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jparker402

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 7, 2016
582
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Bellevue, NE
Was kind of looking forward to checking out a new MacBook Air. I have an early 2015, but would like something with a better quality screen, as well as something with the scissor switch keyboard. Now I keep reading that the new 2020 mode has some kind of heat problem and excessive fan noise. Not sure I can relate because my 2015 doesn't get hot and I have never heard a fan. Does it even have a fan? Maybe I will wait to see what comes out of Apple next. Can't leave the apartment to check one out anyway with this virus business.
 
Yes it has a fan. Yes it has a dedicated thermal path from air intake across the CPU heatsink to exhaust. Yes there is a lot of BS online at the moment about this model perpetuated by a bunch of amateur YouTube videos. And yes, you can wait until another model comes out, but I have ordered my 2020 MBA based on the new keyboard and strength of performance of the new 4-core CPU.

I will let you know if it gets hot ;)
 
Wait on the reputable reviews, like as not the 2020 Air will be adequate for many people. It's not a powerhouse nor intended to be so, for basic productivity and day today use it'll be fine. Personally if I was in the market for a new Mac the new Air would be the one I'd opt for as at present on paper it's the least problematic...

Q-6
 
I'd personally wait for the revised 13" MBP. I'm looking to upgrade from my 4 year old MBP but I don't think this new Air is a worthy upgrade.

In short burst style benchmarks the new i5 MBA looks great. In Geekbench 5, in some tests like single core and metal it actually beats the 16" MBP which is amazing. Sadly sustained performance is hardly better than my base spec 2016 MBP 13" which is frustrating as it could've been much much better if they hadn't decided to compromise the thermals.
 
Should I just get the i3? I have been using the MacBook 2017 (m3 processor) and I am pretty happy with the speed of its fanless processor. Will the i3 generate less heat for everyday functions and also be much faster than the MacBook 2017 m3 processor?
 
For sustained performance it won't maintain the boost speed, but it's still faster than the base. But that situation only comes up when you are exporting, rendering or compiling something.

Basically if you ever are waiting on a progress bar, that'll be faster on a faster machine. But that's expected in this sort of laptop. That sort of task is best on MacBook Pro 16in.

I think the take away from all this is how close the Air is now to the 13in Pro... not that it isn't a MBP.
 
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Yes it has a fan. Yes it has a dedicated thermal path from air intake across the CPU heatsink to exhaust. Yes there is a lot of BS online at the moment about this model perpetuated by a bunch of amateur YouTube videos. And yes, you can wait until another model comes out, but I have ordered my 2020 MBA based on the new keyboard and strength of performance of the new 4-core CPU.

I will let you know if it gets hot ;)

I've been using mine like nuts for twenty four hours now including a really long Webex meeting with a zillion large files open and I completely forgot it has a fan. It hasn't kicked in yet. I hope they'd didn't forget to install it.
 
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If you've never heard the fan on your 2015 then you will never hear the fan on the 2020 either.
 
They both run at 100C at max loads, at different frequencies but same temps, I still haven't seen the idle temps on the i3 and i5 yet.
 
Update: Lisa from MobileTechReview just released a review today, testing the i5 version, she says no issues with thermals. The computer is idling (unplugged) at "around 35 degrees centigrade." Which she says is normal to very good for a laptop.
 
Yep, what kreasonos wrote: Lisa Gade, check out the video at the 04:25 mark



idling, unplugged: about 35 degrees Celsius
idling, plugged in: about 40 degrees Celsius
webbrowsing, documents: about 50 degrees Celsius
Final Cut: "going up to the 70ies, 80ies, might even push 90, but that's to be expected, that's going to happen even with a more powerful laptop like the 16 inch, so I am not seeing any problems honestly with thermals ..."

 
Yep, what kreasonos wrote: Lisa Gade, check out the video at the 04:25 mark



idling, unplugged: about 35 degrees Celsius
idling, plugged in: about 40 degrees Celsius
webbrowsing, documents: about 50 degrees Celsius
Final Cut: "going up to the 70ies, 80ies, might even push 90, but that's to be expected, that's going to happen even with a more powerful laptop like the 16 inch, so I am not seeing any problems honestly with thermals ..."

This is good news. IMO, Lisa Gade makes good reviews and seem quite reliable.

So i5 for sure, the big question is if i7 might be even better temp wise? ;-)
 
This is good news. IMO, Lisa Gade makes good reviews and seem quite reliable.

So i5 for sure, the big question is if i7 might be even better temp wise? ;-)

I think I am going to buy this MBA for my traveling MacBook, and leave the MacBook Pro's at home.

Anyway, I am definitely going with 16GB RAM, however, I am not sure if I am going with the i5 or i7 for the CPU?

I have not seen a review of a 2020 i7 MBA yet.

I am also glad to see that people in this thread are not freaking out about the thermals, and glad to see that video posted above that seems to prove there is no thermal issue. In another thread, people are going nuts over it!

i5 or i7, that is my question!

:apple:
 
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based in US, order i7 two hours after launch, order still processing. Don't think anyone has the i7 yet, so sit tight on reviews
 
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I've been using mine like nuts for twenty four hours now including a really long Webex meeting with a zillion large files open and I completely forgot it has a fan. It hasn't kicked in yet. I hope they'd didn't forget to install it.
LOL! Yeah, isn't it funny how all the people saying there are "thermals issues" with this machine don't actually own one?

Good to hear. And pretty much what I would expect of this machine for its intended use.


Yep, what kreasonos wrote: Lisa Gade, check out the video at the 04:25 mark



idling, unplugged: about 35 degrees Celsius
idling, plugged in: about 40 degrees Celsius
webbrowsing, documents: about 50 degrees Celsius
Final Cut: "going up to the 70ies, 80ies, might even push 90, but that's to be expected, that's going to happen even with a more powerful laptop like the 16 inch, so I am not seeing any problems honestly with thermals ..."

Looks like a pretty honest review from someone who knows what they're doing.

I wonder where the "heatpipe fanbois" are now (pun intended)?

Every time a new Mac is launched there seems to be this hard-core element who jumps on it looking for something to criticise before they've even got their hands on it (if they ever do). Like I said earlier, the "MacBook Air Heat Issue" is just the latest BS rumour sparked by a couple of questionable YouTube videos and perpetuated by those with unrealistic expectations.

This is really the MBA that a lot of people wanted – scissor keyboard, retina screen, fast processors, low price, plenty of storage – and I'm sure most users will be happy with it for day-to-day use.
 
based in US, order i7 two hours after launch, order still processing. Don't think anyone has the i7 yet, so sit tight on reviews
Some geekbench results seem to be uploaded already for the i7 ... so far looks like the expected, albeit minor, improvements.
 
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I got with 1 shim copper and thermal paste on my MacBook Air 2019 i5 dual core a score in geekbench

Single 873
Multi 1768

Insane improvement over

Single 744
Multi 1493
 
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