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2020 Air Heatsink Modification Thread
- Thread starter ilikewhey
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Probably alot to ask, but would it be possible to get some pictures of each step?
Just go through this thread from the beginning, there are a lot of pictures here. I won't be opening my MBA until probably next week, when Kryonaut paste arrives. Will take some pictures then.
Should I be concerned about the erratic spikes in heat? Did I apply too much thermal paste that prevents an even flow of heat to the shim? Just curious - some other poster's graphs look more linear.
Last test.
Single core: 835. Macbook Pro Early 2016 i7: 770.
Multi core: 1795. " : 1816.
Open CL: 4557. Original: 3992. AMD Radeon R5: 4520.
Single core: 835. Macbook Pro Early 2016 i7: 770.
Multi core: 1795. " : 1816.
Open CL: 4557. Original: 3992. AMD Radeon R5: 4520.
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Nice. I went the 2020 MBP route, but this is really interesting! Seems to really make the 2020 MBA a viable option, even thou I probably will stick with the Pro. How thick thermal pad? 2mm?
You can check out my photos in post #1,003 or @Robotronic's in post #930.
If your load is also spiky, then I wouldn't worry about it. This is what I get from normal usage:
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I spread it with the small plastic tool that came with the MX4. From my original picture, I didn't have a lot of clearance between the die and heat sink, and I have a copper heat sink instead of aluminum. I did not seem to have the same gap between the heat sink and the die, so I seemed to be a better starting place.
I am going to try the addition of the pad that others have been doing.
Yeah that to me just looks like how Speed Shift + Turbo Boost work on Intel's 10th gen processors. The spikes are fine as long as you get the rapid return at idle, it's how it's designed to work.
If the gap is anywhere near what I had, just the new paste won't be enough. Most of the thermal paste I know (Arctic Silver, MX-4) is more liquid than solid. This means that with the wide gap between the CPU and the heatsink, even if you put a lot of paste, it will settle down and lose contact with the heatsink. Apple's paste is (from the looks of it) graphite-based and more solid than liquid.
Shim and envelopes are now in so I’m in a position to get these shipped out. For Everyone who has expressed an interest via PM, thank you I’ll contact you directly, if you can let me know if you are still interested. These are £10 with international shipping to most places. PM for details
For those new to the thread see this post for shims that are pre made to size and should be just drop in: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/2020-air-heatsink.2227066/post-28455472
While I appreciate these are more expensive that the 15x15 at $8 for 10 which require some fettling... lets be honest how many MBA do you own? These were made for fun and will suit those who are looking for a simple install.
I have no plans to get more made, to make these scalable I need to order 1000 to get the prices close to £1.40 mark and there doesn't appear to be that level of interest so I'm out unless I can be convinced otherwise. The project has been fun to be part of and watching this unfold on the forum with some amazing success stories.
I have 10 x 0.3mm and 10 x 0.5mm both sizes have been used on all retina MBA, specify your preference but accept size choice is first come once sizes have gone. I need these all to go to break even, again to be transparent I may drop the price of these to move them on at a later stage to recoup partial costs so don't be bitter over the price of a coffee if this effects you later.
For those new to the thread see this post for shims that are pre made to size and should be just drop in: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/2020-air-heatsink.2227066/post-28455472
While I appreciate these are more expensive that the 15x15 at $8 for 10 which require some fettling... lets be honest how many MBA do you own? These were made for fun and will suit those who are looking for a simple install.
I have no plans to get more made, to make these scalable I need to order 1000 to get the prices close to £1.40 mark and there doesn't appear to be that level of interest so I'm out unless I can be convinced otherwise. The project has been fun to be part of and watching this unfold on the forum with some amazing success stories.
I have 10 x 0.3mm and 10 x 0.5mm both sizes have been used on all retina MBA, specify your preference but accept size choice is first come once sizes have gone. I need these all to go to break even, again to be transparent I may drop the price of these to move them on at a later stage to recoup partial costs so don't be bitter over the price of a coffee if this effects you later.
this thread definitely took another direction from the original intent i had when made it, i'm planning on changing the 1st post to a user information guide,
what would you guys like to see in the 1st post, i'm thinking the different thermal paste recommended, and methods and results consulated from this thread so far.
what would you guys like to see in the 1st post, i'm thinking the different thermal paste recommended, and methods and results consulated from this thread so far.
@ilikewhey Thats a great idea... it sure is a long read from top to bottom. There have been some great contribution here by so many people, capturing them all will be a challenge. I would suggest (and others please feel free to add/challenge) would be to have some overview of the thread, identify the 3 mods clearly benefits seen, components needed and link to some of the well written walk throughs for 2018 > 2020 with performance increases / temp decreases for each. Don't forget to mention srkirt who has totally transformed his hardware in the quest for power.
Yeah awesome idea. I'd base it off this thread, the OG of 'this laptop runs too hot, what do I do': http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/dell-xps-m1330-nvidia-geforce-8400m-gs-copper-mod.268081/
It steps out the info, the identified issue, the solution available, and the steps to implementing the solution in a really clear way. There are enough pictures in this thread that you could piece together a decent how to.
I'd also separate it out into 2018/2019 mods and 2020 mods, as the heat sinks are slightly different (and because of the different CPU architecture, the thermal improvements people get are very dependent on year and CPU type).
Obviously the Dell XPS M1330 copper mod was designed to stop CPU/GPU failure (which we have no indication of the 2020 MBA exhibiting yet), but I think it's fair to frame it as a modification to improve thermal management if you're noticing heat issues, that provides a modest improvement in performance, and is relatively easy to do.
And who knows, as some users have already reported hardening/cracking of their factory graphite-based thermal paste, it might help with longevity and preventing CPU failure (although it'll take years to prove/disprove that hypothesis).
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Ah man I just ordered mine from Amazon cause I was bored. UK to Australia shipping is probably pretty intense though. Regardless, thanks heaps for doing this!
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I have photos, but I removed them ... since I started cutting two tin plates of Red Bull until today.
Look at my tests a little higher and you will see that I have achieved the performance of a Pro ... only with ventilation and heat dissipation ...
Apple has done it intentionally ... have no doubt about it ... and several devices not only in the MBA 2018/2019/2020 also in PRO.
here is my template
starting guide to modification for heat dissipation improvement
please fill this out like a survey and i'll consolidate them
1) convincing argument on why you should do this
2) the before and after results with temperature charts
3) the recommended thermal paste you used
4) ?? copper? aluminium block for the gap?
share your worthwhile pictures of the process would also be appreciated.
starting guide to modification for heat dissipation improvement
please fill this out like a survey and i'll consolidate them
1) convincing argument on why you should do this
2) the before and after results with temperature charts
3) the recommended thermal paste you used
4) ?? copper? aluminium block for the gap?
share your worthwhile pictures of the process would also be appreciated.
Real world testing on VC apps today...
On a 30 minute call....
BEFORE MOD:
100C within 5 minutes
Max fans within 5minutes
AFTER MOD:
Fans never went above 3.5k RPM and took 10 minutes to turn on
Temps hit 80C within 5 minutes
Temps mainly fluctuated between 80-90C
See below for metrics logged during a call
Again, VERY VERY VERY happy with the mod and outcome. I can use my MBA without full blast Fans or running 100C for long periods of time for trivial work/tasks.
On a 30 minute call....
BEFORE MOD:
100C within 5 minutes
Max fans within 5minutes
AFTER MOD:
Fans never went above 3.5k RPM and took 10 minutes to turn on
Temps hit 80C within 5 minutes
Temps mainly fluctuated between 80-90C
See below for metrics logged during a call
Again, VERY VERY VERY happy with the mod and outcome. I can use my MBA without full blast Fans or running 100C for long periods of time for trivial work/tasks.
hope you don't mind, i'm gonna use your data for the 1st page user guide.
I’ve posted some load/temperature curves, before and after, a few pages/posts above. Feel free to include them as well.
Go ahead, everything is for the better of the community here
Hope you end up buying a MBA -> the mod really makes a difference. I wonder if we added a heatpip similar to the MBP what type of performance/thermal optimizations we'd see. I think we did max out performance that Apple/Intel crippled at the binary but still curious. Even if performance stayed the same but temps never exceeded 75C would be interesting.