In the first couple weeks, there was a lot of discussion in the threads about heat & fan issues with the i7, and a number of people who opted for a seemingly cooler and quieter i5. I haven't seen much discussion on this recently. I'm just wondering what peoples views are now or if they have changed at all after a few more additional weeks of use - is there really a heat/fan issue with i7 as compared to i5? Or perhaps the i7's have "calmed down" after a little more use?
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11" i5/i7 - heat and fan issues?
- Thread starter jaguar68
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I've been using my 11" i7 with no issues for 3.5 weeks now. Sure if you are running something intensive the fan will speed up, but it's nothing out of the ordinary. If you were holding back on getting a MacBook Air because of heat concerns, I'd suggest just going ahead and getting one.
I was actualy going to start a thread about this too.
Now a month after release what is the concenceous?
I dare to guess its a non issue for most.
In the 13" the i7 runs 5-10 degrees warmer and seems to have no big effect on battery life. Performance wise both are about the same, i7's extra power isn't noticed at all doing normal tasks, for heavy processing it's shaving off seconds, not worth it IMO.
The 11" can get damn warm with the i7 and the battery life does take a hit, but you're getting 25% more power too, for some it's worth it and needed for their work.
Now a month after release what is the concenceous?
I dare to guess its a non issue for most.
In the 13" the i7 runs 5-10 degrees warmer and seems to have no big effect on battery life. Performance wise both are about the same, i7's extra power isn't noticed at all doing normal tasks, for heavy processing it's shaving off seconds, not worth it IMO.
The 11" can get damn warm with the i7 and the battery life does take a hit, but you're getting 25% more power too, for some it's worth it and needed for their work.
I had both running side by side for a couple of weeks, now I just have the 11 i7. My unscientific findings were that they ran about the same temperature for most of the tasks I do (Safari, iTunes, Mail, Calendar, Pages, etc) at about 48 C to 60 C. The i7 often would run a couple of degrees cooler. Never heard the fans with either unless it was backing up. Under load the i7 would get hotter faster but would also cool down faster as well once the task was done, but was never hotter than the i5.
Did you notice much difference in speed doing day to day activities or much loss in battery life?
When they are side by side you can notice the speed difference, even in just opening apps. Having used both I can tell it is slightly faster but since I don't do much that is intensive I could have gotten by with the i5 and never noticed. It's only because I use the i7 that I can tell a very slight difference in some tasks.
As far as the battery life, I'm sorry to say I've never used the Air for more than an hour or so at a time on the battery so I'm no help on that end.
Will gaming cause long term damage to my Air?
I have a new 11" i5/4Gb. For the first week I was on vacation and didn't run anything too intensive so I never heard the fan. Now that I am back to my routine I am running CounterStrike Source on Steam. Less than a few minutes of play and the fan kicks in. I can really feel the heat from the bottom of this little sucker. I am not worried about battery life since it is usually plugged in when I play.
So, the game plays great. However, I am wondering if pushing it for long periods of gaming is going to cause problems. Any thoughts?
I have a new 11" i5/4Gb. For the first week I was on vacation and didn't run anything too intensive so I never heard the fan. Now that I am back to my routine I am running CounterStrike Source on Steam. Less than a few minutes of play and the fan kicks in. I can really feel the heat from the bottom of this little sucker. I am not worried about battery life since it is usually plugged in when I play.
So, the game plays great. However, I am wondering if pushing it for long periods of gaming is going to cause problems. Any thoughts?
No, gaming on the Air wil be fine. Remember this is still intel hardware/chipsets. They were designed to run at these temperatures.
Maybe if you run a CPU/GPU benchmark continuously for a few months without shutting down the chance something could burn out is so minimal, it's not even worth mentioning. Use your computer normally, everything should work as intended.
My 11" i5 is dead quiet and cool as a cucumber. I hate heat.
IMO skip the i7. A bit more cache does not make a dual core chip worthy of the i7 moniker.
IMO skip the i7. A bit more cache does not make a dual core chip worthy of the i7 moniker.
11" Ultimate
No heat issues at all. Been running for an hour and is still cool to touch.
If you are keeping it for 3 years like I generally do then i7 is the way to go I suggest
No heat issues at all. Been running for an hour and is still cool to touch.
If you are keeping it for 3 years like I generally do then i7 is the way to go I suggest
I bought a 11-inch ultimate when they were first released. I returned it after a little bit, and I'm now looking to invest in it for good this time.
It seems the heat issues varies for people? I will probably just get a i5 this time as the minor power boost isn't really a big concern for me, and cooler is always better.
It seems the heat issues varies for people? I will probably just get a i5 this time as the minor power boost isn't really a big concern for me, and cooler is always better.