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

Yurk said:
What resolution are you using? If it is 1080p HiDPI, it will be laggy as you desrribe. Also, at 4K, the Dell only supports 30 Hz, which causes more lagginess. The stardock supports 4K @ 60 Hz, and there is no lag at native 4K or native 1080p. There is some lag at 1080p HiDPI (which renders at 4K and then rescales to 1080p size, so it is more CPU intensive.)
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2560 × 1440 pixels on u2718q

I tried 1080p on a native resolution display (dell u2417h) and it works fine through D6000 dock (no lags and the temps are below 60, fans 1800rpm)
When I try 1080p with u2718q(scaled) the interface lags again as you said. Actually D6000+u2718q lags in any scenario/resolution, so even in native 4k
 
I have been running a MacBook Pro 16 for 10 months and it rarely gets warm. And I am running a brand new Samsung Odyssey G7 32in at 1440 and 240htz.
 
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My new Mac showed up yesterday (finally) around 4 pm... been working on setting it up since. It's now on my desk with my 27" sitting above it on a stand. My other monitor next to it is being used by a Dell laptop provided by work. It actually makes quite a bit more noise than the new Mac.

I did install the fan monitor and it's purring along right now at 2400 RPM with both displays and not much going on. I've had it up to about 5300 with some installation tasks. Doesn't sound terrible and doesn't last long. No worse, really, than my old MBP13.

So far I love this thing. I love the Space Gray color. The display is gorgeous. I zoomed it out for maximum space.

Oh I noticed in the specs found in the About This Mac area that it shows the video card as a 5300 not a 5500. That's odd.

And I miss having the light-up Apple logo on the lid. I wonder why they did away with that.
 
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Rob.G said:
My new Mac showed up yesterday (finally) around 4 pm... been working on setting it up since. It's now on my desk with my 27" sitting above it on a stand. My other monitor next to it is being used by a Dell laptop provided by work. It actually makes quite a bit more noise than the new Mac.

I did install the fan monitor and it's purring along right now at 2400 RPM with both displays and not much going on. I've had it up to about 5300 with some installation tasks. Doesn't sound terrible and doesn't last long. No worse, really, than my old MBP13.

So far I love this thing. I love the Space Gray color. The display is gorgeous. I zoomed it out for maximum space.

Oh I noticed in the specs found in the About This Mac area that it shows the video card as a 5300 not a 5500. That's odd.

And I miss having the light-up Apple logo on the lid. I wonder why they did away with that.
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Congratz, just make sure you paid for a 5300 not a 5500. About $200 difference.
 
Yeah the invoice and stuff all says 5300 but the listing on the Refurb site says 5500. *****?

The one I bought isn't currently listed on the refurb site anymore, but all of them on there are either 4 or 8 gb 5500's. None of the higher-end 5600's have been on there in the weeks that I've been watching.
 
Rob.G said:
Yeah the invoice and stuff all says 5300 but the listing on the Refurb site says 5500. *****?

The one I bought isn't currently listed on the refurb site anymore, but all of them on there are either 4 or 8 gb 5500's. None of the higher-end 5600's have been on there in the weeks that I've been watching.
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I would definitely call apple in that case.
 
I spoke to them in chat; they're currently insisting that everything is correct, but since I don't have the same listing on the Refurb site to point to, I can't prove otherwise. I'm going to wait until one like mine shows up again and screen shot it and then call up and see what they want to do.
 
You may not be losing out much. I had an i7/5300M here to play with briefly to see if the i7 would help with thermals.

Well, it didn't.

But the 5300M was indeed a more consistent performer under high load than the 5500M. While I'm working in Fusion 360, it would drop frames a lot when scene complexity increased. The 5500M would be smooth for the first few seconds, then it would make the scene very jerky and laggy as I navigated around. 5300M wasn't smooth to start out, but it remained consistent (not jerky or laggy) the entire time in the same scene.

So if I could have an i9 with 5300M or 5600M, I'd go for those. I'm sticking with the 5500M now until the next generation 16", but I'd jump on your MacBook in a heartbeat.
 
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That's great to know!

I have no interest in returning or exchanging it; I have too much time already invested in setting it up. But if I can get back a couple hundred $$ for the difference, I'd be fine with that. I could apply it towards the purchase of FCPX.
 
It's not defective! It's operating as designed -- it will run hot when it is used hard. FWIW, I've been using mine all day, plugged into my 27" Thunderbolt display, and once I was done installing stuff, I haven't heard the fan since. I'm using Apple's own adapter to connect the 27" to the USB-C ports (as opposed to some dock). I also have an external hard drive plugged into another USB port using a USB-C to 3 cord, and I'm currently creating an Installer USB drive for Catalina to install on my old MBP13... fan is cruising along at 2577 RPM and whisper quiet.

Like others said to me -- you have two weeks to return it. Get it... if you find it obnoxiously noisy or hot, return it. So far I'm extremely happy with mine.
 
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Cl0ud7 said:
This is ridiculous, i need a new laptop and i want th 16” MacBook Pro but I don’t want to pay for a defective product.
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Unfortunately you have to ask yourself this:
Do I need laptop or do I need desktop?
If the former then you are in luck. They are AWESOME.
If the latter then get eGPU or work with one external and closed lid and you will be just fine.

Took me a while but that's how it is.
I'm full mobile past week working with sketch, xcode, Photoshop / Illustrator and I LOVE this thing.
I have 16GB ram with the 5300 and not even once it choked with all those apps open and working not to mention good 15 safari tabs open. I was worried for a bit about not going 32GB but now I'm glad I didn't. Battle proven and more $$ saved and everything under 50 celcius (not counting when xcode is compiling but that's still in the 90s so far from throttling). This is not a defective laptop. It just doesn't play well with external screens.

And when I'll get back home, I'll plug in the eGPU, run 3 screens quietly and it will work just as good.
 
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Thanks... nice, not a bad price either. In case I need one down the road, I know there are some reasonably-priced options.
 
Rob.G said:
Thanks... nice, not a bad price either. In case I need one down the road, I know there are some reasonably-priced options.
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I got the egpu really cheap from a buddy but used on ebay are in the $150 or lower area.
The gpu I got new on newegg for $250 which I find very reasonable.
One way or another it's way cheaper than buying the 5600 and works like a charm.
My Vega is a blower so it gets LOUD when I load steam and play subnautica but in any other scenario it is dead silent sitting under the desk no matter what I throw at the system. I also swapped core X fan for a noctua that one of the users here recommended few pages back and this thing really is silent.
 
I just had my MacBook Pro "repaired" for this issue (excessive heat and noise when 4k external monitor is plugged in). I explained to apple support and then they shipped me a box for the "Repair". I had to ship it to apple since all stores are closed in AZ. They swapped out the entire logic board, graphics card, CPU, and Touch Bar. I'll let you guys know if this fixed worked or not.
 
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Rob.G said:
Which eGPU do you use?

Mine is working fine with one external screen...
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Are you using it in clamshell mode with only the external monitor or are you using it in extended mode with the laptop's screen + the external monitor?
 
DesertNomad said:
What eGPU? I am ordering a 16" 5600M and XDR. Does anything besides the BlackMagic eGPU work reliably? That eGPU seems ready for an update.
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As a BlackMagic eGPU owner (580-based model) I agree it is ready for an update - big Navi, dear I dream - but I can attest to the fact that it is quiet. Eerily so even under load.

I have a 2020 13” (i7/32/1TB), so the 580 is still a worthwhile boost allowing smooth running of my 4K at scaled retina resolutions. For a 16” owner the case for the current BlackMagic unit is less obvious.

Personally, were I in your shoes, I wouldn’t bother with an eGPU just yet. Try the 5600M with your XDR. Hopefully it will meet your needs. If not, there could be an updated BlackMagic unit (silent night Navi if such a thing is possible) might be on the horizon.
 
Nice config for your CTO 16”. I expect it will perform very well. Further down the line there will no doubt be some great eGPU options if you need a boost.

I wonder when 5600M models will start to appear in the Apple refurb store?
 
DesertNomad said:
Yup - that's my plan: 16" 2.4/64GB/2TB/5600M. My first new Mac in 6 years... moving up from a 2014 15".
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Nice config. I originally bought a 2.4/32GB/2TB/8GB 5500, but then realised the difference between the 2.3 and 2.4 was negligible, so then returned the 2.4/32GB for a 2.3/64GB. Very pleased and saved about £760 buying refurb.
 
DesertNomad said:
What eGPU? I am ordering a 16" 5600M and XDR. Does anything besides the BlackMagic eGPU work reliably? That eGPU seems ready for an update.
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I haven’t heard that eGPUs would be unreliable. Razer Core X is a popular plug-and-play option, with some AMD-based card (580, 5700XT, Vega 56/64). It can be made virtually silent with a trivial replacement of the internal fan. (Noctua NF-A12x25 FLX)

I can’t recommend the Chroma variant of it though. The Ethernet port only works at 100baseT for me, so its value is somewhat wasted. The USB ports work OK.

TB3 monitors are an exception: XDR, LG 5k, they can only use BlackMagic. I’ve read of complicated workarounds for that, but they all seem like unreliable hacks. There simply aren’t any TB3 graphics cards out there.

However, since one TB3 monitor works fine with direct connect (clamshell mode), these monitors don’t need an eGPU in solo mode. Secondary, tertiary (etc) regular monitors can be added via Razer Core X or similar.
 
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