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Yesterday I run Skype for the 1st time for a video call, CPU at 80% and fan to the top :(
Anyone experienced the same? I've the i7/16
 
Yesterday I run Skype for the 1st time for a video call, CPU at 80% and fan to the top :(
Anyone experienced the same? I've the i7/16

Can't speak for Skype, but Webex and Google Duo don't impact anywhere near that much!

[edit] just fired up Skype there and set a call between my laptop and phone and don't see anything crazy.
 
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Despite the additional memory and pricing adjustments Apple is still up to some greedy positioning by directing customers to a top tier Pro machine. The Air is unnecessarily thermally limited and the Pro starts with a 2 generation old processor.
 
Despite the additional memory and pricing adjustments Apple is still up to some greedy positioning by directing customers to a top tier Pro machine. The Air is unnecessarily thermally limited and the Pro starts with a 2 generation old processor.

Just for fun discussion, what does "unnecessarily thermally limited" really mean?

What if Apple's engineers intended to hold the CPU processing throughput back? Maybe to keep battery life longer? Maybe to keep bottom case temperature low enough to be comfortable? Maybe to create product differentiation and not cannibalize MBP sales too much?

What if the MBA is behaving exactly as they designed it to behave?

What if it is necessarily thermally limited - to achieve a goal different than what some folks outside of Apple think it should've been? :D

All I know is my MBA is far more comfortable in my lap after a couple hours than is my MBP15 (2018). I also love not having a touchbar.
 
Just for grins, I set my i5 MBA to indexing faces through a couple thousand raw image files within Lightroom. I didn't time this, but it took a few minutes. Point was to push the system and get the fan going so I could check case temperatures.

MBA sitting on my desk, ambient household temperature ~72F.

Bottom case temps around 90F near the feet, peaking at 108F under the 6-F6-7 area. Topcase temps 89F on the palm rests, 115F at the 6-F6-7 junction, falling off quickly from there - ~98F between TYU & GHJ, 89F above the spacebar and through the palm rest.

So basically, hammering the system in a heavy workload, I imagine the CPU was at its thermal limits, yet the MBA was never more than what I'd call "warm" in my lap.

... and Safari and Mail and Messages remained reasonably responsive.

Once the indexing finished, the MBA quickly went back to silence.

I continue to be very pleased with this system.
 
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Just for grins, I set my i5 MBA to indexing faces through a couple thousand raw image files within Lightroom. I didn't time this, but it took a few minutes. Point was to push the system and get the fan going so I could check case temperatures.

MBA sitting on my desk, ambient household temperature ~72F.

Bottom case temps around 90F near the feet, peaking at 108F under the 6-F6-7 area. Topcase temps 89F on the palm rests, 115F at the 6-F6-7 junction, falling off quickly from there - ~98F between TYU & GHJ, 89F above the spacebar and through the palm rest.

So basically, hammering the system in a heavy workload, I imagine the CPU was at its thermal limits, yet the MBA was never more than what I'd call "warm" in my lap.

... and Safari and Mail and Messages remained reasonably responsive.

I continue to be very pleased with this system.

gladd to hear, did you opt with 16g of ram or higher storage?
 
gladd to hear, did you opt with 16g of ram or higher storage?
i5/16/512 -- I need more than 256GB, so 512GB was not a question. As for RAM, while I could certainly get by with 8GB as well as macos handles virtual memory (and as fast as the SSD is if it needs to swap), my usage is right on the cust with lightroom & photoshop and several other things open. I justified the upgrade since my old college store offers EDU pricing to alumni, making the RAM upgrade $180 and AC+ $183.
 
Is there a tl;dr summary? didn't see a transcript or summary on youtube.

I spent more time googling what tl;dr stood for then the length of the video. the summary states "None Ya"

you will have to take 5 minutes out of your life you will never get back 😬
 
I downloaded systempal and can this be correct playing music in iTunes, and have 1 browser tab open and systempal says my cpu is 145-151 degrees Fahrenheit. This is an 8gb base model
 
I downloaded systempal and can this be correct playing music in iTunes, and have 1 browser tab open and systempal says my cpu is 145-151 degrees Fahrenheit. This is an 8gb base model

What bearing does this have on your usage of the system?

IMHO the more relevant criteria is whether the case is uncomfortable in your lap or too hot under your hands.

CPU temp is irrelevant so long as it's within manufacturer specification.
 
The MBA has some advantages over the 10th gen 2020 MBP 13 even. After comparing both machines for a bit, the MBP is notably faster than the loaded MBA i7 that I had. However, using a 25 watt CPU that's able to boost to 30+ watts, heatpipe or no heatpipe is going to produce much more heat than 10-12 watts ever will. The MBA is much more comfortable on my lap while using Lightroom and even the MBP CPU may be running cooler than the MBA which is pegged at the boiling point of water, still is much cooler especially at the bottom. I also will miss the wedge shape and lack of Touch Bar. The weight difference isn't really noticeable.
 
The MBA has some advantages over the 10th gen 2020 MBP 13 even. After comparing both machines for a bit, the MBP is notably faster than the loaded MBA i7 that I had. However, using a 25 watt CPU that's able to boost to 30+ watts, heatpipe or no heatpipe is going to produce much more heat than 10-12 watts ever will. The MBA is much more comfortable on my lap while using Lightroom and even the MBP CPU may be running cooler than the MBA which is pegged at the boiling point of water, still is much cooler especially at the bottom. I also will miss the wedge shape and lack of Touch Bar. The weight difference isn't really noticeable.

So you returned your air?
 
So you returned your air?
Yes and bought another one 😂
The i7 just wasn't worth it and my wife won't take advantage of the 16gb or ram nor 1TB drive. So I ordered i5/8/512gb for her in Gold... The MBA is a perfect machine for her.
 
Now a month into owning my 2020 i5/16/256 MB Air. Everyday usage includes browser (alternating Safari and Chrome, usually 3-10 tabs, occasionally 15), Word, Excel, Outlook, Calendar, Messages, occasional iTunes or PowerPoint. Browser usage has included almost nightly Facebook Live video (e.g. live concerts, and a friend's live quarantine trivia).

At no point has the computer felt hot in my lap. I've heard the fan maybe three times.
 
lets not beat around the bush: the wedge shape, the no touchbar, and even a minute amount of weight shaved off (and a good amount shaved off the price) all sweeten the air.

being 10th gen across the board too, instead of this 8th gen milking even being a low voltage class chip, are all pro's over the Pros.

I think the smaller trackpad is too. the Pros are unnecessarily large. and the bezels are no 'chunkier'

its a fantastic holdover machine too for those aren't sure where Mac is headed, because it seems like Apple doesn't either lol
 
Yes and bought another one 😂
The i7 just wasn't worth it and my wife won't take advantage of the 16gb or ram nor 1TB drive. So I ordered i5/8/512gb for her in Gold... The MBA is a perfect machine for her.

I have an early 2015 pro and at the time I bought the high end model. I wanted more space and the Retina display so its mainly why I didn't get an air. I am thinking of getting i5/16/256, but im stuck on the hard drive space because once I upgrade it to 512, which I currently have, it's near pro prices, ugh so confusing and I can't decide.
 
I was waiting for the MacBook Pro - and for my use case, I am starting to lean towards the MacBook Air, especially as a ”companion” product to the iPad Pro

For office use (including logging onto a Windows machine in my office for work), I don’t really see any upside to the current Macbook Pros. In fact, the Touchbar is a major downside. MacBook Air screens are a bit dim, but if I need a bright screen, I have my iPad Pro right next to it. The main downside to the Macbook Air is that there are no USB-C ports on the other side of the computer; otherwise, it seems like a perfect upgrade the 2015 Macbook Pro...
 
I was waiting for the MacBook Pro - and for my use case, I am starting to lean towards the MacBook Air, especially as a ”companion” product to the iPad Pro

For office use (including logging onto a Windows machine in my office for work), I don’t really see any upside to the current Macbook Pros. In fact, the Touchbar is a major downside. MacBook Air screens are a bit dim, but if I need a bright screen, I have my iPad Pro right next to it. The main downside to the Macbook Air is that there are no USB-C ports on the other side of the computer; otherwise, it seems like a perfect upgrade the 2015 Macbook Pro...
The screen difference between the MBP and MBA isn't as big as you would think. The 100nits is not really a big deal. The extra gamut is noticeable, but not really in photography as I mostly do SRGB. P3 is mostly video standard.
 
once I upgrade it to 512, which I currently have, it's near pro prices, ugh so confusing and I can't decide.

Three things to consider:
#1 - do you want to pay 2020 prices for an 8th gen CPU? 10th gen CPU MBP is a bit more expensive.
#2 - What is your workload? If you regularly do CPU intensive stuff, even software-decoded-video options, then the MBP is the more appropriate tool for that job.
#3 - do you frequently use it in your lap? Reports are the MBP feels warmer/hotter than the MBA in your lap. Kinda makes sense; 25-30watts vs 10W CPU

Whether the above make any difference to you is an individual thing.
 
lets not beat around the bush: the wedge shape, the no touchbar, and even a minute amount of weight shaved off (and a good amount shaved off the price) all sweeten the air.

being 10th gen across the board too, instead of this 8th gen milking even being a low voltage class chip, are all pro's over the Pros.

I think the smaller trackpad is too. the Pros are unnecessarily large. and the bezels are no 'chunkier'

its a fantastic holdover machine too for those aren't sure where Mac is headed, because it seems like Apple doesn't either lol


I agree and if they do a LED 14" MBP refresh this year, MBA owners will say Nice Refresh Pro, glad I got the Air. LOL
 
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