M2 overheating. No solutions so far?

[Tagbert]

Lack of heat sink already proves that Apple doesn't know how to make a computer. Is this how Mac fanboys support Apple's failure?

There is a heat spreader attached to the M2 with thermal paste. That is what ifixit wiped off. The heat spreader has more surface area than the one in the M1 MBA. The M2 one has a graphite layer for faster heat transfer.

The M2 MBA does not reach its thermal limits under normal operation. You have to run rendering processes that use all the cpu cores and all the GPU cores at once for 15-20 minutes before it gets to its maximum temperate and then it gracefully slows down to a speed that is still faster than the M1.

How is that “Apple’s failure”?

 

[sunny5]

There is a heat spreader attached to the M2 with thermal paste. That is what ifixit wiped off. The heat spreader has more surface area than the one in the M1 MBA. The M2 one has a graphite layer for faster heat transfer.

The M2 MBA does not reach its thermal limits under normal operation. You have to run rendering processes that use all the cpu cores and all the GPU cores at once for 15-20 minutes before it gets to its maximum temperate and then it gracefully slows down to a speed that is still faster than the M1.

How is that “Apple’s failure”?

It's just a metal sheet, not a heat spreader. It doesn't really do anything compared to a heat sink.

So limiting its cooling performance is not a failure? At least M1 has a heat sink. Also, M2 seems to be more hotter than M1 so it is indeed a failure. You just dont wanna admit it.

 

[XboxEvolved]

I found a solution for you. Don't watch clickbait YouTube videos.

 

[leman]

Wrong. I have major reason for disappointment, considering that I wanted it to game occasionally and the performance in that particular workload is hardly an improvement if at all over the m1. And oh yea you got me ill go back and "educate" myself so I can understand points discussing hypotheticals. You said it didn't matter and it does to some of us.

Now this is a reason and concern I can understand and follow. And you are absolutely right, MBA being a marketed as the computer for home/everyday usage means that it should be capable of some basic gaming at least. That said, are there in-depth gaming benchmarks available yet? The only one I've seen is the score for Tom Raider that indeed shows almost no improvements over M1, bit what about other games?

 

[mr_roboto]

Wrong. I have major reason for disappointment, considering that I wanted it to game occasionally and the performance in that particular workload is hardly an improvement if at all over the m1. And oh yea you got me ill go back and "educate" myself so I can understand points discussing hypotheticals. You said it didn't matter and it does to some of us.

You are doing exactly what you are falsely accusing me of. I do not need to think more critically. I have watched every bit of info and figured it won't work for me. For many it will. I could buy one and waste mine and the store I buy it from time because I know it won't work for me. Do you get that? FOR ME. I am not pushing any agenda and anyone that wants it and can afford it should get it. For me the killer was a video of two machines one with the 8core gpu and 10core and the 10core performed worse. These were the same temps and conditions (side by side in fact) and that was good enough for me to see that the 10core fanless machine I wanted wouldn't do what I wanted. Is that too difficult to understand?

Pardon me for assuming that you were a member of the crowd whose ideas I was responding to and critiquing. You didn't actually say you were coming from a totally different angle, you just started flaming me based on weird misunderstandings.

Hardly an improvement over M1 Air gaming performance? I doubt that. But information on that is hard to find right now. Doesn't seem to be something many reviewers cover.

 

[Abazigal]

It's just a metal sheet, not a heat spreader. It doesn't really do anything compared to a heat sink.

So limiting its cooling performance is not a failure? At least M1 has a heat sink. Also, M2 seems to be more hotter than M1 so it is indeed a failure. You just dont wanna admit it.

I feel it's not a "failure" insofar that the M2 still performs on average better than the M1, and it performs about as well as Intel and AMD processors, or better, at half the wattage. It's battery life remains class leading and for the vast majority of people in the market for a MBA, what they can look forward to enjoying is a long running, noiseless laptop that remains cool enough to use on a naked lap (which is one thing I particularly enjoyed about my M1 MBA).

The performance, while "throttled", is the same or better than the prior model, and for most workloads, it will be faster.

What all this "drama" has simply reinforced is that engineering is really all about tradeoffs at the end of the day. You want better cooling, you are gong to need a thicker form factor and a larger fan, which is basically the 14" MBP, and I assume many of the people buying a MBA would happily give that up for a thinner and lighter form factor because for them, the MBA's form is its primary function. They are not going to miss what they don't need.

 

[leman]

While it is clear from past experiences that this poster is not interested in having a constructive discussion I will still reply in case someone else is reading this exchange.

It's just a metal sheet, not a heat spreader. It doesn't really do anything compared to a heat sink.

Given the low TDP of the design does one even need a heat spreader?

So limiting its cooling performance is not a failure? At least M1 has a heat sink. Also, M2 seems to be more hotter than M1 so it is indeed a failure. You just dont wanna admit it.

The cooling performance is limited by the chassis and the fact that it's passively cooled. As repeated over and over again, M2 has better sustained performance and hits the same sustained TDP. Which shows that the cooling solution is adequate given for the design target. And nobody cares that M2 is hotter under load — it has higher peak performance, of course it will be hotter. Again, completely irrelevant. You just don't want to admit it.

 

[Gerdi]

For instance, a "limited" 6800U performs better than an unrestricted 6800U because it has no thermal throttling.

All what this shows is a flawed if not misleading power management system. With "best performance" and "best efficiency" they apparently only refer to CPU performance, which leaves more power to the GPU when the CPU throttles down to 1.4 GHz in the later case.
Also the CPU is already throttled down to 25W and 22W respectively at the beginning of the video.

 

[Mcdevidr]

That is true guys, I suppose there are not many gaming comparisons but the few out there seem to make me wary that I’d get what I want out of the machine. Considering the model I wanted was close in price to the 14 inch (especially with $350 off) I just went with that. The M2 air would probably be fine but I think I’ll wait and see what comes out later and use what I got for now.