Why does the 11' become so hot?

[Agnoslibertine]

Okay, so to start, I plan to buy the 13 inch, after playing a bit with the newly bought 11inch I bought for my girlfriend.

I tried the trial version of Final Cut pro (i like to video edit), and I had this short 40 sec video (720p, 50fps) and added two video effects, and when I exported it, the MBA started its fan for the first time ever. And the bottom of the computer became so hot.

Now I am just curious, is this normal? (forgive my ignorance)
I just got scared, that I was about to fry my girlfriends new mac computer(her first mac).

Sorry this thread is to long...

 

[HCx]

the Macbook Air 11 doesn't get any hotter than the 13" model or even the MBP's. it's just more likely to hit those temps since it's in a much more compact frame and you are more likely to force the CPU to 100% load and generate alot of heat when starting with such a (relatively) slow CPU in comparison to other models.

 

[Agnoslibertine]

the Macbook Air 11 doesn't get any hotter than the 13" model or even the MBP's. it's just more likely to hit those temps since it's in a much more compact frame and you are more likely to force the CPU to 100% load and generate alot of heat when starting with such a (relatively) slow CPU in comparison to other models.

But is that heat "dangerous" in any way?''
again forgive my ignorance, I am so used to mid towers with intense venting keeping the processor pretty cool.
I am just not used to notebooks in general. Especially when you get that fan going.

 

[reputationZed]

Nico Arment and Dan Benjamin had an interesting discussion on laptop heat on show #44 of the Build and Analyze podcast. It was specifically about the 2.3 Quad i7 15" MBP, but an interesting listen all the same.

http://5by5.tv/buildanalyze/44

 

[HCx]

But is that heat "dangerous" in any way?''
again forgive my ignorance, I am so used to mid towers with intense venting keeping the processor pretty cool.
I am just not used to notebooks in general. Especially when you get that fan going.

it's hardly ideal since excess heat can diminish the lifespan of Lithium batteries. the only other thing to worry about is taking some lifespan off the CPU from running it hot.

but either way, it's running within Intel's operating specifications. so i'm sure it is fine from a technical standpoint for much longer than you'll actually own the product.

 

[KPOM]

The short answer is that the chips are rated to 105 degrees, so running them at 90 degrees shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Agnoslibertine]

thanx y'all.

just a quick one, and obvious one.
if it becomes to warm, then the mac will shut it self down right?

 

[reputationZed]

I believe the CPU would first try to reduce temperature by throttling down on performance, but yes if need be it would shut itself down rather than burn out.

 

[pgiguere1]

Aluminium conducts heat naturally more than plastic. If your reference for saying this is a plastic laptop, it's not really fair. While it can seem hotter to the touch than a plastic laptop, the point is that the whole case acts like a heatsink so that you don't need as much fans spinning. However what matters is the temperature of internal components, which isn't necessarily related to the case temperature.

If your reference is another aluminium Mac, then I don't think it's true that the 11" MBA gets hotter. While it may seem hotter since it's physically smaller and heat has to transfer through less metal, the temperature of internal components doesn't go any higher. In fact, I register lower temperatures with iStats menu with my i7 11" than my previous 2008 Aluminium MacBook (C2D 2.4) and 2009 MBP (C2D 2.53).

 

[macneubie]

if it is hot enough to cook an egg,you should be worried. if it's warm enough to melt frozen ice, then no cause for alarm.

 

[flyimac]

Have both Air and MBP

I have the 2009 13" MBP and it does get hot, I need something between it and my lap always. My 2011 11" Mac Air is the opposite, it can sit on my lap til the batteries run dry without almost any heat.

My Air has the i7 processor and maybe it's not working as hard as other processors.http://cdn.macrumors.com/vb/images/icons/icon10.gif