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

[Wokis]

I have no issues with i9 mb16 whatsoever.. maybe i do not care about occasional fan noise or a bit warmer body…

I would guess this is an issue for people with 4K+ or high refresh rate screens which leads to the VRAM of the Radeon GPU getting clocked to its max. The GDDR6 consumes a lot of energy and is hot at that point.

I run two 1440p @ 60Hz screens and it has indeed not been an issue since I believe Big Sur where they moved the threshold for when the VRAM gets upclocked.

The Radeon 5600M HBM model should be excempt from most issues posted here, but not many own that one.

 

[coach_ditka]

I upgraded and have no issues with the wattage or heat beyond Big Sur, which for me were not as bad as with Ventura.

 

[sack_peak]

2019 MBP 16" owners:

Be aware that our notebook will likely receive its final macOS Security Update by 2027. 8 years rather than 9+ years.

Recently, the European Council revealed new regulations on batteries and waste batteries. It includes a new mandate stating that batteries incorporated on appliances should be removable and replaceable by the end user by 2027.

So if you only replace your devices months after official support ends then schedule your purchase for a MBP with user replaceable battery.

 

[patthedog]

This is an interesting Medium article about the 2019 MBP issue. Basically it explains running a script which forces HiDPI which counterintuitively lowers GPU wattage when connected to a 1440p external monitor.

EDIT: Thought this helped, but my MacBook is just as hot and noisy as ever.

 

[uefacup]

I signed up here specifically to share my experience:

I cannot recommend the 16 incher with AMD iGPU after a total of 3 years of use, at least if you (like me some time ago) connect a 2560 * 1080 display (have gone through USB-C -> Displayport adapter/cable, USB-C -> HDMI adapter/cable and all possible constellations, the problem was always the same).
I even put a notebook cooler under the laptop to mitigate the problem.
It occured in Monterey and Ventura, with all the latest upgrades/updates.
It is suspected that there is a driver bug here (or a general software problem), since it does not occur with resolutions like 4K, at least for me (see below):
AMD board

The dedicated graphics chip draws over 18W of power (which generates corresponding heat), and the fans spin at maximum speed (around 5400 rpm) after a short time.
Then, after a while, the kernel task starts up to limit the temperature and reduce the load, and the device becomes unusable until you disconnect the monitor.

I have now once test a new 4K monitor and additionally a full HD monitor (1920 * 1080) connected (also with a USB-C -> HDMI adapter) and lo and behold:
The graphics card only draws 5-10 watts (in any case, no longer a constant 18W), which makes the fans run slower at about 3400 rpm (they are still audible, hence the docking station, see below).
Likewise, when only the Full HD monitor is connected, or when I lower the resolution of the other monitor from 2560 * 1080 to 1920 * 1080.
This was a pure chance find that more than surprised me and seems to confirm the thesis with the driver bug.

If it were really a pure overload, the problem should not decrease but on the contrary intensify when connecting a monitor with a higher resolution (and a second one).
So the problem seems to exist only at certain resolutions (at least for me).

Of course, I can't speak for all constellations, but feel free to try it out yourself, maybe it will help one or the other.
For me, the whole thing was reproducible - but only after I figured it out.
Nobody expects that the MBP runs more smoothly with a monitor with a higher resolution and a second monitor.


I have now opted (instead of a new 4K monitor) for a DisplayLink docking station (only the iGPU is used, as the docking station handles the rendering with its DisplayLink driver) to solve this problem.
When browsing, the fans even only run at 1600 (minimum) - 2000 rpm instead of 5400 rpm.
Now the part is really absolutely quiet and almost inaudible while surfing (a dream compared to before).
This is obviously nothing for graphics-intensive applications.
But I don't use those, and the silence/fan speed below 2000 rpm is more important to me than graphics power ;-)
Therefore, it became the docking station and not a new 4K monitor.


The whole thing is an absolute shame.
To put it bluntly, the 2013 MBP runs even quieter and, on balance, smoother (because no kernel task kicks in).



In addition there is :

- the problem with the uncooled voltage transformers, which can also cause the fans to spin up:
https://www.reddit.com/r/macbookpro/comments/gs6bal
- as well as the overheating Thunderbolt controllers:

How to find cause of high kernel_task cpu usage?

Occasionally my machine will have a kernel_task instance max out the CPU: This can last from minutes to sometimes hours. The machine is effectively unusable in this state. Restarting doesn't help;...

apple.stackexchange.com

EDIT: OS
EDIT #2: VRM/TB controllers; OS
EDIT #3: Formatting

After reading this message, I searched for a DisplayLink-supported dock station. Unfortunately, only Belkin brand dock stations were available in my country (Turkey). I bought one from Amazon (for $229), connected the cables, and voilà... Even when the computer is idle, the fan noise, which used to be around 5000 RPM with an external monitor connected, dropped to 1800 RPM. The CPU temperature decreased to 49-53°C. I am really thankful... For the past three years, I’ve tried various cables, adjusted settings, and even used thermal paste, but the temperature was always around 70-80°C. Now, my computer feels as light as a feather... And this is just with the only DisplayLink dock station I could find. Maybe if I could find a higher-quality one, the temperature would drop even further...

 

[impulse462]

I should post here that my 2019 16" MBP GPU failed sometime in late 2020 probably related to this. computer was barely a year old and apple was going to charge 800 to replace the whole thing. just awful

 

[juanpfcruzX]

Using a LG 29WK600, 2560 x 1080 HDMI with Sonoma Beta 14.7 here. For me, the only way to lower the hell of GPU wattege was using LowPower mode and this patch https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xzhih/one-key-hidpi/master/hidpi.sh

 

[darwiniandude]

Public Service Announcement: If you're still using a 2019 16-inch, please sell it while you can still get a good amount back, and get into anything Apple Silicon (excluding M1 Air, M1 and M2 13-inch MBP, these contain the older and fragile design elements still) since they're a vast improvement.

 

[majkom]

Cant, need win in parallels, non arm win

 

[darwiniandude]

Valid reason. I'm amazed how well Win11 ARM flies in Parallels on M1. But if you need Intel in Windows for sure then yeah, that's a solid reason. Or if you need Bootcamp for direct hardware access.

 

[ThunderSkunk]

I would guess this is an issue for people with 4K+ or high refresh rate screens which leads to the VRAM of the Radeon GPU getting clocked to its max. The GDDR6 consumes a lot of energy and is hot at that point.

I run two 1440p @ 60Hz screens and it has indeed not been an issue since I believe Big Sur where they moved the threshold for when the VRAM gets upclocked.

The Radeon 5600M HBM model should be excempt from most issues posted here, but not many own that one.

I actually have a 5600m behind glass here, 64gb/4tb too. I think I've used it maybe a couple dozen times since new. Was thinking I should list it for sale, and I'd just keep using this 5500, but I just tried the 5500 driving an LG Ultrawide which is essentially a pair of 1440s, and just booting up & running the OS this thing is too hot to touch already. Perhaps I should give the 5600 a whirl. I thought the 5600 was only like 4% more powerful than the 5500. ?

 

[Norbert Mikołajczyk]

All good here in Sequoia.
MBP 2019 5500m + LG 27GL850. 5-7W dgpu usage. Both lcds are set around 60Hz.
When setting something different and out of sync the usage goes to 19-21W.