Been there, done that, I highly recommend the eGPU setup for heavy video work and games!
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
(2019) 16" is HOT & NOISY with an external monitor! :(
- Thread starter Appledoesnotlisten
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Hello,
I think I can almost confirm that the problem is in some algorithm Apple uses with the ambient temperature.
I have been using the following configuration for over 1 years with no problems so far:
MacBook Pro (16 inch, 2019)
2.4 GHz Intel Core i9 8 cores
32 GB 2667 MHz DDR4
AMD Radeon Pro 5500M 8 GB
2xLG27UK850 4K@60Hz
No Clamshell mode.
PLUGABLE THUNDERBOLT™ 3 AND USB-C DUAL DISPLAY DOCK WITH 96W HOST CHARGING with the following connected:
- 2xLG27UK850 4K@60Hz HDMI
- Ethernet connected
- WD Hard Drive for Time Machine
- PKI Card Reader
- 3.5 mm Bose Sounlink Speaker
All of this, connected to the Mac by a Thunderbolt 3 cable.
Everything has worked perfectly so far, it seems the problem is with the ambient temperature. When testing it in a room at around 24-25 ºC with several heavy tasks, no problem.
In a room at 26-27 ºC, less heavy tasks, kernel_task spikes to 1000% and the Macbook is unmanageable.
I would say that some algorithm that the OS is using is not correct and I think it may come from the 11.4 update although it could be from before but until the summer has not been noticed.
I think I can almost confirm that the problem is in some algorithm Apple uses with the ambient temperature.
I have been using the following configuration for over 1 years with no problems so far:
MacBook Pro (16 inch, 2019)
2.4 GHz Intel Core i9 8 cores
32 GB 2667 MHz DDR4
AMD Radeon Pro 5500M 8 GB
2xLG27UK850 4K@60Hz
No Clamshell mode.
PLUGABLE THUNDERBOLT™ 3 AND USB-C DUAL DISPLAY DOCK WITH 96W HOST CHARGING with the following connected:
- 2xLG27UK850 4K@60Hz HDMI
- Ethernet connected
- WD Hard Drive for Time Machine
- PKI Card Reader
- 3.5 mm Bose Sounlink Speaker
All of this, connected to the Mac by a Thunderbolt 3 cable.
Everything has worked perfectly so far, it seems the problem is with the ambient temperature. When testing it in a room at around 24-25 ºC with several heavy tasks, no problem.
In a room at 26-27 ºC, less heavy tasks, kernel_task spikes to 1000% and the Macbook is unmanageable.
I would say that some algorithm that the OS is using is not correct and I think it may come from the 11.4 update although it could be from before but until the summer has not been noticed.
Thanks for the information. The problem has been present since the release of the 16" MBP (Nov 2019), so nothing to do with 11.4 really. As to why you're experiencing the throttling just now, I have several theories but I digress.
Would you be willing to please use iStat menus and attach screenshots of the sensors (Radeon High Side, CPU frequency, System Total Power, etc. while the MBP is IDLE with Internal + 2 external displays running over a period of 1 hour). I am trying to compile all the information I can to understand if this problem can be fixed (or not).
I've ordered an eGPU (should arrive in a few weeks) and I plan to also test everything with the eGPU also to understand the thermal situation of the machine. In a few weeks, I do plan to make a massive post here compiling all of the information, troubleshooting, and problem analysis with graphs & data. Science Over 9000 !
My MacBook came back from service and what they did is cleaning the inside (which removed a warning regarding the power supply in diagnosis). And in fact, my fans were running at 100% in idle before and are now running at 60% when connected to an external display. Before, throttling was happening after a while in idle, now it only happens under load (no throttling when disconnecting the external display though). So I still can’t use the power I was promised by Apple when I bought the laptop, but dust inside the machine seems to worsen the problem a lot!
This is probably the reason why I (and apparently many others) noticed the problem only after some months of usage—in the beginning it is not that clear that something is wrong. So I guess it’s only a matter of time until this starts again.
Anyone who has an urgent throttling problem could try cleaning the inside. It seems to be a temporary solution.
This is probably the reason why I (and apparently many others) noticed the problem only after some months of usage—in the beginning it is not that clear that something is wrong. So I guess it’s only a matter of time until this starts again.
Anyone who has an urgent throttling problem could try cleaning the inside. It seems to be a temporary solution.
It is true that dust buildup worsens this problem. Heavy usage with the fans spinning will pull in a lot of dust & fibre to form thick lint (like the woolen fibre in laundry dryer). However, even opening up the MBP & cleaning it regularly is not as easy either; certainly not something that Apple promotes or provides a manual for. Any accidental damage while opening it up is, again, a massive risk.
That being said, this only alleviates the throttling if you're staring at the desktop; the $3000+ sitting machine idle.
I just remembered that when I used to work in the office, plugging my 16 inch MacBook Pro into an external monitor via an HDMI to USB-C adapter would cause the fans to blow loudly and constantly. At home, using my LG UltraFine 5K connected through a thunderbolt cable (in the right-side ports), I only experience this annoyance when exporting video, running virtual machines, live YouTube broadcasting and during Zoom calls. Otherwise, the MBP (in clamshell mode) is usually quiet and moderately warm.
Could it be that using HDMI adapters is the problem? Maybe this is why Apple is reportedly bringing back the HDMI port in the coming M1X MBPs?
Could it be that using HDMI adapters is the problem? Maybe this is why Apple is reportedly bringing back the HDMI port in the coming M1X MBPs?
Last edited:
Oh wow, I'm so happy I read your post. My macbook was driving me mad, constantly maxed out fans, throttled performance to a degree, that I couldn't use vmware or videoeditng software anymore whilst connected to an external monitor. I just opened it up, and couldn't believe by how much dust those fans were clogged. It came out of there like sheets of cotton. Now that it's clean, it's completely silent. Couldn't be happier. Thank you!
I have same issue too. In addition to that, typing delay/slow ui animations is also annoying. It occurs only on integrated gpu. They says Intel UHD 630 is weak for that screen but even when I decrase screen resolution too much, the problem is still there.
Finally sold my 2019 16" MBP (aka The Jet Engine) on eBay and bought the M1 MBP 16 gb.
Came here to say that I am highly recommending you do the same, or wait for the next Apple Silicon MBP. Cut your losses, the 16" MBP was a miss IMO.
As far as the M1, I cannot sing it's praises enough. The M1 is blazing fast, AND THE FAN NEVER KICKS ON! EVER! I haven't experienced this amount of quiet in 2 years. And I thought I would miss the larger screen, but I love this portability and dead silence. I never used my 16" in my lap on the couch because A) it was bulky B) the fans annoyed the crap out of my wife. Now I tote this thing around the house everywhere. If I need more screen, Sidecar more than gets the job done if I need the extra real estate.
After years of trying to mess with the refresh rate, display adapters, etc. I finally moved to the future of mobile computing, and I only wish I did it sooner.
Came here to say that I am highly recommending you do the same, or wait for the next Apple Silicon MBP. Cut your losses, the 16" MBP was a miss IMO.
As far as the M1, I cannot sing it's praises enough. The M1 is blazing fast, AND THE FAN NEVER KICKS ON! EVER! I haven't experienced this amount of quiet in 2 years. And I thought I would miss the larger screen, but I love this portability and dead silence. I never used my 16" in my lap on the couch because A) it was bulky B) the fans annoyed the crap out of my wife. Now I tote this thing around the house everywhere. If I need more screen, Sidecar more than gets the job done if I need the extra real estate.
After years of trying to mess with the refresh rate, display adapters, etc. I finally moved to the future of mobile computing, and I only wish I did it sooner.
Last edited:
i cant imagine editing photos on 13” screen sadly…otherwise the silicon is tempting
Has anybody got experience with a usb-c dock to connect two screens? Like the CalDigit usb-c hdmi dock? Does it do 5W or 20W?
Thx, but I fine with my 16" MBP for at least another 3 years. It runs just fine and I almost never hear the fans btw unless I am gaming or use it lid open connected to an external monitor during zoom calls. While the fans are obviously audible while gaming they are below/ close to 3.000 rpm during zoom calls (lid open + external screen) which is not very noticeable (at least for me). Other than that the machine is completely silent, especially when using it without an external screen (even on my lab). I guess it really depends on your workflow (mine is typical office, browsing and video calls) and if you have the i9 or i7 (I have the 16" base model).
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...ernal-display-with-built-in-a13-chip.2305233/
? Looking forward to see if this might help some of the affected.
? Looking forward to see if this might help some of the affected.
Complete opposite experience. I need the external monitors for work every day, and have always used them for work with previous MBPs. The MBP 16 fans run on at 4500+ at all times with them plugged in. It’s been a terrible experience for me. But like you said, it depends on what you do. I imagined the people in this thread about the fan noise would be in a similar boat.
I am glad I found this mammoth thread. A few months ago I bought the 16" i9 32GB 5500m, It is mainly used, especially these days, connected to my ultra wide LG38WK95C, which is a fantastic thunderbolt 3 monitor.
My main use case (which has pivoted slightly from when I bought the laptop thanks to the pandemic) is that I do a lot of online training delivery, Teams / Meet / Zoom meetings, and usually always have Miro or Mural running with screen sharing. I can have up to 25 people on a call with me for half a day or a full day. I also use Logic and iMovie every now and then.
I can just leave the laptop doing nothing, connected to the display, and the fans will ramp up for hours for no apparent reason, I check what's happening in Activity Monitor and there are no noteworthy processes that would cause this.
But most of all, when I am working, the fan noise is unbearable to the point it is distracting, and I have had people point it out to me on a Zoom call.
I am also having an issue where the laptop will randomly disconnected from the external display, numerous times, whilst on a Zoom or Meet call, meaning I cannot fully rely on it for work anymore and I am fearful every time I run a client session the this will happen and I will end up losing money (and face) as a result.
I don't have the time to troubleshoot these things ad infinitum, so I pulled the trigger on a 16GB Mac Mini, which should be with me in a couple of days. Once it is and I am all setup and tested, I am going to talk to Apple to see what my options are, I spent a HUGE amount of money on this laptop and I basically can't use it with a display, it also has AppleCare+, luckily.
Wondering if anyone else has the display connection issue or may know why it's happening? I tried using different ports but it seems to occur randomly despite the port, and usually when in a Zoom / Meet / Teams call.
My main use case (which has pivoted slightly from when I bought the laptop thanks to the pandemic) is that I do a lot of online training delivery, Teams / Meet / Zoom meetings, and usually always have Miro or Mural running with screen sharing. I can have up to 25 people on a call with me for half a day or a full day. I also use Logic and iMovie every now and then.
I can just leave the laptop doing nothing, connected to the display, and the fans will ramp up for hours for no apparent reason, I check what's happening in Activity Monitor and there are no noteworthy processes that would cause this.
But most of all, when I am working, the fan noise is unbearable to the point it is distracting, and I have had people point it out to me on a Zoom call.
I am also having an issue where the laptop will randomly disconnected from the external display, numerous times, whilst on a Zoom or Meet call, meaning I cannot fully rely on it for work anymore and I am fearful every time I run a client session the this will happen and I will end up losing money (and face) as a result.
I don't have the time to troubleshoot these things ad infinitum, so I pulled the trigger on a 16GB Mac Mini, which should be with me in a couple of days. Once it is and I am all setup and tested, I am going to talk to Apple to see what my options are, I spent a HUGE amount of money on this laptop and I basically can't use it with a display, it also has AppleCare+, luckily.
Wondering if anyone else has the display connection issue or may know why it's happening? I tried using different ports but it seems to occur randomly despite the port, and usually when in a Zoom / Meet / Teams call.
Hello,
News about my situation.
I read in some forums, that some people sent their Macs to Apple for repair, I don't know if it was because of this situation or not, but they did an internal cleaning (as they always do) and from then on they stopped having problems.
So I decided to try it and yesterday I opened it and cleaned it with compressed air (Air Duster, I'm not sure what term is used in English). My surprise yesterday and today is that the fans, which were always at 100%, went to 30-60 but I didn't have much hope because at that time the environment was cool.
Right now, with a warm environment, the fans have also been around 30-60 all day and when using Microsoft Teams, I have shared screen (which was always the trigger to start with the slowness) and the fans have risen to 100% (normal because this app is a s....) but I have not had the problem of kernel_task or performance problems with everything I described connected.
I hope my problem was this, although I always try to clean the Mac pretty thoroughly and use compressed air through all the cracks to try to clean the dust that gets in, it's not the same as opening it up and cleaning it.
Regards!!
Clamshell. Had Acrobat, Safari open with 2 tabs and a Photoshop doing a light edit.
Fans started kicking in, it got noisy.....when I was done with my edit and went to disconnect it to drop it in my bag, it was -warm-......
Unit was running in clamshell, scaling option to -smallest- so it would reflect 3840 Ultrawide Resolution.
I not -get- what the title of this thread means...
It looks like they won't ever fix it.
Have you tried using the Default for Display option? My MacBook gets hot using some of the scaled options.
So this thread mentions a lot of people saying they fixed the heat issue by leaving their MacBook in clamshell mode.
But specifically with a 1440p monitor, I still have heat issues even in clamshell mode.
I can easily verify this by examine the GPU wattage in my Stats application. (The equivalent statistic in iStat is Radeon High Side). 18 W, even if I use it in clamshell.
But if I force enable it to use HiDPI mode (so macOS renders at 2880p instead) GPU power draw drops to 6 W and is silent in normal use.
But specifically with a 1440p monitor, I still have heat issues even in clamshell mode.
I can easily verify this by examine the GPU wattage in my Stats application. (The equivalent statistic in iStat is Radeon High Side). 18 W, even if I use it in clamshell.
But if I force enable it to use HiDPI mode (so macOS renders at 2880p instead) GPU power draw drops to 6 W and is silent in normal use.
Yup, have the same experience in clamshell mode with my 1440p monitor although it isn't a problem at all because i use HiDPI mode anyway since native 1440p looks terrible in MacOS. This proves (once again) that it's clearly a driver issue because HiDPI is way more stressing for your machine than running your external monitor in it's native 1440p resolution. So it makes absolutely no sense that the draw is 5W in HiDPI mode (2048x1152 HiDPI in my case) and 18W in native 1440p (2560x1440).
This is hardly an elegant solution but I’ve found switching Turbo Boost off, using an eGPU and adopting a SVALT D2 cooler keeps things decently cool. Shame it cost another £1,200 on top of the bargain-priced MBP to get reasonable performance at a sensible temperature, though. I guess that’s world-class engineering for you …
I solved this issue many month ago by using SwitchResX (full version) to allow 1440p on my Dell u2520D monitor with no issue at all. You may check out my previous post here how I setup the SwitchResX as in the link below:
(2019) 16" is HOT & NOISY with an external monitor! :(
Hi, I would like to thanks everyone in this thread for the given inputs and I have managed to significantly reduced my 16" MBP 2019 (2.6 GHz 6-Core Intel Core i7, 32 GB Memory, 8GB AMD Radeon Pro 5500M) temperature and Radeon High Side power consumption for my usage in clamshell mode. I am...
forums.macrumors.com
It depends how you connect the monitor. With my HyperDrive USB-C to DisplayPort to HDMI, it goes to 20W with DisplayPort but drops down to 5W when that same signal gets converted to HDMI. Go figure. Both in clamshell.
It's not a "solution". It's a workaround. If you can't use your laptop with its internal screen on when connecting an external monitor, then it's a faulty laptop.