Overview
- ETA Prime’s new tests showed the $599 MacBook Neo drops to about 30 frames per second in No Man’s Sky until extra cooling is added.
- An internal copper plate with a thermal pad moved heat into the aluminum case, cutting temperatures by more than 20 degrees C and raising Geekbench 6 by about 10% in multi‑core and 15% in single‑core results.
- A magnet‑mounted thermoelectric liquid cooler, a phone accessory with a Peltier cold plate, held the chip near 74 C and kept the game near 60 FPS, with Geekbench gains up to about 18% multi‑core and 17.5% single‑core.
- Tom’s Hardware quantified the improvements and MacStories noted the steps are beyond what most users will attempt, since the copper mod needs disassembly and a heat gun to lift Apple’s graphite layer.
- The results highlight unused performance headroom that stems from Apple’s passive design, which reviewers say prioritizes silence and price, and hint that a modest built‑in heatsink could steady performance.