News $15 DIY Mod Reduces M2 MacBook Air's Overheating Issues

[Admin]

YouTuber Max Tech shares a $15 DIY solution with thermal pads to mitigate the M2 MacBook Air's CPU throttling problems.

$15 DIY Mod Reduces M2 MacBook Air's Overheating Issues : Read more

 

[salgado18]

That's $15 less profit for Apple, that's why.

 

[artk2219]

That's $15 less profit for Apple, that's why.

Damn beat me to the punch, precisely that, its their low end product, they cant have it look good vs their more expensive stuff, and its cheaper so why pump more money into it. Then when it breaks they'll just buy a new one anyway because why hold Apple accountable for their design flaws.

 

[blargh4]

Sorry but why on earth would you buy a passively cooled laptop if you are concerned about CPU throttling?

 

[electronika]

I'll bet they don't include it because connecting the SoC directly to the chassis makes the outside get hot as hell, it'll probably burn your lap.

 

[marsatas]

I'll bet they don't include it because connecting the SoC directly to the chassis makes the outside get hot as hell, it'll probably burn your lap.

That's the actual reason. There are limits (not sure if legal or not) on how hot a surface of a device can be and typically the Air is at the very edge, adding the thermal pad can increase the surface heat by up to 5 degrees which are apparently really noticeable. LinusTech did a test on this a while back.

 

[watzupken]

From what I understand, there are legal limits on the surface temp on a mobile device in some countries. So @marsatas is right. Since the chassis is metal, applying the thermal pad will help conduct heat from the source out, but at the same time, increasing the surface temp. If Apple did that and someone hurt themselves, its gonna be a lawsuit against them as well. But if user did that on their own and got hurt, then the liability is not with the company.
I've performed this mod on the M1 MBA and while it worked very well to maintain temp and performance, the base is super hot under sustained load without a fan cooling it.

 

[Findecanor]

I'd think the best for longevity would be to use thermal pads and adjust the CPU speed settings to throttle more.

But I suppose that it would cut too much into Apple's profits if the machines lasted longer ...

 

[KyaraM]

Sorry but why on earth would you buy a passively cooled laptop if you are concerned about CPU throttling?

It's quieter, and many people are just not aware how hot computer hardware can get. Ironically, it doesn't really help that computers are cooled, and thus you never actually see any of it. How are people to guess that a CPU can easily exceed 100°C within the minute when it is not cooled? Even when it is cooled, it can get very hot bery fast if the cooling isn't sufficient. But again, they simply aren't aware.

 

[SyCoREAPER]

It's quieter, and many people are just not aware how hot computer hardware can get. Ironically, it doesn't really help that computers are cooled, and thus you never actually see any of it. How are people to guess that a CPU can easily exceed 100°C within the minute when it is not cooled? Even when it is cooled, it can get very hot bery fast if the cooling isn't sufficient. But again, they simply aren't aware.

No offense but that was nonsensical doublespeak. The average person doesn't know how hot they get because they don't need to. They don't need to why?
Because properly designed machines that aren't allowed to get that hot. A properly designed machine does not throttle after just 1 minute of even an intensive task. This is a CLEAR indication that air-cooling was never sufficient but they did it anyway.

 

[KyaraM]

No offense but that was nonsensical doublespeak. The average person doesn't know how hot they get because they don't need to. They don't need to why?
Because properly designed machines that aren't allowed to get that got. A properly designed machine does not throttle after just 1 minute of even an intensive task. This is a CLEAR indication that air-cooling was never sufficient but they did it anyway.

How is it "doublespeak" to point out that most people don't know enough about computers to understand what is required to keep the system running? If you want to use Orwellian terms, at least know how to use them.

It's an indicator that cooling wasn't enough when a system throttles after one minute? No joke. Gee, almost as if I pointed that out...

 

[SyCoREAPER]

How is it "doublespeak" to point out that most people don't know enough about computers to understand what is required to keep the system running? If you want to use Orwellian terms, at least know how to use them.

It's an indicator that cooling wasn't enough when a system throttles after one minute? No joke. Gee, almost as if I pointed that out...

Its doublespeak because you danced around the topic and answered with something that could satisfy the topic but isn't an answer. Not just that but you kept going back and forth.

And don't be a wise***. No idea what point you were trying to make but that's here or there. Had you made a more coherent post maybe I would have gotten that. If anything I supported it if you claim that what you meant.

 

[Derek Adamson]

In the US this would not void your warranty. Stop trying to scare people away from servicing their devices.

 

[KyaraM]

In the US this would not void your warranty. Stop trying to scare people away from servicing their devices.

The US isn't the only country on earth, though.

 

[svan71]

Nothing better than paying that ridiculous Crapple tax, then needing to modify it to work the way it was intended and as advertised.