13" MBA Heat

lol! playing runescape right now on my MBA (iMac is in the shop...for the 4th time...) Its running fine on high settings I'm guessing you want temp and fan speeds? right now...CPU 84C (183F) and fan 3650rpm...ive seen the fans as high as 5500rpm but the CPU temp was 76C (169F) then...Room temp is 71F Overall I'm very surprised at the performance of this air...Specs are in signature.

P.S. i happen to know that Apple decided to let the macbook air get hotter before ramping up the fans in favor of quietness so the pro may be the same temp just louder...or it may not...i don't have a pro to compare with, sorry...

Edit: 30 min. later, Temp stabilized at 80C (176F) and fans stabilized at 4650rpm. Cant hear them over iTunes music.

Southernboyj said:

Mind adding me on Runescape so we can talk more? Runescape name is "Tim Cook" Clever right?

Click to expand...

messaged you, I'm au201

My 13" MBA

I had quite a bit of concern about this myself. I was playing Diablo 3 on lowest settings and the bottom was getting really hot. Uncomfortably hot. So I used a camera that I had at home from work to take a picture of it. I've attached a picture of what it looked like.

That's a nice camera.

Haha I play Runescape mostly afk, while doing other things.
Name: Cibola

What do you guys get for fps on the console?
If you don't know...press "`" then type displayfps.
I like to keep my laptop quiet and cool, so I put the cpu usage to very low with low settings and I get 20-25 fps.

Also, what was that app that shows yours fan speed and temperature?
On the tip of my tongue but can't remember...

lyger10 said:

I had quite a bit of concern about this myself. I was playing Diablo 3 on lowest settings and the bottom was getting really hot. Uncomfortably hot. So I used a camera that I had at home from work to take a picture of it. I've attached a picture of what it looked like.

Click to expand...

The fact that it is hot on the bottom means the aluminum is doing its job...unless you have real numbers this means nothing to us (internal numbers)...

Also to the person above me, the app is called iStat Pro...it installs on your dashboard and doesn't mess with smc settings like fan control and smc fan control do...istat is the best bet IMO

my first gen mba only gets about 5 - 9 fps.

Southernboyj said:

I have a 2011 MacBook Pro, I just recently bought. When I have a lot of stuff going on, it gets extremely hot. The only game I play is RuneScape which the MBA can handle fine. So my question is, does the MacBook Air get as hot as the MacBook Pro?

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Both can get quite hot under heavy workloads. The Intel processors used in Macs are designed to automatically shut down to prevent damage if they truly overheat. CPU Tjmax = 105C, GPU Tjmax = 100C on i3, i5, i7 processors. (Source: Intel) If you're not already using it, iStat Pro will give you accurate readings of your temps and fan speeds, among other things.

Unless there is a rare defect in a Mac, most temps are well within the normal operating range, considering the workload being put on it. Websites with Flash content, games and other multimedia apps will put higher demand on the CPU/GPU, generating more heat. This is normal. If you're constantly putting high demands on your system, such as gaming or other multimedia tasks, expect temps to rise and fans to spin up accordingly. It's just your Mac doing its job to maintain temps within the normal range.

It is also quite normal for your Mac to become extremely hot to the touch during intensive operations. The aluminum body transfers heat more effectively than other materials used in computer casings, so you will feel the heat more. This doesn't indicate that it's overheating and will not harm the computer to be hot to the touch.

Your fans are always on when your Mac is on, spinning at a minimum of 2000 rpm (for MBPs) or 1800 rpm (for MBAs, MBs and minis). iMacs have 3 fans with minimum speeds in the 800-1200 range. They will spin faster as needed to keep temps at a safe level. If they're spinning up without increased heat, try resetting the SMC. (PRAM/NVRAM has nothing to do with these issues, so resetting it will not help.)

The intake and exhaust vents are in the back of the computer near the hinge on all Mac notebooks (except the new MBP with retina display, which has intake vents along the sides at the bottom). The iMac vent is a slot on the back near the top of the computer. Make sure the vents remain unblocked to allow your computer to perform at its best.

Learn about the fans in your Mac
Apple Portables: Operating temperature

For Flash-related issues:

• Find your Flash version and make sure it's the latest version available.
• Install ClickToFlash (Safari), Flashblock (Firefox) or FlashBlock (Chrome) to control which Flash content plays on websites.
• Use the YouTube HTML5 Video Player to watch YouTube videos, when available. (May impact fullscreen viewing. See link for details.)

13" MBA i7 - fan + hot at FaceTime

With nothing but FaceTime or FB video-chat, this thing revs up pretty loud and gets hot - just installed iStat Pro for specifics.. Weird thing is, my sisters on FaceTime on their iPhones didn't mention heat, etc.. how is it, a phone can do quiet and cool what my new MBA cannot? huh!?