Hopefully the guy who makes CoolBookController could make it compatible with i5/i7 CPUs, then the i7 version could end up having a much nicer temp. That's also one reason I'm keeping my MBA 11' 2010 at least one more year. Using CBP you get a very cool computer and long lasting battery.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
i5 - i7 noticable heat and fan noise thread. The concensous is >
- Thread starter entatlrg
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Seems like all of the i7 get pretty warm. It's just a matter of what you want. Faster speed, but you get warmer temps. Slower speed, cooler temps. Plain and simple. It appear with these CPUs we can't have our cake and eat it.
That's the way I see it. Can't really complain about the heat. It's a lot of power coming form such a small laptop.
The heat doesn't bother me really. It's the battery life that I'm more concerned with.
I get 4.5 to 5 hours. Getting the Air I was expecting 7 hours. I guess "up to 7 hours" means just letting the Air sit there with brightness at 1 notch and email fetching every other hour.
I agree on the amount of power the i7 has inside. It's a beast in a small footprint. Thinking of i7 mows me want to dump my i5 for this.
I agree on the amount of power the i7 has inside. It's a beast in a small footprint. Thinking of i7 mows me want to dump my i5 for this.
For the 11" yes, much more power.
The 13" power difference between the i5/i7 isn't much. From my personal experience not enough to warrant the trade off in heat, fan noise and battery life.
For that reason in my situation the i5 is an upgrade from my i7. I do have my Mac Pro for any serious heavy lifting any way
For the 11" yes, much more power.
The 13" power difference between the i5/i7 isn't much. From my personal experience not enough to warrant the trade off in heat, fan noise and battery life.
For that reason in my situation the i5 is an upgrade from my i7. I do have my Mac Pro for any serious heavy lifting any way
I agree. Besides I'll proabably just end up upgrading next year anyways. How come your signature says i7 then?
I agree on the amount of power the i7 has inside. It's a beast in a small footprint. Thinking of i7 mows me want to dump my i5 for this.
Oh, so you are going to be "that guy" now, aren't you?
i7. No wait! i5. No wait! i7...
Oh, so you are going to be "that guy" now, aren't you?
Doubt it. Even though I was offered the i7 at the i5 education discounted price. I didn't bite on that.
I seriously doubt it as Intel took that ability away starting with the clarkdale i5/i7's. No one on either the OSX/Win7 side has been able to alter voltages on i5/i7 without BIOS support and I doubt Apple will be giving us that any time soon.
Have yet to install iStat but from just initial observation I don't find any particular difference in heat on the new i7 1.8 11" to my previous 1.4 Core2 11". Damn site faster though.
I just received my 11" i7 yesterday and so far... I LOVE IT!!
It is not very hot. When I was installing my programs yesterday it did reach low 70c..
Now, I currently have Chrome, iTunes, Mail, iCal, Word, Powerpoint and Pokerstars running and my computer is at 56c and dropping.
Add a youtube video and it stays at 61c.
This is actually cooler than my 1st generation MBA.
I am so happy with my purchase... SUPER FAST
I just received my 11" i7 yesterday and so far... I LOVE IT!!
It is not very hot. When I was installing my programs yesterday it did reach low 70c..
Now, I currently have Chrome, iTunes, Mail, iCal, Word, Powerpoint and Pokerstars running and my computer is at 56c and dropping.
Add a youtube video and it stays at 61c.
This is actually cooler than my 1st generation MBA.
I am so happy with my purchase... SUPER FAST
Those are good temps for your task. Sounds like you got a keeper.
I'm experiencing same kind of temps after installing all my applications and indexing my external design drive
It's hovering around 49c whilst iTunes is pumping out a few tracks, iPhoto indexing faces and mail, things, ical, safari all open and software update is downloading a java update...
Plus they're both going to be running the same speeds if it doesn't need the extra power...the only time it's using more power is if it's clocking itself faster, and at that point...
i5 - i7 noticable heat and fan noise thread. The concensous is >
Okay, so 164 posts later ...
i5 vs i7 in the 2011 MBA's ... heat and fan noise ... what's the bottom line??
Is there a "noticeable" difference?
I've had both and tested both in the 13"... real world use. (Anyone else? Please post results.)
- Yes, I noticed the i7 ran warmer than the i5 doing anything except idling. Especially noticeable when typing on my lap with shorts on which I do often, for me cooler is better.
- Yes, I heard the fans more often with the i7, and they go at max speeds more often, the i5's fan isn't as quick to come on when pushing it, and they didn't to ramp up to max speed as often, therefore the i5 seems quieter.
- Regrettably I didn't test the battery life between the two before returned the i7. From what I've read there's no difference to 30 minutes difference, have to test yourself to know for sure.
Based on the tasks I use a computer for the i5 felt cooler to touch on the bottom and it was the quieter of the two machines.
Okay, so 164 posts later ...
i5 vs i7 in the 2011 MBA's ... heat and fan noise ... what's the bottom line??
Is there a "noticeable" difference?
I've had both and tested both in the 13"... real world use. (Anyone else? Please post results.)
- Yes, I noticed the i7 ran warmer than the i5 doing anything except idling. Especially noticeable when typing on my lap with shorts on which I do often, for me cooler is better.
- Yes, I heard the fans more often with the i7, and they go at max speeds more often, the i5's fan isn't as quick to come on when pushing it, and they didn't to ramp up to max speed as often, therefore the i5 seems quieter.
- Regrettably I didn't test the battery life between the two before returned the i7. From what I've read there's no difference to 30 minutes difference, have to test yourself to know for sure.
Based on the tasks I use a computer for the i5 felt cooler to touch on the bottom and it was the quieter of the two machines.
I agree. But it may be that the build process was slightly off, possibly a reason why some were built cooler than others. Wish we had an absolute answer on this. Seems to be a split decision on which is cooler.
To be honest..
I never would put my computer directly on my lap..
I always put my case between my legs and the computer.
I also spoke to my brother-in-law (he is in computers) about this and he said that if you put the laptop on your legs, you are more likely to block the fans than when it is on a flat surface - thus, the computer might run warmer.
Right, and during production fine tuning and tweaking is always done, as they gather test results and feedback.
I think if the i7 was a huge problem this forum would be bursting with complaints.
For me personally the difference was really noticeable, not the speed rather the 'difference between the two' with in heat from the bottom of the unit and the palm rests.
Everyone in my office agreed, decision was easy after that.
Where is gets confusing is reading here. First, not many have both in hand to compare it to, so "my i7 is cool and quiet" is good to read, but compared to the i5 how is it?
I read about the speed on the 11" i7 being noticeable over the i5 ... that has me interested, but man my i5 runs cool and quiet and I never hear the fans, I wouldn't give that up to save a few seconds or minute doing heavily lifting tasks which I don't often do anyway ...
I have the 11" i5 and it gets noticeably hot when running flash video - the fan sometimes ramps up to "hairdryer mode" ~6000rpm which is unbearably loud unless I am wearing headphones, then it just annoys my wife
I have wondered if there's a big difference between the 11 and 13...
That i7 in them at least on paper is able to overclock itself to as fast as the slowest 13" Macbook Pro's CPU...though that would depend on heat and the like too. The 13" Air presumably already has worse cooling, and the 11" more so.
Heh...if I end up going with the 1.7GHz i5, at least I'll feel like "oh, I'm doing it because of the heat" Even though really I'd be doing it because you can get it from other stores.
That i7 in them at least on paper is able to overclock itself to as fast as the slowest 13" Macbook Pro's CPU...though that would depend on heat and the like too. The 13" Air presumably already has worse cooling, and the 11" more so.
Heh...if I end up going with the 1.7GHz i5, at least I'll feel like "oh, I'm doing it because of the heat"
Even though really I'd be doing it because you can get it from other stores.Your right. My i5 is cool and quite. My wife has the better i5 in the house. Hers is always in the upper 30s to early 40s. I'm going to get mime exchanged because the screen has some dead pixels. But will be sticking with i5 since I got on the best buy deal. Paid a little over 1500 out the door.
Would just like to ask.
It is unhealthy for the computer to let the CPU get hot (85C and above) for extended periods, maybe for a single charge of the machine? (Maybe around 3h if the machine is running that hot).
I know it would be uncomfortable for the user, but from the computer's perspective, would it be ok to maintain such high temperatures, provided it does not overheat (over 100C)?
It is unhealthy for the computer to let the CPU get hot (85C and above) for extended periods, maybe for a single charge of the machine? (Maybe around 3h if the machine is running that hot).
I know it would be uncomfortable for the user, but from the computer's perspective, would it be ok to maintain such high temperatures, provided it does not overheat (over 100C)?
Your right. My i5 is cool and quite. My wife has the better i5 in the house. Hers is always in the upper 30s to early 40s. I'm going to get mime exchanged because the screen has some dead pixels. But will be sticking with i5 since I got on the best buy deal. Paid a little over 1500 out the door.
Crud...what was the Best Buy deal, and how'd I miss it?!?
I love that Best Buy seems to be getting competitive now...they've been beating Amazon on different things.
Crud...what was the Best Buy deal, and how'd I miss it?!?
I love that Best Buy seems to be getting competitive now...they've been beating Amazon on different things.
They matched apples 100 gift card offer. But they didn't know how to apply it to purchase so they just took 100 off the price. I didn't get on the triple reward zone event, but I think most would rather pay less than have a gift card.
The CPU will shut off when it gets too hot. This is done automatically. The heat coming from the CPU will just make the user uncomfortable, but still vary much usable.