Temps over 100c on new MBA - Is this just a drawback of more CPU and GPU????

[Sean Dempsey]

I am running the MBA12 Ultimate.

I had been playing Diablo3 on a 2011 Ultimate, and it was sorta slow obviously.

So I thought this new MBA would at least be a little faster, and it is, but it is reaching EXTREME temperatures now. When playing, I see it go over 100c. That just seems like more than is safe.

I've attached my istat monitor of the temps. I am worried that either my MBA is defective, or that the increased power of the 2.0i7 and the HD4000 gpu just generate so much more heat.

Any thoughts on this?

 

[MR1324]

those temperatures should be in F. what were the temperatures from your 2011 machine?

 

[amd is the best]

those temperatures should be in F. what were the temperatures from your 2011 machine?

100f would be low for idle... 100c=212f and that seems high but not surprising for the new i7.

Was the fan running and audible?

 

[currahee2100]

those temperatures should be in F. what were the temperatures from your 2011 machine?

No, all computer temperatures are displayed in C unless otherwise switched in the BIOS.

And it's normal. It IS burning hot but remember there's a CPU and GPU in there and they both run hot...

And have you seen the cooling solution for these things? vs a desktop cooler? It's meant to do the minimum necessary without adding too many complexities.

 

[ZBoater]

those temperatures should be in F. what were the temperatures from your 2011 machine?

They should, but they are not.

 

[MH01]

I think I read somewhere ivy bridge throttles at 105c so ur getting damn close to it. There is a possibility the CPU does not have proper contact/enough compound to the heatsink. I would not suggest running it at those temps, if u do buy AppleCare

 

[Sean Dempsey]

100f would be low for idle... 100c=212f and that seems high but not surprising for the new i7.

Was the fan running and audible?

The fan was running full blast. In the screenshot you can see it is at 6500rpm.

I could capture it in F but yeah, 100c = 212f.

 

[amd is the best]

No, all computer temperatures are displayed in C unless otherwise switched in the BIOS.

And it's normal. It IS burning hot but remember there's a CPU and GPU in there and they both run hot...

And have you seen the cooling solution for these things? vs a desktop cooler? It's meant to do the minimum necessary without adding too many complexities.

iStat can be configured to display in degrees Fahrenheit.

 

[currahee2100]

If you're getting worried, run it at a lower resolution so it doesn't have to work as hard. By doing this Running starcraft 2, it was running at 82C instead of 87...

 

[MR1324]

my mistake. those temperatures are really high. i don't remember getting anywhere close to that temperature when i was stress testing my previous mbas. it should top off 80-90s. the thermal compound is probably applied poorly and not making good contact with the HSF.

 

[currahee2100]

my mistake. those temperatures are really high. i don't remember getting anywhere close to that temperature when i was stress testing my previous mbas. it should top off 80-90s. the thermal compound is probably applied poorly and not making good contact with the HSF.

I question apple's placement of the cooling arrangement because the CPU is quite aways away from the fan. Regardless, the estate is tiny so there's probably not enough room to put in a decent sized copper pipe

 

[amd is the best]

I just ran 3-4 consecutive GeekBench runs on my 2012 11" i7 and the temp hit 100c on two of the runs and close to it on the others. The fan never went over 2500rpm. It's possible that these CPU's are just designed to run at these temps.

I'm not worrying about it whatsoever.

 

[ZBoater]

I'm not worrying about it whatsoever.

And you shouldn't. I haven't heard of an epidemic of heat related failures on any Apple products, and we've been having this same discussion for ages.

They run hot. They are fine. Turn OFF the temperature monitoring software and notice how heat is no longer an issue...

 

[amd is the best]

And you shouldn't. I haven't heard of an epidemic of heat related failures on any Apple products, and we've been having this same discussion for ages.

They run hot. They are fine. Turn OFF the temperature monitoring software and notice how heat is no longer an issue...

HAHA! I agree

 

[RocketRed]

And you shouldn't. I haven't heard of an epidemic of heat related failures on any Apple products, and we've been having this same discussion for ages.

They run hot. They are fine. Turn OFF the temperature monitoring software and notice how heat is no longer an issue...

This.

I have never seen anyone mention their Macbook Air/Pro shutting down from being too hot. If it's hot and it's still running, you're not making it hot enough to make it shut off

 

[mattopotamus]

And you shouldn't. I haven't heard of an epidemic of heat related failures on any Apple products, and we've been having this same discussion for ages.

They run hot. They are fine. Turn OFF the temperature monitoring software and notice how heat is no longer an issue...

HAHA! I agree

This.

I have never seen anyone mention their Macbook Air/Pro shutting down from being too hot. If it's hot and it's still running, you're not making it hot enough to make it shut off

all correct. I think every year, with every mac (pro/air) people talk about them running really hot, but they never fail. I always buy apple care so i will run it to the ground

 

[wurt]

the important question: Were you starting to feel the heat while using the computer? I remember some of the macbook keys would get really hot to the touch when gaming..

 

[RocketRed]

the important question: Were you starting to feel the heat while using the computer? I remember some of the macbook keys would get really hot to the touch when gaming..

I remember feeling the heat on the upper-left corner of the keyboard.. around the WASD keys and the top left corner of the aluminium case. But it was warm and not hot... It only gets warm when I'm playing L4D2 or playing flash content ala Youtube videos.

 

[Sean Dempsey]

If you're getting worried, run it at a lower resolution so it doesn't have to work as hard. By doing this Running starcraft 2, it was running at 82C instead of 87...

the important question: Were you starting to feel the heat while using the computer? I remember some of the macbook keys would get really hot to the touch when gaming..

I am running Diablo3 at the lowest possible settings and lowest possible 16:9 resolution.

I am on a Thunderbolt display using a keyboard/mouse, and the MBA is on a m-stand.

The other weird thing - when it gets this hot, the Thunderbolt audio goes all static and eventually stops working. If I switch to use the MBA audio, the sound is fine. It's sort of a bummer since I don't know what to call AppleCare about (both devices have applecare).

 

[PCPacMac]

100 degrees Celsius and any temperature over that IS TOO HOT for your Macbook Air computer. There is something very INADEQUATE about the design if that is considered "normal" cpu/gpu temperature. Now imagine how much worse it will perform after a few months or years of use when dust gets in there?

Does anyone know what kind of Thermal Paste Apple uses on these macbook airs and what the Thermal Conductivity rating is? I was about to buy this 2012 Macbook Air 13 ultimate (8gb memory, i7 2.0ghz CPU) until I saw your thread. Thanks for informing us of this truth

 

[amd is the best]

100 degrees Celsius and any temperature over that IS TOO HOT for your Macbook Air computer. There is something very INADEQUATE about the design if that is considered "normal" cpu/gpu temperature. Now imagine how much worse it will perform after a few months or years of use when dust gets in there?

Does anyone know what kind of Thermal Paste Apple uses on these macbook airs and what the Thermal Conductivity rating is? I was about to buy this 2012 Macbook Air 13 ultimate (8gb memory, i7 2.0ghz CPU) until I saw your thread. Thanks for informing us of this truth

I am almost certain you are wrong about being "TOO HOT". These devices aren't just released into the wild without proper testing. I'm sure Apple has been running these hard for months now to verify that all the temps are within proper spec. On top of that, there is probably thermal monitoring active where if/when a devices temperature reaches/passes a certain point it will shut down (like an iPhone will when left in the sun).

People get way too worried about NON issues.

 

[Kyllle]

I tried Minecraft on my 2012 13" i5 at max settings and the temps increased to 212+ F in about 2 minutes, then the fans started really kicking in and brought it down to 180 or so. The keys were definitely hot to the touch too.

After playing for about 5 minutes, I quit and the temp and fans returned to normal in about a minute, so it seems normal.

 

[PCPacMac]

...there is probably thermal monitoring active where if/when a devices temperature reaches/passes a certain point it will shut down...NON issues.

A computer shutting itself down because it cannot operate properly in the "real world" IS AN ISSUE for me . I've worked in the computer industry for many years and have literally built and repaired well over 5,000 computers so from my experienced-perspective a CPU running at 100 or 101-102 degrees celsius by oem design is not good. (I'm hoping there is something wrong with the OP's MBA and the cpu running this hot is not the standard from the factory)

When optimizing any design, a safety buffer of some kind is almost always integrated into this process. So, just imagine how much worse that CPU temperature will be in a hotter or dustier environment. It will reach 105 or whatever the max "safe limit" is, and make the computer inoperable (shut down) or just as bad throttle the cpu down so much, it negates the price you paid for the "extra performance."

Personally, I'd be much happier with a better heatsink design that would limit the cpu temperatures to 10-20 degrees celsius less at these maximum performance loads even if it weighed and costed more. I think most of us can relate to liking computers that perform CONSISTENTLY instead of ones that slow down performance & increase noise frequently.

 

[ZBoater]

100 degrees Celsius and any temperature over that IS TOO HOT for your Macbook Air computer.

Ummmmmmm, no.

Go here http://www.intel.com/content/www/us...d-gen-core-family-mobile-vol-1-datasheet.html

Go to page 77 and READ.

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.. so from my experienced-perspective a CPU running at 100 or 101-102 degrees celsius by oem design is not good

These are new processors. They are designed to take the heat. In order to achieve maximum performance they have to increase the juice and hence the heat, especially considering the "turbo boost' feature.

The MBAs with i core processors have been out a year now, and I haven't seen any widespread reports of CPU fires, shutdowns, meltdowns, etc. Actually, I haven't seen ANY, but I wouldn't discount the possibility. But this just tells me THERE IS NO PROBLEM.

 

[ugahairydawgs]

The fan was running full blast. In the screenshot you can see it is at 6500rpm.

I could capture it in F but yeah, 100c = 212f.

How was the sound on that new fan? Is it noticeably quieter than the 2011 model?