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

[kelvincht]

I actually can’t use mine on the lap for web dev task. Mine is i9/5500 and runs hot by itself.

If you don't connect to any monitor, it should be cool. Having said that, it is not really lap-able whenever serious work is done that requires sustained high cpu load. If you really needs to do this, you may need to enable low power mode to limited your CPU heat.

Make sure you enable gpu switching so it uses the intel gpu.

 

[majkom]

And does it make difference whether it is i7 or i9? Just ordered i7 base one, can change to i9 if it runs cooler

 

[apr]

And does it make difference whether it is i7 or i9? Just ordered i7 base one, can change to i9 if it runs cooler

The only reason to get the old intel version if you need x386/x64 windows virtualization. If you don't get m2.

If you really need intel mb16 go for I9 (base frequency model) maxed out RAM, big SSD, max AMD (no need LPM). This way you will have a capable machine for years.

 

[majkom]

Thx, dont need intel, but want 16inch screen and want highest possible pwm freq.. mbp 19 is safer bet than mbp 21 (and 21 mbp is too bulky)…

Btw cant configure, only can choose between i7 base model or i9 base model (with 1TB disk - that might be handy)

 

[kelvincht]

Thx, dont need intel, but want 16inch screen and want highest possible pwm freq.. mbp 19 is safer bet than mbp 21 (and 21 mbp is too bulky)…

Btw cant configure, only can choose between i7 base model or i9 base model (with 1TB disk - that might be handy)

If you don't need x86, m1 is better

 

[roman.stapunov]

I have my MBP 16 base model connected to Dell 4k via thunderbolt and Asus 2k (connected to Dell via thunderbolt to DP dongle), both are scaled to 2k. I keep MBP in clamshell mode in Satechi stand. After upgrade to Monterey 12.1 it started to work less noise and less hot even during MS Teams video calls. Still audible but became comfortable to work and attend conference calls. It is much better now rather it was in Big Sur when fans were really audible during MS Teams video calls

I also had flickering MS Teams on 12.01 after upgrade MS Teams and Mac OS this issue gone. Currently I am happy with mine and decided to stay with it for next year at least. I am not sure that switch to new MBP is worth of extra money spent after selling existing unit with some loss in money. At least for my Project Management activities and light coding in Visual Studio.

If I don't have mac book I think I would go with new generation. But I am not excited with new MBP, I tried them in Apple Store today and 16 version is quite a big and havier. I liked expirience with MBP 14, but screen is small, I like my current MBP 16 screen estate. And I am worrying on heating issues and fan sound on the 14 version based on several youtube reviews I looked recently. May be I will change my mind when new 27 iMac will be released.

So I'd suggest to think carefully before make a switch to new units, only if you really see benefits of spending extra money. I won't be surprised to see some threads like this next year. I remember how everybody were satisfied with MBP 16 2019 at the beginning of 2020 when I made a decision to switch from my MBP 13 2015.

 

[kelvincht]

I have my MBP 16 base model connected to Dell 4k via thunderbolt and Asus 2k (connected to Dell via thunderbolt to DP dongle), both are scaled to 2k. I keep MBP in clamshell mode in Satechi stand. After upgrade to Monterey 12.1 it started to work less noise and less hot even during MS Teams video calls. Still audible but became comfortable to work and attend conference calls. It is much better now rather it was in Big Sur when fans were really audible during MS Teams video calls

I also had flickering MS Teams on 12.01 after upgrade MS Teams and Mac OS this issue gone. Currently I am happy with mine and decided to stay with it for next year at least. I am not sure that switch to new MBP is worth of extra money spent after selling existing unit with some loss in money. At least for my Project Management activities and light coding in Visual Studio.

If I don't have mac book I think I would go with new generation. But I am not excited with new MBP, I tried them in Apple Store today and 16 version is quite a big and havier. I liked expirience with MBP 14, but screen is small, I like my current MBP 16 screen estate. And I am worrying on heating issues and fan sound on the 14 version based on several youtube reviews I looked recently. May be I will change my mind when new 27 iMac will be released.

So I'd suggest to think carefully before make a switch to new units, only if you really see benefits of spending extra money. I won't be surprised to see some threads like this next year. I remember how everybody were satisfied with MBP 16 2019 at the beginning of 2020 when I made a decision to switch from my MBP 13 2015.

Did you enable low power mode? What is the Radeon High Power standby watt?

 

[roman.stapunov]

Did you enable low power mode? What is the Radeon High Power standby watt?

No I didn’t enable low power mode. I didn’t install anything to look into watt, I just use it everyday and after update to latest Monterey I hear fans less then before and they less loud in clamshell mode.
if you advise how I can easily review standby watt I will check next week while working.

I also decided to exchange 2k with another 4K. Should come next Wednesday , so I will check how base intel 16 inch works with 2 4K in clamshell.

Updated.
The second 4k came. I am running currently Dell UP2720Q and ASUS ProArt PA279CV connected to MacBook 16 2019 base model in clamshell mode. Both I use scaled to 1440p. Dell connected to Mac book via thunderbolt and Asus connected to Dell via Type-c. Mac Book is loud when starting and during MS Teams calls, but it is acceptable while I am in AirPods MAX (Noise cancellation is off). It wasn't a case in Big Sur with previous monitors setup, it was uncomfortable to join MS Teams Calls. Currently I am browsing, replying e-mails and watch You Tube video in a background. It is not silent, but level of noise is quite a low like it was on my Mac mini 2018 before I sold it. So, in my use case I see that Monterey made a progress in solving this issue. I am not sure that it could be solved better considering AMD graphic card on board, but I love my workhorse again

Hope it helps somebody to test in Monterey their current MacBook before making a decision to lose more on re-sale. If I would new on the market of cause I considered new Mac Book Pro 16 with M1 despite issues it seems has which started to come to my attention on forums and YouTube channels (at least in RU segment people started to show some freezes and low performance in some cases in comparision with intel macs)

 

[Darknanuk]

Right now there are a lot of MBP 16 2019 on the second hand market (at least in Germany) for prices about 1,3k € (~1,4$) for the base Model, still falling.
I always wanted one, But couldn‘t justify it for office use (text editing, online Research, Video conferences). Will the fan and Heat go high in light usage? I don’t think LPM will affect my work and could be always on.
Maximum one external Display will be used.

 

[TheJulianJES]

Right now there are a lot of MBP 16 2019 on the second hand market (at least in Germany) for prices about 1,3k € (~1,4$) for the base Model, still falling.
I always wanted one, But couldn‘t justify it for office use (text editing, online Research, Video conferences). Will the fan and Heat go high in light usage? I don’t think LPM will affect my work and could be always on.
Maximum one external Display will be used.

As long as you're not using the external monitor and integrated MBP monitor at the same time, you're probably fine. You might very well run into issues when you use both at the same time (or your external monitor has a weird non-standard 16:9 resolution).

However, I wouldn't buy an Intel MBP at all. I've switched from a base model MBP 16" (2019) to a MBP 14" and it's so much better.
Occasionally, I also used a MacBook Air M1 (base model only but I'd probably go for 16 GB of RAM and more storage now). Simple UI interactions feel faster than on every Intel model. (It's possible that Apple also cripples some Intel models, as the Control Center animations only seem to run in ~30 FPS on the Intel models, while they seem to run at 60 to 120 FPS on the Apple Silicon models.)

So, you can buy a 16" and it'll be fine for the next few years and it probably won't get very loud doing light tasks, but I still recommend Apple Silicon over Intel at this point. I'd rather use a M1 MacBook Air than my 16" Intel model.
Of course, if you need the big form factor, you could save up for the 16" M1 Pro model, but it's still like starting at 2,7k € on most sites.

 

[ThunderSkunk]

I finally have my 5500 running smoothly. 4 identical replacements later in a 2-year saga of Apple refusing to stand behind the problematic machine and playing ignorant that there was a problem at all, it seems they've finally fixed the driver issue in this release of Monterey. Running a 38" wide curved LG display, and it works. ...although since it's not compatible with Parallels 12, the last version of Parallels that worked with Wacom mice (without randomly machine gunning mouse clicks all over the place), and since OS X can't run 32bit applications, it means most of the time this thing is actually running windows, and since it can't run a non-hacked version of windows 11, it's a win10 machine. I guess if I think about it, I paid for a new machine, got a defective one, followed by 10 months of non-use while it was in and out of Apples engineering facility, and finally ended up with a system pieced together out of someone else's used warrantied logic board, and it's essentially an extremely expensive laptop running an EOL'd version of windows. I guess I'll get whatever use I can out of it until its motherboard dies, & then it's MS surfaces from here on out. Crash & burn, Apple Customer Service.

 

[arobert3434]

Right now there are a lot of MBP 16 2019 on the second hand market (at least in Germany) for prices about 1,3k € (~1,4$) for the base Model, still falling.
I always wanted one, But couldn‘t justify it for office use (text editing, online Research, Video conferences). Will the fan and Heat go high in light usage? I don’t think LPM will affect my work and could be always on.
Maximum one external Display will be used.

It's quite reasonable in LPM with external monitor and lid open. I see 24 watts (total) usually, which is well-handled without much fan. If you clamshell it with the external, no need for LPM. There's not a real need for LPM without external either, though it does help reduce power spikes and enhance battery life.

Also the 14" M1 might be a compromise option, though if you like having screen real estate or are used to having 16", the 14" is going to feel cramped.

 

[JosquinDesprez]

Hi, how many of you following this thread have updated the MBP 16 2019 to Monterey 12.1? Is Low Power Mode still working for us? Any issues? Thanks!

 

[silllli]

Hi, how many of you following this thread have updated the MBP 16 2019 to Monterey 12.1? Is Low Power Mode still working for us? Any issues? Thanks!

Yes, still working.

 

[nilk]

Anyone try Luna Display with the LPM workaround? I have a 5k iMac that I am trying it with, and I haven't had any luck with any settings, including non-Retina and the 4k mode that is supposed to be able to do 60Hz. In a lot of modes I see "n/a" as the refresh rate, so I'm not sure if it is even switching to 60Hz for the non-Retina mode. I've been trying it as a single external monitor, though ideally I'd want 2 external monitors (the other being 2560x1440).

I can close the lid and use 5k @ 45Hz mode with ~6W Radeon High Side, which does work quite well, but I don't want to go back to closing the lid.

 

[Performa460]

I use an external display and my MBP is never NOT hot.

It's a 2019 model I've had since 2020--16", 1 TB, 16 GB memory, 2.3 GHz 8-Core Intel Core i9, 4GB Raedon Pro graphics.

I mostly hear the fan when I've had Firefox running for a long time, and it's connected to an external monitor 100% of the time, but it's always hot.

I regret buying it and would sell it if I could get even half my investment.

Both my laptop display and the external display are running in native non-scaled modes and I'm at my wits end.

It's worthless and this might be my very last MacBook.

 

[Hollycene]

I use an external display and my MBP is never NOT hot.

It's a 2019 model I've had since 2020--16", 1 TB, 16 GB memory, 2.3 GHz 8-Core Intel Core i9, 4GB Raedon Pro graphics.

I mostly hear the fan when I've had Firefox running for a long time, and it's connected to an external monitor 100% of the time, but it's always hot.

I regret buying it and would sell it if I could get even half my investment.

Both my laptop display and the external display are running in native non-scaled modes and I'm at my wits end.

It's worthless and this might be my very last MacBook.

Did you try to turn on the “low power mode” in power adapter settings? It helps to reduce the heat and power wattage of AMD GPU with external display.

 

[macdude24]

Hey all - like everyone here i've spent countless hours on the phone with apple and have tried solutions across this thread and others like it.
The closest I've come is with SwitchRX but i'm still drawing around 15w GPU and fans over 5000.

I'm running in clamshell mode, latest Monterey with two monitors:
ACER R240HY (1920 x 1080) - connected via USB C to HDMI
and LG IPS 4k - connected through elgato hub using display port.

When I run just the LG montior, i draw about 4-5w GPU and the mans are under 3000.
When I plug in the ACER monitor, the wattage goes to 15w. This is with my using SwitchRX but i'm not sure i'm doing it correctly.
I set the "startup resolution" to 1920 x 1080 60hz from the display information tab and then a custom resolution using the simplified settings GTF of 1920 x 1080 60hz
This dropped by GPU form 19 to 15w but my fans are still at 5,000ish.

Can anyone let me know if i am doing something wrong in SwitchRX or if there is any other solution? I've also tried low power mode but then I can't do anything remotely intensive on my computer.

 

[silllli]

Hey all - like everyone here i've spent countless hours on the phone with apple and have tried solutions across this thread and others like it.
The closest I've come is with SwitchRX but i'm still drawing around 15w GPU and fans over 5000.

I'm running in clamshell mode, latest Monterey with two monitors:
ACER R240HY (1920 x 1080) - connected via USB C to HDMI
and LG IPS 4k - connected through elgato hub using display port.

When I run just the LG montior, i draw about 4-5w GPU and the mans are under 3000.
When I plug in the ACER monitor, the wattage goes to 15w. This is with my using SwitchRX but i'm not sure i'm doing it correctly.
I set the "startup resolution" to 1920 x 1080 60hz from the display information tab and then a custom resolution using the simplified settings GTF of 1920 x 1080 60hz
This dropped by GPU form 19 to 15w but my fans are still at 5,000ish.

Can anyone let me know if i am doing something wrong in SwitchRX or if there is any other solution? I've also tried low power mode but then I can't do anything remotely intensive on my computer.

Regarding high running fans without load despite the GPU only drawing 4 to 5 W: I suggest cleaning the inside of the MacBook. It helped a lot with mine and others’.

If you have used the MacBook for months with fans running constantly at their limit, they have probably sucked in a lot of dust—more than usual.

 

[macdude24]

Regarding high running fans without load despite the GPU only drawing 4 to 5 W: I suggest cleaning the inside of the MacBook. It helped a lot with mine and others’.

If you have used the MacBook for months with fans running constantly at their limit, they have probably sucked in a lot of dust—more than usual.

thanks. i'll definitely do that. still trying to figure out this monitor situation though because it's pretty much unusable with two monitors now which sucks

 

[YYD20]

For anyone with Cisco AnyConnect 4.9.x installed on their mac, please follow the recommendations in this thread:

The process com.cisco.anyconnect.macos.acsockext hogs Mac CPU but cannot be killed or stopped from launching

MacBookPro16,1 running Big Sur 11.3.1 (20E241) This job consumes huge amounts of CPU off and on (see attached image from my Activity Monitor), often causing my laptop fans to engage to cool the pro...

apple.stackexchange.com

I can confidently say my 2019 16" i9 5500M 8GB 64GB machine is no longer throttling itself with low power mode disabled on monterey 12.1 when attached to 2 external 1080p monitors

 

[GumaRodak]

So was this a notebook error or software cisco error?

 

[YYD20]

So was this a notebook error or software cisco error?

Cisco Software Issue, but also MacOS is at fault. The com.cisco.anyconnect.macos.acsockext was running at 100% CPU, which caused kernel_task to kick-in, throttling the machine until the process which is a resource hog settles down. I suspect the AnyConnect Socket Filter was monitoring traffic in/out of my Parallels VM, along with any network adapter on the Mac, even though the AnyConnect application was not in use.

This change has also reduced the amount of CPU my Parallels VM is consuming, which makes the VM actually usable.

It's a shame apple doesn't have any diagnostics for determining the cause of why kernel_task is being invoked. I understand it is to protect the underlying CPU from burning itself out, but some insight into what process is causing kernel_task to run would be nice. I can also confirm the speed limit of my machine has not dipped below 100% (using Hot to determine CPU Speed Limit aka Thermal Throttling https://github.com/macmade/Hot/releases) since I made the change.

Hopefully this helps someone after fighting this issue for over 2 years

 

[DrGeekFR]

Hi everyone, I know it's not a solution, but finally I sold my mbp 2016 and bought a new mbp 14.

First no more fan noise (even without external screen !!), better battery life, AND (!) I can finally have 120hz on my external monitor ! Really there is a lot to win to change to the newer model

 

[WilliamG]

Hi everyone, I know it's not a solution, but finally I sold my mbp 2016 and bought a new mbp 14.

First no more fan noise (even without external screen !!), better battery life, AND (!) I can finally have 120hz on my external monitor ! Really there is a lot to win to change to the newer model

Yup. I’ve been in heaven since late October when I received my new 16” MBP and dumped the old one.