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(2019) 16" is HOT & NOISY with an external monitor! :(
- Thread starter Appledoesnotlisten
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Turn off Power Nap in the system preferences. I had this too, and turning off Power Nap solved this issue when I had the machine with the 5500M.
Haha, this is CRAZY. A driver bug for sure, the silliest I have ever seen 😂
My current setup has a 29" LG Ultrawide and a second LG 22" Full HD monitor. My 16" rMBP drives them in clamshell mode.
I played around with the settings and resolution in SwitchResX to get the dGPU power usage to drop to 5W. This only happened when I switched the resolution of the 29" ultra-wide monitor to Full HD. At its native resolution of 2560 x 1080, irrespective of which refresh rate I tried, the GPU was drawing 17-18W of power. Even got a USB-C to DisplayPort cable but that did not help things. SwitchResX EDID for both monitors shows the "ideal" resolution as 2560x1080 @60Hz and 1080p @60Hz which is what I am running them at.
Assuming the problem stops when I run the widescreen monitor at 1080p, I am guessing its happening because the dGPU has to run two different monitors at different resolutions leading to a "sync" issue.
I played around with the settings and resolution in SwitchResX to get the dGPU power usage to drop to 5W. This only happened when I switched the resolution of the 29" ultra-wide monitor to Full HD. At its native resolution of 2560 x 1080, irrespective of which refresh rate I tried, the GPU was drawing 17-18W of power. Even got a USB-C to DisplayPort cable but that did not help things. SwitchResX EDID for both monitors shows the "ideal" resolution as 2560x1080 @60Hz and 1080p @60Hz which is what I am running them at.
Assuming the problem stops when I run the widescreen monitor at 1080p, I am guessing its happening because the dGPU has to run two different monitors at different resolutions leading to a "sync" issue.
What equipment does the Apple leadership use? All just an iPad? I can hardly imagine that someone from the upper floor would not be totally stressed out by such a problem. That would be the first course to the engineers. But well, probably only designers develop and test them. Not engineers.
Joke aside, they build great devices and the cracking of the speakers was quickly solved, there was also a cry of the users.
There must be a reason why this time obviously nothing happens. There are also no changes with Big Sur or Catalina 10.5.6. Hoping for a Firmware Update?
Joke aside, they build great devices and the cracking of the speakers was quickly solved, there was also a cry of the users.
There must be a reason why this time obviously nothing happens. There are also no changes with Big Sur or Catalina 10.5.6. Hoping for a Firmware Update?
I had a similar problem with my MBP 16" (i9, Radeon 5500M) and external Dell displays (U2415). The Radeon high side power consumption was close to 20W no matter if the lid was closed or not. I played with SwitchResX and checked different refresh rates, but no luck.
Note, that DELL U2415 has a 16:10 aspect ratio (1920 x 1200). When I had switched the resolution to Full HD(1920 x 1080), the power consumption got down to 6W in a clamshell mode.
Then I tried another Dell monitor with native Full HD resolution and it also showed 6W. Same for LG 27UL650 4k display - 6W in the clamshell mode.
The problem might be related to displays with aspect ratio other than 16:9.
Note, that DELL U2415 has a 16:10 aspect ratio (1920 x 1200). When I had switched the resolution to Full HD(1920 x 1080), the power consumption got down to 6W in a clamshell mode.
Then I tried another Dell monitor with native Full HD resolution and it also showed 6W. Same for LG 27UL650 4k display - 6W in the clamshell mode.
The problem might be related to displays with aspect ratio other than 16:9.
I have added my comment on the AMD forums thread - https://community.amd.com/thread/254736
I advise you do the same if you want this fixed. Complaining here will do absolutely nothing.
I advise you do the same if you want this fixed. Complaining here will do absolutely nothing.
Is there an eGPU that runs cool and (more importantly) silent? I'm afraid that if someone tries to solve this with an eGPU, there would then be two hot and noisy things on the desk.
There's free hope on the way though. Big Sur DP1 was using considerably less fans during the few days I tested it. They did go fast occasionally, but only when it was justified based on app activity. We're not talking about "iMac quiet" here, but noticeably better than with Catalina.
Blackmagic eGPU is practically silent but expensive and only 87W PD. Razer Core X with stock fans is quieter than MBP with external display and lid open (at least with a quiet card like Sapphire Pulse RX 5500 XT). Razer Core X with case and PSU fans replaced with Noctua fans is just a tiny bit louder than MBP at min fans, and not at all annoying.
Your CPU will run faster, too.
I think any hope for a driver fix from AMD or another software fix from Big Sur for 5300m and 5500m is wishful thinking.
I am glad to hear it also worked for you.
This fix (or workaround) worked for more than 10 separate MacBook Pros that I am aware of.
Anyone reading this. If your MacBook drives your monitor with a weird Hz like (58.20 or 59.88).
1. Download SwitchResX
2. Create a custom resolution with integer Hz. (like 50hz 60hz)
3. Use that resolution.
These steps fixed the high power usage of the discreet GPU for a lot of people, so it is worth a try.
Do you need to disable SIP to enable the custom resolution?
Also, does this fix work for both issues? As in using laptop in clamshell mode and getting high wattage usage from the gpu and ALSO with the laptop open issue getting high GPU wattage?
If you are using macOS version 10.15.2 and newer, there's no need to disable SIP any more to install custom resolutions, but you need to use SwitchResX version 4.10 at least. Disabling SIP is still only required to install the SwitchResX Contextual Menu. (from SwitchResX Documentation)
I did not try "Open Lid Mode" so I can not say anything about it, but "Clamshell Mode" definitely works.
Good news everyone,
10.15.6 Beta 3 seemed to fix the external display issue for me. The dGpu now idles proper and the entire chassis does not feel warm to the touch when I am doing general browsing. (Clamshell mode).
However, the issue remains while the internal screen is used. But hey, baby steps.
10.15.6 Beta 3 seemed to fix the external display issue for me. The dGpu now idles proper and the entire chassis does not feel warm to the touch when I am doing general browsing. (Clamshell mode).
However, the issue remains while the internal screen is used. But hey, baby steps.
I have the exact same issue below.
With the laptop screen open and external monitor connected, using chrome, and a code editor, the MacBook it's overheating with fan activations and overall high wattage consumption.
MacBook Pro 16" (2019) - AMD Radeon Pro 5300M 4 GB
External Monitor: 24" Asus VS 247 - 1920x1080 / 60hz
Connected by original Apple adapter USB-C to HDMI
I have added my comment on the AMD forums thread - https://community.amd.com/thread/254736
With the laptop screen open and external monitor connected, using chrome, and a code editor, the MacBook it's overheating with fan activations and overall high wattage consumption.
MacBook Pro 16" (2019) - AMD Radeon Pro 5300M 4 GB
External Monitor: 24" Asus VS 247 - 1920x1080 / 60hz
Connected by original Apple adapter USB-C to HDMI
I have added my comment on the AMD forums thread - https://community.amd.com/thread/254736
Here you go buddy:
This is under general browsing. Its the first time I've seen the iGpu being used while an external display is connected. Though the dGpu seemed to be doing most of the heavy lifting. The iGpu now work in tandem with the dGpu.
Seems like they managed to get both the iGpu and the dGpu to work concurrently or some sort. Maybe some expert can chim in on one this for me.
My temperature used to idle at around 60c-70c while under general use. But its at 54c now (ambient temperature 26c).
This is my temperature and fan information:
Cheers.
I am using LG 27UL850, 4K 60HZ (Type C to C) connection. Refresh rate is not modified in any way.
This is under general browsing. Its the first time I've seen the iGpu being used while an external display is connected. Though the dGpu seemed to be doing most of the heavy lifting. The iGpu now work in tandem with the dGpu.
Seems like they managed to get both the iGpu and the dGpu to work concurrently or some sort. Maybe some expert can chim in on one this for me.
My temperature used to idle at around 60c-70c while under general use. But its at 54c now (ambient temperature 26c).
This is my temperature and fan information:
Cheers.
I am using LG 27UL850, 4K 60HZ (Type C to C) connection. Refresh rate is not modified in any way.
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Wow this is awesome, can you please post a screenshot with clamshell open or with 2 monitors connected? thanks a lot
Hey,
I am using the base model MacBook Pro 16. Not the 5600m one that supposedly fixed the issue.
That's normal. I posted my own stats around page 70 or so. Here you guys go:
Some Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C displays are plug-and-forget in clamshell mode. They just work.
If you can work in clamshell, buy a USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 display. Forget SwitchResX.
If you have to work with multiple monitors (more than 1), buy the 5600M or an eGPU.
P.S.: incidentally, the LG 5K ultrawide is seen as 2x displays internally, each at 2560 x 2160:
So I'm technically running 2 displays simultaneously. But whatever...
Some Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C displays are plug-and-forget in clamshell mode. They just work.
If you can work in clamshell, buy a USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 display. Forget SwitchResX.
If you have to work with multiple monitors (more than 1), buy the 5600M or an eGPU.
P.S.: incidentally, the LG 5K ultrawide is seen as 2x displays internally, each at 2560 x 2160:
So I'm technically running 2 displays simultaneously. But whatever...
