Just purchased a Thunderbolt Display for my 11 inch Macbook Air. Loving it so far, but noticed the MBA gets very hot to the touch when using for extended periods of time. Has anyone experienced any problems in the long term when using the MBA w/ Thunderbolt for long periods at a time?
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11in air very hot when using with thunderbolt
- Thread starter jtap
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Its going to be very hot because you are asking an 11" machine made of aluminium to power a 27" screen. That isnt to say that it isnt capable, but it is is rather an intensive thing. Dont worry, if it gets too hot it will automatically shut itself down to avoid damage.
Its normal.
Its normal.
Thae last time I check, the MBA doesn't power the display. The display will be the power source for the MBA. The MBA may get hot because its using up a lot of graphics to feed to the Thunderbolt Display - But it doesn't power it, the power plug does that.
Producing heat is well documented.
Heat is created when the processor gets hot.
The processor gets hot when doing challenging things.
Thus, it gets hot.
Your MBA will be fine and will not be damaged.
It's normal. Install iStat Pro to get accurate readings of your temps, among other things. There is no cause for concern.
Of course the MBA doesnt use its battery to power the TBA, that isnt what I meant. What I meant was it runs the graphics for it, I wasn't clear obvious.
There is no "normal" temp, as it depends on what you have running. The Intel processors used in Macs are designed to automatically shut down to prevent damage if they truly overheat (around 100C/212F - 105C/221F, depending on your processor). Anything under that is within the normal range, although it depends on what you're running.
I've started a previous thread on this topic and every couple of weeks I see a similar thread concerning mainly MacBook Airs and Minis running hot when connected to a Thunderbolt Display.
My 2011 i7 11" MBA fans scream very loudly after watching 5 minutes of YouTube, when connected to my Thunderbolt display.
My fans however are never audible when I connect to my 24" or 27" Cinema Display, which I have mainly hooked up to my Mac Pro.
Since my MBA is my only Thunderbolt equipped Mac, my Thunderbolt display is collecting dust because I refuse to use my Mac under those situations.
Other posters may reply that I have a defective Mac or Display, but I am outside my return policy and will see if my next MacBook Pro will behave the same way.
It Sounds like several posters do not have the same experiences as I am having though.
My 2011 i7 11" MBA fans scream very loudly after watching 5 minutes of YouTube, when connected to my Thunderbolt display.
My fans however are never audible when I connect to my 24" or 27" Cinema Display, which I have mainly hooked up to my Mac Pro.
Since my MBA is my only Thunderbolt equipped Mac, my Thunderbolt display is collecting dust because I refuse to use my Mac under those situations.
Other posters may reply that I have a defective Mac or Display, but I am outside my return policy and will see if my next MacBook Pro will behave the same way.
It Sounds like several posters do not have the same experiences as I am having though.
Mine is running between 72-77 C while using a mini display port to HDMI connector.
I have a 2011 i7 11" as well.
I'm not running an 11" Air, so I cant answer your question, but I use a 13" Air with a TB display all day long. Never hear the fan. How about taking the Air to an Apple Store and seeing if you get the same issue when connecting to their display?
This is quite interesting, I'm thinking of getting a new Air + TB display soon myself, but if that would mean a high-rpm fan all day I will probably go for another solution (probably a Cinema Display). Is there any change in CPU usage when using the TB screen? Ie, is the CPU working harder to send video through thunderbolt, or is the heating coming only from the TB-chip itself? I sure hope this is an isolated problem and not something that affects all Airs + TB-display.
There is no air intake or exhaust through the keyboard on any Mac notebook, and there never has been. Both intake and exhaust is through the vents in the rear, which allows venting with the lid open or closed (for operating in clamshell mode). There is a solid panel under the keyboard, preventing any meaningful airflow.
I still don't understand whats causing the original poster to have these issues - I use a TB display with a 13" air and never, ever hear the fans. I'll watch it with istat menus this week and see if I see anything over the base 2000 rpms.
Since the MacBook Air shares its RAM with the system, you are actually better off having the lid closed when it is connected to an external display. That way, it has to drive only one display and is less likely to use up all the RAM (which causes swapping to the SSD).
My fan spun up a few times when I first got the TBD. I reset the SMC controller and it's been fine since. The fan still runs if I'm watching a longer flash video, but thats normal. Here's how to do it: Shut down the MacBook Air, Connect the MagSafe adapter, Hold down Shift+Control+Option+Power at the same time, Release all keys at the same time, then hit the power button again to turn the MacBook Air on.
Good luck
Good luck
OK - I did some testing with my 13" Air and TB display this AM.
Normal operation (Mail, iCal, Chrome with several tabs, several other apps) everything stays at 2000 rpms (normal). I then played some YouTube videos full screen, and got the fans to spin up to 4500 rpms (can hear but still barely audible in my office). When I stop the videos, the fans return to 2000 rpms within about 2 mins.
Normal operation (Mail, iCal, Chrome with several tabs, several other apps) everything stays at 2000 rpms (normal). I then played some YouTube videos full screen, and got the fans to spin up to 4500 rpms (can hear but still barely audible in my office). When I stop the videos, the fans return to 2000 rpms within about 2 mins.