M1 Air fan?

[Tagbert]

What is the real world impact of the throttling? I haven’t noticed any. The early reviews I ready mentioned a hardly noticeable impact from throttling? If the performance drop is not noticeable, then I don’t care and am glad that there is no fan. I bought an Air for the fanless design and likelihood that performance would be fine most of the time I’m using it.

 

[Grogu_the_Jedi]

It's not an easy task. You're oversimplifying it.

Are people not allowed to disagree with you? Furthermore why would you think someone who has spent over $1000 on their Mac would be willing to void their warranty? That's really just......🙄

Again, not everyone needs to agree with you. It's open forum of discussion. Most people aren't having any issues or concern about the Air throttling. With a much faster processing time, twice the battery and no fan noise the M1 has address most people's concerns. You're looking for a solution to a problem that doesn't exist for the majority of M1 Air owners.

Do what you please. No one is stopping you, but you shouldn't expect people to be wiling to void their warranties or agree with you on this.

bro I clearly don’t have the kind of
time you do to slap that badass killer post down.

Not everyone has to agree with me, do as you wish.

As you said it’s an open forum. I’m putting an idea out there. Maybe MacBook modding isn’t as big here as I assumed. People interested in modding or perhaps having bought a MBA and were facing the similar issues as some users would benefit or push this idea forward.

If modding or heat isn’t an issue or your interest I’m not sure why your posting. Open forum - your opinion welcomed of course but perhaps not needed.


Lastly I don’t consider a “$1000” machine or the warranty to be anything special 🙄 I will regularly build pcs with opencore or buy a new mac every few months.

It’s apple hardware, buy it, love it, mod it or sell it. Do as you wish.
Late night idea, could go nowhere. Could be a solution for a niche user base? Guess we shall see.

 

[Grogu_the_Jedi]

I don't get the negative comments.

When has modding stuff suddenly become a bad thing?

Not exactly the same thing, but a long while ago I modded a 1st gen ATV with a large fan after noticing slowdowns after it getting really hot along with the occasional artifacting, probably due to the age and the undersized fan Apple used.

After the mod, the fan was actually audible, but the slowdowns went away along with the artifacts. Well worth the little extra noise.

To the OP, look into the thermal pad mod, as that seems to improve things, and if you still experience throttling, maybe a fan might be a way to go.


The M1 MBA is not a fan-less M1 MBP.

Some people really like the design of the MBA, and some really dislike the Touch Bar on the MBP.


View attachment 1756264

Hi man, thanks for your post, you get what I’m saying I feel. Nothing wrong with modding and hey I think my 4K ATV could do with some more cooling haha. Looking in to the thermal pads, been toying with the idea of a copper shim or some kind of heat sink.
Inb4 water cooled m1? 🥶

 

[BigMcGuire]

As an owner of a MBP M1, the $200 price difference was enough for me to go with the MBP. I can say I've never heard this fan run, even when I'm gaming. The Mac acts like it has no fan and prefers to let the case and battery get fairly hot (37C) before bothering to spin the fan. I'm loving being able to use this on my lap all day and the case as cold as ice - I never hear the fan on this thing.

While I consider myself fairly technical, I never learned to solder and definitely wouldn't be comfortable doing a mod like this. Kudos to those who can. Maybe someday I'll learn!

 

[Grogu_the_Jedi]

The Mac acts like it has no fan and prefers to let the case and battery get fairly hot (37C) before bothering to spin the fan.

This is like every mac I have ever owned 😂

but to be fair I do prefer quiet over humming of hardware. I mostly set fans to silent or 0db mode where possible. At full load on the other hand I would appreciate some active cooling over thermal throttling and losing performance. Once the task is completed silence can resume.

Kudos on the MBP, very fine machine indeed.

 

[Maconplasma]

Lastly I don’t consider a “$1000” machine or the warranty to be anything special 🙄

Well obviously you don't value your money. Many of us here do and not many are as concerned as you are about any throttling with the M1 Air. Not sure why you would think anyone here would want to mod a brand new MacBook and void their entire warranty over something that really isn't a problem that needs a solution. If you need a fan the MacBook Pro is created for that. But thanks for saying my opinion is not needed. 🙄

 

[UltimateSyn]

Under 200$ easily. I was throwing a thought out there as no one else seems to have mentioned it.

tbh I’m shocked how many of you are so scared of a little soldering and voiding your warranty? Grab a multimeter, take a 5v and ground. Rig up a heat sink and fan.... not that big brain really.
look at the 2020 air. Had a fan lol

maybe I’m just expecting way to much of some people. Open minded brain storm, turn an idea in to a solution for the issue that is thermal throttling on the M1 air.

lastly. Here. The MBP more than $200 away from the air. A base model MBP is half the storage of the same priced pro. Why can’t we Jerry rig a fan? Comes down to personal choice and how much you care about your precious warranties

Some things are worth the associated time and effort, some things aren’t. The functionality you desire is already provided in a vastly more sensible and efficient (less jerry-rigged) package called the MacBook Pro.

 

[Starfia]

Thought-provoking thread.

I mean, goodness – why on earth aren't we trying to add fans to our iPhones and iPads?! And my Apple Watch could totally benefit from attaching a good fan.

 

[throAU]

lastly. Here. The MBP more than $200 away from the air. A base model MBP is half the storage of the same priced pro. Why can’t we Jerry rig a fan? Comes down to personal choice and how much you care about your precious warranties

Go for it. Just don't expect anyone else to think it is a sane idea, given the available products already on the market for a comparable price including warranty; this is why you haven't seen anyone else interested in doing it.

You do you, etc.

 

[Grogu_the_Jedi]

Well obviously you don't value your money. Many of us here do and not many are as concerned as you are about any throttling with the M1 Air. Not sure why you would think anyone here would want to mod a brand new MacBook and void their entire warranty over something that really isn't a problem that needs a solution. If you need a fan the MacBook Pro is created for that. But thanks for saying my opinion is not needed. 🙄

This machine is perfectly capable of gaming except for the fact; Due to throttling it performance will fall off.

perhaps in your use case sir. There isn’t a need for such a mod. Where as others could.

I value my money but it’s just a MacBook? It’s not a c63 AMG. Perhaps to you the warranty and $1000 is a big deal. I’m not going to apologise for not having the same thought process or perhaps the same financial situation.

frankly if your not interested in modding or discussing the possibility of mods. Is your opinion needed? Not for me to say. But it’s an open forum. Go to town 👌

 

[Wando64]

tbh I’m shocked how many of you are so scared of a little soldering and voiding your warranty? Grab a multimeter, take a 5v and ground. Rig up a heat sink and fan.... not that big brain really.

Sure. Show us the pictures when you have finished.
"not that big brain really."

 

[Grogu_the_Jedi]

Thought-provoking thread.

I mean, goodness – why on earth aren't we trying to add fans to our iPhones and iPads?! And my Apple Watch could totally benefit from attaching a good fan.

Those devices are perfectly fine with passive cooling. The M1 MBA is capable of more with active cooling clearly. Not sure why you took such a cheap shot tbh. Almost a ********. Almost

 

[Tenkaykev]

Those devices are perfectly fine with passive cooling. The M1 MBA is capable of more with active cooling clearly. Not sure why you took such a cheap shot tbh. Almost a ********. Almost

Just to come back to this, I'm an inveterate tinkerer myself. In the M1 Air thermal pad mod thread I posted a few observations. I fitted the thermal Pad to my base M1 Air which gave benchmarks that equalled and on occasion exceeded the M1 Pro.
One other thing that I did was to rest my Air on the tempered glass plate from an electronic Bathroom scales, where I had removed the display and mounted a small (40mm) cooling fan underneath the glass which then blew air up through the hole where the display had been and onto the base of the Air. This worked but the fan noise was annoying!😁 and one of the attractions of the Air is that it is completely silent.

My pondering also included the idea of shaping a piece of aluminium or copper sheet so that it moulded to the base of the Air and became a sort of docking base for when extended performance is required ( there's all sorts of variations to this that you could try, attaching a finned radiator just being one possibility.)

To sum up, I applaud your approach to experimenting into what might be possible with the M1 Air, it's just that I don't see any great advantage, and several disadvantages in opening it up and shoehorning a cooling fan inside, when the same or better performance can be achieved with a less intrusive and risky approach.

 

[ascender]

What are the likely gains if you were to do this? Best case you'd end up with something which could perform like the Pro (which already exists) and worse-case, you'd end up with something marginally faster than what you bought?

Its an interesting idea, but I suspect the gains will be even more marginal than are currently achieved with Intel chips. They're likely to become even smaller once more optimised versions of apps appear.

I've done an awful lot of different things with my M1 Air and I've never felt I need it to be faster tbh.

 

[fivenotrump]

yes, I am

 

[oneMadRssn]

Buncha haters in here. I would totally like to see someone attempt this.

I think the issue will be sourcing a fan of the correct size. It's pretty doable to fashion a custom heatsink and heat pipe system because soldering copper is relatively easy, and copper blocks and heat pipes are available to buy. But getting the right airflow through there is tough. It would probably require a 3D printer.

 

[Grogu_the_Jedi]

Just to come back to this, I'm an inveterate tinkerer myself. In the M1 Air thermal pad mod thread I posted a few observations. I fitted the thermal Pad to my base M1 Air which gave benchmarks that equalled and on occasion exceeded the M1 Pro.
One other thing that I did was to rest my Air on the tempered glass plate from an electronic Bathroom scales, where I had removed the display and mounted a small (40mm) cooling fan underneath the glass which then blew air up through the hole where the display had been and onto the base of the Air. This worked but the fan noise was annoying!😁 and one of the attractions of the Air is that it is completely silent.

My pondering also included the idea of shaping a piece of aluminium or copper sheet so that it moulded to the base of the Air and became a sort of docking base for when extended performance is required ( there's all sorts of variations to this that you could try, attaching a finned radiator just being one possibility.)

To sum up, I applaud your approach to experimenting into what might be possible with the M1 Air, it's just that I don't see any great advantage, and several disadvantages in opening it up and shoehorning a cooling fan inside, when the same or better performance can be achieved with a less intrusive and risky approach.

Thank you for your post.

I agree with you entirely. Whilst it’s a fun thought or brainstorm. I do see the disadvantages for most users.
No way to give gold here? Shame.

 

[deeddawg]

Thermal throttling is a thing for prolonged work loads. 7 GPU cores or not the Air is just as capable. I would love to see a kit to make the 1000$ Air level with the MBP

I wouldn't hold your breath. While it's possible someone might come up with something, I'd be surprised if there was much of a market for it.

Better IMHO to spend the extra $$ to buy the proper computer for your needs and not risk warranty.

 

[Starfia]

Those devices are perfectly fine with passive cooling. The M1 MBA is capable of more with active cooling clearly. Not sure why you took such a cheap shot tbh. Almost a ********. Almost

I mean, in the event where they revealed the Air, they all but said "one of our main goals with the M1 MacBook Air was to take out the fan." It's perfectly fine with passive cooling too – that's precisely what they aimed to reveal. If someone wants to buy a machine whose raison d'être was not to have a fan just so they could add one (while sidestepping the Pro with an identical chip, intended to have a fan, and earning a voided warranty as a bonus) – sure, if that really excites them.

(And if I did care to add a fan to my Apple watch, I wouldn't begrudge a few amused and confused smirks.)

 

[maflynn]

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[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

Honestly, if the AS Air is throttling during use then you're obviously using it for the wrong tasks.

The thermal capacity of the Air is more than sufficient for everyday use, primarily because the M1 produces so little heat and the heat spreader/chassis are adequate. The irony of all this, of course, is that Apple's MacBook Air design, unchanged, actually meets the thermal requirements of the chip for the first time in...?

 

[throAU]

The irony of all this, of course, is that Apple's MacBook Air design, unchanged, actually meets the thermal requirements of the chip for the first time in...?

It's not unchanged.

the 2020 intel MacBook Air has a fan. it screams. frequently.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

It's not unchanged.

the 2020 intel MacBook Air has a fan. it screams. frequently.

Yeah but it’s basically pointless lol

 

[dmccloud]

To me the Mac Book Air is for anyone whom doesn’t need to do serious work but as to be online! The Mac Book Pro is for those need to do serious audio/video on the go!

Then you are unnecessarily limiting the MBA for no legitimate reason. Go look at the MaxTech head to head comparisons between the M1 Air and the 16" MBP - you'll quickly change your tune on the alleged limitations of the MacBook Air.

 

[MBAir2010]

This may be one of the dumbest threads I've seen on this forum. Apple makes an M1 Air with a fan. It's literally the 13" MBP with M1. it requires more space and they gave you more battery life to accommodate the higher workloads you're describing.

and the space grey has more space and grey on the MBPro!

this reply was to the point and hopefully shed light on the difference between the 2 models