MBA overheating in clamshell mode - myth?

[Brandon123]

Hi all,

I'm planning to get a baseline iMac or a Macbook Air + external display as I mainly work at the desk. Some Internet rumors say that Macbooks can overheat if you run them in clamshell mode hooked up to an external display.

Is this just a myth? Does anybody have any experience of running a MBA in clamshell mode with (or without) problems?

Thanks,
Brandon

 

[ftaok]

I would think the thermal sensors on the MBA would trigger and throttle down the CPU/GPU before it got too hot.

In any case, I usually leave my MBA open when I connect to an external monitor because I don't want it to throttle down.

 

[Brandon123]

I would think the thermal sensors on the MBA would trigger and throttle down the CPU/GPU before it got too hot.

In any case, I usually leave my MBA open when I connect to an external monitor because I don't want it to throttle down.

Ok, thanks for the info! But that means your laptop screen is on, right? And running two screens (the MBA screen and the external) is heavier for the CPU/GPU?

 

[Boyd01]

I always use mine open as well. I don't notice any performance difference from driving both screens. I have noticed, however, that if you run an external screen without plugging the MBA into power, the battery drains faster. I assumed this might have something to do with the GPU working harder?

I also always assumed that the MBA would run hotter and this would cause the CPU to slow down, as @ftaok suggested.

 

[Pugly]

Hmm, this might be possible. I run mine in clamshell about 50% of the time, and anecdotally the fan turns on more. It also sometimes just gets really hot to the touch when plugged in.

It would be worthwhile to do some tests to see. I haven't noticed any degradation in performance.

 

[chabig]

My 2013 11" MacBook Air sits vertically closed in a stand all day driving a Thunderbolt display, connected to three external hard drives. It doesn't overheat. Clamshell mode is part of the notebook's design use. If it ever were to get too hot it would take care of itself by shutting down.

 

[Brandon123]

Alright, thanks for the info! I guess it is nothing to worry about then.

 

[MultiFinder17]

My 2011 11" Air runs just fine in clamshell mode, closed and sitting on my desk.

 

[Brandon123]

Update: I am now daily running a MBA in clamshell in vertical stand + 24" monitor, and have not yet experienced any overheating problems.

 

[fokmik]

Ok, thanks for the info! But that means your laptop screen is on, right? And running two screens (the MBA screen and the external) is heavier for the CPU/GPU?

is your apple logo turned on when the lid is closed? no, so the mba screen is off, and its running only the external

 

[Brandon123]

is your apple logo turned on when the lid is closed? no, so the mba screen is off, and its running only the external

Well, I referred to when ftaok left the MBA open.

 

[chrono1081]

Hi all,

I'm planning to get a baseline iMac or a Macbook Air + external display as I mainly work at the desk. Some Internet rumors say that Macbooks can overheat if you run them in clamshell mode hooked up to an external display.

Is this just a myth? Does anybody have any experience of running a MBA in clamshell mode with (or without) problems?

Thanks,
Brandon

Pure myth. I do it all the time. Too many people don't seem to realize that under intensive tasks, computers heat up. True overheating would mean you start to see jitters and freezes before the computer shuts itself off.

 

[Brandon123]

Pure myth

Yep, I have been running clamshell (in vertical stand) for weeks now and never experienced any overheating problems.

 

[Bart Kela]

Some Internet rumors say that Macbooks can overheat if you run them in clamshell mode hooked up to an external display.

It just goes to show you how reliable the Internet is an information source.

 

[Brandon123]

It just goes to show you how reliable the Internet is an information source.

True that

 

[Chicane-UK]

I ran my MacBook Air as my 'desktop' PC for a good 12-18 months like this, even giving it a pasting with games like Diablo III for a couple hours at a time. Never ran into any issues with it. It got warm but it never overheated.

 

[I.T. Support]

okay so after working from home now, i have my 2015 macbook pro updated to the latest software in catalina, i have a dock and i use my macbook in clamshell to connect to my Monitor. when im supporting users i usually use teamviewer or teams or sometimes in a zoom meeting. the screen will go black and disconnect me to teamviewer or zoom call its annoying. has any of you had this issue?

 

[chrfr]

okay so after working from home now, i have my 2015 macbook pro updated to the latest software in catalina, i have a dock and i use my macbook in clamshell to connect to my Monitor. when im supporting users i usually use teamviewer or teams or sometimes in a zoom meeting. the screen will go black and disconnect me to teamviewer or zoom call its annoying. has any of you had this issue?

This should be in a different topic because it’s unrelated to the earlier posts, but if you have a 13 inch MacBook Pro, there’s a bug in the latest security updates for High Sierra and Mojave, as well as Catalina version 10.15.4 which causes the GPU of Macs of that era to restart when using hardware acceleration such as in video conferencing apps. The fix is supposed to be in 10.15.5 which is in beta now and should release in the next week or two.