Modern SoCs throttle in a fanless design...

[exoticSpice]

People need understand that it's part of the design of the fanless MBA. It's designed to throttle.


This is confirmed by an ex-Nuvia employee and a chip analyst.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1548771664430858241

 

[doboy]

I mean, isn't this obvious to everyone Either this or shut down. I guess burning up is an option too, haha.

 

[exoticSpice]

I mean, isn't this obvious to everyone Either this or shut down. I guess burning up is an option too, haha.

Nope. the videos online make it that everyone is shocked the M2 Air thottles

 

[MK500]

Yup, throttling is normal. Also heatsinks are a thing. A good thing that reduces the need to throttle.

 

[exoticSpice]

Also heatsinks are a thing. A good thing that reduces the need to throttle.

Yep and Apple did not use a heatsink cause it's thin. It's an AIR afterall that is thinner than the M1 Air. Heatsinks do lessen throttling but do not 100% prevent it.

The M1 Air had a heatsink as it was thicker and the M1 Air still throttled. Apple even said the M2 13" Pro was the one for sustained workloads.

 

[thadoggfather]

I almost feel like the 'thermal throttling' gate thing is to steal attention away from the much more significant SSD 'issue'

on this one I completely agree people need to chill.. Buy a computer with a fan if you're worried about it, end of tale.

 

[MK500]

Apple was very brave to remove the heatsink! The future is heatsink-less!

 

[1096bimu]

Throttle is the best design because it is the better alternative between the two ACTUAL choices:

1. The chassis can support 100 points of cooling, you install a chip that generates 100 points of heat for 100 points of performance, all the time, no throttling
2. the chassis can support 100 points of cooling, you install a chip that generates 200 points of heat for 150 points of performance, it will throttle after a short burst of 150 point performance.

Obviously anybody with a brain will recognize 2 is better. It's just that the haters are in fantasy land where they think there's another chassis that can support 200 points of cooling. Well actually there is, it's called the MacBook Pro, but that's not the point.
The point is, the available thermal envelope is already set in stone, do you stick exactly with that envelope for 100 performance, or do you allow for bursts of speed on top of that 100 performance? Why the hell not?

To give another example, you're on a road trip in a slow camper van, it can't get over 60mph on flat ground. However you encounter some down slopes, do you accelerate to over 60mph to save some time, or do you stick with 60 because you know at the end of the slope you'll be forced back to 60mph? WHO CARES that you can't sustain over 60MPH? Saved time is saved time who's gonna say no to that?

 

[Xiao_Xi]

Making a fanless laptop is a marketing ploy that favors form over function to demonstrate how energy efficient Mx SoCs are. I doubt that Mx SoCs would lose appeal if they had a fan.

I wonder if future MBAs will go back to having a fan.

 

[exoticSpice]

Apple was very brave to remove the heatsink! The future is heatsink-less!

Yes you are not the target market. Do phones and ipads pros/airs have heat sinks????

 

[quarkysg]

Making a fanless laptop is a marketing ploy that favors form over function to demonstrate how energy efficient Mx SoCs are. I doubt that Mx SoCs would lose appeal if they had a fan.

I wonder if future MBAs will go back to having a fan.

Powering a fan takes away energy that can be used for computing, so I wouldn't say it is form over function. Reduces weight too, if the SoC does not need a fan and heat sink.

 

[exoticSpice]

Making a fanless laptop is a marketing ploy that favors form over function to demonstrate how energy efficient Mx SoCs are. I doubt that Mx SoCs would lose appeal if they had a fan.

Apple already makes a macbook M1/2 with a fan called the MBP 13" and also a mac mini M1 also has a fan. The fanless Air is for people who want no dust getting in the case or doing light tasks.

I wonder if future MBAs will go back to having a fan.

Well M3 is supposed to be 3nm. Now if Apple Sillcon is going to 5nm++++++ forever then MBA will have to a fan.

But the likely hood is 3nm from TMSC next year is going to be moer efficient node.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Yup, throttling is normal. Also heatsinks are a thing. A good thing that reduces the need to throttle.

You keep trying to disparage Apple and the M2 and keep missing. You need to stop trying to find fault where there isn't any. Making assumptions without any facts in evidence is more logical fallacy posting on your part.

 

[exoticSpice]

The steam deck also throttles when it's get hot and Deck has a fan and heatsink. The SoC's/CPUs are designed to be like this guys when they get hot they slow down and Apple designed the M1/M2 Air to do the same.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1549467955754217473

 

[Xiao_Xi]

The steam deck also throttles when it's get hot and Deck has a fan and heatsink. The SoC's/CPUs are designed to be like this guys when they get hot they slow down and Apple designed the M1/M2 Air to do the same.

Only Apple can make a fanless laptop because their SoCs are more energy efficient than other SoCs, but should they?

Apple already makes a macbook M1/2 with a fan called the MBP 13" and also a mac mini M1 also has a fan.

Wouldn't it have made more sense for Apple's product line to add a fan to the new redesigned MBA and ditch the 13" MBP?

The fanless Air is for people who want no dust getting in the case or doing light tasks.

Intel MBAs were also designed for light use, but had a fan. But, a fanless MBA stands out more among ultralaptops than if it had a fan.

 

[mi7chy]

The steam deck also throttles when it's get hot and Deck has a fan and heatsink. The SoC's/CPUs are designed to be like this guys when they get hot they slow down and Apple designed the M1/M2 Air to do the same.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1549467955754217473

35C ambient is 95F. You're confusing Steam Deck throttling due to high ambient temperature vs M2 throttling under normal ambient temperature or air conditioned environment.

 

[leman]

Wouldn't it have made more sense for Apple's product line to add a fan to the new redesigned MBA and ditch the 13" MBP?

Even when throttling, M2 Air offers very competitive performance compared to similar laptops. In normal every day tasks which do not need sustained operation it’s performance is first class. I dint give there is any fundamental problem with the laptop itself given the intended market. One can complain about throttling etc. but then one really forgets that x86 CPUs have been massively throttling by design for years (turbo frequency vs. boost frequency) and folks are ok with it simply because they are used to it.

They could have done what you suggest and equipped the Air with a fan + ditch the MBP, but I doubt it would result in better business for Apple. Their capability of producing the new Air is likely constrained by display panel supply and it also makes business sense to differentiate the products by their sustained performance. Offering the Air as a consumer platform is a defensible choice, it’s not like Apple deliberate cripples the laptop or anything. I would have preferred to see the sustained TDP at 15W rather than 10W, but that’s physics for you.

 

[MayaUser]

Back in the day where the 12" Macbook Intel hit over 100C...nobody made a fuss ,that dust is done and over...
Now we have 20 times more performance than that but we cry about some throttling

 

[MayaUser]

The steam deck also throttles when it's get hot and Deck has a fan and heatsink. The SoC's/CPUs are designed to be like this guys when they get hot they slow down and Apple designed the M1/M2 Air to do the same.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1549467955754217473

ofc...otherwise they shut down
I got mine Intel devices a lot of shut down/restarts back in the days

 

[MayaUser]

Only Apple can make a fanless laptop because their SoCs are more energy efficient than other SoCs, but should they?


Wouldn't it have made more sense for Apple's product line to add a fan to the new redesigned MBA and ditch the 13" MBP?


Intel MBAs were also designed for light use, but had a fan. But, a fanless MBA stands out more among ultralaptops than if it had a fan.

Apple made the Intel 12" Macbook...but nobody expect something in terms of performance from that fanless Intel mac so nobody cared about these things
Now even talking about pushing this M2 Mba to its limits says a lot of the potential of its performance

 

[throAU]

Fan-carrying desktop alder lakes do the same thing.

 

[throAU]

Making a fanless laptop is a marketing ploy that favors form over function to demonstrate how energy efficient Mx SoCs are. I doubt that Mx SoCs would lose appeal if they had a fan.

I wonder if future MBAs will go back to having a fan.

Fanless means one less thing to stop working and break. It is also silent.

If you want guaranteed silence and are willing to trade a little performance, the fan-less MBA is 100% the way to go.

 

[leman]

Fanless means one less thing to stop working and break. It is also silent.

Not to mention that fanless fixes the issue with dust accumulation inside the machine.

 

[Xiao_Xi]

Not to mention that fanless fixes the issue with dust accumulation inside the machine.

What dust protection should the MBA have: dust-protected (5) or dust-tight (6)? Does Apple's marketing take advantage of this?

Edit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_Code#First_digit:_Solid_particle_protection

 

[leman]

What dust protection should the MBA have: dust-protected (5) or dust-tight (6)? Does Apple's marketing take advantage of this?

I have no idea what any of these labels mean. If you talking about the ingress protection codes, I doubt that MBA fulfils the criteria and I don't remember Apple ever claiming they do.

What I mean is the that all actively cooled computers have — fans and vents eventually getting clogged with dust, not the ingress protection from fine dust etc.