Interesting. I wonder why my temps are so much worse. Chip lottery? What were your idle temps before the mod?
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2020 Air Heatsink Modification Thread
- Thread starter ilikewhey
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Interesting. I wonder why my temps are so much worse. Chip lottery? What were your idle temps before the mod?
Yep silicon lottery and possibly the older thermal paste you used ? Mine was just opened for this..
Did not take the temps before mods but if i remeber correctly it was 40 something iddleing. I only took the temps under stress.
Could be also the way you applied thermal paste. If it was a little bit too much, then it will not work properly.
Yeah bro, @daystar's temps are the lowest I've seen on a 10th gen MBA. Pre-modded 40-ish degrees is crazy cool. I'd say chip lottery as well.
The idle ranges for my unmodded MBAs have been:
60-70 for the 2020 i5
60-65 for the 2020 i3 (sent back because I thought maybe it was faulty)
58-63 for the 2020 i3 that replaced it
32-35 for the unmodded 2019 Amber Lake i5 I'm currently using, as a reference point.
Strange. My i3 is in the rane 40C-50C (usually starts below 40C and then settles between 40C to 50C after a while). Perhaps the ambient temp is different.
I'm at the start of a highlands Australian winter (-2c outside, 18c in the house).
Firstly: help me, I'm cold. Colder than our mate in Finnish summer! 😂
Secondly: I think it is just a lottery of three factors. Your chip, how much thick black goo they put on your heatsink, and which heatsink your notebook has from a particular production run.
Ended up keeping the second i3 because my partner needed a new Notebook and it's been working great for her online teaching.
I'm going to mod the 2019 mostly out of boredom and just because I think one of the main (unproven, but hypothetical) benefits of the copper mod is increasingly longevity before chip failure. My idle temps are great, my performance is also fine, but other notebooks I've had with bad thermal contact have had total CPU/GPU failure after two or three years of use.
I suspect that over time the graphite based thick paste that Apple has used might start to harden and crack, which is obviously a bigger deal with a higher TDP 10th gen i5/i7 than it is on a 2019. Still, prevention is better than '****ing ****, I have to buy a new laptop in the middle of a project.'
Barcelona 21º out 25º int bed.
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My MBA is still “in process”, but I will mod, at least repaste (Kryonaut+0.3 @Looq shim). I will try the pad, but remove it if the bottom is too hot. I think it’s clear that the system will run the CPU up to 100C if needed, before throttling back.
I do feel that the lower that the temp is kept, the longer the electronics will last. I don’t plan video editing, but as a doctor, video chat is required, so it’s worth it to me to try and make that work without killing the laptop.
I do feel that the lower that the temp is kept, the longer the electronics will last. I don’t plan video editing, but as a doctor, video chat is required, so it’s worth it to me to try and make that work without killing the laptop.
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Take good care of yourself and be cautious, here in Spain we have had a very bad time.
Thanks @srkirt! (Un)fortunately I do mostly elective joint replacements, so I was sidelined for a couple of months there. I saw a few people in clinic, and worked with my friends at the hospital developing the computer note templates for the hospital staff to make notes on the Covid patients, to make it easier on the doctors. We also worked on a telecommunication option to use with patient in the room, with the doctor/nurse not having to enter the room.
I am now 61, and learned basic programming in 1975. I’ve dabbled in computing/tech for many decades. I have built many PCs over the years, and have repasted several laptops. I look forward to this project.
muchas gracias senor! (With a pronounced Mexican accent, having learned Spanish in Texas, I don’t have a true Spanish accent)
I have the feeling that the thermal paste needs some time to settle and spread itself. My score is getting higher and higher. I will add a heatpad just out of curiosity but the shim mod performs excellent. Now at 3920 at GB multicore in an i5, without pad.
[QUOTE = "Bones13, publicación: 28525048, miembro: 234561"]
Gracias [USER = 1212547] @srkirt [/ USER]! (Des) afortunadamente realizo principalmente reemplazos de articulaciones electivas, por lo que estuve fuera durante un par de meses allí. Vi a algunas personas en la clínica y trabajé con mis amigos en el hospital desarrollando las plantillas de notas de computadora para que el personal del hospital tomara notas sobre los pacientes de Covid, para que sea más fácil para los médicos. También trabajamos en una opción de telecomunicaciones para usar con el paciente en la habitación, sin que el médico / enfermera tenga que ingresar a la habitación.
Ahora tengo 61 años y aprendí programación básica en 1975. He incursionado en informática / tecnología durante muchas décadas. He construido muchas PC a lo largo de los años y he repasado varias computadoras portátiles. Espero con interés este proyecto.
muchas gracias señor! (Con un pronunciado acento mexicano, después de haber aprendido español en Texas, no tengo un acento español verdadero)
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[automerge]1591102515[/automerge]
[automerge]1591103039[/automerge]
Good to receive the Grizzly paste and the truth is that I do not see any difference (only the price) from the previous one that was the DeepCool Z5 - Z5 ...
I will only have to try the Noctua ... This pasta is a scam ...
Gracias [USER = 1212547] @srkirt [/ USER]! (Des) afortunadamente realizo principalmente reemplazos de articulaciones electivas, por lo que estuve fuera durante un par de meses allí. Vi a algunas personas en la clínica y trabajé con mis amigos en el hospital desarrollando las plantillas de notas de computadora para que el personal del hospital tomara notas sobre los pacientes de Covid, para que sea más fácil para los médicos. También trabajamos en una opción de telecomunicaciones para usar con el paciente en la habitación, sin que el médico / enfermera tenga que ingresar a la habitación.
Ahora tengo 61 años y aprendí programación básica en 1975. He incursionado en informática / tecnología durante muchas décadas. He construido muchas PC a lo largo de los años y he repasado varias computadoras portátiles. Espero con interés este proyecto.
muchas gracias señor! (Con un pronunciado acento mexicano, después de haber aprendido español en Texas, no tengo un acento español verdadero)
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You are like me from the time of 386 !!! hahaha Msdos, Cobol, Basic, Pascal etc etc. What times were those when I bought (my father) the Spectrum ZX !!! with cassette tape ... Most of here will not know that time, then as a musician I am it cost me a lot of money to have an Atari 1050st to record music. I hope for the news that reaches me here that the riots calm down and I send you an affectionate greeting from Barcelona.
[automerge]1591102515[/automerge]
[automerge]1591103039[/automerge]
Good to receive the Grizzly paste and the truth is that I do not see any difference (only the price) from the previous one that was the DeepCool Z5 - Z5 ...
I will only have to try the Noctua ... This pasta is a scam ...
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Try Gelid gc extreme if you need paste, thats the one i use after reading reviews, its also more affordable than grizzly.
Finally I'm using zoom, temperature never above 68º and fans @ around 2000 rpm. I'm very happy with the result 
What's performance in Chrome like? I'm considering buying the i5 MBA. Can anybody give me some insight? I am very interested in doing only the thermal pad mod, maybe shim if necessary. I've seen people complain before about Chrome before and I'm a heavy chrome user. I also need it for web development.
Heat and performance should be the least of your worries using Chrome with the pad/shim
#privacyChrome with the mods work great. Pad only effectiveness is still unknown - some have had good success. Just need a bigger sample size.
Pretty much the modded i5 MBA is a perfect machine for a lot of use cases outside of video/photo/CAD editing etc. It can do a lot post mod. I use Sketch, Hearthstone, Zoom, VSCode, opera, brave, mycrypto, XMR nodes, etc doing all sorts of crazy **** and it works fine. Sometimes I hit max fans after 30 minutes of intensive work or some gaming but 99% of the time no/sub3k rpm fans, heat below 60C, no performance hiccups, no burning quads.
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Hm, now I'm torn between the i5 16GB Air and 16gb base MBP; it's a 225€ more (screw Apple who doubled the price of RAM upgrades suddenly) and I get a better screen, speakers, slightly faster SSD, a worse GPU and better cooling. On the other side I like the Air more. I don't like the Touchbar and the shape is sleeker and it's almost 20% cheaper.
Does the Air's bottom get very hot with the pad mod?
Does the Air's bottom get very hot with the pad mod?
I don't think anyone's actually taken temperature readings with an IR thermometer before and after. That'd be really useful info.
Im wondering why we have so unlike results for OpenCL and Metal. As I have the i5 / 8 / 256 and my non mod scores are almost on level with your mod points.
Singel: 1171
Multi: 2936
Metal: 8034
OpenCL: 7788
Singel: 1171
Multi: 2936
Metal: 8034
OpenCL: 7788
| Test Type | Original (Points) | Mod (Points) | Improvement |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU (Single-core) | 1,214 | 1,256 | 3.5% |
| CPU (Multi-core) | 2,992 | 3,886 | 29.9% |
| Compute (OpenCL) | 3,825 | 8,525 | 122.9% |
| Compute (Metal) | 4,285 | 9,727 | 127.0% |
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will plot some temperatures with and without heatpad if i get my arctic pad tomorrow. Hope with heatpad i can get 4k in GB and almost the peak performance of an MBP 2020.
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@dipdop123 Yes it does, or did on mine which I backed off (MBA 2018), and this was only because of back to back video calls which really drives the machine insane while it is sitting in my lap and I'm wearing shorts.
Don't get me wrong here, the back plate doesn't heat up like a hotplate but there is a difference which you can feel when its direct on skin, if I guess 5 deg, you'd never notice if the device was on a desk. I look forward to @nill1234 more scientific readings than my legs !!LOL
I've said it before, but this thread is super exciting. Way to go with all your findings fellas!
I'm considering a Air for the wife and this mod seem to be essential (unless you get lucky and get a good pasted unit of course).
So, just to be sure, have you agreed on best least-intrusive way?
Copper shim 0,2-0,3mm on the CPU (grease both sides of the shim?) and a 2-3mm heatpad between the heatsink and case?
I'm considering a Air for the wife and this mod seem to be essential (unless you get lucky and get a good pasted unit of course).
So, just to be sure, have you agreed on best least-intrusive way?
Copper shim 0,2-0,3mm on the CPU (grease both sides of the shim?) and a 2-3mm heatpad between the heatsink and case?
I've said it before, but this thread is super exciting. Way to go with all your findings fellas!
I'm considering a Air for the wife and this mod seem to be essential (unless you get lucky and get a good pasted unit of course).
So, just to be sure, have you agreed on best least-intrusive way?
Copper shim 0,2-0,3mm on the CPU (grease both sides of the shim?) and a 2-3mm heatpad between the heatsink and case?
From looking at the results I'd say the heatpad is very much 'what's your use case?'
It bumps up the multicore score a bit more than just the shim, but does increase the case temperature (we still don't know by how much).
So if it's at a desk and you want max sustained performance for a 12w chip, the shim and the heat pad would be the way to go.
I'd say if you want a thin, light and still very powerful notebook that's mobile, the shim and repaste will be enough for 90% of users.