Fixing Apple's GOOD Engineering - M1 MacBook Air thermal pads
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Get 20% OFF + Free Shipping @manscaped this Valentine's Day with code TECH at manscaped.com The new M1 Macbook lineup is impressive - but did Apple leave performance on the table in the Macbook Air by going fanless? Buy Apple Macbook Pro M1 (PAID LINK): geni.us Buy Apple Macbook Air M1 (PAID LINK): geni.us Buy iFixit Pro Tech Toolkit (PAID LINK): geni.us Purchases made through some store links may provide some compensation to Linus Media Group. Discuss on the forum: linustechtips.com ►GET MERCH: lttstore.com ►SUPPORT US ON FLOATPLANE: floatplane.com ►LTX EXPO: ltxexpo.com AFFILIATES & REFERRALS --------------------------------------------------- ►Affiliates, Sponsors & Referrals: lmg.gg ►Check out our podcast gear: kit.co ►Private Internet Access VPN: lmg.gg ►Our Official Charging Partner Anker: lmg.gg ►MK Keyboards: lmg.gg ►Nerd or Die Stream Overlays: lmg.gg ►NEEDforSEAT Gaming Chairs: lmg.gg ►Displate Metal Prints: lmg.gg ►Official Game Store: nexus.gg ►Epic Games Store (LINUSMEDIAGROUP): lmg.gg ►Amazon Prime: lmg.gg ►Audible Free Trial: lmg.gg ►Streamlabs Prime: geni.us ►Our Gear on Amazon: geni.us FOLLOW US ELSEWHERE --------------------------------------------------- Twitter: twitter.com Facebook: @LinusTech Instagram: @linustech Twitch: twitch.tv FOLLOW OUR OTHER CHANNELS --------------------------------------------------- Techquickie: lmg.gg TechLinked: lmg.gg ShortCircuit: lmg.gg LMG Clips: lmg.gg Channel Super Fun: lmg.gg Carpool Critics: lmg.gg MUSIC CREDIT --------------------------------------------------- Title: Laszlo - Supernova Video Link: youtube.com iTunes Download Link: itunes.apple.com Artist Link: soundcloud.com Outro Screen Music Credit: Approaching Nirvana - Sugar High youtube.com Monitor And Keyboard by vadimmihalkevich / CC BY 4.0 geni.us Mechanical RGB Keyboard by BigBrotherECE / CC BY 4.0 geni.us Mouse Gamer free Model By Oscar Creativo / CC BY 4.0 geni.us
The video opens by contrasting the M1 MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro, highlighting that the Air uses a completely passive cooling system with no fan, relying on a large internal heat sink and thermal mass to soak up heat. The host explains that once the heat capacity is exhausted, the CPU throttles to protect itself, which limits sustained performance on longer workloads. A simple $30 modification using thermal pads is introduced as a way to move heat more efficiently from the heat sink to the aluminum chassis, effectively turning the back panel into a larger heat sink. The demonstration then shows benchmarking results: short bursts remain similar between the Air and Pro, but under moderate to long workloads the Air gains a substantial performance edge with these pads, sometimes approaching Pro-level performance. The trade-off is clear, however, as surface temperatures rise notably, and the modification is described as reversible but not risk-free, requiring common sense and careful handling. The host also discusses safety standards, specifically IEC/UL guidelines, and calculates a theoretical peak temperature to show the engineering compromise Apple faced with a fanless design. The video concludes by weighing the performance gains against increased surface temperatures and practical considerations, and then segues into a sponsored segment and additional content from the channel about related gear and products.
Topics · hardware modification · thermal management · laptops · apple hardware · tech analysis
Questions answered
- What is the main cooling strategy of the M1 MacBook Air and how does it differ from the MacBook Pro?
- The M1 MacBook Air uses passive cooling with a large heat sink and chassis-based heat dissipation, while the MacBook Pro uses an active cooling system with a fan to vent heat.
- What impact do thermal pads have on Air performance and what are the trade-offs?
- Thermal pads improve sustained performance by helping move heat out of the system, narrowing or eliminating the performance gap with the Pro in longer workloads. The trade-offs are higher surface temperatures and potential long-term effects, though the modification is reversible and inexpensive.