Using my Macbook Air in the Sun, heat issues??

[macbookairspain]

Dear all

Bought a macbook air recently and enjoy using it to listen to music and work while laying in the sunshine, only i have noticed it gets increadibly hot and when watching a movie cant quite play it smoothly as it seems to be affected by the heat. The aluminium obviously heats up easily

Should I avoid using it in the sunlight? Are there any addons i can get to keep it cool? Anyone know anything?

Temperatures here in southern Spain now in the summer tend to be around 30ºc (air temperature) but more in direct sunlight.

Thanks in advance

 

[GoCubsGo]

Funny you post this as I was sitting at the pool yesterday and noticed in a matter of moments my fans were up to 6200 RPM and my keys were incredibly hot. Overall it didn't affect performance and I had it on my lap (on a towel), but I thought the same thing.

I cannot imagine the sun being super bad for it providing it's not consistent direct sun. You may want to find an umbrella if you insist on using it for long periods of time by the pool. You can also probably get a laptop cooling pad, which will probably feel good on your lap too. Keep in mind this will cool the machine from the bottom and most likely use more power (if it is that kind of machine) but you cannot prevent the sun from hitting the top.

 

[ayeying]

The black keys absorb heat. Plus, the Aluminum is good at conducting heat so basically your entire laptop turns into a very large heatsink and could affect performance. However, if you put a semi-wet towel under the casing, it can drastically cool the system.

 

[macbookairspain]

Clever idea! Using the principle of air passing over water loses energy to it and coo

Clever idea! Using the principle of air passing over water loses energy to it and cools it down! Any further contributions much appreciated

But I think I will just keep it in the shade thanks guys!

 

[mobilehaathi]

Just make sure its not too wet.....that could turn ugly....

 

[ayeying]

Just make sure its not too wet.....that could turn ugly....

and not too big. Dont want to cover the air vents.

 

[GoCubsGo]

A small wet towel ... a wet towel at all is begging for disaster. Honestly. I get the point but really? As if I'm going to put my laptop on a wet towel of any size. Frankly if I have to work outside and need the Air then I'll use a cooling pad and sit in the shade. Lucky for me a work-issued laptop that I couldn't care less about does wonders as a replacement.

 

[Haverstock]

Gel Cold Pack did the trick

Just picked up an MBA. Noticed the fan maxed out within minutes of being in the sun on my backyard deck. I grabbed a Caldera hot/cold gel pack out of the freezer and set it under the MBA. The fan went quiet in under a minute. Aluminum is a great heat transfer medium.

 

[orfeas0]

From apple's website:
Operating temperature: 50° to 95° F
(10° to 35° C)
Storage temperature: -13° to 113° F
(-24° to 45° C)

not only it can be hotter than 35C out in the sun, but the sunlight is quite bad when directly emitted to technology. it can screw your mba up. at least try to not have it in the sun for long periods of time.