Modded M3 MacBook Air Outperforms MacBook Pro

The M3 MacBook Air, recently released for its impressive speed, has been facing issues with overheating, reaching temperatures as high as 114 degrees Celsius. This overheating problem has been causing significant performance throttling.

However, a recent study conducted by YouTuber MaxTech has discovered a solution to this problem. Through the use of modifications, albeit costly ones, the performance of the laptop can be greatly enhanced. By incorporating a DHCR cooling dock from SVALT along with thermal pads, MaxTech was able to boost the M3 MacBook Air’s performance by nearly 50% in certain scenarios, surpassing even the higher-priced and cooler M3 MacBook Pro.

The DHCR cooling dock is specifically designed to cool the MacBook while holding it in place. It employs a “direct heatsink coupling” method, positioning the laptop vertically with the lid closed to ensure contact with the area where the M3 chip is situated. The cooling mechanism of the dock works by cooling the outer chassis, thus creating a cool environment for the M3 chip inside.

MaxTech’s experiments revealed significant improvements in sustained performance with the SVALT cooling dock. For example, in the 3DMark Wildlife benchmark, the dock nearly doubled the MacBook Air’s performance, achieving 7,309 points in clamshell mode compared to 4,198 points without the dock.

The dock is crafted from solid aluminum to dissipate heat from the MacBook’s processor. (Image: Svalt)

Furthermore, by using thermal pads in conjunction with the cooling dock, MaxTech managed to bridge the performance gap between the M3 MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro, achieving a sustained performance of 8,062 points, slightly surpassing the MacBook Pro under similar test conditions.

These findings highlight the differences in cooling solutions between the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, despite having identical specifications like the M3 chip. While the MacBook Air’s fanless cooling system leads to lower sustained performance, modifications present a viable solution.

Users have the option to use thermal pads alone to regain most of the lost performance or invest in SVALT’s DHCR cooling dock for a more comprehensive cooling solution, especially if the MacBook Air is used as a desktop replacement. However, the price tag of $279 for the dock may deter some potential users.

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