Yes, even if you have an egpu, I would probably recommend another device for Fortnite. With a RX 5700 XT, it seems to drop frames unless it is on low, and the CPU temperature stays at 100 degrees C while you play.
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2020 Air Heatsink Modification Thread
- Thread starter ilikewhey
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Yes, even if you have an egpu, I would probably recommend another device for Fortnite. With a RX 5700 XT, it seems to drop frames unless it is on low, and the CPU temperature stays at 100 degrees C while you play.
It was designed to operate around 10W. Apple intentionally put in the 10W processor and isn’t letting it max out like it is the 13” Pro because the processor is essentially a souped up version of the processor that was in the 12” MacBook. Adding a heat pipe might help it sustain a bit higher quad-core speed, but these chips aren’t binned to operate at the maximum speed over an extended time.
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It should be fine. Remember the 2016 nTB is dual-core, so even if the “quad-core” is more like a “tri-core” experience vs. the true quad-core experience of the 13” Pro, you’ll notice a difference. The keyboard is significantly better than the 2016 MacBook Pro.
That said, the 13/14” Pro may be coming this summer. Perhaps it will see a small price reduction (or at least start at $1299 for 256GB), so you might consider waiting, since the Pro has better cooling, a better screen, and better speakers.
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Of course now MaxTech is out there rescinding his recommendation for the i5 MacBook Air and saying everyone should either get the i3 or wait for the 13/14” Pro. This is $400 less than a 13” Pro with the same memory and SSD. I’m not sure why he expected it to be as fast as a Pro. Of course, not many of us have the ability to hook up a water cooling fan to a MacBook Air.
In any case, it will be interesting when the 13/14” Pro gets updated. I wonder if Apple will also update the base storage to 256GB and restore the $200 price differential. That was a really big difference with the 2019 models, and I generally recommended the 2019 Pro over the 2019 Air. That said, the 2020 Air with the i5 should be good for many users, even though the 2020 Pro will likely widen the performance lead again (particularly in the multi-core score).
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It was designed blah blah blah... Both TDP and cores increased dramatically. Even Max's video shows that quad cores isn't that better due to thermal throttling. CPU itself from MBA 2020 is better than 2019 13inch MBP and yet the cooler does not allow to perform better.
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It's not speculation. What are you thinking? How do we even know it wouldn't make any difference? You dont even have proofs for that. The chip is throttled at 10W because MBA 2020 does NOT have a proper cooler which is very obvious. Nnoob's posts didn't prove anything since Max's video showed different results. It reached up to 15~26W which proves that Apple did not limit the wattage.
The reason why MBA 2020 sustains around 10W is because of thermal throttling due to the POOR cooling system. It's common sense.
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Oh btw, you tested with 10.15.4 while he tested with 10.15.3 which didn't even have proper Intel Ice Lake codes. Ice lake CPU leaked in 10.15.4 beta and he already got MBA 2020 way before its release date. Already unfair to compare each other.
Build of macbook air 2020 10.15.3 is a fork with ice lake support. Do you really think apple would ship a build that would have unbootable OS image or boot but broken stuff?
I am so glad I didn't listen to all of the MR naysayers when I bought my MBA in 2019. It has been a great computer. If I had waited, I would have missed out on 8 months of enjoyment. Then, after waiting, I would have finally purchased an MBA in 2020 only to read more MR complaints telling me I should wait for an updated MBP or wait for Apple to fix the heatsink issue. It just never ends.
All this talk is interesting to say the least but at the end of the day mine arrives Wednesday and I will put it through my normal workload and see what happens. People can scream it sucks or it's great until their hearts content but if my normal workload makes the fan never go on then I am good with it. If it makes the fans go on constantly then I will return it. The reality is that for all the talk about the calling being fine or the cooling being terrible simply will be determined by my own real world experience.
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MBA 2020 is using from 10.15.4, not 10.15.3 and Ice Lake officially supports from 10.15.4 and that makes a huge difference.
Those testers using 10.15.3 version still works but not 100%. I know Apple can support Ice Lake way before 10.15.13 but still, being official or not is totally different.
So at this point, once people start testing MBA 2020 with 10.15.4, the score can be higher. I already checked many Youtubers who got MBA 2020 before its release date but they got similar results around 1000 from Cinebench R20.
Makes sense. Just be aware that upon set up your fan may go on while files index etc.. So, give it some time to settle in.
Thermal Design Power (TDP) represents the average power, in watts, the processor dissipates when operating at Base Frequency with all cores active under an Intel-defined, high-complexity workload.
TDP is not a hard limit.
TDP is not a hard limit.
No, the CPU is not “better” than the 13” Pro processor. The burst performance is better, but Intel did not design this to be a speed demon. That’s why it is rated 10W TDP with a lower maximum than the 8257 chip. Intel’s reference design for the Core Y series shows a lower multi-core to single core ratio than the 15W chips.
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That does not justify the poor cooling system without a heat pipe and that's the point.
Tekguy0
macrumors 6502
What people don't seem to understand is that Apple INTENTIONALLY LIMITED the performance of the new chips in the MBA to keep performance from approaching the MBP13. It's understandable to be unhappy about poor thermal performance and throttling. If Apple put in a heatpipe, as many have suggested here, it might cannibalize sales of the MBP13. No, Apple didn't screw up the cooling system. It still operates within safe limits (though it does run a bit hot). Yes, they did segment their products, which isn't good for the consumer.
Uh huh, sure. Or maybe performance was tuned to maximize battery life in a thin, light package.
throAU
macrumors G4
ITT people complain about low-price apple ultrabook cooling not suitable for workstation use
ITT people complain about low price ultrabook CPU unable to sustain high power draw in machine aimed at all-day battery life doing low-power draw tasks.
Look... guys. we get it. Some of you don't like the machine and it isn't suitable for your use case. Alternatives exist. Complaining about this isn't going to achieve anything. This machine was made the way it was for reasons only apple truly know. But we can make some inferences, by looking at its intended audience.
For the intended audience, i think that the cooling is sufficient. If you are doing sustained long duration, high throughput work on this machine - you bought the wrong machine. It isn't marketed at that segment and Apple promote their Pro machines for that. And i'd argue if that is your focus, the 13" Pro is the wrong machine too, but that's outside the scope of this argument.
You may as well complain about the sky being blue. it is what it is, and complaining isn't going to change it.
If you want a 13" machine that is better at sustained high throughput workloads - the 13" Pro will be coming soon with a higher TDP CPU and cooling solution.
If you don't care about form factor and want a machine for high throughput workloads - buy a 16" Pro or a desktop.
ITT people complain about low price ultrabook CPU unable to sustain high power draw in machine aimed at all-day battery life doing low-power draw tasks.
Look... guys. we get it. Some of you don't like the machine and it isn't suitable for your use case. Alternatives exist. Complaining about this isn't going to achieve anything. This machine was made the way it was for reasons only apple truly know. But we can make some inferences, by looking at its intended audience.
For the intended audience, i think that the cooling is sufficient. If you are doing sustained long duration, high throughput work on this machine - you bought the wrong machine. It isn't marketed at that segment and Apple promote their Pro machines for that. And i'd argue if that is your focus, the 13" Pro is the wrong machine too, but that's outside the scope of this argument.
You may as well complain about the sky being blue. it is what it is, and complaining isn't going to change it.
If you want a 13" machine that is better at sustained high throughput workloads - the 13" Pro will be coming soon with a higher TDP CPU and cooling solution.
If you don't care about form factor and want a machine for high throughput workloads - buy a 16" Pro or a desktop.
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The point is that the cooling system is appropriate. Remember the Y series started out as a processor for fanless PCs. Its thermal envelope has doubled so it needs a fan, but doesn’t need a MacBook Pro fan. This is intended as an entry level Mac.
thadoggfather
macrumors P6
I'm wondering why there aren't 2018+ heatsink threads
and its now a 2020 thing
and personally no, I don't thin they omitted the heat pipe to screw throttled performance and narrow the gap with the Pro's. That sounds patently absurd
its either an oversight (If its a problem), or a cost saving measure even if a few bucks
still its packed in with hardware : new keyboard, touchID, true tone retina. 8/256 base
and its now a 2020 thing
and personally no, I don't thin they omitted the heat pipe to screw throttled performance and narrow the gap with the Pro's. That sounds patently absurd
its either an oversight (If its a problem), or a cost saving measure even if a few bucks
still its packed in with hardware : new keyboard, touchID, true tone retina. 8/256 base
Exactly. The MacBook Air is fine for most people, and the i5 is a decent upgrade as it provides some additional power when casual users need it. It isn’t intended for power users. If it ran like a MacBook Pro the battery life would suffer.
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It’s a conscious decision. For its intended purpose the MacBook Air is fine. I’ve been running Folding at Home working units for Covid research. That’s highly processor intensive. Yes, the 13” Pro from 2019 is twice as fast since it stays at higher voltages. But for running TurboTax, Office 365, even Parallels Desktop, the quad-core Air has been fine and the fan, if it runs, is quiet.
If you will tax the processor regularly but want portability, get the 13” Pro or wait for the 2020 model. If you are the average user the MacBook Air is a good buy, particularly if you get the i5.
throAU
macrumors G4
Just got the Air delivered today. I have the i5 version, and been playing around with it for last few hours and the cpu temperature. It definitely does get hot, even playing just one 4k YouTube clip on chrome, it is near 90 degrees, but the fan is not running. If I tax it, by opening random programs one by one, the fan does come on, but its not that loud.
Looks like the normal running temperature with just Safari open with one tab is around 68 degrees. No fan running.
Im wondering if I should just go with the i3, seeing I really don't need a powerhouse as I have my desktop for that.
Looks like the normal running temperature with just Safari open with one tab is around 68 degrees. No fan running.
Im wondering if I should just go with the i3, seeing I really don't need a powerhouse as I have my desktop for that.
nylon
macrumors 65816
The i3 is faster than the high end cpu on the 2019 model I believe. That said the i5 is much better long term value proposition given the cost benefit. Keep in mind Apple will likely tune the firmware which controls cpu power draw/fanspeed down the line to better manage heat. Also Chrome is terribly optimized at the moment and there's a good chance Google will refine the code for MacOS as more and more people realize that Chrome will lower battery performance by almost 2 hours on most Mac notebooks. Also give your computer a week to settle in.
Thats the reason I upgraded to the i5, it was $150 CDN and thought it will be better long term, but just read the i3 has similar issues with the heat and fan. I think your right, Apple will probably tune the firmware to fix the issue. Still need to decide if I should return it, wait for the new pro models to come out and purchase the base model. Thing is, I really don't need a powerhouse machine as my i7 desktop works perfectly for heavy duty tasks.
Hmm....really want to keep the Air, but lets see, ill decide in a few days.
Hmm....really want to keep the Air, but lets see, ill decide in a few days.
Can you test with Chrome Beta and see if you see a similar result as Chrome Stable?
Samething, now looking at it, both Chrome stable and beta watching a 4k MKBHD video, temperature is around 85-89.
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First of all, that's not logical. I don't care how Y series started but we are talking about TDP 10~12W, not 3.5W or 5W. How come they added quad-core if it's for normal uses? This is something that I can not understand. How do you even know if it's appropriate? How do you define entry-level users? How come there are some people using MBA for editing with FCPX? This is something you can not define easily. There are people using MBA for photo editing with LR and PS. It is a simple task cause both LR and PS don't require high specs.
Also, Intel's TDP is not always correct since it really depends on what you do.
Technically, the fan does not cool down the CPU itself. It just blows hot airs out. Base on Youtubers' video, MBA 2020 tends to maximize the fan speed most of the time.
From Apple's website, they put this... for gaming... with a screenshot. So what about gamers? Are you gonna say MacBook Air is not for gaming while there are tons of gaming laptops cheaper than $1000? You cant even run LOL and Counter-Strike on MBA just because of its cooling performance? Both games don't really need high-end specs at all.
If you really think people will use MBA only for simple works such as typing, searching, and watching, then you need to bring data or information to support your opinion.