2020 Air Heatsink Modification Thread

[Loog]

Don't wanna turn the thread into an emotional dispute, but from my point of view all contributions are GREAT.
Both @srkirt and @Loog (and a lot of other users here) have been working big to improve our machines.
No one is branding the improvement as their own, please don't take it personally... I mean, we are talking about the disruptive discovery of copper shims thermal properties (WTF?!).

If someone makes a business out of it I don't think posting it on a public forum is the way to go... Or at least I'd not complain if someone tries to go for it lol. Welcome to opensource development.
That said, if you think it's an opportunity, make a business. It's a free world. At the end you'll make money if people perceives value in your product. Otherwise you'll go broke.
If you think it's not an opportunity to make a business, but to help the community, you can try to manufacture it at zero profit (this is what @Loog is doing btw. If you don't trust him you can get material supply, cut your own sheets, setup all delivery, handle all the logistics of the process and report the costs).
And if you don't like other people working on your ideas don't make them public, it's that easy.

Thinking about the community it seems a big improvement from Loog to spend his time and money to get a perfect cut shim to fit our machine. Some users might be doubting about implementing the mod or not. This will hopefully motivate them to do it with a more 'out of the box' solution that you don't have to cut on your own.
I'm expecting more people to test it, share their process and standardize it somehow, get to the perfect thickness between 0.5-0.3. Get a bigger sample of users posting their improvements in performance/temperatures.

Thanks everybody for your time and energy!

Thank you @guiguigui, what I hoped wouldn't happen indeed did. Yes sure I could buy material from amazon, eBay but I didn't, this whole project has been put to a small aerospace firm for a simple proof of concept, all at my risk and expense. I don't control their cost or have the ability to negotiate the cost of the material or the size needed to fit their cutting machine. Oh and yes 20% VAT is placed on top as well.

If you want to try one, drop me a line and please leave your feedback for everyone to see, if you want to buy others and cut them down, that's the most cost effective way, that's what I've done. If you want the dimensions to make your own either in a garage or local engineering shop they are 16.5mm x 22mm 0.3mm/ 0.5mm with a 2mm radius. Set to be 1 size to fit both MBA to keep POC costs to a minimum.

As for I can but 10 units for $8 shipped ... how many machines do you guys have? ... and does $2 price difference equate to 10 mins of your time to make these shims fit when on balance making from raw material? Is this worth while when they are cheaper than a cup of coffee at your local coffee shop on balance? Large scale production would be cheaper, remember these are just a POC!!

Thanks to @srkirt for the early pioneering of this.

Stay safe everyone.

 

[raymanh]

WTF is the backlash towards @Loog all about???

@srkirt, as others have pointed out you haven't invented anything new here, shims have been around for a while. It's not some kind of novel idea, you don't own it.

If you, @srkirt, also want to sell a few, go for it, no one's stopping you, and you shouldn't berate others if they want to do the same.

@Loog has only made a few, and is selling at zero profit to people interested in trying this and who don't have access to a machine shop. He hasn't exactly stolen your business, not that you had one in the first place anyway.

 

[hmhmmhmmm?]

I believe we are all trying to achieve the same goal, so let’s keep it positive 👍

 

[excelsior.ink]

If you want the dimensions to make your own either in a garage or local engineering shop they are 16.5mm x 22mm 0.3mm/ 0.5mm with a 2mm radius. Set to be 1 size to fit both MBA to keep POC costs to a minimum.

Have you tried this on a MBA? What are the results? Which one is better, the 0.3 or 0.5 mm?
Thanks

 

[SeeG]

Hi guys,

As I promised few days ago here are my first feelings regarding this new MBA 2020 i7/16/256 (received it today via UPS).

Like a lot of you I was expecting to receive the most expensive toaster in the world but .... Damn not, guys !!

It works like a charm ! Received it 5 hours ago ... As you already know : Looks great, very light, Very good screen, new keyboard so smooth ...

Plugged it to an external 4K monitor (HP 27f 4K) via an 7 in 1 adapter through HDMI output (still waiting my USB-C to DP cable from Ali Express) and added Apple Bluetooth Keyboard and Mouse and a BOSE Bluetooth speaker : Everything works perfectly !!!

"Temperature and fan test" I did : Opened 2 tabs in Safari and went on Vimeo site and loaded 2 x 4K videos running in the same time on MBA screen + Watching an HD movie on external monitor with Netflix, I DO SWEAR : I haven't heard the fan ONCE !!! Temperature was quiet OK (Not hot all) ... Now I'm thinking about the fan : I didn't hear it since I switched the MBA on .... Even when updating MacOs or "Spotlighting" ... Not once !

I'll try to do some resource-demanding video editing in coming days ... I'll let you know about the fan and temperature.

By the way I was really afraid of Catalina but I must be honest : it's 👍

Take care !

 

[DrSarah]

Hi guys,

As I promised few days ago here are my first feelings regarding this new MBA 2020 i7/16/256 (received it today via UPS).

Like a lot of you I was expecting to receive the most expensive toaster in the world but .... Damn not, guys !!

It works like a charm ! Received it 5 hours ago ... As you already know : Looks great, very light, Very good screen, new keyboard so smooth ...

Plugged it to an external 4K monitor (HP 27f 4K) via an 7 in 1 adapter through HDMI output (still waiting my USB-C to DP cable from Ali Express) and added Apple Bluetooth Keyboard and Mouse and a BOSE Bluetooth speaker : Everything works perfectly !!!

"Temperature and fan test" I did : Opened 2 tabs in Safari and went on Vimeo site and loaded 2 x 4K videos running in the same time on MBA screen + Watching an HD movie on external monitor with Netflix, I DO SWEAR : I haven't heard the fan ONCE !!! Temperature was quiet OK (Not hot all) ... Now I'm thinking about the fan : I didn't hear it since I switched the MBA on .... Even when updating MacOs or "Spotlighting" ... Not once !

I'll try to do some resource-demanding video editing in coming days ... I'll let you know about the fan and temperature.

By the way I was really afraid of Catalina but I must be honest : it's 👍

Take care !

and what temperatures did you get in those use cases?

 

[Loog]

Have you tried this on a MBA? What are the results? Which one is better, the 0.3 or 0.5 mm?
Thanks

0.5mm has been used on the 2018 MBA, other 2020 users have used both thicknesses with success. Which is better ... I hope someone will test both and report back. I suspect there will be little difference or diminishing returns.

 

[srkirt]

Making tests with the 100% copper heatsink, it enters without screws and under pressure.
In case this invention comes out free I will give it away in exchange for a donation.

 

[SeeG]

Wow ! 😮 Great Job, Skirt !

 

[SeeG]

@ DrSarah :

Hi Sarah, actually I did not install any testing stuff on it 'cause I'll probably send it back when I get my MBP 2020.

But, as I've heard people complaining about plugging their external monitor screen and having already fan noise and temp issues I wanted to test it by myself. No pb at all for me.

Also people having temp and fan issues when watching 4K videos on the net like Youtube with Chrome or FireFox explorers. Worked very fine for me as I detailed it upper.

When I touched the MBA while doing those tasks, it was absolutely not hot, little bit warm but definitely not burning at all, no fan noise at all ...

 

[violentlychill]

@ DrSarah :

Hi Sarah, actually I did not install any testing stuff on it 'cause I'll probably send it back when I get my MBP 2020.

But, as I've heard people complaining about plugging their external monitor screen and having already fan noise and temp issues I wanted to test it by myself. No pb at all for me.

Also people having temp and fan issues when watching 4K videos on the net like Youtube with Chrome or FireFox explorers. Worked very fine for me as I detailed it upper.

When I touched the MBA while doing those tasks, it was absolutely not hot, little bit warm but definitely not burning at all, no fan noise at all ...

I wonder if there isn't some QC issues with how the thermal paste is applied and/or the viscosity of the different batches. I've seen reports everywhere from "this thing burns up with a few tabs open" to "I'm able to use some light Adobe apps without thermal issues".

I'd be curious if anyone else who has thermal issues with theirs could just replace the paste without adding a mod and check the difference in temps.

 

[Nocstar]

I wonder if there isn't some QC issues with how the thermal paste is applied and/or the viscosity of the different batches. I've seen reports everywhere from "this thing burns up with a few tabs open" to "I'm able to use some light Adobe apps without thermal issues".

I'd be curious if anyone else who has thermal issues with theirs could just replace the paste without adding a mod and check the difference in temps.

Honestly man, yeah its not a good paste off the production line. But i dont think its really QC as much as it is different use cases. tbh. With that being said any improvement that can be done im all for it.

I will be also posting results with shims.
im not gonna use this laptop as a power device. i have another beast gaming laptop and a Work desktop

But if a 10-20% heat and performance increase can be done im all for it and will help in this thread all i can You gotta remember that sometimes that, in itself is a decent increase from device to device so i think this is all worthwhile.

 

[Loog]

@ DrSarah :

Hi Sarah, actually I did not install any testing stuff on it 'cause I'll probably send it back when I get my MBP 2020.

But, as I've heard people complaining about plugging their external monitor screen and having already fan noise and temp issues I wanted to test it by myself. No pb at all for me.

Also people having temp and fan issues when watching 4K videos on the net like Youtube with Chrome or FireFox explorers. Worked very fine for me as I detailed it upper.

When I touched the MBA while doing those tasks, it was absolutely not hot, little bit warm but definitely not burning at all, no fan noise at all ...

I do see a temperature increase when I use a USB C docking station, wired Ethernet and external display, no more than 10 deg on average, no auditable fan noise. On MS teams today I ran undocked but on power without thermal issues on my 2018, hitting circa 85deg with 10 people on the call.

I think if you are running on mains, services like Time Machine may run on top front end applications, it would be worth people factoring this in for their tests as this will have some performance/thermal impact.

 

[SeñorNewton]

With my docking station, I was running right around 70°C. After I put in a couple of copper shims and new paste, I am now up over 80. Clearly, I do not know what I am doing when I put it together, and it is now worse.

I’ll try again tomorrow.

Take a look at the pictures. I do not think mine has the same gap, and the paste did not seem that thick. However, I have not done this before, and I have no reference point.

 

[srkirt]

[QUOTE = "SeñorNewton, publicación: 28461556, miembro: 1215184"]
Con mi estación de acoplamiento, estaba corriendo a unos 70 ° C. Después de poner un par de cuñas de cobre y pasta nueva, ahora tengo más de 80. Claramente, no sé qué estoy haciendo cuando lo armé, y ahora es peor.

Lo intentaré de nuevo mañana.

Echa un vistazo a las fotos. No creo que el mío tenga la misma brecha, y la pasta no parecía tan gruesa. Sin embargo, no he hecho esto antes, y no tengo ningún punto de referencia. View attachment 914604
[/CITAR]

With my docking station, I was running right around 70°C. After I put in a couple of copper shims and new paste, I am now up over 80. Clearly, I do not know what I am doing when I put it together, and it is now worse.

I’ll try again tomorrow.

Take a look at the pictures. I do not think mine has the same gap, and the paste did not seem that thick. However, I have not done this before, and I have no reference point. View attachment 914604

To begin with, that heatsink is copper, not aluminum ... and if it seems that they have noticed the error and there is less distance ...

 

[kinchee87]

With my docking station, I was running right around 70°C. After I put in a couple of copper shims and new paste, I am now up over 80. Clearly, I do not know what I am doing when I put it together, and it is now worse.

I’ll try again tomorrow.

Take a look at the pictures. I do not think mine has the same gap, and the paste did not seem that thick. However, I have not done this before, and I have no reference point. View attachment 914604

Do you have an 2020 i7? The paste looks just as thick as how mine was. Do you have other details or pictures of how you did the mod?

 

[Loog]

With my docking station, I was running right around 70°C. After I put in a couple of copper shims and new paste, I am now up over 80. Clearly, I do not know what I am doing when I put it together, and it is now worse.

I’ll try again tomorrow.

Take a look at the pictures. I do not think mine has the same gap, and the paste did not seem that thick. However, I have not done this before, and I have no reference point. View attachment 914604

I trust you have cleaned both the heatsink and the CPU as the first step ... sorry to ask but this looks like the original thermal compound. 1 shim should be enough 0.3mm or 0.5mm, you say you have used a couple so what is the overall thickness?

The shim need to fit inside of the recess with small amount of compound on all surfaces, CPU>shim>heatsink

Can you post pictures of all components ?

 

[rba1989]

To begin with, that heatsink is copper, not aluminum ... and if it seems that they have noticed the error and there is less distance ...

That's interesting, it seems that the heatsink material is different depending on the Air 2020 configuration.
For i3 it is aluminum, for i7 - copper. Couldn't find photos of i5 model heatsink, I guess it's aluminum.

Below are the photos of the heatsinks posted in this thread:

 

[agaskew]

With my docking station, I was running right around 70°C. After I put in a couple of copper shims and new paste, I am now up over 80. Clearly, I do not know what I am doing when I put it together, and it is now worse.

I’ll try again tomorrow.

Take a look at the pictures. I do not think mine has the same gap, and the paste did not seem that thick. However, I have not done this before, and I have no reference point. View attachment 914604

I'd be inclined to take the shims out, clean it all again, apply new paste, reassemble without shims, & see what happens. If the heatsink is a better fit then too much shim may be counterproductive.

 

[dcicer1]

With my docking station, I was running right around 70°C. After I put in a couple of copper shims and new paste, I am now up over 80. Clearly, I do not know what I am doing when I put it together, and it is now worse.

I’ll try again tomorrow.

Take a look at the pictures. I do not think mine has the same gap, and the paste did not seem that thick. However, I have not done this before, and I have no reference point. View attachment 914604

hello, perhaps using more shims can be counterproductive, also I hope you have put some thermal paste between the various layers anyway .. this is because, unless a deep lapping has been performed on the shims, these do not have an acceptable roughness to guarantee perfect contact between them.
[automerge]1589360925[/automerge]

I'd be inclined to take the shims out, clean it all again, apply new paste, reassemble without shims, & see what happens. If the heatsink is a better fit then too much shim may be counterproductive.

Using MX4 thermal paste without a shim, MacBook starts being hotter than with original one.
[automerge]1589361305[/automerge]
In any case, I solved all my problems, I applied a thickness of pure cooked copper and now my temperatures are 35-40 ° on safari and 50 ° on youtube-twitch. I purchased this notebook for this use, I already have a windows pc for video editing and drawing .. if I wanted more power I would have bet on a 16 '' macbook pro

 

[SeñorNewton]

I have an i5 and apparently a copper heat sink. Good catch everyone.
I used two 0.5 shims, but not stacked. I trimmed one to fill the entire cut out.

 

[jonatanheyman]

I used two 0.5 shims, but not stacked. I trimmed one to fill the entire cut out.

Did you apply new thermal paste between both the CPU and shims as well as the shims and heatsink?

It looks a little bit like one of the copper shims might not be completely flat (though maybe it's just an illusion from the light in the photo)?

 

[srkirt]

I have an i5 and apparently a copper heat sink. Good catch everyone.
I used two 0.5 shims, but not stacked. I trimmed one to fill the entire cut out.
View attachment 914681

Sandpaper and water ...
Lapping.

 

[SeñorNewton]

I put thermal paste between all of the layers. I’m going to remove the shims in just mX4 back on and see what happens.
[automerge]1589387706[/automerge]

Sandpaper and water ...
Lapping.

That is a great visual of lapping. Thank you.

I did not do anything to the shims, except for clean them very well. They are quite smooth. Oops number 2 for me.

 

[SeñorNewton]

Well.... new MX4 paste and I’m running down in the 40’s.


This is after removing the shims.
Fans are now off instead of idle (~2900 rpms)

It is worth noting that all my temps are reported from MacsFanControl and is using cpu proximity. I noticed this reports about 4-5 degrees cooler than Intel’s Power Gadget.

I have a Webex meeting in 15, and that app stresses the system more than any other video conferencing app. It usually ramps up the fans right up to 8,000.
I’ll report back