I just got my 16 inch (i7, 32gb ram, 5500m 4gb). I did a clean start up, meaning I did not transfer anything over. First thing I did was plug it into my LG ultrafine 5k and ran it at default resolution in clamshell mode. I went on youtube using safari and played one of those 1080p 60fps test videos in full screen. After about 5 minutes, the fans still did not turn on. However, the laptop was a bit warm. I can try to do more quantitative testing later. Just adding this as an anecdote.
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(2019) 16" is HOT & NOISY with an external monitor! :(
- Thread starter Appledoesnotlisten
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wait, why does the 5600 need to be BTO? Is there a difference between that and prebuilt ones (2tb/32gb)?
Apple engineers like Apple geniuses have gone crazy lately. They can't fix any issues but keep making funny assertion.
The main issue is when the lid is open. In clamshell mode usually there is no problem (this depends on the external display/connection type, some users have problem even in clamshell)
I have the same setup as yours, just open the lid and the fun begins... (After opening the lid you may have half or one hour happy time with idle cpu, when the fan may stays below 3000 rpm, but after that the heat from the amd junk cannot managed, and you will get constant high fan speed.)
(Yesterday for me with open lid the mb pro went crazy: >4000 rpm (only 70C). I just closed the lid for clamshell and I got 1800 rpm (!), dead silent. This is stupid.)
yeeee, I have tried that. Animations are poor, performance is poor to be honest. I dont have any issues like this with lid open plus 1 4k display. anyway - it “works” and it doesnt work.
Standard 16" model = 5300M GPU
Specialized 16" model = 5500M GPU
You can only choose between these two as a starting point. Hence, you need to upgrade one of these models to the 5600.
If you use it in non-clamshell mode (open-lid) with external monitor then you'll know what we're talking about.
Windows 10 in Bootcamp shows less power consumption. I can confirm as I have Bootcamp.
But then again, Windows also has a much more efficient graphics stack. Apple's Metal API is... still in the growing phase, to put it politely. It's lacking a lot of fine-grain control to optimize for performance and efficiency.
So it's hard to say whether this problem is entirely AMD's fault for providing shoddy drivers, or if it's partially Apple's fault for "enforcing" the use of Metal for the UI even though they know the API is not efficient enough.
I think it's a combination of both. In order for AMD to better fix the problem, Apple must yield and allow OpenGL or Vulkan, which are more mature frameworks with better efficiency control. And we know Apple will not yield. On the other hand, it makes no sense for AMD to invest time and effort to optimize their drivers for Metal if Apple will forego AMD altogether when they make the switch to their own ARM silicon. In fact, if the writing is on the wall, AMD might as well not try to optimize their drivers past this point. If it works, that's good enough.
So when you look at it from that angle, a driver will not be coming at all, even if that's all we need.
Apple's own silicon isn't out yet and it's already wreaking havoc on the ecosystem.
OK. When I hear BTO I think configurations that they need to actually build, rather than have pre-built. It seems there is a 5600M configuration that they have prebuilt, but I get it.
As someone who's considering a purchase soon, and also owns an LG 5K, this is useful information. Thank you.
What happens when using your Macbook Pro in clamshell mode? (nice chair btw)
That's crazy! I'm from NL. Summers are long and hot here. It's been around 36°C for a while now here.
Seriously reconsidering wether I should get the 16-inch now if it can't even handle hotter periods. The thing is meant to be a workhorse!
Good to know. Thank you for sharing your experience.
What's your power usage in watt? How much does the fan need to work in RPM?
I think for some users it might be okay to work on Windows when needing 2 or more monitors.
Since I'm lecturing quite a lot and thus sitting in front of the class connecting the notebook to a beamer, this may be a nice workaround.
Hi Kung gu, wonder if you have any luck with Apple on this?
I was presenting to a projector today with less than HD display and the MBP16 still consume 18-20 watts of power. My battery drain from 100% to 45% within 2 hours of presentation, even my 2015 Macbook 12" can do better than that.
nope sadly. they took my report and said i have to wait until Apple resolves the issue
Same thing happens to me and I'm in Canada!!!! (Tho summer here). It gets super sluggish when kernel_task CPU usage sky rockets so the MBP 16" is impossible to use at that point. And I'm only watching youtube/twitch and internet browsing. Nothing intense.
Have to wait until winter here to use my external monitor with my MBP 16" now
Had my 1 week old MBP 16 sent for service due to USB-C port issue where peripherals will not lock into one of the slot. While at it I also reported about the external display issue which I am also quite sure they will return me with the problem still intact.
Several 5600M owners has confirmed that the issue is non existent on their machine.
Theory has been with MacOS driver issue FOR 5300M and 5500Mas the issue does not seem to affect Windows in bootcamp.
Is it a coincidence they release the hair dryers in November and the exorbitant upgrade with HBM2 memory to fix this in June?
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My i9 5600 replacement unit from apple finally arrived. again, took a lot of persistence and 5 returns, but apple came through, the 5600 is absolutely silent with my monitors running at their native 2k, which previously just having them plugged in the MacBook would be hot to the touch. istat menus is not working for this new unit so I unfortunately am unsure how to check on my radeon high side draw, But I am sure it is like everyone else - lower than 20w!! very happy with this new unit. unfortunate that apple came out with a proper working dgpu and are charging a 875$ premium in Canada to have a unit that doesn't run hot with an external monitor, but happy to have apple eat that cost and make things right.
Curious if anyone here has applied liquid metal or Arctic MX-2 thermal compound as a solution?
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I have a 5600M and am still experiencing the same issues but I’m using an XDR display so that could be why. On different resolutions it’s not so bad but I didn’t buy a 6K display to use HD resolution
Just thought I'd mention an issue I just had with my 5600M model. I woke it from sleep and the fans were going at full speed. But the machine was cold. I had to shutdown, hold the power button down for 10 seconds and then press the power button again. This resolved the issue. Not directly related to the issues related with high Radeon power draw but thought I would mention it in case you stumble across this issue where the fans are running at full speed but no explanation - try an SMC reset.
With regards to the 5600M "solving" the problem - it is still possible to get this machine to run at high fan speeds under load. So don't buy one of these expecting it to be quiet all the time. However, in my experience the Radeon power usage is much lower for my use with external displays so that provides more headroom before the fans need to run faster.
With regards to the 5600M "solving" the problem - it is still possible to get this machine to run at high fan speeds under load. So don't buy one of these expecting it to be quiet all the time. However, in my experience the Radeon power usage is much lower for my use with external displays so that provides more headroom before the fans need to run faster.