2019 13in MBP basic run cooler than 2020 MBA at the same price.

[vyruzreaper]

if your usage is going to generate sustained cpu load then buy a MBP. The MBA isn't the computer for you. It’s set up for short bursts of cpu not sustained compute loads.

The only time mines been loud was a stuck sync process. Otherwise it’s mostly silent with slightly audible fan when I do photo raw conversions of a bunch of images.

video conferencing should work without 95-100C CPU and fans spinning at 8k RPM in 2020 with a $1k+ laptop.

 

[RiaKoobcam]

All this for your sample size of ONE i5 model.

Accept that others have had a different experience with their i5 models and don’t be dismissing folks who are having a different experience as “three safari tabs and a YouTube video” or the other dismissive comments. Some of us have been using these things since before the first Mac ever came out. Our observations may well be based on long knowledge rather than the ignorance you imply.

I’ve never stated anyone else’s experience is “wrong”, I’ve simply given my sample size of one data point. That it doesn’t jive with your experience is interesting and perhaps points to sample variances for some reason. It makes my experience of a quiet MBA no less real.

All that said, anyone buying a MBA for sustained cpu intensive activities, whether due to their needs or due to their choice of unoptimized software, bought the wrong model and should be buying a MBP instead.

Sorry, didn't mean to be dismissive. Of course your experience is real - I don't think anyone here is lying (what is there to gain?).

It's a good point. Where almost every user only has a sample size of one 2020 MBA, quant data (like Notebookcheck's historical database) can be useful, as well as comparitive analysis like the original post.

Again, a lot of people are happy with it, and that's great. But the best quantifiable numbers point towards this Macbook Air being the hottest and loudest released to market. Plenty of people will be cool with that, plenty won't be, what they choose to do with that is down to them.

I do disagree with your final point there - I think a lot of people (myself included) used Macbook Airs as the default laptop because it was able to handle pretty much anything, including 'unoptimised software'. Many users can't or don't want to exclusively use Apple optimised-apps, and if being restricted to them is what it takes for the 2020 MBA to run as cooly or quietly as its predecessors or the current, similarly priced, similarly sized MBP - I'd recommend the base MBP.

I've never owned a Macbook Air I've had to limit (through what apps I use, through disabling TurboBoost, whatever) to keep it cool and quiet 90% of the time. Unless my unit was defective (as well as the unit in the OP's video and the unit in the Notebookcheck review), these would be measures I might have taken to get comparative 2015MBA/2019MBA/2019 base MBP thermal/noise emission performance.

To sum up - people are having more varied experiences with the 2020MBA in regards to heat and noise than previous models. What limited data there is strongly indicates that, on average, it's hotter and louder in most scenarios.

There are some good alternatives out there if they're not happy with the performance - luckily Apple has a good return policy so users can make up their own minds. If they're happy with it, cool. If not, there are options. Everybody wins.

[automerge]1588551568[/automerge]

video conferencing should work without 95-100C CPU and fans spinning at 8k RPM in 2020 with a $1k+ laptop.

I'd agree with that, yeah. I'd put 'Facetime' in the category of 'basic tasks I shouldn't have to baby the computer through'. Even Zoom, a non-Apple but realistically ubiquitous app, is what I'd consider a basic task.

We actually had the 2015 MBA, 2019 MBA and 2020 i3 MBA in a Zoom call with family and friends last night (girlfriend and housemate using the i3 and 2015, respectively). After half an hour, the 2019 MBA was silent (probably at 2700rpm), 2015 was barely audible (probably at around 4-5000), the 2020 i3 was at 8000rpm. Wasn't as warm to the touch on the underside as the 2020 i5 when I tried Zoom on that a few weeks ago, but was still a lot warmer than the 2019.

Given that so many people are speccing up their 2020MBAs to the base price of the current MBP, and the MBA is hotter and louder in most scenarios with poorer performance, the value proposition of the MBA is becoming less clear for the consumer who wants thin/light/quiet/cool.

 

[vyruzreaper]

Sorry, didn't mean to be dismissive. Of course your experience is real - I don't think anyone here is lying (what is there to gain?).

Where every user mostly only has a sample size of one 2020 MBA, quant data (like Notebookcheck's historical database) can be useful, as well as comparitive analysis like the original post.

Again, a lot of people are happy with it, and that's great. But the best quantifiable numbers point towards this Macbook Air being the hottest and loudest released. Plenty of people will be cool with that, plenty won't be, what they choose to do with that is down to them.

I do disagree with your final point there - I think a lot of people (myself included) used Macbook Airs as the default laptop because it was able to handle pretty much anything, including 'unoptimised software'. Many users can't or don't want to exclusively use Apple apps, and if being restricted to them is what it takes for the 2020 MBA to run as cooly or quietly as its predecessors or the current, similarly priced, similarly sized MBP - I'd recommend the base MBP.

I've never owned a Macbook Air I've had to limit (through what apps I use, through disabling TurboBoost, whatever) to keep it cool and quiet 90% of the time. Unless my unit, the unit in the video and the unit in the Notebookcheck review were all defective, these would be measures I might have taken to get comparative 2015MBA/2019MBA/2019 base MBP thermal/noise emission performance.

To sum up - people are having more varied experiences with the 2020MBA in regards to heat and noise than previous models. What limited data there is strongly indicates that, on average, it's hotter and louder in most scenarios.

There are some good alternatives out there if they're not happy with the performance - luckily Apple has a good return policy so users can make up their own minds. If they're happy with it, cool. If not, there are options. Everybody wins.

Well said. Of my ex-GFs, sisters, friends who used MBA in the past, none of them generated as much fan noise/heat as the 2020 with usage of non Pro apps (anecdotal-subjective evidence). Video conferencing is not a pro app. Chrome or any mainstream browser is not a pro app.

Pro apps are Final Cut Pro, video/photo editing, CAD, etc. I wasn't expecting the MBA to do any of that for long sustained times. To my surprise, my i5/16/256 runs Sketch and VScode like a champ. I can get 2-3 artboards in sketch without any major issues using the MBA.

 

[RiaKoobcam]

Well said. Of my ex-GFs, sisters, friends who used MBA in the past, none of them generated as much fan noise/heat as the 2020 with usage of non Pro apps. Video conferencing is not a pro app. Chrome or any mainstream browser is not a pro app.

I think that's the main takeaway. For most people buying this, they'll be expecting to run normal, every day stuff, and if they're coming from a previous Macbook Air, they'll be expecting similar results.

Even though none of these things are 'pro' tasks, gun to my head, if someone asked me '2020 MBA or 2019 MBP?', I'd recommend the Pro. Not because of benchmarks, not because of any noticeable performance difference in everyday tasks, but because the 2019 base MBP is, in many ways, what the MBA line used to be in terms of working the way people have come to expect.

 

[throAU]

I don't think this should be a surprise.

The Pro is intended to burn through battery power faster to get work done faster. It has a better cooling system to enable that (cpu speed requires power draw and power draw = heat generation).

The "same price" Pro has less storage and a worse keyboard.

Buy what suits your needs.

 

[bennyyyy]

View attachment 911853

All right, i understand. I was talking about the other vidéo.

 

[deeddawg]

video conferencing should work without 95-100C CPU and fans spinning at 8k RPM in 2020 with a $1k+ laptop.

The one occasion I've done a seven-participant Zoom video conference, my MBA's fan was never audible and it never got hot over the entire 40 minute call.

As for "should" - that's irrelevant. What matters is what something *does*. If your computer doesn't do what you need how you need it done, then you have the wrong computer.

 

[solo118]

Can anybody recommend an app that can show the temp of the computer? I use istat menus, but I am guessing the 2020 MBA is not compatible with it just yet, as it shows everything but temperature.

 

[deeddawg]

I use an non-contact infrared thermometer to measure the external case temperature when I'm curious.

Since that's kinda the part that matters in terms of how the computer feels to the user. The temperature of an internal component isn't relevant to that IMHO.

 

[RiaKoobcam]

Can anybody recommend an app that can show the temp of the computer? I use istat menus, but I am guessing the 2020 MBA is not compatible with it just yet, as it shows everything but temperature.

I used Intel Power Gadget and Macs Fan Control, both downloaded after the case became uncomfortably hot while streaming video.

 

[solo118]

I used Intel Power Gadget and Macs Fan Control, both downloaded after the case became uncomfortably hot while streaming video.

Thank you. Macs Fan Conrol does not show the temperature, is there anything else that has a constant readout on the top bar? iStat Menus worked great, but not sure why the temp wont show

 

[RiaKoobcam]

Hmm I'm pretty sure Macs Fan Control has an option to show you the CPU temp in the top bar on my 2020 i5 and i3 (still have the i3, but it's my partner's now - she's using it for work so I can't fiddle around with it).

My Macs Fan Control looked like this, displaying the fan RPMs and CPU1 sensor temp when I was doing my baseline testing for idle, browsing, streaming, video calling etc. Are there any options you can find to display CPU1?

Attached pic is from another user over in the heatsink thread using Macs Fan Control to show temps in the top bar