Does the new i7 MacBook Air run hot ?

How could you tell?

In denmark it costs about 70USD equiv for them to even look at the machine, and you don't pay if the machine is then found to be defective, but under warranty. So, it's like a major iss off to have to go through this again.

If there were any obvious ways to work out how to stop this overheating issue after sleep, I'd love to hear about them.

Cheers

I have had a MBA 13" i7 since September.

According to iStat, right now -- with the computer really doing nothing other than typing this message -- iStat says the CPU is runnig abt 24%, the temperature is 91c ⚠ and the fan is running and 6500 rpm.

That is pretty typical for how this thing runs. HOT and NOISY.

I have a case open with Apple. I have re-set both the SMC and the P-RAM, neither of which has made any difference.

I suspect I will be calling them again today...

Here's the iStat from a few minutes ago:

I tried to upload an image of the dock showing what's running, but the platform won't let me load more than one image per post.

--PS

I guese everyone that has an overheating MBA, their CPU was assulted with a huge blob of thermal paste.

I just gave up on mine, it's 45-60c when you're doing some web browsing, YouTube 720p HD, Mail, Messenger and iTunes....

As soon as I launch a game (Anomaly, Osmos or EDGE from www.humblebundle.com) the cpu boils up to 99*C and the fan is at 6500 RPM LOUD LIKE CRAZY.

Mikeseth, sorry, what does that mean "huge blob of thermal paste"?

Do you mean something has come unglued in the chassis and gunked up the CPU?

It must be something abnormal, because I don't think a CPU is ever supposed to run - consistently - at temperatures approaching the boiling point of water.

Thanks,

--PS

Thermal paste or thermal grease is a substance applied between the CPU and the Heatsink.

They should apply 0.2cc but they applied 1cc.... more than required. More thermal paste isn't always good, should be a tiny pea sized amount.

Tjuction (Apple): 90c

Tjunction (Intel): 100c

My CPU and probably everyone else's that goes beyond 90c is beyond Apple's specifications (Maximum Operating Temp.) .... it is however equivalent (almost) to Intels stated MAXIMUM OPERATING TEMP of the CPU.

After spending about $1800 on this machine, I am a bit dissapointed. I even went out and bought an Apple AirPort Extreme $205 with taxes (Canada). Due to the fluctuations in temperatures, the bottom case is slightly loose, it's creating only a very small bit. When you pick it up with one hand you can hear it creak, its very tiny and hardly noticable (click sound almost, very light)... That can be fixed by tightening the screws of the bottom case.... But you cannot fix termperature problems your self. I got this machine in Early - Mid - January 2012. Yes, only a couple weeks ago.

the theory of thermal paste is interesting but it's difficult to tell if it applies in my case.

my machine typically runs with the cpu in the mid-50°c and the fan at about 2k rpm. it'll run like this for a couple days. i can heat it up by running some cpu intensive task, like building some code, but once the task completes, the machine cools right off.

until it doesn't.

after running for a couple days, it suddenly gets very hot. istat shows the cpu as 98% idle, nothing is actively running - worst 3rd-party app is firefox at 5%, also windowserver at about 15%. cpu is at 85°c or more and the fan at 4-5k rpm. quitting all apps doesn't cool the machine enough.

plus i got this machine for work, not to admire.

only a reboot seems to solve the issue. so far apple eng has not found the cause. their last suggestion is to reboot often. that's not why i buy apple computers - if i want to reboot my machine all the time, i can get a windows device ....

Message was edited by: bloodnok

"if i want to reboot my machine all the time, i can get a windows device ...."

Kinda how I feel about it too.

Except in my case, the cool down from a reboot doesn't last very long.

Right now 17% CPU, 82C, fan 5,400rpm

Not a happy camper.

--P

I'm not sure, it's just a hunch...on another note my lcd-display is clearly yellow. It's an 11" LG Display. The Apple Store claims they changed it, but it looks exactly the same.

It's very obvious at night under white fluorescent light. In the day, the yellowish sunlight covers it up.

Sigh really disappointed with this Air, my battery life is low too at 2.5 to 3 hours, and nothing really much going on at all!

(At least my heating problem is fixed)

I'll probably sell this off and get a new Macbook Pro when they come out with dedicated graphics again. More weight, but at least it works well. I had an old Pro and the screen was great, battery life was great at 5 hours, and it was whisper cool...only heavy.

I just got off the phone with Apple Care, and we may have found an issue that is causing the CPU to run hot and the fan to run loud.

It's an online backup service called "Carbonite."

When the Carbonite daemon kicked into Activity Monitor, it reported using 90% of system resources !

I have disabled Carbonite. The CPU is 58C and the fan under 2000.

Firefox is also a memory hog - particularly when I'm running Hootsuite in an app tab. But even with that running, the CPU is running much cooler than it was before disabling Carbonite.

Now I have to get this off my computer altogether and find another way to back up my system off site.

The guy at Apple was rather alarmed at the discovery, said it would shorten the life of my computer (duh?).

Now I wonder if that has also been a factor in my punky battery life.

We'll see... CPU now down to 56C and fan still quiet.

Thanks,

--PS

Just bought the new i7 mba last week. With nothing more than Facetime going, thing heats up, fans rev up... yet my sister's iphone has no such issues. My old Powerbook had no such issues, nor gf's Sony, ...***? Seriously considering sending back to Apple. Never thought I'd be saying it.

It is norm for Macbook Air fan to rev up (noisy) when you're using application that required high processing speed. My macbook Air 13 inch (2011) that I bought last year has similar issue. My processor even heat up to 100 degree Celsuis.

Don't worry, I strongly recommend you to buy the extended warrenty incase of faulty after the 1st year which ususually happened for notebook.

My mid-2013 Macbook Air gets very hot (200+ degrees F) whenever (1) it syncs with cloud folders, (2) it streams iTunes Radio and other radio services, and (3) it has more than 4 programs open.

I wish I knew whether this is to be expected. I realize computers get hot, but 200+ seems a bit excessive. Is it?