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(2019) 16" is HOT & NOISY with an external monitor! :(

Appledoesnotlisten

Appledoesnotlisten

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 2, 2017
505
208
I received a base 16" today and am disappointed because it get's as hot as my 2017 with an external 4K monitor.

Is anybody else experiencing the same issue? I always work with external monitors and running on high resolution and this heating performance is upsetting. It's not cooler than the 2017 version in this respects.

Can you guys share your thoughts on this?

Thanks a lot!
 

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check your cpu usage while connected to the monitor. dGPU is activated while connected to monitor but it shouldn't run that hot
 
If you want a cool MacBook while connected to an external monitor, don't get one with a dGPU. Apple's dGPU implementation makes it impossible to use the much cooler intel iGPU when connected to monitor.
Also all thin laptops in this class run hot and loud when running GPU/CPU together
 
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magbarn said:
If you want a cool MacBook while connected to an external monitor, don't get one with a dGPU. Apple's dGPU implementation makes it impossible to use the much cooler intel iGPU when connected to monitor.
Also all thin laptops in this class run hot and loud when running GPU/CPU together
Click to expand...
Which one do you recommend
 
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magbarn said:
I would recommend to wait for the 14 rMBP replacement for the current rMBP 13's. If you can't wait then the rMBP 13 will run cooler when plugged it at the cost of CPU/GPU performance.
Click to expand...
I have just sold my 13" quad core with iGPU because it's too small for me.

Let's wait for other reviewers, maybe the 5500M with 8 GB has a proper heat sink...
 
Abbas said:
But it its sitting on the desk connected to a monitor, why does the bulk or size matter of the old 15-inch or the 13-inch rMBP?
Click to expand...
Because see above:"it's bulky and, more importantly, slow". The 2015 iGPU is not for THAT heavy lifting.
 
Appledoesnotlisten said:
I have one, selling it now.
It's a great machine, but unfortunately too bulky and, more importantly, slow.
Click to expand...
how its too bulky when now the 16" is around the same as the pre 2016 15" !?
Remember, Apple still ramp up the fans when the temps are reaching mid 90s degree so, you can dll an app to ramp up the vents to make it runs cooler
 
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fokmik said:
how its too bulky when now the 16" is around the same as the pre 2016 15" !?
Remember, Apple still ramp up the fans when the temps are reaching mid 90s degree so, you can dll an app to ramp up the vents to make it runs cooler
Click to expand...
That's what I am doing right now, but I would love to NOT mess with the settings because Apple knows what it's doing and they set up certain fan speeds for a reason.

What I have found so far, is that constant RPM value for 16" was set at 1836, while RPM for the 2017 was set at around 2500. Maybe Apple decided that the 16" will be OK with Constant RPM=1836 becasue its heating sink is better...

Anyway, the device is still kinda hot even at cRPM=2300, and thease fans are already audible at 2300!
 
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The 16” does have much better cooling, but that doesn’t mean it runs cooler and quieter. Apple used the additional cooling capacity to let the CPU run at higher clock speeds. The 16” has the same CPU as the 2018 15”, but I’ve seen someone on YouTube showing the CPU runs about 300 MHz faster in sustained workloads in the 16” than it does in the 2018 15”. If it was possible to limit the CPU speed to the same as the 2018, then the 2019 would indeed run cooler and quieter, but again, Apple chose to improve performance with the extra cooling capacity rather than just let the CPU run cooler.
 
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gtg465x said:
The 16” does have much better cooling, but that doesn’t mean it runs cooler and quieter. Apple used the additional cooling capacity to let the CPU run at higher clock speeds. The 16” has the same CPU as the 2018 15”, but I’ve seen someone on YouTube showing the CPU runs about 300 MHz faster in sustained workloads in the 16” than it does in the 2018 15”. If it was possible to limit the CPU speed to the same as the 2018, then the 2019 would indeed run cooler and quieter, but again, Apple chose to improve performance with the extra cooling capacity rather than just let the CPU run cooler.
Click to expand...
Are you saying that the extra (and some more) cooling capabilities went to support the additional 300 MHz and new GPUs are getting leftovers of this superior cooling system (perhaps even less than what they had in 2017 and 2018)?
 
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Appledoesnotlisten said:
Are you saying that the extra (and some more) cooling capabilities went to support the additional 300 MHz and new GPUs are getting leftovers of this superior cooling system (perhaps even less than what they had in 2017 and 2018)?
Click to expand...

Not sure how much GPUs benefit from the redesign. Haven’t seen any tests yet. Will be hard to know that though because the GPUs are all new and not directly comparable to the old ones like the CPUs are.
 
This is what I was afraid of. It made me return a 15” because of it. I suspect it’s even worse if you use a scaled mode on a4K monitor like I do too. Those temperatures don’t come down after a while. Your istats menu is showing it idling but you are at 90+ degrees?!
 
Show us your activity monitor. There is something wrong.

Few notes: I have never seen a MBP run hot just because it was connected to a 4K screen (and most MBPs users in our lab have 4K screens in their office). I have no idea why you guys expect that 16" would run cooler under load than previous 15" models — it will still be thermally limited just like every other Mac. Anything else is throwing performance out of the window.
 
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