It's not like the Air exactly runs cool...

[nrubenstein]

For all the whinging about the rMB running hot, you'd think that the Air ran cool.

Now, I will fully grant that it can sustain a higher clock speed constantly, but on the flip side, I've got a 13" Air on my desk that has been running a constant CPU temperature of nearly 100C for the last hour pulling an initial sync with DropBox. And yes, the chassis is pretty damned warm, and yes, the fans are loud as ****.

 

[SSD-GUY]

For all the whinging about the rMB running hot, you'd think that the Air ran cool.

Now, I will fully grant that it can sustain a higher clock speed constantly, but on the flip side, I've got a 13" Air on my desk that has been running a constant CPU temperature of nearly 100C for the last hour pulling an initial sync with DropBox. And yes, the chassis is pretty damned warm, and yes, the fans are loud as ****.

I think there's a problem with your Air. I just setup my mid-2013 air and sync'ed with SugarSync and my fans have not even come on.

 

[nrubenstein]

I think there's a problem with your Air. I just setup my mid-2013 air and sync'ed with SugarSync and my fans have not even come on.

No. DropBox crushes the CPU on slower machines. 90GB from DropBox and 30GB into Outlook will result in hard work for an extended period of time. (Granted, it's also a 2011 Air.)

 

[Fuzzball84]

Just my input...

Ive had a 2014 11 inch i5 4 GB 128 GB SSD Air for a while and it runs really cool during most tasks, the casing is almost always cool to the touch except during software updates and sometimes while charging....

I don't use dropbox but I have one drive installed. Temp range of my CPU is usually 35-65 oC with the machine spending most of its time in the 35-50 oC range while using safari (maybe 5 tabs open) word and iTunes in background.

The Air in my experience really does run cool compared to many other laptops. I also have a 2014 MBP and under similar usage that remains cool to the touch too.

 

[nrubenstein]

Just my input...

Ive had a 2014 11 inch i5 4 GB 128 GB SSD Air for a while and it runs really cool during most tasks, the casing is almost always cool to the touch except during software updates and sometimes while charging....

I don't use dropbox but I have one drive installed. Temp range of my CPU is usually 35-65 oC with the machine spending most of its time in the 35-50 oC range while using safari (maybe 5 tabs open) word and iTunes in background.

The Air in my experience really does run cool compared to many other laptops. I also have a 2014 MBP and under similar usage that remains cool to the touch too.

Hell, my rMB is currently running around 40C with 10 Safari tabs, TweetBot, iMessage, and a number of other applications running in the background. Even it currently feels cool to the touch. (As does the Air, now that it's idling down.)

 

[3bs]

Hell, my rMB is currently running around 40C with 10 Safari tabs, TweetBot, iMessage, and a number of other applications running in the background. Even it currently feels cool to the touch. (As does the Air, now that it's idling down.)

That sounds great to me. Maybe the people complaining of heat are pushing it and expecting to run warm which even my current rMBP probably wouldn't. I'm using 5 Safari tabs, iMessage, Mail, Tweetbot, iTunes and Preview currently and temps range from 26-45C using iStats for the different things it measures on my rMBP 2.6GHz i5 13" late 2013.

 

[SusanK]

For all the whinging about the rMB running hot, you'd think that the Air ran cool.

My MBAs run cool.

 

[Fuzzball84]

Hell, my rMB is currently running around 40C with 10 Safari tabs, TweetBot, iMessage, and a number of other applications running in the background. Even it currently feels cool to the touch. (As does the Air, now that it's idling down.)

Awesome, what range of temps are you usually experiencing? like average at idle, average while watching iTunes etc and whats the maximum you have noticed?

 

[nrubenstein]

Awesome, what range of temps are you usually experiencing? like average at idle, average while watching iTunes etc and whats the maximum you have noticed?

Idling now, typing this in (with Power Gadget running a chart), I'm seeing temperatures between 34 and 40C. It is interesting seeing the temps spike while I type to the higher end of that range, and drop back down rapidly at rest.

Streaming HD video in iTunes, I'm getting 55-60C in a window almost maximized (i.e. big enough to cover most of the screen, but see the temperature).

The maximum temperatures that I encountered were in the 80s, but I'm afraid that I forget exactly where. That was while syncing up 60GB or so from DropBox and installing a bunch of apps simultaneously.

Do I see intermittent spikes? Yes. It's actually pretty impressive how rapidly the processor heats up and then cools back down.

Now, all that said, the rMB is going to be a LOT more sensitive to ambient temperatures than fanned machines. Higher ambient temperatures mean you have less range between ambient and throttling *and* less efficient cooling as a result. So it's a double whammy - not only do you run into the cliff faster, but you stay there longer.

There is no question that heat management is a core issue. And if you don't have air conditioning, or plan to use it in high ambient temperatures, I would expect it to be a less impressive experience.

 

[vanimal]

Ditto on what someone else said. Only time i have felt my Air run warm is once and a while during charging it while on my lap. Or during software etc. I push it pretty good for the most part too.

 

[Fuzzball84]

Idling now, typing this in (with Power Gadget running a chart), I'm seeing temperatures between 34 and 40C. It is interesting seeing the temps spike while I type to the higher end of that range, and drop back down rapidly at rest.

Streaming HD video in iTunes, I'm getting 55-60C in a window almost maximized (i.e. big enough to cover most of the screen, but see the temperature).

The maximum temperatures that I encountered were in the 80s, but I'm afraid that I forget exactly where. That was while syncing up 60GB or so from DropBox and installing a bunch of apps simultaneously.

Do I see intermittent spikes? Yes. It's actually pretty impressive how rapidly the processor heats up and then cools back down.

Now, all that said, the rMB is going to be a LOT more sensitive to ambient temperatures than fanned machines. Higher ambient temperatures mean you have less range between ambient and throttling *and* less efficient cooling as a result. So it's a double whammy - not only do you run into the cliff faster, but you stay there longer.

There is no question that heat management is a core issue. And if you don't have air conditioning, or plan to use it in high ambient temperatures, I would expect it to be a less impressive experience.

I agree, ambient temp will be a big factor, I live in Chicago and the summers can be hot here... so unless in an air conditioned office its going to push temps higher...

Imagine using the space grey model outside in the summer sun

 

[vanimal]

I agree, ambient temp will be a big factor, I live in Chicago and the summers can be hot here... so unless in an air conditioned office its going to push temps higher...

Imagine using the space grey model outside in the summer sun

Never thought of that, good point for someone who likes to bring their tablet or ultra portable if you are lucky enough to live somewhere nice with a good public park. That Space Gray would be on FIRE on a 80 deg day

 

[nrubenstein]

Never thought of that, good point for someone who likes to bring their tablet or ultra portable if you are lucky enough to live somewhere nice with a good public park. That Space Gray would be on FIRE on a 80 deg day

Honestly, I think that that the actual difference will be minimal. What will matter is having lots of sun on the radiating surfaces. While someone will probably be able to measure a difference, I suspect that it will be hard to actually notice. They will *all* get hot in direct sunlight and with a high ambient temperature.

One good thing is that unlike the iPad, the screen will not be absorbing heat into the main chassis.

 

[iRun26.2]

I agree, ambient temp will be a big factor, I live in Chicago and the summers can be hot here... so unless in an air conditioned office its going to push temps higher...

Imagine using the space grey model outside in the summer sun

Wow! I never thought of that...

 

[hova]

Under heavy load the 2015 13" rMBP actually runs hotter than the 12" Macbook under heavy load, so i believe you. My late 2013 13" rMBP can run pretty hot as well.

If i watch a 1080p 60fps video on YouTube using chrome it gets crazy 5000 RPM at over 80° Celsius

 

[happyslayer]

I just got mine today and spent the first four hours restoring my TimeMachine backup, updating OSX to 10.10.3, updating apps like Office 2016 preview and restoring my DropBox (only a few hundred megs so not as demanding as the OP's) and the MacBook was at 90C for most of the time. (I use iStat Menus) and it was never more than warm to the touch. I think this thing handles heat surprisingly well, at least so far.

 

[yangchewren]

No. DropBox crushes the CPU on slower machines. 90GB from DropBox and 30GB into Outlook will result in hard work for an extended period of time. (Granted, it's also a 2011 Air.)

For those doubting OP, the 2011 air with sandy bridge architecture did run hot, like 90 degrees Celsius hot. And, boy, did it throttle... Though it was 1.8 ghz base and 2.9 ghz tb, most of the time, it ran at 1.1-1.2 ghz when fully loaded.

Apple has been taking the "use the most powerful CPU and shove it into a thin case with insufficient cooling" long before the current rMB. Similar to 2013-2015 air users now, you'll be sure to see performance improvements over the next few years purely due to a decrease in heat output.

 

[maflynn]

The issue as I see it, is that MBA has a fan, that can ramp up and cool things off, the rMB does not. There's no active cooling going on, just passive. I wonder how things will work as time goes on and dust/debris slowly make their way into the computer. Will the rMB start running hotter and hotter?

 

[Newtons Apple]

For all the whinging about the rMB running hot, you'd think that the Air ran cool.

Now, I will fully grant that it can sustain a higher clock speed constantly, but on the flip side, I've got a 13" Air on my desk that has been running a constant CPU temperature of nearly 100C for the last hour pulling an initial sync with DropBox. And yes, the chassis is pretty damned warm, and yes, the fans are loud as ****.

Sorry but my fully loaded i7 2014 MBAir 13 synced with dropbox for hours and never did the fan elevate and the case was only slightly warm. I very seldom hear my fan unless I am rendering in AutoCad. Even large RAW images in Photshop are not a problem.

 

[newellj]

Under heavy load the 2015 13" rMBP actually runs hotter than the 12" Macbook under heavy load, so i believe you. My late 2013 13" rMBP can run pretty hot as well.

Negative. I have never seen my rMBP over 84*C. I have seen my rMB as high as 94*C.

 

[Hankster]

That sounds great to me. Maybe the people complaining of heat are pushing it and expecting to run warm which even my current rMBP probably wouldn't. I'm using 5 Safari tabs, iMessage, Mail, Tweetbot, iTunes and Preview currently and temps range from 26-45C using iStats for the different things it measures on my rMBP 2.6GHz i5 13" late 2013.

The majority of users claiming heat issues are those who are intentionally trying to push the machine. I've been using this laptop for almost a week straight - everyday - and I have yet to have any issues with heat. On a typical days I have the following on:

2-4 Firefox tabs open (one tab with SiriusXM Radio streaming)
MS Office Word
MS Office Outlook
TweetDeck
iTunes

Yes, the bottom (which is normally on my desk) gets "warm" but nothing even close to "hot". I've even used Photoshop doing .raw imports with Bridge and there wasn't any real heat issues.

 

[3bs]

The majority of users claiming heat issues are those who are intentionally trying to push the machine. I've been using this laptop for almost a week straight - everyday - and I have yet to have any issues with heat. On a typical days I have the following on:



2-4 Firefox tabs open (one tab with SiriusXM Radio streaming)

MS Office Word

MS Office Outlook

TweetDeck

iTunes



Yes, the bottom (which is normally on my desk) gets "warm" but nothing even close to "hot". I've even used Photoshop doing .raw imports with Bridge and there wasn't any real heat issues.

Great thanks for the reply further reassuring me.

 

[newellj]

The majority of users claiming heat issues are those who are intentionally trying to push the machine. I've been using this laptop for almost a week straight - everyday - and I have yet to have any issues with heat. On a typical days I have the following on:

2-4 Firefox tabs open (one tab with SiriusXM Radio streaming)
MS Office Word
MS Office Outlook
TweetDeck
iTunes

Yes, the bottom (which is normally on my desk) gets "warm" but nothing even close to "hot". I've even used Photoshop doing .raw imports with Bridge and there wasn't any real heat issues.

I *did* intentionally push the rMB very hard for 35 minutes, twice, over the weekend. The bottom temps were 92-97*F and the palm rests were mid-80s F. Only the speaker grill got even vaguely warm, and that was only 100*F. The CPU ran at ~91*C during the 35 minute periods. I do not consider those exterior temps warm. In fact, in only one place did it exceed body temp.

 

[Airboy1466]

For all the whinging about the rMB running hot, you'd think that the Air ran cool.

Now, I will fully grant that it can sustain a higher clock speed constantly, but on the flip side, I've got a 13" Air on my desk that has been running a constant CPU temperature of nearly 100C for the last hour pulling an initial sync with DropBox. And yes, the chassis is pretty damned warm, and yes, the fans are loud as ****.

you might want to get your air fixed the fans on my 2015 have never came on and i Stream movies listen to Spotify while typing papers haven’t even felt my air get above room temperature granted I do not photo edit or anything just multiple tabs and maybe a 3d flash game but still haven’t felt any heat on my MBA and I’m usually laying in bed with it on top of a quilt

 

[nrubenstein]

you might want to get your air fixed the fans on my 2015 have never came on and i Stream movies listen to Spotify while typing papers haven’t even felt my air get above room temperature granted I do not photo edit or anything just multiple tabs and maybe a 3d flash game but still haven’t felt any heat on my MBA and I’m usually laying in bed with it on top of a quilt

1) It's not mine.
2) It's working fine.