q and W keys. Its the CPU and the nature of the chip used.

Try this. Visit a website, for example this that you are reading now. Put your two fingers on the touchpad, and place your ear right above the Q and W keys. Now scroll the page, stop sometimes, scroll again, etc. You will see that the sound changes. Its when the Core 2 DUO chip is on idle, and does nothing.

I have gotten used to it, and worry not about it.

Ben

[Thomi]

Hi

I had a White MB and now the MBA. Both had/have the high pitched noise coming approximately below the Q and W keys. Its the CPU and the nature of the chip used.

Try this. Visit a website, for example this that you are reading now. Put your two fingers on the touchpad, and place your ear right above the Q and W keys. Now scroll the page, stop sometimes, scroll again, etc. You will see that the sound changes. Its when the Core 2 DUO chip is on idle, and does nothing.

I have gotten used to it, and worry not about it.

Ben

Yep, I think you're right. Although I can't notice this on the actual MB, may be due to its louder hard drive. But I pretty much believe that you will find this "sound" on every machine based on the Core 2 DUO chip. If not, either it (the machine) is emitting other noises which are overlapping this “sound”, or some software doesn't allow the cpu to be idle, or you are just not one of those sensitive peoples to this "issue"… The fact that with the MBA the “sound” is even noticeable is just proofing how quite it is overall…:D

[ceehjayem]

Mine was quiet as well until I realized the fan wasn't turning on causing one of the cores to shut down. I love the computer overall. I just want this problem addressed.

[bence8810]

Mine was quiet as well until I realized the fan wasn't turning on causing one of the cores to shut down. I love the computer overall. I just want this problem addressed.

If your fan is not turning, thats a whole different story. I would visit an Apple store for repairs.

As for the high pitch non HDD related sound, its normal.

Ben

[pughchrism]

if you know how to use coolbook then it is not placebo. and... i was a pharmaceutical researcher and i know what placebo means. ;)

you must not be using it right. search some of my posts and you'll see my results. i've seen the same problems on 3 diff mba's. i tried coolbook on two of them and i've basically seen the same fantastic results. all of my mba's have been 1.6/80 (maybe the 1.8/80 or 1.8/60 don't have the same incorrect settings from the factory?)

no, i don't work for, nor am i associated in any way with coolbook. i've just thoroughly tested it and it works to reduce heat and to eliminate video stuttering and improper core shutdown.

apple hosed the settings and coolbook enables you to fix it. yep, i read intel's data sheet on the 1.6 processor and the core isn't supposed to start shutting down until ~ 100 C. apple had a core shutting down at as low as 69 C. hence, we see some of the problems such as video stutter. the actual problem was apple setting the core to shutdown with a large video load in addition to temp based shutdown - there is no reason to shutdown a core under high video load. this was just an incorrect setting by apple.

and then there is another fact. processor voltages are set relatively high to make sure they will work without any tweaking on each individual unit. thankfully, once your receive your mba you can use coolbook to "tune-in" your specific/individual processor to the lowest stable voltage.

if you think coolbook is just placebo then do some more work to learn how to use it right (that's not meant to be a sarcastic comment but coolbook is worth the effort). if you can't figure it out then find someone who can help you. coolbook has made a night and day difference in the usability of my mba's.

[pgharavi]

What are your exact CoolBook settings. I would love to be wrong, but it's not like I am lying. In fact, I wish I was :p

My settings:

http://att.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=111503&d=1207770328

[stakis]

if you know how to use coolbook then it is not placebo. and... i was a pharmaceutical researcher and i know what placebo means. ;)

you must not be using it right. search some of my posts and you'll see my results. i've seen the same problems on 3 diff mba's. i tried coolbook on two of them and i've basically seen the same fantastic results. all of my mba's have been 1.6/80 (maybe the 1.8/80 or 1.8/60 don't have the same incorrect settings from the factory?)

no, i don't work for, nor am i associated in any way with coolbook. i've just thoroughly tested it and it works to reduce heat and to eliminate video stuttering and improper core shutdown.

apple hosed the settings and coolbook enables you to fix it. yep, i read intel's data sheet on the 1.6 processor and the core isn't supposed to start shutting down until ~ 100 C. apple had a core shutting down at as low as 69 C. hence, we see some of the problems such as video stutter. the actual problem was apple setting the core to shutdown with a large video load in addition to temp based shutdown - there is no reason to shutdown a core under high video load. this was just an incorrect setting by apple.

and then there is another fact. processor voltages are set relatively high to make sure they will work without any tweaking on each individual unit. thankfully, once your receive your mba you can use coolbook to "tune-in" your specific/individual processor to the lowest stable voltage.

if you think coolbook is just placebo then do some more work to learn how to use it right (that's not meant to be a sarcastic comment but coolbook is worth the effort). if you can't figure it out then find someone who can help you. coolbook has made a night and day difference in the usability of my mba's.

I second that... I never see my CPU temp go higher than 80C... EVER!!!

[sir. mac]

I second that... I never see my CPU temp go higher than 80C... EVER!!!

But, like I said earlier, the CPU is already being throttled and voltage-reduced automatically, and also pretty low. I guess the one advantage of Coolbook, is that you can find the "best fit" for your machine and hence maybe lower the temps a bit. But I guess on some machines the best fit will be pretty close to the original settings, making the app more or less useless for some.

[pughchrism]

with the mba 1.6/80 ootb the following seem to be common - video stuttering, heat probs, high fan speeds/noise due to high temp, core shutdown at non-critical temps, processor not providing true 1.6 two core performance/actually only see blips to 1.6 even though processor load is pegged.

i have found cooltemp to correct all of this. the factory settings on these units leave them frustratingly crippled.

and, yes stock is running at more voltage. up to ~ 28% more voltage. less voltage should provide at least three additional bonuses

1 - i haven't seen anyone really quantify the additional battery run time but it should be noticable.

2 - the same electronics running at lower voltage typically have significantly longer life.

3 - less heat extends service life of components and service life of batteries

an excellent undervolting program would be expected to help make your notebook a little more efficient by dialing-in your specific processor.

with the mba it's a different story. coolbook adjustments make a night and day difference in the mba.

[stakis]

But, like I said earlier, the CPU is already being throttled and voltage-reduced automatically, and also pretty low. I guess the one advantage of Coolbook, is that you can find the "best fit" for your machine and hence maybe lower the temps a bit. But I guess on some machines the best fit will be pretty close to the original settings, making the app more or less useless for some.

Yes at low frequencies you will not see a difference... unless you add the 600MHZ option.... but just to see.... through coolbook apply the 1.6 GHz option at the stock Voltage 1. *something* and then boost the CPU Usage bar to 10.... watch as the temp rockets to like 85 even 90 in seconds.... then apply 1.6 GHz at 0.9125 (stable Voltage for my CPU) and the temperature never goes over 80.... so... unless these CPUs vary drastically from one to the other.... then you should see a difference in the intensive task.

just my $0.02

[joegomolski]

My MBA emits no screen hash, or whine, or anything else.

Totally silent.

[aussieinrome]

My MBA emits no screen hash, or whine, or anything else.

Totally silent.

I'm beginning to think that the SSD MacBook Airs are the only ones without any problems.

[chrono1081]

I'm beginning to think that the SSD MacBook Airs are the only ones without any problems.

Honestly I think 99% of this thread is nitpicks. Yes there are genuine problems out there but some people out there are talking about an electronic item making a noise being a defect? Get real. You go to any store with laptops and you will hear all of them running. Each and every one. They all have moving parts, moving parts make noises. Just be happy with your purchase and be glad you can afford a mac. I know plenty of people who would love to have one but have to settle for low end windows machines.