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User profile for user: Moloy
Moloy Author
User level: Level 1
10 points

Macbook Air Thunderbolt Display combo

Hello everyone!


I am the owner of 2012 Macbook Air (core i7, 8GB) and I am looking forward buying a Thunderbolt Display, because 13'' screen is too small for me.


A question to macbook air + thunderbolt display (both of them) OWNERS:


Guys could you kindly tell me if you tried some gaming in this setup? For example average video settings on Diablo 3, WoW ?


I do completely realize, that MBA has nothing to do with hardcore gaming, but macbook pro is just too large and heavy for me ( I take the MBA everywhere every day in my suitcase, just like some of you may do with ipad), even retina version.


Will Intel integrated graphics handle such a HIGH resolution while playing described above (or similar) games ?



Also I am really worried about operating temperatures. According to reviews on our forum, many people find out that connected to TBD macbook air runs hot even during normal work (browsing, working with MS office etc), so what happens during 2-3 hour gaming ?


There is no doubt Apple took care of everything ( too hot temperatures force the machine to shut down ; TBD was created for macbook air so ofcourse they should work well together ), but I sill dont wont to rape my MBA, since I use it for work and there is NO WAY I can let it brake.



Thank you for your time 🙂

MacBook Air, Mac OS X (10.7.1)

Posted on Mar 3, 2013 3:59 AM

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4 replies
User profile for user: wickedHangover
wickedHangover
User level: Level 1
5 points

Mar 3, 2013 3:49 PM in response to Moloy

I do some tech support at work for three people running MBA 13" with thunderbolt and had to replace the case on one as it cracked from overheating. In this case the use was only office applications and some light image editing in photoshop. So I purchased a few cooling stands. One with a fan and the others were just metal stands. This seemed to fix everything. The MBA with the better cooling stand is used for some pretty heavy video editing in the adobe ultimate suite. I personally think that even though the unit runs cool enough, it's putting some heavy wear/tear on the unit. So my advice to you would be to avoid stressing the unit that much if it's your work machine but if you can't resist, get yourself a good cooling stand with some fans.

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User profile for user: Moloy
Moloy Author
User level: Level 1
10 points

Mar 3, 2013 8:24 PM in response to wickedHangover

Jon P D


Unfortunately I have not tried to play WoW on this MBA yet, it is realy a pain for my ears to listen to the fan noise from such a thin machine. And I also use iStat menus and temperatures like 98-100 C excite me even more. But as soon as I decide to game a bit - I'll post here ))



wickedHangover


Thank you very much for a professional advice ! This information is very usefull, because EVERYTIME I rise the question of high temperatures everyone sais "its ok dont worry, its mac, its Apple, so everything should be ok etc". And finaly I do hear about overheat issues. As for me, I ALWAYS use Just-Mobile Cooling Bar if I use the integrated monitor, otherwise I use Twelve South stand - when connected to an external display (both of these cooling pads provide passive cooling).


So if you do not recommend stressing a work machine I will not do it for sure. I'll look for some other gaming solution...maybe iMac... or replace MBA with new thin MBP . . . Or maybe Apple will intergrate GPU in the upcoming thunderbolt display lol ))))

Otherwise it doesnt make much sence.

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Macbook Air Thunderbolt Display combo

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