When a mobile phone-level SoC is inserted into a laptop body, the biggest fear is not that it cannot run, but that it turns into an oven while running. ETAPrime, a senior foreign simulator player, used the latest MacBook Neo (A18 Pro) to do a heat dissipation modification test: the original factory only relied on a small piece of graphite thermal pad to press on the chip. After running “No Man’s Sky” (No Man’s Sky), it quickly reached about 105°C. Then it started to reduce the frequency, and the screen dropped directly to about 30-31 FPS. The effect was really rubbish! If Macbook Neo has no heat dissipation concerns, to what extent can its performance be released? Let’s keep watching!
The first stage: copper plate + thermal paste + thermal pad
The first step of modification is very simple: replace the original heat dissipation path with a homemade copper sheet, add thermal paste, and then use a thermal pad to conduct the heat to the aluminum shell at the bottom of the fuselage. As a result, “No Man’s Sky” directly pulled to about 58 FPS, almost double, and the average CPU temperature also dropped to about 83–84°C.
The more realistic benefit is that the running score also increases with blood. Geekbench 6 single-core increased from 3094 to 3563, and multi-core increased from 7921 to 8692. Cinebench also went from 502 to 531 in single-core and 1462 to 1597 in multi-core. The average of the four results is almost an improvement of “about 10%”, which means that it does not rely on magic, but relies on heat conduction to push back the frequency reduction.
The second stage: external liquid cooling thermoelectric module
The second step is a more ruthless approach: attach a liquid-cooled thermoelectric module to the bottom of the fuselage. After applying this set, Geekbench 6 single-core reached 3636 and multi-core 9394; Cinebench single-core reached 620 and multi-core 1741. Converted relative to the original factory, it roughly falls within the range of +17.52%, +18.60%, +23.51%, +19.08%, which means you are saving the performance that was originally stuck by heat!
The outer shell of the laptop, the chip of the previous generation iPhone
It is normal for Macbook Neo to experience thermal underclocking because the mobile phone-grade SoC used is inherently designed for tight thermal and battery constraints. But the problem is that the MacBook Neo is “often plugged in and used”. Battery life is more important than saving a little bit of wattage.
This test actually makes it clear that it’s not that the A18 Pro is bad, it’s just that the heat dissipation design is too conservative, and as a result, the performance is dragged down by the temperature.
For Southeast Asia’s gaming audience, this story matters beyond headlines: it highlights how platform decisions, creator behavior, and player trust can reshape market momentum across the region’s highly connected communities.