MacBook Neo Thermal Pad Mod

[JPack]

Great work. I did this back when I had an M1 MBA and it made a huge difference in sustained performance. Glad, albeit a bit perplexed, to see that this is still a thing. I understand why Apple doesn't do this stock (liability, nobody wants burns on their legs), but it would be nice to see them adopt a vapor chamber, or some other solution, at least in the MBA, if not the MBN, as it seems like with some clever engineering there's an easy performance win being left on the table.

It's clearly a deliberate design choice by Apple to limit performance and ensure it doesn't encroach on the MacBook Air. (This is the same way Apple removed the fan on M1 MBA to limit performance.)

Apple deliberately didn't use a heat spreader on Neo (they use just a graphene pad). Even iPhone 16e uses a heat spreader.

One-third of the top area is left empty. There's lots of space in Neo for a heat spreader and heat sink but business reasons prevail.

 

[maflynn]

Apple deliberately didn't use a heat spreader on Neo

Not surprising, though disappointing as it seems the Neo throttles almost immediately based on the videos I've seen

 

[MultiFinder17]

What size thermal pad did you use? Do you have a picture of the two different size pads and placement that you did for your benches?

I used a 1mm thermal pad. As for the placement, the initial pad test was just one small square about the size of the A18 directly over the chip, the second test was with pretty much the entire logic board covered. I ended up putting the pads back in given that there's not much of a thermal issue on the bottom case, especially given how I use my Neo, so here's a pic.

 

[JPack]

 

[MultiFinder17]

Jives well with my experiences doing this mod!

 

[LarTeROn]

Seems simple enough. But why not make a custom bottom cover along with a fan in that space at the side?

 

[Basic75]

But why not make a custom bottom cover along with a fan in that space at the side?

You'd need air ingress and egress vents, that's a lot of holes. The fan uses energy. The Neo won't have a fan header on the mainboard, how would it be controlled? With an additional temperature sensor? More complexity and hardware.

 

[maflynn]

Seems simple enough. But why not make a custom bottom cover along with a fan in that space at the side?

My suggestion would be to undertake such an adventure and report back on the successes/fails/frustrations.

I used to have a project manager, who would say this is simple enough, you probably only need a few hours to re-code the payroll module. No sorry, adding new code, into an already complex program will take time.

 

[Queen6]

Not surprising, though disappointing as it seems the Neo throttles almost immediately based on the videos I've seen

Is a phone SOC that's passively cooled yet is capable of basic use on macOS. Need more MBA/MBP exists. I have no dog in this fight as my Honor tablet (Snapdragon, 16GB, 1TB) can and does a good deal more with its proprietary OS, strong W11 Gaming PC & Mx MBP.

That said I fail to understand why the Neo generates such distain, while it's obviously a class leader. Yet your disappointed, what exactly where you expecting? M5 MBP performance on a $599 budget. This is an entry level Mac that's disrupting the market in its price category. Think many are just pissed off as the Neo can do much of what their expensive Mac's can at a fraction of the cost. Other reasons are very welcome, illuminate me...

Q-6

 

[LarTeROn]

My suggestion would be to undertake such an adventure and report back on the successes/fails/frustrations.

I used to have a project manager, who would say this is simple enough, you probably only need a few hours to re-code the payroll module. No sorry, adding new code, into an already complex program will take time.

Agree. It's a janky idea.
But it's a fun janky project for someone out there and for some reason I can really imagine it turning up on the Chinese ebay next year in some form or another, even if it's just to hide changes for warranty.