2020 Air Heatsink Modification Thread

[SeeG]

Hi guys,

I follow this thread since the beginning and first I’d like to thank you for your audacity. I believe like few of you here that MBA 2k20 has great potential and that potential is screwed by Apple’s strange cooling system.

I’m waiting mine (i7/16/256) coming next week and following your solutions I was wondering, for copper mod, if :

1) After cleaning CPU and GPU dies, what’s about applying Artic MX-4 first,

2) Then put the copper part on them,

3) Apply Liquid metal properly between copper and heatsink (don’t wanna risk to kill my CPU after few months, you never know how liquid metal will react in a laptop you move often with ... That’s why I propose to paste it between copper and heat sink),

4) Apply Liquid metal on the upper part of heat sink then replace it on copper and screw it back.

Is that a good solution ? I mean is that realistic ?

Thanks ... and sorry for my English .. I’ French

 

[srkirt]

[QUOTE = "SeeG, publicación: 28429468, miembro: 1215412"]
Hola chicos,

Sigo este hilo desde el principio y primero quisiera agradecerles por su audacia. Creo que como pocos de ustedes aquí, MBA 2k20 tiene un gran potencial y ese potencial se ve afectado por el extraño sistema de enfriamiento de Apple.

Estoy esperando el mío (i7 / 16/256) la próxima semana y siguiendo sus soluciones, me preguntaba, para el mod de cobre, si:

1) Después de limpiar los troqueles de la CPU y la GPU, primero se trata de aplicar Artic MX-4,

2) Luego coloca la parte de cobre sobre ellos,

3) Aplique el metal líquido correctamente entre el cobre y el disipador de calor (no quiera arriesgarse a matar mi CPU después de unos meses, nunca sabe cómo reaccionará el metal líquido en una computadora portátil con la que se mueve con frecuencia ... Es por eso que propongo pegarlo entre cobre y disipador de calor),

4) Aplique metal líquido en la parte superior del disipador de calor , reemplácelo con cobre y atorníllelo.

¿Es esa una buena solución? Quiero decir, ¿es eso realista?

Gracias ... y perdón por mi inglés ... yo 'francés
[/CITAR]
Pâte liquide uniquement pour le cuivre mais jamais pour l'aluminium, elle le corrode, dans mon MBA 2019 le radiateur est en aluminium.

 

[SeeG]

[QUOTE = "SeeG, publicación: 28429468, miembro: 1215412"]
Hola chicos,

Sigo este hilo desde el principio y primero quisiera agradecerles por su audacia. Creo que como pocos de ustedes aquí, MBA 2k20 tiene un gran potencial y ese potencial se ve afectado por el extraño sistema de enfriamiento de Apple.

Estoy esperando el mío (i7 / 16/256) la próxima semana y siguiendo sus soluciones, me preguntaba, para el mod de cobre, si:

1) Después de limpiar los troqueles de la CPU y la GPU, primero se trata de aplicar Artic MX-4,

2) Luego coloca la parte de cobre sobre ellos,

3) Aplique el metal líquido correctamente entre el cobre y el disipador de calor (no quiera arriesgarse a matar mi CPU después de unos meses, nunca sabe cómo reaccionará el metal líquido en una computadora portátil con la que se mueve con frecuencia ... Es por eso que propongo pegarlo entre cobre y disipador de calor),

4) Aplique metal líquido en la parte superior del disipador de calor , reemplácelo con cobre y atorníllelo.

¿Es esa una buena solución? Quiero decir, ¿es eso realista?

Gracias ... y perdón por mi inglés ... yo 'francés
[/CITAR]
Pâte liquide uniquement pour le cuivre mais jamais pour l'aluminium, elle le corrode, dans mon MBA 2019 le radiateur est en aluminium.

“Hola ombre“ from Barcelona,

Cool that you speak French but I’ll keep it in English if you don’t mind, then everyone can follow the thread lol.

What’s about MBA 2020 heat sink ? Aluminium too ? Damn if it is ...

And what’s about, added to heat sink mod, fixing a copper thin between heat sink and the fan ? Will the temperature on the copper thin affect chips below it ?

 

[Loog]

Hi guys,

I follow this thread since the beginning and first I’d like to thank you for your audacity. I believe like few of you here that MBA 2k20 has great potential and that potential is screwed by Apple’s strange cooling system.

I’m waiting mine (i7/16/256) coming next week and following your solutions I was wondering, for copper mod, if :

1) After cleaning CPU and GPU dies, what’s about applying Artic MX-4 first,

2) Then put the copper part on them,

3) Apply Liquid metal properly between copper and heatsink (don’t wanna risk to kill my CPU after few months, you never know how liquid metal will react in a laptop you move often with ... That’s why I propose to paste it between copper and heat sink),

4) Apply Liquid metal on the upper part of heat sink then replace it on copper and screw it back.

Is that a good solution ? I mean is that realistic ?

Thanks ... and sorry for my English .. I’ French

Hi @SeeG, welcome to the thread.

The 2020 MBA has a recess so I would check the shims fit dry first and then apply the thermal paste to the shim and heatsink, apply pressure and clean excess, then look to finally fit onto the cpu.

I think that's the process you have listed and the process that I would follow. The only thing I would add is cross tighten the CPU screws to make sure pressure is applied evenly.

I took my heatsink off and checked before fully tightening it to make sure there wasn't too much thermal compound on (which there was), cleaned some off and re-tighted.

Good luck and post pictures of your process

 

[SeeG]

Hi Loog, thanks for replying. BTW thanks for your pictures, I don’t have my MBA yet but I know how it looks inside 😁👍

As soon as I get it, I’ll try first how it responds to my needs (I have 14 days to send it back and if I keep it, a one year warranty that I don’t wanna void) and then open it and see it by my eyes.
If it doesn’t look too risky I’ll try to mod it like you did and use Liquid Metal between copper layer and heatsink if it’s not aluminium-made.

 

[Robotronic]

So I bought a second 2020 Air base i3 for my wife. Did the heatsink mod on this one right out of the gate, and took the opportunity to get some good pics of the stock thermal paste application. Also worth noting, the paste on this thing is unlike any I've ever seen. First of all its black, and it has a gritty consistency, almost like there's a fine sand in it. You can hear it and feel it when scraping/cleaning it off. Very odd, don't know why it would have this grit added to it. Last pic shows the amount of paste I removed, minus the small amount that was cleaned off with rubbing alcohol at the end.

 

[srkirt]

Hi Loog, thanks for replying. BTW thanks for your pictures, I don’t have my MBA yet but I know how it looks inside 😁👍

As soon as I get it, I’ll try first how it responds to my needs (I have 14 days to send it back and if I keep it, a one year warranty that I don’t wanna void) and then open it and see it by my eyes.
If it doesn’t look too risky I’ll try to mod it like you did and use Liquid Metal between copper layer and heatsink if it’s not aluminium-made.

I except the processor sticks it all with sandpaper of 1000 and liquid of vitroceramics, it remains the copper and the aluminum like a mirror !!! it's called lapping

 

[CrazyForCashews]

If, for any reason, you have to send the machine, just remove the shim and they have no way to check if the case had been opened or not.

What about the loctite (usually blue coloured) on the pentalobe screws?

The very first time you open the back cover on MacBooks and begin unscrewing the pentalobes, you usually hear and feel a snap or something breaking and that's the loctite seal breaking. If there's no resistance then that means the bottom panel has been removed already, but I greatly doubt removing the bottom panel voids the warranty.

 

[SeeG]

Hi Robotronic,

Thanks for taking pictures. As I said it really helps for those who will try to mod it.
And I can easily see on your pictures it looks gritty ... Never seen this before as well ... But I’m sure pasting with Artic stuff will be more efficient ...
So did you notice better performance ? Cooler laptop ? Less noisy fan ?
[automerge]1588534735[/automerge]

What about the loctite (usually blue coloured) on the pentalobe screws?

The very first time you open the back cover on MacBooks and begin unscrewing the pentalobes, you usually hear and feel a snap or something breaking and that's the loctite seal breaking. If there's no resistance then that means the bottom panel has been removed already, but I greatly doubt removing the bottom panel voids the warranty.

I remember Apple warranty was still on if you wanted to change your laptop’s HDD by your own. I did it for my MBP 2010 17’ (A monster who “died” 2 months ago ... A real beast !!!) with one SSD first, then the warranty expired I’ve installed a second SSD by removing SuperDrive and installing a SSD bracket.

 

[srkirt]

It works better to lengthen the fins with copper than to coat the heatsink ... this is the most laborious way to achieve the goal before finishing a thicker and taller heatsink.

 

[SeeG]

I was thinking about something like this ... Yellow lines are thin copper (thin like for RAM ones) of 3 or 4 mm large, fixed on heatsink with its 4 screws going from heatsink to the fan, passing from points where there are no chips below them ... Adding to this the “copper + Artic mod” few of you have done before, I guess we can get something probably better ...
What do you think ?

 

[srkirt]

[QUOTE = "SeeG, publicación: 28429990, miembro: 1215412"]
Estaba pensando en algo como esto ... Las líneas amarillas son delgadas de cobre (delgadas como las de la RAM) de 3 o 4 mm de largo, fijadas en el disipador térmico con sus 4 tornillos que van del disipador térmico al ventilador, pasando de puntos donde no hay chips debajo de ellos ... Agregando a esto el "cobre + Artic mod" que pocos de ustedes han hecho antes, creo que podemos obtener algo probablemente mejor ...
Qué piensas ?
[/CITAR]

I was thinking about something like this ... Yellow lines are thin copper (thin like for RAM ones) of 3 or 4 mm large, fixed on heatsink with its 4 screws going from heatsink to the fan, passing from points where there are no chips below them ... Adding to this the “copper + Artic mod” few of you have done before, I guess we can get something probably better ...
What do you think ?

This went first and it didn't work ... the heat went to the copper and aluminum coins and the air went below and above. Nothing did not work.

 

[vyruzreaper]

I wonder is Apple will fix the thermals on the next iteration MBA. I wonder how pissed I'm going to be haha

 

[AirBud]

So I bought a second 2020 Air base i3 for my wife. Did the heatsink mod on this one right out of the gate, and took the opportunity to get some good pics of the stock thermal paste application. Also worth noting, the paste on this thing is unlike any I've ever seen. First of all its black, and it has a gritty consistency, almost like there's a fine sand in it. You can hear it and feel it when scraping/cleaning it off. Very odd, don't know why it would have this grit added to it. Last pic shows the amount of paste I removed, minus the small amount that was cleaned off with rubbing alcohol at the end.

I'm not an expert or anything, but it seems like Apple is using a pretty cheap paste made with carbon or graphite (and too much bc of bad spacing). Not only is the copper shim helping the heat transfer to the heatsink but the 3rd party pastes we're using probably have better thermal conductivity.

My 20x20x0.5mm shim just arrived in LA (east coast here), so hopefully I can get it to fit and installed soon!
[automerge]1588560397[/automerge]

I wonder is Apple will fix the thermals on the next iteration MBA. I wonder how pissed I'm going to be haha

The bigger heatsink in the 2020 MBA is an improvement, but ironically the sizable gap between the CPU and heatsink (that Apple is trying to fill with globs of thermal paste) probably minimized the improvement.

 

[Loog]

I'm not an expert or anything, but it seems like Apple is using a pretty cheap paste made with carbon or graphite (and too much bc of bad spacing). Not only is the copper shim helping the heat transfer to the heatsink but the 3rd party pastes we're using probably have better thermal conductivity.

My 20x20x0.5mm shim just arrived in LA (east coast here), so hopefully I can get it to fit and installed soon!
[automerge]1588560397[/automerge]


The bigger heatsink in the 2020 MBA is an improvement, but ironically the sizable gap between the CPU and heatsink (that Apple is trying to fill with globs of thermal paste) probably minimized the improvement.

Be sure you let us know how you get on @AirBud, for the 2020, I've not seen 0.5mm used, 0.3mm and 0.6mm lapped so far (there may be others I've not caught sight of on here), it will be interesting to see how this fits.

 

[SeeG]

For those who made it successfully, do you see any noticeable improvements ? Like cooler MBA, less noisy fan ? Better performances ?

 

[Robotronic]

For those who made it successfully, do you see any noticeable improvements ? Like cooler MBA, less noisy fan ? Better performances ?

Yes, it makes a significant difference, see my post here.

 

[ARJR84]

Don't want to **** on anybody's parade but many of us were also waiting for the new MBPs, which released this morning. The quad core/16/256 option, it's only $180 more than the equivalently-specced air, and the option to upgrade ram is 1/2 price for some reason ($100).

 

[nill1234]

Don't want to **** on anybody's parade but many of us were also waiting for the new MBPs, which released this morning. The quad core/16/256 option, it's only $180 more than the equivalently-specced air, and the option to upgrade ram is 1/2 price for some reason ($100).

But its still the old processor 8th gen slower RAM. So nothing new...
I dont get it the Air is so much better and cheaper...

 

[SeeG]

My bad ... I looked at old MBP specs .... Let’s check new one specs ...

 

[nill1234]

You only get the 10th gen at the expensive ones for 2100€. Thats not a deal.

 

[ARJR84]

But its still the old processor 8th gen slower RAM. So nothing new...
I dont get it the Air is so much better and cheaper...

My bad ... I looked at old MBP specs .... Let’s check new one specs ...

To each their own. Not sure about others, but the old processor was not a thing that was holding me back from purchasing, nor was ddr3 ram. It was the keyboard. The base model performs better than the air in almost any real task. Benchmarks are paper tigers. At any rate, they adjusted upgrading prices for the ddr3 ram accordingly, now it's half priced. I specced a new MBA (i5/256/16) at $1544, the "new" MBP (i5, 256, 16) at $1688. It's up to you but I think you'd be foolish not to spend $150 for better cooling, better screen and a little better performance, especially sustained.

It would have been kickass if the model that has 10th gen chip (which is much more powerful than the 10w chip in the MBA), also came with a microled screen like its big brother.

 

[Loog]

Don't want to **** on anybody's parade but many of us were also waiting for the new MBPs, which released this morning. The quad core/16/256 option, it's only $180 more than the equivalently-specced air, and the option to upgrade ram is 1/2 price for some reason ($100).

Excellent result, thanks for the heads up. I look forward to these being put through their paces.

Looks like Apple have moved the goalposts somewhat now ...
[automerge]1588600157[/automerge]

To each their own. Not sure about others, but the old processor was not a thing that was holding me back from purchasing, nor was ddr3 ram. It was the keyboard. The base model performs better than the air in almost any real task. Benchmarks are paper tigers. At any rate, they adjusted upgrading prices for the ddr3 ram accordingly, now it's half priced. I specced a new MBA (i5/256/16) at $1544, the "new" MBP (i5, 256, 16) at $1688. It's up to you but I think you'd be foolish not to spend $150 for better cooling, better screen and a little better performance, especially sustained.

It would have been kickass if the model that has 10th gen chip (which is much more powerful than the 10w chip in the MBA), also came with a microled screen like its big brother.

I agree, this has me thinking now of an upgrade ...

 

[hmhmmhmmm?]

To each their own. Not sure about others, but the old processor was not a thing that was holding me back from purchasing, nor was ddr3 ram. It was the keyboard. The base model performs better than the air in almost any real task. Benchmarks are paper tigers. At any rate, they adjusted upgrading prices for the ddr3 ram accordingly, now it's half priced. I specced a new MBA (i5/256/16) at $1544, the "new" MBP (i5, 256, 16) at $1688. It's up to you but I think you'd be foolish not to spend $150 for better cooling, better screen and a little better performance, especially sustained.

It would have been kickass if the model that has 10th gen chip (which is much more powerful than the 10w chip in the MBA), also came with a microled screen like its big brother.

That’s not a fair comparison.
Why would you wait for a new macbook pro and then just say, i don’t care about all the new internals and just go with the old model??
new air i5/16/512 - 1500$
new pro i5/16/512 a 1800$

so it’s 300$

The gimick touchbar... no deal ever!
I’ll go with air and 20$ mod
and wait til they do a real refresh.

 

[SeeG]

Just ordered new MBP 2020 i5 (10th gen)/16 DDR4/512 ... I’ll have the chance to try both MBP and MBA during 14 days before returning one of them ...