2020 Air Heatsink Modification Thread

[dcicer1]

It's an i3.. it's flat but however it doesn't matter, thermal paste should reduce the gap. Also when you start tightening screws.. 0,5mm copper

Temperature seems decreased as you can see... problems starts when it has worked under heavy loads, MBA's body remains hot so airflow is compromised..
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Safari with 2 tabs, one of them is a 1080p YouTube video. I'm a bit impressed, now temperatures are max 50°C, but frequencies are lower!! Turbo boost doesn't kick to 100% the cpu.

This after mod and after have reinstalled latest macOS by USB

 

[dcicer1]

Here are bench results, is more powerful than last year's i5.. and it was throttling @2,7ghz during tests. not bad.

 

[hmhmmhmmm?]

@dcicer1 - would you recommend a 0.3mm shim instead of 0,5mm?

 

[srkirt]

Aspirador Dyson... jejejeje

 

[hmhmmhmmm?]

Aspirador Dyson... jejejeje

That better give you 10x performance 🤪 Definitely not brave/crazy enough to try that 🙃

 

[srkirt]

[QUOTE = "hmhmmhmmm ?, publicación: 28450573, miembro: 1214031"]
Eso te da un rendimiento 10 veces mejor 🤪 Definitivamente no eres lo suficientemente valiente / loco como para intentar eso 🙃
[/CITAR]
The problem is that the inlet and outlet holes are small ... they have this element castrated everywhere ...

 

[kinchee87]

It's an i3.. it's flat but however it doesn't matter, thermal paste should reduce the gap. Also when you start tightening screws.. 0,5mm copper

Temperature seems decreased as you can see... problems starts when it has worked under heavy loads, MBA's body remains hot so airflow is compromised..
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Safari with 2 tabs, one of them is a 1080p YouTube video. I'm a bit impressed, now temperatures are max 50°C, but frequencies are lower!! Turbo boost doesn't kick to 100% the cpu.

This after mod and after have reinstalled latest macOS by USB

You've got some nice performance gains!

 

[dcicer1]

@dcicer1 - would you recommend a 0.3mm shim instead of 0,5mm?

0,5 I think it’s correct

 

[hmhmmhmmm?]

0,5 I think it’s correct

Thank you for the reply. So you didn’t have any problems tightening the screws?

 

[excelsior.ink]

I simply wish this was easier, like just using Kryonaut thermal paste and without a copper shim. Maybe someone tries this soon.

 

[dcicer1]

Thank you for the reply. So you didn’t have any problems tightening the screws?

No, but you have to tighten them slowly and in a “X” mode.. once you feel it starts being harder while tightening, just stop.

Sorry but I’m trying to do my best with electronic in English language 😅😅
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I simply wish this was easier, like just using Kryonaut thermal paste and without a copper shim. Maybe someone tries this soon.

There’s too much tolerance between dies and Heatsink, you have to reduce this gap by using something... paste will inevitably enlarge and it couldn’t make contact

 

[hmhmmhmmm?]

No, but you have to tighten them slowly and in a “X” mode.. once you feel it starts being harder while tightening, just stop.

Sorry but I’m trying to do my best with electronic in English language 😅😅

You’re doing great! 🙂
Never make fun of people that struggle with another language, cause it simply means that they speak multiple languages 👍

 

[excelsior.ink]

There’s too much tolerance between dies and Heatsink, you have to reduce this gap by using something... paste will inevitably enlarge and it couldn’t make contact

This looks like a design flaw from Apple's side.

 

[dcicer1]

This looks like a design flaw from Apple's side.

When you have a product which can take the place of your more expensive ones (pro), but it’s cheaper, this is result. If MBA had a good thermal dissipation, there weren’t ways to buy a pro... smart move from Apple

 

[edubfromktown]

Interesting thread.

I've had an MBA 2020 i7/16/1TB for a few weeks now and whilst most of the time it is a decent machine it does annoy the hell out of me that it makes a racket when I don't think it should be doing.

Any video conf'ing makes the fan audible within a minute.

Light usage (e.g. 720p Youtube, a few tabs etc...) combined with running my external 4k monitor does the same. Idle temps with the monitor attached and Turboboost disabled are still 75-80 (as opposed to idle temps of 50 with no monitor attached).

In fact it seems like the increase in fan speed to 8000 is almost inevitable once a little heat starts to build up. It feels like the difference in thermal transfer away from the CPU between 4000rpm (liveable with) and 8000rpm (annoyingly loud) is virtually none so it just goes up to 8000 anyway and then starts slowing the CPU.

I don't mind the power of the machine at all. I'm not looking for a performance beast. I would just like to change the fact that it gets really loud under light-moderate load.

I shouldn't have to disable boost just to get a machine to not scream at me on a conf call.

Anyway, never modded a Mac before but considering it. I've overclocked my gaming PCs for decades but this does look a bit more delicate for my clumsy hands

I’ve had an MBA 2020 i7/16/512 for a couple of weeks and the fans rarely come on. My typical running apps are Adobe Connect (conference calls with presenter slides) and Lightroom 6 (I have ~20,000 images in it), MS office 2016 (most often Word), Opera with 6-10 browser windows open, etc.

I participate in Zoom video chats with 5-8 others, run an external QHD 31.5” display- the past couple of days even with BT keyboard/mouse connected and the MBA cover closed (for hours). No fans come on and the closed cover of the MBA remains cool to the touch.

I’m not running Intel Power Gadget or any other monitoring apps so I have no idea about the internal temps.

Have you contacted Apple support and complained about excessive heat problems? It might be worthwhile to see what they have to say.

 

[Nütztjanix]

Under this load, your fan will most certainly be on - but you won't hear it until it starts to ramp up beyond a certain rpm.

 

[Mike Boreham]

Is throttling on 2020 Air worse than fanless 12" MacBook?

I have been following this thread with interest with a view to getting a 2020 Air to replace my 12" 2017 i7 MacBook.

The 12" MacBook has a reputation for extreme throttling due to being fanless (=silent!) but I have not found it to be at all bad. Quite a lot of debate in the MacBook forum at the time, eg this post which shows less than 10% drop in Cinebench after 10 consecutive runs. FWIW I just set IPG to do the "All thread frequency" test and left it running for 10 mins. Attached is the composite screenshot.

So is the 2020 quad core Air somehow more prone to throttling than my 12" MacBook?

Thanks

 

[dcicer1]

Probably

Is throttling on 2020 Air worse than fanless 12" MacBook?

I have been following this thread with interest with a view to getting a 2020 Air to replace my 12" 2017 i7 MacBook.

The 12" MacBook has a reputation for extreme throttling due to being fanless (=silent!) but I have not found it to be at all bad. Quite a lot of debate in the MacBook forum at the time, eg this post which shows less than 10% drop in Cinebench after 10 consecutive runs. FWIW I just set IPG to do the "All thread frequency" test and left it running for 10 mins. Attached is the composite screenshot.

So is the 2020 quad core Air somehow more prone to throttling than my 12" MacBook?

Thanks

Hi, higher frequencies means higher temperatures.. quad core i5 @3,5ghz at 100% can absorb more power than your i7 on a MacBook 12.. my opinion


Your i7 is even dual core while i5 is quad.... a big difference

 

[Mike Boreham]

Probably

Hi, higher frequencies means higher temperatures.. quad core i5 @3,5ghz at 100% can absorb more power than your i7 on a MacBook 12.. my opinion


Your i7 is even dual core while i5 is quad.... a big difference

OK thanks, so the extra thermal load (of the four core 2020 Air relative to the two core fanless MacBook) is not offset by the fan, resulting a bigger percentage throttle back than the 12" MacBook.

Presumably then the two core i3 has virtually no throttle back, since its thermal load can't be much more than the fanless MacBook, but it has a fan?

Maybe someone with an i5 and i3 could let the IPG All thread Frequency test run for 10 mins and show the screen shots for direct comparison with mine for the 12" MacBook?

Thanks

 

[dcicer1]

OK thanks, so the extra thermal load (of the four core 2020 Air relative to the two core fanless MacBook) is not offset by the fan, resulting a bigger percentage throttle back than the 12" MacBook.

Presumably then the two core i3 has virtually no throttle back, since its thermal load can't be much more than the fanless MacBook, but it has a fan?

Maybe someone with an i5 and i3 could let the IPG All thread Frequency test run for 10 mins and show the screen shots for direct comparison with mine for the 12" MacBook?

Thanks

After heatsink mod and 10 minutes, it never throttled.. i3
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I want add the fact fan is not connected to heatsink.... it seems useless

 

[edubfromktown]

Is throttling on 2020 Air worse than fanless 12" MacBook?

I have been following this thread with interest with a view to getting a 2020 Air to replace my 12" 2017 i7 MacBook.

The 12" MacBook has a reputation for extreme throttling due to being fanless (=silent!) but I have not found it to be at all bad. Quite a lot of debate in the MacBook forum at the time, eg this post which shows less than 10% drop in Cinebench after 10 consecutive runs. FWIW I just set IPG to do the "All thread frequency" test and left it running for 10 mins. Attached is the composite screenshot.

So is the 2020 quad core Air somehow more prone to throttling than my 12" MacBook?

Thanks

In my case: hadn't/haven't noticed either my 12" dual core i7 1.4 GHz or the new MBA quad core i7 exhibit excessive throttling behavior in general daily usage. I've never been all that focused on benchmarks and monitoring (other than occasionally executing lsof -i, ps -ef or top from the terminal or clicking the activity monitor app to see what's going on).

My 12" also ran cool to the touch similar to what I am experiencing with the MBA (for the ~1..5 years I had it). I never ran the 12" in clamshell mode attached to an external display with the cover closed (and really only did it on the MBA because someone asked about it and now I sort of like it LOL). My main system prior to the 12" was a 2015 quad core i7 MBP 15" that definitely ran hotter to the touch and fans came on more often.

I installed Intel Power Gadget this morning on the MBA and temps are hovering around 53 with the cover closed, attached to my external display and running Opera with 9 windows open (among other things). Running Power Gadget, Activity Monitor and top, temp is more like 57-60 range.

If I were in your shoes, I'd order the MBA you are interested in and try it out for a few weeks. If it runs hot, call Apple support straight away and stay on them like a mad hornet to troubleshoot the issue. If they are unable to resolve (or send replacement(s) that have the same issue), return it and get an MBP.

 

[dcicer1]

In my case: hadn't/haven't noticed either my 12" dual core i7 1.4 GHz or the new MBA quad core i7 exhibit excessive throttling behavior in general daily usage. I've never been all that focused on benchmarks and monitoring (other than occasionally executing lsof -i, ps -ef or top from the terminal or clicking the activity monitor app to see what's going on).

My 12" also ran cool to the touch similar to what I am experiencing with the MBA (for the ~1..5 years I had it). I never ran the 12" in clamshell mode attached to an external display with the cover closed (and really only did it on the MBA because someone asked about it and now I sort of like it LOL). My main system prior to the 12" was a 2015 quad core i7 MBP 15" that definitely ran hotter to the touch and fans came on more often.

I installed Intel Power Gadget this morning on the MBA and temps are hovering around 53 with the cover closed, attached to my external display and running Opera with 9 windows open (among other things). Running Power Gadget, Activity Monitor and top, temp is more like 57-60 range.

If I were in your shoes, I'd order the MBA you are interested in and try it out for a few weeks. If it runs hot, call Apple support straight away and stay on them like a mad hornet to troubleshoot the issue. If they are unable to resolve (or send replacement(s) that have the same issue), return it and get an MBP.

My temps closed are around 35 degrees while in my room there are 24.20 degrees... while in idle, like only safari opened, it stays on 45 degrees maximum

 

[Mike Boreham]

After heatsink mod and 10 minutes, it never throttled.. i3
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I want add the fact fan is not connected to heatsink.... it seems useless

Surely the i3 with a fan shouldn't need the heatsink mod to avoid throttling since the fanless MacBook doesn't throttle much.

If the fan isn't doing anything you could try running without...that would be a very interesting test and make it nice and quiet

I assume the fan in the 2020 Air is partly about keeping the case cool while the CPU is hot?
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In my case: hadn't/haven't noticed either my 12" dual core i7 1.4 GHz or the new MBA quad core i7 exhibit excessive throttling behavior in general daily usage. I've never been all that focused on benchmarks and monitoring (other than occasionally executing lsof -i, ps -ef or top from the terminal or clicking the activity monitor app to see what's going on).

Very sensible approach ! I don't notice throttling in normal use on my MacBook either, but to understand how these machines compare it is necessary to try and measure things under some consistent load, like benchmarks or IPG tests, even though not representative of normal use.

While interesting to know temps under typical uses it doesn't lend itself to comparisons.

I am not close to ordering a 2020 Air yet, will wait at least until Covid over.

 

[lynxwildcat]

Long time reader, first time poster. Kudos to all the pioneers in this thread willing to push their new equipment and share the results!

As a MacBook Air 2010 owner, I've been reading this thread with a lot of interest. I was convinced the 2020 MacBook Air was finally going to be my next purchase. But I'm not sure.

Unfortunately, I think the MacBook Air's thermal design has been deliberately limited since the retina redesign (2018). Apple knows how to design thermally:

1. MacBook Airs had heat transfer or heat pipes from 2009 to 2017
2. Some MacBook Pros even have dual fans in a 13" footprint
3. Apple's engineering principles are that every part is deeply considered

Reading around, not everyone has the same thermal issues like Max Tech. This appears to be down to poor thermal paste choice, poor thermal paste application, the large gap between CPU and heatsink. Likely, some customers have good thermal conductivity, and others not. Hopefully this doesn't turn into widespread CPU faults after years of high temperature usage.

I think there's many possible reasons why the Air's thermal design has faltered:

1. Avoid 'Air' performance getting close to 'Pro' performance
2. Build to a price, allowing manufacturers too much leeway
3. Too much trust in Intel design envelopes
4. Focus on iPhone/iPad ARM design and engineering (where the brightest minds at Apple go)
5. Focus on ARM design for Mac (lack of dedicated GPUs and not using fastest on-market CPUs in any 13" MacBook chassis indicate laziness and end of lifecycle roadmap for current Air and Pro products)

I really hope someone like OWC or iFixit could re-engineer a thermal heatpipe to retrofit to Airs, or perhaps sell an easy thermal kit with better CPU heatsink and paste to do away with shims. As it is, it is an embarrassment to the engineering prowess of Apple to have a thermal design like this easily surpassed with cheap paste and shims.

MacBook Airs - History Lesson

• Original Design
  • 2009 heat transfer to case (link)
  • 2010 heat pipe (link)
  • 2011 heat pipe (link)
  • 2012 heat pipe (link)
  • 2013 heat pipe (link)
  • 2014 heat pipe (link)
  • 2015 heat pipe (link)
  • 2017 heat pipe (link)
• New Retina Design
  • 2018 no heat pipe (link)
  • 2019 no heat pipe (link)
  • 2020 no heat pipe (link)

Louis Rossmann's funny view on retina MacBook Air cooling:

 

[rba1989]

Maybe someone with an i5 and i3 could let the IPG All thread Frequency test run for 10 mins and show the screen shots for direct comparison with mine for the 12" MacBook?

Thanks

Air 2020 i5/8/256.

Fan after 2 minutes - 5000rpm, another 2 min - 6000, another 2 min - max 8000rpm