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lorenzo223 Author

Level 1

4 points

2020 MacBook Air CPU temperature spikes erratically within about 7-15 degrees, then drops another 7-15

I have an i5 MacBook Air that the temperatures seem to spike really erratically. As well when the CPU is pinned at 100% (Cinebench R20 render) the fan RPM only gets to about 5000RPM even though the CPU is throttling at 99 degrees. Is this normal or is there something wrong with my SMC, because its looking like its purposefully throttling it's own performance.

Side note: I'm using "Macs Fan Control" app to monitor the temperature and fan speed. The fan speed is set to auto.

MacBook Air (2020 or later)

Posted on Jan 19, 2022 9:04 AM

Top-ranking reply

woodmeister50

Level 7

20,437 points

Posted on Jan 19, 2022 9:36 AM

Not surprising considering the CPU stress that Cinebench puts the machine under. I'm pretty sure 5000RPM is about the max speed if I'm not mistaken for the MacBook Air fan.

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2020 MacBook Air CPU temperature spikes erratically within about 7-15 degrees, then drops another 7-15

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