You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

2020 MacBook Air CPU temperature spikes erratically within about 7-15 degrees, then drops another 7-15

I have an i5 MacBook Air that the temperatures seem to spike really erratically. As well when the CPU is pinned at 100% (Cinebench R20 render) the fan RPM only gets to about 5000RPM even though the CPU is throttling at 99 degrees. Is this normal or is there something wrong with my SMC, because its looking like its purposefully throttling it's own performance.


Side note: I'm using "Macs Fan Control" app to monitor the temperature and fan speed. The fan speed is set to auto.

MacBook Air (2020 or later)

Posted on Jan 19, 2022 9:04 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jan 19, 2022 9:36 AM

Not surprising considering the CPU stress that Cinebench puts the machine under. I'm pretty sure 5000RPM is about the max speed if I'm not mistaken for the MacBook Air fan.

Similar questions

2 replies

2020 MacBook Air CPU temperature spikes erratically within about 7-15 degrees, then drops another 7-15

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.