Fan / Temperature Macbook Air 13 inch mid 2013 Issues ?

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The MacBook Air isn't a computer designed to play games, so I would think it's normal to get those temperatures. Anyway, temperatures higher than 80 or 90ºC are dangerous.

Macs set the fan speed automatically, so fans should be at a higher speed when it's at 90ºC. Reset the SMC > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964

As your sensors work, download smcFanControl and set a fan speed higher during the time you are playing the game, but reduce it below 2000 rpm after finishing. Speeds higher than 2000 rpm may damage the MacBook

The SMC controls the fan speed.

As your Mac is new, you should consider the option of returning it and get a new MacBook for free. You don't lose anything trying this and you may get a MacBook that works better setting the fan speed. If you want to keep your Mac, follow the steps of my first reply.

I wouldn't set up a fan speed higher than 3000 rpm even if it's temporary

I have seen MacBooks at 6000 rpm with 90ºC, so that would be the normal temperature.

Instead of iStat Menus, I suggest Temperature Monitor > http://www.bresink.com/osx/TemperatureMonitor.html

Ignore this reply

There are some new Macs that may not be supported by that application, but it looks like the data that iStat Menus gives you is correct

Nobody here will tell you that 90ºC are a normal temperature for a MacBook. They are dangerous and your Mac can get damaged with the time. Normal temperatures are 50ºC, but not 90º

Note also that the highest supported temperature for the i7 processor is a reported 82ºC or so.

(The highest Tcase allowed is 72.2ºC, and the reported core temperature can be up to 10ºC higher.)

I own the 2013 i7 Haswell MBA I've done alot of reading about CPU temps over the years and found out the following:

1. Apple mac CPU's have over temp protection in that a warning is given and performance choked back to reduce heat. This aledgedly kicks in before damaging temps are reached.

2. These days temps of 96/97 C and fan speeds of 6500rpm on an MBA seem to be normal when running CPU intensive programs like games, video rendering etc.

If the auto protection isn't kicking in I would assume there's nothing to worry about other than faster fan speeds and more fan wear. Apple seem to use high quality fans on their range of PCs and laptops, my Macbook Pro is 4yrs old and take alot of hammer in that I frequesntly use it to edit video and it's often on for days on end and the fan still sounds fine.

Some thoughts are that if the temp protection isn't kicking in then the affect of higher temps can be equated to a PC/Laptop with an expected life of 5yrs+ losing a day or two of that life in other words you more likely to suffer other issues first like trackpad, keyboard, battery or screen faults at 5yrs+

My Macbook Pro 15" just gave up the ghost (GPU failure--thanks, Apple, for building a $2000 that lasts 14 months).

Anyway, I stole my wife's Macbook Air to finish a current video project. Today's my first day keyed video clips with Motion.

And yes, when rendering video, the fan is at 6500 rpm and the temp between 80-92.

So that's normall? @red1mp, it sounds like your knowledgable about such things.... you think it's perfectly fine to run like that?

Hi barang, my reference to Macbook Pro was a mistake I meant to write Mac Pro as in the desktop, whilst the fans run slower I was referencing the ammount of time they will have run over the 4yrs I've owned the Mac Pro yet they still sound fine.

I'm not a computer engineer by any means but I do have a reasonable amount of computer knowledge and there's plenty of info on the net. My thought is as per my previous post that if the CPU temp protection isn't kicking in at temps in the 90's then it isn't an issue. I replaced my 2011 mbp with the 2013 i7 Haswell MBA and often play graphics intensive games on it in the evenings when I'm offshore on a North Sea rig and the temp hits 96 and fans 6500 which from my findings on the net by people who seem quite knowledgeable is normal and OK. I do have Applecare protection if any issues occure it will go straight back to Apple.

Your MBP failure is extremely premature, I would have taken the issue up with Apple, I run a small video editing concern when at home and used my MBP for editing using Final Cut Pro and never had an issue because the MBP is supposed to be good for video work. Have a go at Apple who should repair your MBP as a goodwill gesture after all it's only 4mths out of warrantee. You are well within your right to expect it to last more than 14mths after all Apple do, that's why they offer Applecare cover for 3yrs......

Hey red1mp, thanks for the info! While rendering keyed clips in Compressor, the i5 MBA was running 90-98C-- doesn't seem any worse for wear now. It's nice to know that others MBAs are doing similar temps.

You're right about the MBP- it seems to be a manufacturing/hardware defect, and droves of other MBP owners are reporting the same failures, most of them happening at the same point in its lifespan. There's no word yet from Apple as to whether they'll run an extended warranty program on the GPU, but they need too. There are several threads on this forum, some up to 150 pages, all detailing the problem: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4766577?start=1470&tstart=0

I'm on location in Cambodia until December, but as soon as I get back, I'm going to do as you suggest and see if my Apple Store will replace it free of charge.

Thanks again. North Sea rig, huh? Sounds like you lead an interesting life.