I'm looking at getting a i7 mba and am slightly worried now about the overheating. If there is an issue with the 13 inch i7 how long does it take for apple to fix this in the manufacturing process or if it is a Lion issue to release an update based on previous problems?
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i5 - i7 noticable heat and fan noise thread. The concensous is >
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I don't think there is an issue with 13" i7 MBA. Mine has certainly been running more quiet than the 2010 13" MBA it replaced. This is a great machine.
I think this is the price we're gonna have to pay for wanting powerful machines in such a small body. We want Apple to give us power, we got it. What would have been the pissed threads and posts if Apple updated us with i3 chips across the board and all of these would be cool and quiet Airs. Next year, when we get the Ivy Bridge when we might get quad core Airs, I think majority of us will just opt for the dual core cheaper versions because those will be cooler and quieter. Anyway, I'll only consider these as problems if we're using these machines on our laps a lot. Else, I won't be bothered. These machines have a built-in sensor that will shut down the computer before heat does any damage. Yes, I'm still gonna get an 11" Ultimate, heat be damned. 
3 days with the i7 and I still feel it runs very cool and quiet. I replaced a 2,1 Air which loved to kick on the fans every time I watched a Flash video or imported a handful of photos. The improvements since October 08 are simply amazing.
Or to beat the heat, assuming you're not a power user, then order the i5 in the 11" and 13" machines.
If the speed difference isn't noticeable by most, less heat and fan noise, and better battery times are all true then no doubt the i5 is the machine for most people.
Still other than a few posters, there's not much definitive info on the heat, fan, battery differences.
If the speed difference isn't noticeable by most, less heat and fan noise, and better battery times are all true then no doubt the i5 is the machine for most people.
Still other than a few posters, there's not much definitive info on the heat, fan, battery differences.
What is the difference in the two (i5 v i7) with regard to power. To be honest all I will be using it for is word processing, internet, skype, watching itunes, videos, and using aperture. At the moment I have 2008 2.53 mbp and never have any fan, heat or lag issues at all. I am wanting the air to be the same
I do like to try and future proof and get the best I can afford which is one reason I was considering the i7 but if there is going to be no noticeable difference for me other than problems with heat, fans and battery life then I may go for the i5. I am going to leave buying for a month or so to see how things work out for the early users
I do like to try and future proof and get the best I can afford which is one reason I was considering the i7 but if there is going to be no noticeable difference for me other than problems with heat, fans and battery life then I may go for the i5. I am going to leave buying for a month or so to see how things work out for the early users
Safari, Twitter, Activity Monitor, Mail, Reeder, iCal, and iChat.
BTW I'm on battery power right now.
13" i7
Safari, Mail, iCal, App store, iTunes, MS Word, Excel and PPoint...
44dC at 3070 rpms - average.. observed over 10 minutes
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Anyone try it with a heavy flash site or something that works the CPU? Having a bunch of apps open isn't going to do anything. How about some temps. How hot you feel it is, is pretty subjective.
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I'm running a 11" i7 and I get 95-98 degrees Celsius just by having a flash site open.
Same experience here. Subjectively cooler than 2010 13" Ultimate in routine use (Safari, Mail, etc.) iStat says CPU temp is 48 and fan revs are 1997.
Fan bumps up when charging from a complete discharge (briefly) or in gaming. But that's to be expected.
Now, based on what I'm reading today, looks like i7 may okay in 13" but i5 is the way to go in the 11"?
I'd think if it was a huge problem the forum would be full of posts by now.
I'm nearly convinced i5 in the 11" is wise for heat and battery life.
I'd think if it was a huge problem the forum would be full of posts by now.
I'm nearly convinced i5 in the 11" is wise for heat and battery life.
I think it has to do with indexing. Today has been the first day since I got the MBA that no fan has came on. All hovering around 120-140 degrees and fan hasn't gone over 2100 rpm. I've used Safair with 5-7 tabs with one of those tabs running a youtube video. Mail and iCal running in the background. iPhoto open and browsing. Aperture open, but not using it. Photoshop and twitter running. All while running Iron Man 2 in HD in iTunes. Hopefully it was indexing as I would like to keep the best machine possible.
On a different note, can you manually run a spotlight index? If so we should try that to see if the fan and temp still continue to run hotter than normal.
Good to hear yours in running quieter, could be indexing.
Cool and quiet is more important to me than a little extra processing power which I wouldn't often need so if there is a noticeable difference then I'll go for the i5 for sure.
That being said, there isn't a lot of mention of heat in the i7 11" today either, lol. Don't know what to do.
Cool and quiet is more important to me than a little extra processing power which I wouldn't often need so if there is a noticeable difference then I'll go for the i5 for sure.
That being said, there isn't a lot of mention of heat in the i7 11" today either, lol. Don't know what to do.
Ok guys I've got an update for you all. So all morning I've been testing the i7 and i5 that we have here. Here is what I found it. The i7 runs an average about 5-10 degrees warmer than the i5. I did the same exact test using the same exact app. When I opened all the apps at once, they opened at the same time. The only time where I noticed a difference in speed was when I was export high resolution wallpapers from iPhoto. The i7 was a tad faster by 1 image. Loading webpages say no difference. Copying large movie files, the same. Now keep in mind I'm judging by the human eye and I don't have a radar gun to tell me how fast they really real. Out of 4 reboots including cold starts they were the same expect once. The i7 just won by a tad. Maybe a second....maybe. There you go guys, hope this information helps you out. For those who think other wise, I've included a proof of both machines.
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Since graphics is tied to the processor however, would the extra 5/10 degrees makes it worthwhile since we'll most likely be graphics bounded?
Yes I plan to do some gaming (SC2 only) on this.
Yes I plan to do some gaming (SC2 only) on this.
Returned my 11" i7 a few hours ago. At least with my machine, it wasn't an issue with indexing, since my CPU usage was consistently under 10% while it was getting hot.
I think the reason there aren't more complaints about this is that not many people are getting the 11" with the i7 due to the cost, and it's only been out for like two days. But I expect more people to talk about it in the next week or two.
I think the reason there aren't more complaints about this is that not many people are getting the 11" with the i7 due to the cost, and it's only been out for like two days. But I expect more people to talk about it in the next week or two.