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Speck see thru case: 11" heat increase?!

W

will0407

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
May 20, 2006
609
57
I just read this review on amazon and through it was worth posting:

"
UPDATE: (May 6th, 2011)..I started to notice my Macbook Air getting hot so installed iStat then ran some informal tests. As I suspected, the Speck Products Soft Touch Hard Shell case causes the MBA temps to rise.

04/12/2011 8pm CPU 56*C and GPU 59*C running Safari and iTunes without Speck Hard Shell
04/12/2011 9pm CPU 83*C and GPU 91*C running Safari and iTunes with Speck Hard Shell. that's a whopping 47% increase!

--shutdown Macbook Air and removed Speck Hard Shell, stayed off all night until next morning

04/13/2011 8am CPU 31*C and GPU 33*C without Speck Hard Shell
04/13/2011 10am CPU 55*C and GPU 61*C with Speck Hard Shell added. That's a a HUGE increase 75%

Bottom Line: I have removed the Speck Hard Shell permanently as I observed significant rise in CPU as well as GPU temps.

Conversation with an Apple "Genius" named Austin revealed the Apple Macbook Air's aluminum Unibody chassis is partly responsible for some heat dissipation and Speck Hard Shell inhibits the escaping heat.
"

I used a see thru satin on my 11" c2d and always thought the fans came on as the processor was struggling causing the temp to go up. I now have one on my i5 and the fans were blazing away on the same tasks (normally if i stream something from the net) so I did a quick google and it seems that the case does cause a heat increase.

I find it annoying this happens as I like to look after my high value items and protect them from any possible damage hence using the case (and moshi palm guards)

Has anyone else experienced this?
 
This is interesting. I have one on my 13", but I haven't noticed any significant heat difference. I noticed the 11" seemed to be a bit more prone to warming up anyway, so I can imagine the speck case probably doesn't help.
 
Mines currently blazing away although it's doing a time machine back up. I'll give it a go without the case later on today and see what happens.
 
I had one on my 2010 MBP 15" and defenitely noticed a heat increase. The fans would get much louder even when just browsing the internet! Mind you, I was using it in clamshell mode attached to a 27" ACD... I took mine back for a refund.
 
I've taken the bottom part of the case off and the temp seems to have dropped a little, but the fans are still going at nearly 6000rpm. All I'm doing is surfing and playing music, although I have it hooked up in clamshell to my 24" ACD.

Could the cause of the fans being on a lot be the fact it's hooked up to a monitor? I always have my laptop sat on top of a towel on my desk (so it doesn't scratch!) but I'm thinking maybe something like a book arc could help reduce the heat?

would that help?
 
Towel is a big no-no, and always has been regarding laptops and heat. Same with using it in bed while putting it ON the comforter. Anything inhibiting airflow, especially seeing as the actual space the Air can "breathe" is so small, will make a difference.

Try without towel. :)
 
I've been using it in bed and then on the towel....maybe those are my issues! I'll try without the bowl and see.
 
The Speck case on my MBP 17 is awesome, but the fans would turn on frequently. I liked the case too much to get rid of it, so I bought that Rain aluminum laptop stand AND on top of that placed an aluminum CoolerMaster laptop base with 3 fans to blow whatever heat made it through the case bottom away as quickly as possible AND I have a separate small fan that blows air over the top of the laptop.

My fans rarely turn on now even under load with the MBP.

On the MBA 11" my fans don't turn on at all with the Speck case so I'm not too worried. I haven't even bothered to download anything to monitor temps on the MBA.
 
These cases will all increase heat, not to mention weight--significantly. Which is why I've concluded that the air is just not meant to be clothed.
 
Having had a speck case on my mbp, i can safely say the ones for the news airs are definitely thinner, so the added 'bulk' is no issue for me.

Have just turned it on since getting back from work and so far the fans are idling, so we'll see what happens.
 
VMMan said:
The Speck case on my MBP 17 is awesome, but the fans would turn on frequently. I liked the case too much to get rid of it, so I bought that Rain aluminum laptop stand AND on top of that placed an aluminum CoolerMaster laptop base with 3 fans to blow whatever heat made it through the case bottom away as quickly as possible AND I have a separate small fan that blows air over the top of the laptop.

My fans rarely turn on now even under load with the MBP.

On the MBA 11" my fans don't turn on at all with the Speck case so I'm not too worried. I haven't even bothered to download anything to monitor temps on the MBA.
Click to expand...

Just get iStat pro widget.
 
A firefox plugin seems to make my fans go a bit nuts. Not sure what it is, just says firefox plugin on the activity monitor. Since i quit firefox, the temp and fans have lowered. I normally use safari but have firefox open in another space with my hotmail inbox. I don't like using hotmail with mail as it doesn't seem to get the emails through as quickly as it does with my gmail.
 
Thanks For The Heads-Up

I was considering a Speck Satin SeeThru but now I think I will just find a minimal sleeve...
 
FieldingMellish said:
Speck case for 13 inch Air weighs 11 oz. It's the antithesis of what's great about the Air.
Click to expand...

I correct myself in hindsight. 11 oz. was the weight of the InCase Perforated, which had much of it's thin plastic shell eliminated by the consistent hole pattern. Speck weighs more than that. That's why I went just for scratch resistance with a skin that is, what, maybe an ounce? It's like the difference of putting a skin on a phone versus an Otterbox defender or Commuter.
 
I wouldn't say it's that bad, those otter box cases are massive!

IMO, the airs are so thin that adding an extra mm (ok 1.2mm) either side isn't going to make it bulky. I've put the base piece of mine back on, taken it off the towel that I've had it sitting on the past 9 months (!!), closed firefox only opening it when I need it and it's running silently. The temps floats between 60-65c, but the fans are staying put at 2001rpm.
 
Will a skin such as a Wrapsol increase temperature or cause the fans to kick on more frequently? I'm slightly confused at where the air dissipates heat -- is it just through the back black area?
 
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