Mine too..... and I have a rubber case on mine. Yeah that's why it gets warm but to feel warmth through 1/8 inch rubber says a lot.
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M1 Air with Thermal Pad Mod
- Thread starter downshiftdre
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I just read through the thread and must say that I am probably also going to install the thermal pad after I feel that my M1 MBA16/1TB is too hot anyways most of the time.
I am running it on a LG 34" 5K Display and placed it just below the display so that I can use the Keyboard and Trackpad of the MacBook and also its screen. But using it this way it is constantly quite warm on its surface where my hands are resting. I just checked the temperature with iStat Menus and the battery is constantly at around 42 Celsius even when it's not charging.
I think the 5K Display is causing the MacBook to heat up as I don't have any CPU or GPU intense tasks running.
So I hope to get the heat to the bottomcase rather than the top case of the Air. As I am using the Keyboard and Trackpad of it, I can't put it somewhere elevated. I would really like to know if it can cool through the Bottomcase enough like this when it's placed on my desk.
Any thoughts?
I am running it on a LG 34" 5K Display and placed it just below the display so that I can use the Keyboard and Trackpad of the MacBook and also its screen. But using it this way it is constantly quite warm on its surface where my hands are resting. I just checked the temperature with iStat Menus and the battery is constantly at around 42 Celsius even when it's not charging.
I think the 5K Display is causing the MacBook to heat up as I don't have any CPU or GPU intense tasks running.
So I hope to get the heat to the bottomcase rather than the top case of the Air. As I am using the Keyboard and Trackpad of it, I can't put it somewhere elevated. I would really like to know if it can cool through the Bottomcase enough like this when it's placed on my desk.
Any thoughts?
OK, after checking around a bit I found that the temperature came through a problem with Oversight (Objective-see) and Big Sur. I updated to the beta and now my battery temperature is steady at 36 Celsius when connected to the 5K Monitor.
I already ordered the Thermal Pads, so I guess I have to try anyways
I already ordered the Thermal Pads, so I guess I have to try anyways
While the Thermal Pad mod will draw the heat away from the processor / memory package more quickly than allowing it to permeate and dissipate, the heat travels into the base of the Air and uses that as a heat sink. Increasing the air flow over the machine will help, even something as simple as raising the back of the machine slightly. I've read of others who just have a silent cooling fan / desktop fan at the side of the machine, gently blowing air over the keyboard.
In my tests, just popping the modded MBA on a laptop stand made a big difference under heavy load, e.g. Handbrake. No fans required. This is the set up I use for serious handbrake compressions running overnight. As the graph shows you get top performance flat out for a few minutes without the stand, essentially until the bottom case heats up. After that the stand and mod does a better job than the fanned MacBook Pro.
Advice: use a 2mm thermal pad. 3mm will have 50% more insulation for the same material.
Advice: use a 2mm thermal pad. 3mm will have 50% more insulation for the same material.
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Reviews keep quoting GeekBench scores so, for comparison purposes, I just ran GeekBench on my MBA (M1, 8GB, 7 GPU, i.e. base model, with the cheapest 2mm thermal pad over the main part of the heatsink only).
Here is the GeekBench page for Macs:
My scores are here:
Summary:
Single-core: 1747
Multi-core: 7689
The single-core score is faster than anything showing on the GeekBench chart (which averages user-submitted scores) for any Mac model. The multi-core score, is just 3.4% less than the latest 8-core 3.5GHz Xenon, £5499 Mac Pro. Single and multi-core scores are faster than any listed M1 Mac model.
This thermal pad mod is possibly the greatest bang per buck of any upgrade in 35 years of upgrading Macs!
Here is the GeekBench page for Macs:
My scores are here:
MacBook Air (Late 2020) - Geekbench
Benchmark results for a MacBook Air (Late 2020) with an Apple M1 processor.
browser.geekbench.com
Summary:
Single-core: 1747
Multi-core: 7689
The single-core score is faster than anything showing on the GeekBench chart (which averages user-submitted scores) for any Mac model. The multi-core score, is just 3.4% less than the latest 8-core 3.5GHz Xenon, £5499 Mac Pro. Single and multi-core scores are faster than any listed M1 Mac model.
This thermal pad mod is possibly the greatest bang per buck of any upgrade in 35 years of upgrading Macs!
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I ran Geekbench 5 on my M1 Air 16GB/1TB model. I use my machine for heavy gaming during the week while I’m working. No thermal pad mod.
Running the machine elevated with a fan prevents throttle. Although, this run in the photo was just on a desk.
I play rust, so this game pushes this M1 really hard. Tons of ram usage, massive cpu usage, and 100% GPU usage for hours on end.
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And your point is?I ran Geekbench 5 on my M1 Air 16GB/1TB model. I use my machine for heavy gaming during the week while I’m working. No thermal pad mod.
Running the machine elevated with a fan prevents throttle. Although, this run in the photo was just on a desk.
I play rust, so this game pushes this M1 really hard. Tons of ram usage, massive cpu usage, and 100% GPU usage for hours on end.
I am merely demonstrating that Geekbench 5 isn’t the best representation to demonstrate the benefits of thermal pads being installed on a M1 Air MacBook is all.
tp3443, no, I believe I have already done the best demonstration in #205 and others before.
"Elevated with a fan" does not appeal. The beauty of the MBA is that it is fan-less and therefore totally silent. This changes the architecture of a recording studio! There is no need for a separate booth. There are many other use-cases for an incredibly fast but totally silent machine.
Anyone able to share links to which pads they're buying and from where? So many random ones on eBay and Amazon, including fujipoly ones... many in oddball sizes.
Which thickness are you all using? I saw 2mm recommended but I also see that one should be skinnier than the other?
Which thickness are you all using? I saw 2mm recommended but I also see that one should be skinnier than the other?
Amazon UK
Zerone 100x100x2.0mm CPU Thermal Pad, Silicon Thermal Conductivity Sheet Insulation Paste Gap Filler Heatsink Cooling Pads (Black)
I just applied it to the higer part of the heatsink. The black of this particular pad matches the colour of the heatsink. About a fiver £ 5
There is a cult of PC hackers that I believe this thread inherits from. I obtained stellar results from using the cheapest available 2mm thick thermal pad over the main part of the heatsink only. There is a slightly recessed part of the heatsink furthest away fro the M1 chip which would require a very small piece of 3mm pad to contact with the back case. I really doubt it would make any difference as the heat is already dissipated before then.
Specifications for thermal pads can be deceiving. Something that looks three or four times worse is still more than needed for the job and a couple of orders of magnitude better than air only.
I bought "Chivs86 PC Cooling® HY100 - 10cm x 10cm / 100mm x 100mm Thermal Adhesive Silicone Heatsink Pad 2 W/m-k (2.0mm Thickness)" from Amazon at £2.64 delivered.
Any 3mm pad will of course be 50% worse at conducting as a 2mm pad with the same W/mk specification and unnecessary to contact the rear case with the main part of the heatsink.
I remain smug that the benchmarks my base model MBA achieves outdo the very latest M1 iMacs. Do invest in a stand though for serious flat-out work.
Specifications for thermal pads can be deceiving. Something that looks three or four times worse is still more than needed for the job and a couple of orders of magnitude better than air only.
I bought "Chivs86 PC Cooling® HY100 - 10cm x 10cm / 100mm x 100mm Thermal Adhesive Silicone Heatsink Pad 2 W/m-k (2.0mm Thickness)" from Amazon at £2.64 delivered.
Any 3mm pad will of course be 50% worse at conducting as a 2mm pad with the same W/mk specification and unnecessary to contact the rear case with the main part of the heatsink.
I remain smug that the benchmarks my base model MBA achieves outdo the very latest M1 iMacs. Do invest in a stand though for serious flat-out work.
£2.64! Cheapskate 😉
I was feeling ripped off having paid a fiver for my thermal pad then I checked out your link and saw that not only was the pad you used out of stock, it was also the wrong colour. Everyone knows that a black thermal pad is waaay better😉😎
Tenkaykev, it is a little like when does the colour of your underpants matter? The day you get rundown and realise you are wearing pink underpants? Which is worse? Hopefully no one will ever see the colour of my thermal pad - apart from followers of this thread.
I like to think that my thermal pad is sitting inside my Air, dark and brooding and resembling the Obelisk in 2001. 😁 ( I also wear red socks if I’m riding my red Brommie, I’m a bit ocd like that )Tenkaykev, it is a little like when does the colour of your underpants matter? The day you get rundown and realise you are wearing pink underpants? Which is worse? Hopefully no one will ever see the colour of my thermal pad - apart from followers of this thread.
Apple's engineer's have an inkling of what they are doing and serve a global audience. Thermal pads will displace more heat to the Air's baseplate, equally in time heat soak will occur, hence why the 13" MBP has an active cooling solution. If the notebook didn't need it Apple would never put the fan in the 13" M1 MBP as it would be a cost saving to them.
If you feel the MBA may fall short on performance, go for a 13" M1 MBP or wait on the M1X or what ever Apple release's next...
Q-6
If you feel the MBA may fall short on performance, go for a 13" M1 MBP or wait on the M1X or what ever Apple release's next...
Q-6
I say let the people do their thermal pad thing. Apple engineers know what they're doing, but they're also bound by regulations (e.g. how hot can the bottom of the machine get). If anyone's fine with the bottom getting hotter, at their own risk, this is a great, cheap, harmless hack to give the machine a little more thermal headroom.
Thanks for the reply. I grabbed this (US) for $4.39 -> https://www.amazon.com/Zopsc-100x100x2mm-Conductive-Viscosity-Conductivity/dp/B07VP517JY
I also have the stand pictured a few posts back that I plan to use. Thanks timmillea
I also have the stand pictured a few posts back that I plan to use. Thanks timmillea
Gorilla_butter, You are welcome. I hope you have your pentalobe P5 screwdriver ready. I had to order one especially and I imagine the only time I will ever use it again is if I have to remove the thermal pad to send my MBA for repair.
So this is something I've been wondering myself. I have the 8core gpu 16gb 512 ssd mba. This is my first macos device and i've had it maybe 2-3 weeks now.
Outside of using it for work I do play DOTA2 on it and I can tell when it starts throttling. I keep the MBA in clamshell mode on a wooden desk plugged into an external monitor. The base gets pretty hot. i can even touch the top and feel the heat sometimes.
Are you saying that if I elevate it off the desk I will get better performance/less throttling?
Does it make a difference if it's a vertical type stand or does it have to be like the one in your picture? (can you send a link for that as well please)
P.S I was thinking about doing the mod to prevent the throttling.
If your MBA is un-modded (as per this thread), then most of its heat is released through the strip behind the keyboard and the keyboard itself. Clamshell mode clearly constrains heat dissipation.
A wooden desk is an insulator so this too reduces dissipation. This would especially be the case if your MBA has the thermal pad mod.
The laptop stand can be found simply by searching for "Griffin laptop stand". I bought mine about 13 years ago on someone else's recommendation simply to make my MacBook better to use in a 'hot-desk' scenario. With Apple's Magic keyboard & trackpad, it is also the ideal travelling companion. I am using it now as I type this travelling in Greece. With the modded MBA, the stand performs the perfect extra duty of lifting the fan-less MBA off the desk and provides an incline to allow heat to escape from the bottom case. I have detailed the percentage improvement in performance the stand alone achieves in the charts and my comments earlier in this thread.
A 'vertical' stand would have the issue of keeping the MBA in clamshell mode and therefore not allowing the heat to escape through the keyboard plate. Maximum air circulation is the key for extracting the potential of the M1 MBA. Others in this thread have used external fans. To me however, one of the beauties of the MBA is its total silence. Besides obvious sound-recording applications without the need for separate booth, it is amazing just how much of the natural environment you can hear without even a quiet fan constantly masking so much of it.
Hope this helps. Tim.
Thank a lot Tim. This helped a lot. I found the stand on Amazon and will purchase.
I feel silly that I used the laptop in clamshell mode while gaming, keeping all that heat in there. As i mentioned before this is my first MacOs device and I'm just accustomed to using my surface pro and surface laptop closed that it totally slipped me.
For now, I will game with the laptop open. In the interim I will also look for a home made solution to keep the MBA off the wooden desk until the stand arrives.
After the stand arrives I will then look into doing the mod. I'm paying close attention to what you said earlier: "After that the stand and mod does a better job than the fanned MacBook Pro."
P.S I saw a YouTube video where a cooling pad with fans did not make a performance improvement on a modded M1. I have no interest in such.
Cheers,
Jude
Sorry Tim. One more question. Since an un-modded MBA released heat through the strip behind the keyboard and the keyboard it self and a modded MBA releases the heat through the base of the MBA, if I mod the MBA will it be ok to use it in clamshell mode on the stand or would you still recommend leaving it open on the stand?
The M1 MBA is designed to release most of its heat through the keyboard plate so, even after the mod, it is a major factor - heat rises! We are talking percentages only. Whatever suits you should be paramount.
I usually keep my M1 MBA on a wooden desk in clamshell mode with a big external monitor. When I need performance, I get out the laptop stand and open the MBA up. It also has a transparent keyboard cover - I am prone to spilling drinks - which I also remove. Those percentages add up (actually they multiply
) and together they make a huge difference for heavy work.So yes for top-speed, do the mod (2mm thermal pad - read previous posts) open it up and put it on an inclined stand. Take your compromises as suit you best.
Tim.