MBA 2011 i7 Overheating Issues - interesting new findings on page 3

[theSeb]

So let's get real about this.

I was sorting out the accounting for my business this evening and working out how much VAT I can claim back and figured I would do some testing as well to keep myself awake. I am holding the MBA on my laptop

Start:

CPU is idling. I have Chrome running with 4 tabs, Finder, PathFinder, Desktop Monitor and I've put on a SD episode of Family Guy. Chrome is downloading the latest Xcode and IOS Beta. Note that I've muted the sound so that I can hear the fan.

Fan is inaudible at tis point, unless you put your ear by the enclosure in a silent room.



So what'a happening 4 minutes later?

Everything is fine. MBA feels cool to the touch, but the CPU temp has risen. Fan is still inaudible.



Everything is still fine 8 minutes after the last screenshot and the fans remain at the same point. The CPU temp has risen slightly, but there is no noticeable heat from the keyboard or to my lap.



Ok, I am getting bored now so I've opened Mail, Itunes is playing music, Word and Excel is running and I still have VLC playing the Family Guy episode in the background.

[theSeb]

Nothing significant to report. Fan is still quiet and the CPU heat is normal. I am using Excel and Chrome.



So I've decided to open iCal as well



Still nothing interesting to report so I've decided to also copy a large file from an external drive over USB 2.0 (which is CPU dependant). The CPU temps rise slowly, but keep a lookout on the enclosure temps. Nothing significant to mention. Fans remain at round 20xx.



CPU temp is rising but it's still not an issue to the keyboard or the bottom of the enclosure. The top left is warm now.



Ok, nothing exciting is happening so I am now going to encode the mkv files I've just copied.



I've already posted a screenshot of what happens when you're encoding so there are no surprises here. I am still busy working in the background without any issues. The CPU temps are rising and the fans have kicked in. The fans start to become slightly noticeable at around 2800 RPM. If you're about a metre away (3 feet), then you cannot hear them. Enclosures remain at acceptable temperatures. The very top left is quite hot, but not an issue for the keyboard. The only keys that are warm are Esc and F1.



I've stopped the encoding and a minute later…

[theSeb]

So let's watch a 1080p file (mkv) using VLC. CPU remains at around 23% throughout . CPU temps climb, but not an issue to enclosure temperatures. Fan remains at inaudible levels for now.




Ok, the fans are increasing a bit now to cool down the CPU



I am working as the movie plays and the fans climb to around 3000 RPM. As mentioned before, the fans start to become slightly noticeable at around 2800 RPM. If you're about a metre away (3 feet), then you cannot hear them. Enclosure temps remain at acceptable temperatures. Even at 3600 RPM the fans are barely noticeable. Don't forget the audio is on mute.



Nothing exciting to report



I am busy with a couple of things. Fans are happily spinning away.



So I've decided to check what happens if I only watch the movie and stop working. You cannot hear the fans at this level unless you put your ear an inch or two away from the top left corner.



Temps are starting to drop and the fans are doing their job (still barely noticeable)



Heat and noise issues? You decide.

[Obscurelight]

nice. Thanks for the info. Was probably just a few cases that might have been major and the majority was just overreacting and nitpicking

[Apple Expert]

Great Post!! Makes me think I just have a defective i7.

[theSeb]

Originally Posted by Apple Expert

Great Post!! Makes me think I just have a defective i7.

Your previous posts about your fans and temps makes me think the same. There is something not quite right there.

[df2gadgetman]

Very Informative! Thanks for taking the time sharing your testing results.

Your last photo had battery levels @ 6%. Did you run the battery all the way down until the MBA shuts down? Also, how long was your battery life from a full charge?

Regards,
Darren

[Apple Expert]

Is there a log where I can view to check to see when it was last spotlight index?

[nebulos]

great post

[striker33]

You've just cost me £130

[eeptman]

theSeb:

You did get a great i7 MBA. In my case, my 13" i7 MBA will hit 94 or 95°C when Handbreak is encoding videos.

My machine stays at 50°C when idle. I just replace the thermal compound this afternoon with AS-5. Now MBA does calm down to 42°C when idle. I am waiting to see the final result.

[Samsumac]

Originally Posted by theSeb

Heat and noise issues? You decide.

Thanks for your post.. As a poster pointed out in another threat , this is a forum for rumours , rather than facts....

So the new Air will not set itself on fire and it can play a 1080p movie no problem while multitasking... I think that says it all. Thanks for your effort!!

[Apple Expert]

Well something must of happened with my i7. I have Mail, Safari, iCal, iTunes (Playing music) iPhoto, Photoshop, Activity Monitor, Word and Excel running. I'm currently at 46 Celicus and 1999 rpm. Wonder what happened but this is great!!

[TheRealDamager]

Great post. What tool are you using the update the system info on the desktop?

[eeptman]

Originally Posted by Apple Expert

Well something must of happened with my i7. I have Mail, Safari, iCal, iTunes (Playing music) iPhoto, Photoshop, Activity Monitor, Word and Excel running. I'm currently at 46 Celicus and 1999 rpm. Wonder what happened but this is great!!

Gratz! I doubt that these new MBAs might have so-called "break-in" time for their thermal compound.

[Apple Expert]

Originally Posted by eeptman

Gratz! I am doubt that these new MBAs might have so-called "break-in" time for their thermal compound.

Yah it's possible. At this moment I couldn't be happier. Have the Samsung Display and SSD. No dead pixels and acting like it should be.

[nevereon]

Interesting... Makes me wonder if I've got a defective unit here Right now my cpu is at 58 celsius and the fans are at 2k rpm. Only got safari open with four tabs + 1password. No background apps are running. When watching an episode of house last night on safari (flash) my cpu was around 80c and my fans were blazing at 4k rpm. Had maybe 4-5 tabs open and no background stuff. Anyway you could test your heat and fans while watching fullscreen flash with sound?

[misterneums]

Thanks for your amazing work Seb.

[FAsnakes]

Great Post..
I just picked up an 11" i5 to update my 2010 11" ultimate..

Got it from Best Buy so, i have 15 days to decide.. .

[Apple Expert]

Originally Posted by nevereon

Interesting... Makes me wonder if I've got a defective unit here Right now my cpu is at 58 celsius and the fans are at 2k rpm. Only got safari open with four tabs + 1password. No background apps are running. When watching an episode of house last night on safari (flash) my cpu was around 80c and my fans were blazing at 4k rpm. Had maybe 4-5 tabs open and no background stuff. Anyway you could test your heat and fans while watching fullscreen flash with sound?

What I did was let the computer run all day. It didn't go to sleep. Maybe it just needed to index itself till it was good and ready. I'm still at 48 celsius and 2k rpm.

The temp rose all the way to 90 celsius and about 5000 rpm. I just imported 11gb with of photos into Aperture. Seems like normal activity?

[TheRealDamager]

Been using my I7 all day. I finally got the temps to head up and the fan to kick up to 6K - played Anomoly: Battlezone Earth. I quit the game after a bit of playing, and the CPU temp and fan dropped within 30 secs.

[theSeb]

Originally Posted by eeptman

Gratz! I doubt that these new MBAs might have so-called "break-in" time for their thermal compound.

When I first got mine it was idling at around 50. It now idles at around 42. I am not sure if spotlight indexing was to blame.

[theSeb]

Originally Posted by TheRealDamager

Great post. What tool are you using the update the system info on the desktop?

Thanks . The tool is Desktop Monitor. You can get it from the MAS for less than a dollar. I've tried a couple of other tools and they all report the same info.

[theSeb]

Originally Posted by eeptman

theSeb:

You did get a great i7 MBA. In my case, my 13" i7 MBA will hit 94 or 95°C when Handbreak is encoding videos.

My machine stays at 50°C when idle. I just replace the thermal compound this afternoon with AS-5. Now MBA does calm down to 42°C when idle. I am waiting to see the final result.

After some time I can get it to 96 C and the fans up to 66xx whilst encoding. I've a screenshot of this in my other thread. This is normal and what I would expect. The computer does not shutdown nor does it scold my hands. As a comparison the only other Apple laptop I have is a 2009 C2D MBP. It reaches around 95 C whilst encoding and you could fry eggs on the top left corner.

Originally Posted by df2gadgetman

Very Informative! Thanks for taking the time sharing your testing results.

Your last photo had battery levels @ 6%. Did you run the battery all the way down until the MBA shuts down? Also, how long was your battery life from a full charge?

Regards,
Darren

No. I had already done that when I first got it. It was busy downloading throughout the test so I plugged it in after it got to 5%.

[theSeb]

Originally Posted by Apple Expert

Is there a log where I can view to check to see when it was last spotlight index?

The Console app in utilities would be your best bet.

Originally Posted by striker33

You've just cost me £130

Originally Posted by nevereon

Interesting... Makes me wonder if I've got a defective unit here Right now my cpu is at 58 celsius and the fans are at 2k rpm. Only got safari open with four tabs + 1password. No background apps are running. When watching an episode of house last night on safari (flash) my cpu was around 80c and my fans were blazing at 4k rpm. Had maybe 4-5 tabs open and no background stuff. Anyway you could test your heat and fans while watching fullscreen flash with sound?

Yeah, sure. I'll give it a go later.