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(2019) 16" is HOT & NOISY with an external monitor! :(
- Thread starter Appledoesnotlisten
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I think you could use this - https://feedbackassistant.apple.com/welcome
Apple offers both an app (that collects and submits your system details) and the website (link above). I think it's better to use the app since Apple would get useful actionable details about the hardware, and won't be able to call our claims BS.
Thanks.
Feedback Assistant
feedbackassistant.apple.com
If you're asking multiple people to submit reports, it would be extremely helpful to have an identical copy/paste of the steps to replicate that can be added to each report. This should be added to the first post of this thread and it should be changed to a Wiki.
Went with an eGPU setup, way less fan noise & the MBP isn't drawing 20w on the internal dGPU. Went with Razer Core X, Saphire RX580 to drive two 1440p displays. Have it running for a few days now and my CPU is running around 65° to 70° with fans between 1800 & 2800rpm. I do hear a slight fan hum of the Razer Core X so I'm swapping out the fan with a Noctua might replace the power supply to something quieter. I was thinking of going with the Blackmagic eGPUs but like the idea of swapping out the card down the road.
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Large spreadsheets, indeed. VMs side-to-side with terminals. Office applications side-to-side (2, 3, sometimes 4). Photo/video processing. I like using things in their native form as well, but in practice, I need an external screen. Also, it's like expanding my screen upwards, because I like using my MBP keyboard and trackpad instead of an external keyboard and mouse. So it's also much more ergonomic.
Damn. I thought the solution may be DisplayPort, since on my other setup (34" LG widescreen), switching from HDMI to DisplayPort made me go from 20w to 5w. But I switched from HDMI to DisplayPort on my LG 27" screen, and it's staying at 20w no matter what..
I have the top model 16" connected to the 27" UltraFine and there is absolutely no heat problem. I have the wake from sleep issue that seems to be impacting this machine/monitor combination, but that's it.
It doesn't make sense that the 16" base model would be taxed that much by driving an external monitor. Something is not right. You mentioned you "just got it." Are you sure Spotlight is not indexing your machine? If it had, then it would have been long done and the problem would have gone away. Are you running a lot of applications? What kind? Where is the computer physically located? Is it close to air vents, other heat sources, etc?
It doesn't make sense that the 16" base model would be taxed that much by driving an external monitor. Something is not right. You mentioned you "just got it." Are you sure Spotlight is not indexing your machine? If it had, then it would have been long done and the problem would have gone away. Are you running a lot of applications? What kind? Where is the computer physically located? Is it close to air vents, other heat sources, etc?
You’re missing the point. Check Radeon high side watt consumption when the lid is open plus external display. Sick of people saying this isn’t an issue.
One more data point. I have just tested on the viewing of pages in Chrome and noticed that if the page has any animation or DOM renderer, the peaks are 0-100. There is no half-value or otherwise. And as soon as this happens, the fans are gradually gaining momentum. In addition, the CPU time does not correspond to the GPU time.
So I have a 16" MBP with (2) 23.7" LG Ultrafine displays. When I first got them I started with just (1). The fans became audible when the lid of the MBP was left open and was averaging in the high 60's for temperature.
So I tried it in clamshell and the average temperature is now between 50-60 with office programs and chrome open. So I decided to buy another! haha, I wanted two anyway but wanted to see how it performed with one first.
So now with two 23.7's with lid closed it actually did not change in temp in comparison to running just one 23.7 which was interesting.
However as soon as you open the lid there is definitely something going on, which I know is old news since you all seem to be aware.
So my question while I am still in the return period is....would 50-60 temps for office programs and chrome be a normal/reasonable average temp?
Without any externals I am at 37 degrees right now....almost makes me not want to use externals at all.
By the way, fans are NOT audible with two displays connected, lid closed, office programs & chrome open. Meant to mention that.
Thoughts?
So I tried it in clamshell and the average temperature is now between 50-60 with office programs and chrome open. So I decided to buy another! haha, I wanted two anyway but wanted to see how it performed with one first.
So now with two 23.7's with lid closed it actually did not change in temp in comparison to running just one 23.7 which was interesting.
However as soon as you open the lid there is definitely something going on, which I know is old news since you all seem to be aware.
So my question while I am still in the return period is....would 50-60 temps for office programs and chrome be a normal/reasonable average temp?
Without any externals I am at 37 degrees right now....almost makes me not want to use externals at all.
By the way, fans are NOT audible with two displays connected, lid closed, office programs & chrome open. Meant to mention that.
Thoughts?
Couple of readings from my new base model out the box.
Idling, no external monitor: negligible power draw from the GPU, 45-50c CPU, fans 1800RPM.
Idling, external monitor (clamshell): same as above, except CPU creeps into 55c territory, fans 1800RPM.
Idling, external monitor + retina display mirrored at default settings: GPU pegged at 20 watts, temps shoot up to 65c. Fans around 2000RPM. 65c while doing quite literally nothing...
Clamshell mode obviously prevents the constant 20W power draw by the GPU, but I have never been comfortable with closing the machine and putting the screen so close to that much heat when doing heavier tasks.
4K streaming video playback, external monitor + retina display: GPU at 20 watts, temps go up to 75c with the area above the touch bar being too hot to comfortably touch, fans around 2500RPM beginning to creep into audible territory. That's just playing a single streaming 4K video on an external monitor... I'm not super thrilled about that, which sucks because I am not bothered by the "ghosting" issues that have been reported and haven't experienced any T2 bugs or GPU panics.
I will continue to watch the temps and try some heavier work loads, but when I spend the same amount on a laptop that could buy me an i9 and 2080 Ti on a desktop I want the thing to last for years, and the fact that I can't even comfortably touch certain parts of the chassis when simply playing a YouTube video does not have me confident about how the vital components will age over time.
Idling, no external monitor: negligible power draw from the GPU, 45-50c CPU, fans 1800RPM.
Idling, external monitor (clamshell): same as above, except CPU creeps into 55c territory, fans 1800RPM.
Idling, external monitor + retina display mirrored at default settings: GPU pegged at 20 watts, temps shoot up to 65c. Fans around 2000RPM. 65c while doing quite literally nothing...
Clamshell mode obviously prevents the constant 20W power draw by the GPU, but I have never been comfortable with closing the machine and putting the screen so close to that much heat when doing heavier tasks.
4K streaming video playback, external monitor + retina display: GPU at 20 watts, temps go up to 75c with the area above the touch bar being too hot to comfortably touch, fans around 2500RPM beginning to creep into audible territory. That's just playing a single streaming 4K video on an external monitor... I'm not super thrilled about that, which sucks because I am not bothered by the "ghosting" issues that have been reported and haven't experienced any T2 bugs or GPU panics.
I will continue to watch the temps and try some heavier work loads, but when I spend the same amount on a laptop that could buy me an i9 and 2080 Ti on a desktop I want the thing to last for years, and the fact that I can't even comfortably touch certain parts of the chassis when simply playing a YouTube video does not have me confident about how the vital components will age over time.
I share similar findings. To the point where I think I will return my (2) externals and use the 16" MBP as is.
My worry is once I start working in CAD programs pushing the MBP that clamshell will get too hot for my comfort as you said with the screen in close proximity.
At the end of the day, there is a deviation in temp with just one external, so one way to look at it is your maximizing your performance without an external especially if you run a 4k external scaled like I do. Double whammy there.
There is also a level of satisfaction with only using what you need (MBP without external).
My worry is once I start working in CAD programs pushing the MBP that clamshell will get too hot for my comfort as you said with the screen in close proximity.
At the end of the day, there is a deviation in temp with just one external, so one way to look at it is your maximizing your performance without an external especially if you run a 4k external scaled like I do. Double whammy there.
There is also a level of satisfaction with only using what you need (MBP without external).
Chalk me up with everyone else experiencing this issue. MBP 16 i9/8-core, 64GB, 5500M/8GB. Tried various external displays around the house connected via DP, etc., all w/same result, but primary is a 34" LG 34BK95U-W connected via TB3.
Temps are mid-50s, power draw ~7W in clamshell mode, shooting up to mid 60s w/~20W power draw when open.
Funnily enough, I can stay in clamshell mode, use the external 34" LG via TB3 and then use my 12.9" iPad Pro in Sidecar as a 2nd external monitor, and the temps stay in the mid 50s with power draw fluctuating slightly between 5 and 7.5'ish Watts.
Feedback forwarded to Apple, now waiting to see what'll come out of it. Will probably begin getting on AppleCare's case starting next week as well... too expensive a machine to not be able to hook up an external display to it (without the machine getting much hotter than it should).
Temps are mid-50s, power draw ~7W in clamshell mode, shooting up to mid 60s w/~20W power draw when open.
Funnily enough, I can stay in clamshell mode, use the external 34" LG via TB3 and then use my 12.9" iPad Pro in Sidecar as a 2nd external monitor, and the temps stay in the mid 50s with power draw fluctuating slightly between 5 and 7.5'ish Watts.
Feedback forwarded to Apple, now waiting to see what'll come out of it. Will probably begin getting on AppleCare's case starting next week as well... too expensive a machine to not be able to hook up an external display to it (without the machine getting much hotter than it should).
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For me the biggest issue is the loudness of the fans. It's literally like someone just turned on a blow dryer a few feet away. I just can't handle it.
I wanted to share with everyone that I've been using two programs that don't stop the fan completely, but move it to much more survivable levels:
1) I use Turbo Boost Switcher Pro for Mac to turn off Turbo Boost - this won't help with the GPU, but it helps the CPU not run the fans constantly. This allows down time to not overheat the Mac.
2) I use TG Pro with a setting that runs the fans ALL the time at the slowest speed that doesn't bother me - which for me is around 3500-3700 RPM. I do this because it further holds off the number of times the fans really turn on. You even have the option to force the fans off and just roll the dice
3) I often use it on a raised, ventilated, aluminum stand with no case on the bottom to help with heat dispersion, and I'm looking into what can be done with cooling mats.
4) I try to avoid using it in clamshell mode with an external monitor because when it's closed, it overheats quickly.
5) This is an engineering design flaw, pure and simple. I have not had other high end laptops with such noisy fans. You can have fans, you can have liquid cooling, but you must make them quiet. And you need to design the chassis for the HIGHEST end configuration, not the lowest.
I hope this can help people - it made a HUGE difference in my ability to live with (thin) Macbook Pros.
I wanted to share with everyone that I've been using two programs that don't stop the fan completely, but move it to much more survivable levels:
1) I use Turbo Boost Switcher Pro for Mac to turn off Turbo Boost - this won't help with the GPU, but it helps the CPU not run the fans constantly. This allows down time to not overheat the Mac.
2) I use TG Pro with a setting that runs the fans ALL the time at the slowest speed that doesn't bother me - which for me is around 3500-3700 RPM. I do this because it further holds off the number of times the fans really turn on. You even have the option to force the fans off and just roll the dice
3) I often use it on a raised, ventilated, aluminum stand with no case on the bottom to help with heat dispersion, and I'm looking into what can be done with cooling mats.
4) I try to avoid using it in clamshell mode with an external monitor because when it's closed, it overheats quickly.
5) This is an engineering design flaw, pure and simple. I have not had other high end laptops with such noisy fans. You can have fans, you can have liquid cooling, but you must make them quiet. And you need to design the chassis for the HIGHEST end configuration, not the lowest.
I hope this can help people - it made a HUGE difference in my ability to live with (thin) Macbook Pros.
It’s not so much that, it’s just about the fact that one cable or hub and an 27” external monitor makes the GPU go to 20w, yet another cable or hub on a 34” widescreen can keep the GPU at the normal 5W.
Satechi hub makes also the GPU pulling 20w with monitor and lid open. So it different depending on what hub you use also?
It also makes the laptop much, much slower!
That doesn't do much. You should look into keeping your laptop in a mini-fridge.
Really? HP, Dell, Lenovo, all have louder fans than Apple.
Disabling turbo boost gives me about a 20-30% decrease in my multi core gb score. I wouldn’t call that much much slower. You wouldn’t notice the difference for normal tasks and it extends battery life greatly. It’s nice to have the option if you want to use it portably and don’t need the extra power. Can always turn it back on when you need it.
Mini fridge? ? Putting the laptop on a raised stand so there’s room to breathe under the case makes a huge difference and I definitely recommend it. The less contact the stand makes with the bottom of the case, the better.
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wait — you actually took off the bottom case to help it breathe? Where does the stand make contact with the bottom of the computer? Aren’t you worried about dust and stuff getting in there?
Mini fridge? ? Putting the laptop on a raised stand so there’s room to breathe under the case makes a huge difference and I definitely recommend it. The less contact the stand makes with the bottom of the case, the better.
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A blow dryer? “Literally”?? Being a little over dramatic here aren’t we? Have you ever used a blow dryer?
wait — you actually took off the bottom case to help it breathe? Where does the stand make contact with the bottom of the computer? Aren’t you worried about dust and stuff getting in there?
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