Is it normal for my CPU to be 100 degrees celsius?

I have a Macbook Air 2020 intel I3. I got it when it came out. For the past few years ive noticed it getting very hot after watching videos, browsing the web, opening tabs/ multi tasking, and coding. I recently got the "Stats" app on my mac to check the temperature; and according to this app, my CPU is 90-100 degrees celsius? Is this normal?

Ive attached photos of the app i used to check the temp and screen shots of the app.

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 14.2

Posted on Mar 15, 2024 8:49 AM

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2 replies

HWTech

Level 9

68,606 points

Mar 15, 2024 6:36 PM in response to Muhammad_Paracha

This can be normal when performing intensive tasks. The fan speed shown in the screenshot is at 43% so the fan is not running at high speed, so this is how macOS is handling things. From my own personal observations supporting my organization's Macs, the system will typically run at 90-95C (sometimes even 100C for some systems). Once the system intensive tasks are done, the system will slowly cool down, but it may take a little while.

FYI, web browsing can cause the CPU to work hard depending on the pages being accessed and the number of open windows & tabs.

Edit: The 2018 to 2020 Intel MBAir has a very poor cooling system. The CPU heatsink for this laptop has no heat pipe connecting the heatsink to the fan, so the fan is not directly cooling the heatsink. Most techs just shake their heads & cringe at the pathetic design.

Mar 16, 2024 3:21 AM in response to HWTech

lol thanks for the help!

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Is it normal for my CPU to be 100 degrees celsius?