We're still hearing reports of MacBook Air overheating woe, well after an
EFI update in April that was meant to address some of those problems. While hot computers are nothing new, the MacBook Air starts shutting down cores and offloading processes when things get bad, which means users are faced with aggravating stop-start freezing until they can manage to cool the computer off -- or just put it to sleep and let it "rest." Apparently some people have traced this back to the age-old misapplied
thermal grease problem, but that's hardly a solace for the average consumer trying to convince Apple to fix this thing for them. We took a MacBook Air that was acting up into the Genius Bar and Apple claimed it couldn't reproduce the problem, though we have heard cases of Apple replacing the computer for users. We'd be curious to know just how many Air users are having trouble, and if the X300 is experiencing anything similar, so let us know in the comments.
How's your MacBook Air treating you?| Wonderfully | 2049 (8.9%) |
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| There have been a couple hiccups, nothing major | 687 (3.0%) |
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| Some problems, but the EFI update fixed those | 173 (0.8%) |
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| Overheats all the time, really annoying | 3780 (16.4%) |
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| I don't have a MacBook Air, thanks for asking | 16354 (71.0%) |
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posted April 30th 2008 6:10PM
You bought the Airball because your wife said a Mac Pro looked too thick. Okay. Is it actually hard to understand why more people don't sympathize with your selection process and criteria?
Your post is absolute proof of exactly what everyone is saying about Airball owners:
Huge eyeballs. Huge wallets. Tiny brains.
He didn't say it looked too thick, he said it *was* too thick. Now go sit in the corner and practice your reading comprehension.
Hey LarryLarryLarry: FYI, there is usually a positive correlation between size of wallet and size of brain.
But I doubt you would know (on either front)..........
The fan kicks up to 6k now and again but I haven't experienced any core shutdowns at all.
i am still going to buy one
I think we just need to poke more holes in the standard Manilla envelope.
Yeah, maybe the string is too tight as well, I dig your comment.
You forgot the "Stop pandering to the PC fanboys, Engadget' option.
Well said.
I just voted the last one.
"...and I never will."
Oh hold on wait what the----
I thought you said stop pandering to the mac fanboys..
WHAT? That doesn't even make sense! Look, I hate apple as much as the next guy, and I wouldn't buy their stuff without a gun to my head, but if you're talking about /windows/ fanboys, well, that's one of those things that you use because you have to; it doesn't have fans, it has developers, users, and shareholders.
Yes, I am a fan of not-mac, but I am most certainly not a fan nor user of windows.
we get it, ethana. you're like the switzerland of the mac vs pc war. except more annoying.
"shareholders"
Yeah. I'm up over 100% on my Apple shares in 1 year. I sold my Microsoft shares after a few months because they haven't done anything.
"You forgot the "Stop pandering to the PC fanboys, Engadget' option."
So actually posting some not so flattering news about an Apple product is "pandering to the PC fanboys"? So should they not post stuff like this just you, as an Apple user, wont feel bad or to cover for Apple?
If that's what you are looking for, at least be man enough to say it.
"and if the X300 is experiencing anything similar"
zuh? i think it's been pointed out that the differences are stark enough between these two machines that they're hardly in the same niche. but either way, holy irrelevance, batman!
My thoughts exactly. I think you're seeing engadget respond to the fact that any time they post something having to do with apple, a bunch of commenters come out of the woodwork to accuse them of "apple bias." How I love the interwebs.
I've had mine for about a month and it has only overheated when I've purposely made it do so - playing WoW in my lap or playing in a warm room. I'm wondering if people are getting overheating issues when they're doing things they shouldn't on there. Like playing WoW on their lap, or just doing something super hardcore cpu intensive without proper air circulation. There is only ONE fan in there and with very small (IMO) vents on the bottom and not the side like the other laptops in the MacBook line. (Which makes me shake my head since I like Macbooks due to the fact that they don't have silly garbage on the bottom.)
That and there only being room for one fan in there is a little scary. And who in their right mind with absolutely no laptop-taking-apart-skills want to even toy with opening it and playing around with the thermal paste? The guides are awesome for it, don't get me wrong. The people that did it are awesome at explaining it I'd just rather not risk it for the benefit.
I'll just play WoW and watch my 20 youtube videos at once on my MBP. Which hums both fans at full power all the time during that game. Teehee.
That is all. :3
$4000 in two Apple laptops bought you THREE fans which can't do their job, plus a burned "lap".
Because you tried to play an online game. Or worked in a warm room. Yeah, those are some kickass products, those Apples.
Hey -Why add the vote "I don't own an Air but..."?
If you don't own an Air.. Who cares? Are you trying to get an answer to the question or not?
I own an Air. -first Apple laptop ever. (after three PC's -Sharp MM20, Sony Viao, and Lenovo Thinkpad x41 Tablet). -To tell you the truth -all were great laptops -all too different to directly compare to each other. I've been looking for something I guess. -well WAS looking for something. I found it in the AIR. -I LOVE this laptop. -It's light -it's amazingly designed and constructed -it's got a great screen and keyboard. It's fantastic -my favorite laptop ever... Bar none. (although for certain things -Tablet feature of my Thinkpad x41 can't be beat).
The air fan WHIRS up sometimes and that drives me crazy -but it never overheats. I never have ANY problems with it. -and that includes performance wise. (although -my needs have been fairly easily met lately) -haven't really put it to the test.
still did I mention? -bottom line -so far -I LOOOOVE IT.
"Why add the vote "I don't own an Air but..."?"
Because you have to vote to see the results...
My regular MacBook also gets too hot and slows down.
SWEET
My hovercraft is full of eels.
Lol@ the Monty Python reference!
But but but but it LOOKS awesome! Much better than that X300 that looks like a laptop from 2 years go!
Mine was overheating, EFI update didn't solve it (I couldn't even install it as my EFI is newer than the Apple's April update).
I managed to solve the problem using CoolBook [http://www.coolbook.se/]. After install this little piece of software and undervolt MBA to 1.6-1.4GHz/0.9V (against 1.6-1.4/0.975 factory setting),I have no overheating ocurrence anymore.
I choose to manage it because I don't have time to spent on MBA replacing process, which in Brazil could take months to happen. I also don't have a second Mac available. After all, I'm pretty happy with the CoolBook solution and it have a bonus feature: my lap is much cooler than before. :)
So is this a result of the precision build quality and fantastic testing procedure I've been hearing about? I would think overheating would be a huge concern of Apple's considering they gave people burns (ok, they were probably some pretty slow people, but you get my point).
Cue fanboy rant.... now.
713 votes for "overheats all the time."
Really? There's over 700 of you that actually own Macbook Airs that overheat all the time?
Could the Apple haters at least try to not be so transparent? I mean you could at least try to keep your fake votes down to a believable level. Now you're just being too obvious.
cite your source.
I've heard plenty of Apple-fans chugging da haterade for the Air, so you gotta count those.
My source is common sense, though I'm not really surprised that you haven't heard of it. By the same token, can you prove me wrong?
That's generally the argument of people who can't prove that they're right.
And no, I can't directly prove you wrong, but you also can't prove that a significant portion of those 700 don't own a MBA that overheats. So, we must assume that the statistics are, for the most part, accurate.
I have a MacBook Air SSD and a Thinkpad X300. I also own a MacBook Pro and want to be clear I am not taking sides on the Mac vs PC thing.
So in summary from MY experience:
MacBook Air fan goes crazy consistently - it goes to max speed and stays there for a while. I don't think I get core shutdowns but it is very annoying. I am using a utility to undervolt the CPU which helps a bit and another utility to cap the fan speed at 4000 RPM. With these two programs, it is much better.
MacBook air is nice and light, screen is wonderful, keyboard is good, backlighting is cool. Lack of ports not a deal breaker for me. Sharp edge on front is annoying and part of the heat problem is due to vents in back pointing straight down. Form over function. Most MacBooks have heating issues. Apple is not good at this.
X300 does not have heating problems. Fan does come on but is not as loud and often spins up only briefly then spins down to a lower speed right away. Screen is bright and higher resolution is nice but it is not as crisp or clear as the MBA. Viewing angle is worse also. Keyboard on Lenovo is better - I like the MBA backlighting better than the "ThinkLight" but that is a minor point. Even though it is thicker it feels more comfortable in my lap although the Air feels nicer to put in a backpack due to being thin.
Webcam on X300 is better in low light and seemingly sharper than MBA. I have two batteries in the X300 - and there is no comparison in battery life. Built in 3G is great also. This a machine you can turn on and use anywhere. I like the size of the power adapter on the MBA better but the angle of the MagSafe is strange and the X300 power adaper is easier to use.
Mac OSX 10.5 behaves better on power up/down, connecting to Wifi. I am running Windows XP on X300. It is fine and runs more programs but not quite as nice in my opinion. XP is more practical for me on a machine to carry around. You can run Fusion or Parallels on MBA but the 2G of memory means you can only allocate 1/2 or so to Windows which is not sufficient for some programs. I have 4G on X300 - only 3G is visible in XP.
In summary I find the X300 almost as fun as MBA and more practical. MBA is going on Ebay. I'd love a MBA with the problems fixed.
So you proved that you are rich or a theif...where is my X300?
Resisting the urge to bag on this piece of trash thing AAPL calls a laptop....resisting...OMG this is rough........
My macbook air does the exact same. It overheats even when I'm on YouTube. I even have it on low energy settings and it still acts up. Initially, when the machine is cool, it works perfectly, the youtube videos are smooth. but then, all of a sudden, the performance hits a stop and everything on my computer starts to slow down. The fan goes bezerk and I have to turn off my machine. Apple, please, f****** fix it or give me back my money. And, I must say, I am an idiot for buying the SSD version. i should have bought the 1800 dollar one had i known that this computer was such a piece of s***.
bravo
I don't understand why Apple continues to prefer being in the guinness book for world records over making something functional. i mean, look at the iPod shuffle; its probably the least useful and most overpriced mp3 player in the market, but apple thinks its all okay because it rivals listerine pocket packs in size. Im no apple basher. They make some great products, but seriously Steve, im really disappointed that you would think that replacing function with flattery is a good idea. Dont do it again.
The shuffle does have one really nice feature though:
It doubles as a hair clip xD
I have been using my MacBook Air in my classes which are a little over three hours long. I have yet to experience any overheating. I was actually impressed with how much cooler it stays compared to my old Sony laptop from before.
should a laptop heat up during class?? does notepad require that many resources?
Can you spell GARBAGE?
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I think you screwed up your punchline.
I like how all you morons who bash the Macs and rip on the fanboys still find all the time in the world to come here and write NOVELS on the stupid f-ing topic!!! That tells me what your time must be worth.. Zilch, or you'd be doing something more constructive with your time. I have a PC, MacBook and and am working on a Linux box, they are all for different reasons: work, play and just plain curiosity. There will never be a "Big Win" for which is better so quite wasting your time and save a 3rd world country or something useful. Dumbasses!
Bring it Bitches!
Faslane Out!
You are playing with your Macs ? How ?
I'm under the impression that WOW is not a game, just an elaborate scheme to get you to pay a monthly subscription.
Hot Air?
Thank you ladies and gentlemen. I'll be here all night.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Bob can spell Garbage! No, really, he can!
I saw it with my own 2 eyes. Don't say I didn't now.....
Faslane
Good Job BOB!
And Bob used the return key 9 times to do it!
Faslane
2 times for the paragraph spacing and 1 for each letter, boy I hope I did my math right.
Can you spell AMAZING?
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Are you the English police ?
1- If a computer (any computer) overheat, when it's CPU is used at 100% for a (any) period of time: it is a MAJOR design flaw...
2- My wife X300 do not run even remotely warm when stress testing using Prime95 for hours
Grammar Please!