Check out this recent video from YouTuber Tally Ho Tech where he compares the fan noise from 5600M to 5500M while running Luxmark. Starts at 9:14.
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(2019) 16" is HOT & NOISY with an external monitor! :(
- Thread starter Appledoesnotlisten
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Good point. I probably threw that video together quicker than most. For completeness... On my LG 3440x1440 I can share that over DisplayPort at 60Hz refresh iStat Menus shows Radeon High Side pulling 4.85W. Switch to 50Hz in display settings... BAM! 18.5W... switch back to 60Hz 4.85W. Open the lid (still at 60Hz) 18.9W.
Interesting video, thanks for sharing. I don‘t want to use clamshell as I like using the MBP keyboard, speakers and touchbar (yes, I must be the only person) Which leaves display port as the option to try. Seems a shame though. One of the reasons I bought a new ultra wide Philips monitor is because it can power my MBP via USB-C and has a USB hub. I assume if I move to display port I’ll have to power the MBP via the Apple power adaptor so would lose the single cable neatness of USB-C and the USB hub?
From my testing I would expect no difference if you are already connected directly USB-C to USB-C. A similar to connection to my LG 43" 4K worked fine... in clam shell. Your challenge is having the lid open.
As another data point, see my comment above... 4.85W clam shell... 18.9W open.
Yes, this seems to be the formula that work most consistently. However I do expect that you will see power jump up once you connect a second monitor. After all, two external monitors in clam shell is about the same as a single external + the MBP display open.
The frustrating thing to me is that Apple doesn't provide more options to tune power usage. If I want to under clock my CPU and GPU under most circumstances, while still being able to enable max performance when needed, why shouldn't I be allowed to do so. At some point you can't break the laws of physics. High power components will always by nature also be high-heat. As much as Apple is being bashed about this issue, other high power laptops also suffer from loud fans and similar issues. However, where I do blame Apple is the lack of options to allow users to customize settings for our individual use-cases.
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By the way, I suggest everyone to run "pmset -g assertions" and make sure there is no buggy Apple service that keep the device awake while it seems like it's sleeping
I've been dealing with it for the past week now: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macbook-16-doesnt-sleep-if-power-nap-is-off.2242424/ - the last issue disappeared on it's own, but even that one, kept the device alive for 24 hours
Even without all this, when you pay attention, even if Power Nap is disabled etc. - the device wakes up on it's own due to multiple cryptic Apple services, I have EVERYTHING disabled, you wouldn't believe, every depth of the Settings app visited and all those services disabled, yet still, something called `corespeechd` is waking the laptop up every 2 hours
Now coupled with this issue, sleep prevention is fatal to the device
Honestly I don't mind the heat all that much, I have "Display Sleep" set to 1 minutes, if things cool down when I'm not using the device, it's bearable - yet, back to the original suggestion, do check: "pmset -g assertions" - when on Power Adapter and with Power Nap off "BackgroundTask" needs to be 0
I've been dealing with it for the past week now: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macbook-16-doesnt-sleep-if-power-nap-is-off.2242424/ - the last issue disappeared on it's own, but even that one, kept the device alive for 24 hours
Even without all this, when you pay attention, even if Power Nap is disabled etc. - the device wakes up on it's own due to multiple cryptic Apple services, I have EVERYTHING disabled, you wouldn't believe, every depth of the Settings app visited and all those services disabled, yet still, something called `corespeechd` is waking the laptop up every 2 hours
Now coupled with this issue, sleep prevention is fatal to the device
Honestly I don't mind the heat all that much, I have "Display Sleep" set to 1 minutes, if things cool down when I'm not using the device, it's bearable - yet, back to the original suggestion, do check: "pmset -g assertions" - when on Power Adapter and with Power Nap off "BackgroundTask" needs to be 0
Called Apple support today. Reset SMC. Reset NV-RAM. No change as I expected. They could hear the fan noise on the call and said it wasn’t right. Next step is to reinstall the OS and call them back if it doesn’t improve. It’s currently reinstalling. I expect nothing to change. The support person I spoke to said that the next step would be to get the hardware checked out under my Apple Care agreement.
Have a call with an Apple engineer today. Already went through the Genius Bar. Full hardware check and a complete fresh install of the OS. Still the same thing. I’ve been using the machine in clamshell mode to keep the heat down. For those who have had MacBooks over the years is the heat going to cause damage in the long run? I’m leaning towards keeping the machine since i have it connected to a monitor anyway and travel for work post Covid. Makes me uneasy that it heats up like this for 8plus hours a day connected to a monitor. I’ll update this post after the call today.
Hi everyone 👋
I've been following this thread for quite a while. Thanks for all the useful information collected here!
My situation:
MacBook Pro 16", AMD Radeon Pro 5500M 8 GB (I don't think the rest is relevant).
I use the MacBook in clamshell mode together with an LG 27UK850 (4k). My temperature is fine, the Radeon draws ~5W.
Currently, I'm testing a setup with an additional display (LG 27UL850), also in clamshell mode. Unfortunately, the Radeon draws >20W now.
Question:
Has anyone managed to use 2 (nearly) identical displays in clamshell mode without the Radeon drawing >20W?
I've been following this thread for quite a while. Thanks for all the useful information collected here!
My situation:
MacBook Pro 16", AMD Radeon Pro 5500M 8 GB (I don't think the rest is relevant).
I use the MacBook in clamshell mode together with an LG 27UK850 (4k). My temperature is fine, the Radeon draws ~5W.
Currently, I'm testing a setup with an additional display (LG 27UL850), also in clamshell mode. Unfortunately, the Radeon draws >20W now.
Question:
Has anyone managed to use 2 (nearly) identical displays in clamshell mode without the Radeon drawing >20W?
Yes, it is possible to use 2 external displays in clamshell, Radeon High Side: 7-8W
But you will need to use some custom frequency settings (SwitchResX)
What a senseless waste of lifetime. And always pretending they've never heard of the problem. I think they will replace the device.
Everybody should start bugging apple about it. If this is a design issue I have a feeling many apple care customers will have the internals / entire machines replaced once we get a newer model as long as it is in the intel realm. Not sure if they would upgrade you to arm but at the same time my apple care is far into 2023 and I'll bug them extensively till this is resolved one way or another.
They're just wasting your time hoping you'll go away. Reinstalling macOS will do nothing to fix this issue and Apple knows that.
Confrimed behavior with mine using a thunderbolt to displayport cable plugged left side.
Machine seems cooler when power is plugged right side and monitor on left. The SSD is showing higher heat though when clamshelled. 5W on 4K Samsung and clamshell mode.
Machine seems cooler when power is plugged right side and monitor on left. The SSD is showing higher heat though when clamshelled. 5W on 4K Samsung and clamshell mode.
Forgot to add and not sure if it was mentioned but the best and stable temp performance that I got was power plugged on the right side second port (the bottom one) and monitor plugged in to the left also bottom port.
With Xcode & simulator running on the external screen at QHD (Dell UP2716D) and mac screen (scaled to the max) running safari with 5 tabs including youtube playing video I was getting temps in the 55-62 degrees range with fans at idle. This changes dramatically when I start running simulators and etc.
GPU switching enabled.
No extra supplemental software installed although I will probably give some of the suggestions in this thread a go.
I'm waiting for the suggested in this thread usb-c -> dp cable to arrive on Thursday and will report if anything changes.
This is on the refurbished (march 29 production date with battery prod date at apr 20) base 16"
With Xcode & simulator running on the external screen at QHD (Dell UP2716D) and mac screen (scaled to the max) running safari with 5 tabs including youtube playing video I was getting temps in the 55-62 degrees range with fans at idle. This changes dramatically when I start running simulators and etc.
GPU switching enabled.
No extra supplemental software installed although I will probably give some of the suggestions in this thread a go.
I'm waiting for the suggested in this thread usb-c -> dp cable to arrive on Thursday and will report if anything changes.
This is on the refurbished (march 29 production date with battery prod date at apr 20) base 16"
Update on my scenario. MBP16 (spec in signature) connected, lid open, and powered via USB-C to a Philips 346B1 34 inch widescreen monitor. Running Microsoft Teams, Office for Mac Powerpoint, Word and Excel, Outlook for MAC, Mail, OneDrive, Monday, Apple Music, Safari (approx 3 tabs) and Chrome (approx 8 tabs). Temperature runs high and fans run noisily with this usage. By noisily I meant that colleagues on Teams calls hear the fans and comment on the noise. Both Apple support reps I spoke with today also noticed the fan noise on my calls with them today (via mobile).
Before contacting Apple support I tried various things based on advice here and on the Apple support community:
- Installing Turbo Switcher Pro and disabling turbo boost.
- Connecting the monitor/power cable to a right hand side port.
- Reset SMC
I‘m not running in clamshell mode and have no intention of doing so as I like using the keyboard, trackpad, speakers and touchbar of the MBP. Which seems reasonable.
Called Apple support today and:
- Reset SMC
- Reset NV RAM
- Reinstalled Catalina
Support person seemed very keen to help, reviewed Activity Monitor detail to see if any apps were causing the draw on the Radeon GPU. None were. So he asked if I’d like to escalate to an engineer to review and advise on a course of action and to advise on whether or not this was “expected behaviour”. Yes absolutely, said I, while also making clear that this noise was not the behaviour I expected from a £3k MBP when connecting it to an external monitor. If it was I’d have bought something else entirely. I’m not going to accept this “expected behaviour“ line and I don’t think anyone else should either. Neither am I going to accept that clamshell mode is the only way to use this machine with an external monitor.
Will report back once the engineer has provided his or her response.
Before contacting Apple support I tried various things based on advice here and on the Apple support community:
- Installing Turbo Switcher Pro and disabling turbo boost.
- Connecting the monitor/power cable to a right hand side port.
- Reset SMC
I‘m not running in clamshell mode and have no intention of doing so as I like using the keyboard, trackpad, speakers and touchbar of the MBP. Which seems reasonable.
Called Apple support today and:
- Reset SMC
- Reset NV RAM
- Reinstalled Catalina
Support person seemed very keen to help, reviewed Activity Monitor detail to see if any apps were causing the draw on the Radeon GPU. None were. So he asked if I’d like to escalate to an engineer to review and advise on a course of action and to advise on whether or not this was “expected behaviour”. Yes absolutely, said I, while also making clear that this noise was not the behaviour I expected from a £3k MBP when connecting it to an external monitor. If it was I’d have bought something else entirely. I’m not going to accept this “expected behaviour“ line and I don’t think anyone else should either. Neither am I going to accept that clamshell mode is the only way to use this machine with an external monitor.
Will report back once the engineer has provided his or her response.
I tried this but absolutely no difference, close to 70C at idle before and after
In the meantime I'm waiting for this: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32968303350.html (should arrive tomorrow or Friday) - I'm not even sure whether it will support the amount of data for a 4K monitor, but I'm just curious whether the screen is pulling amps or not, if the display is pulling power too, maybe a cable can indeed improve things slightly
I have an MBP 16, i9-2.3GHz, 32GB, 1TB SSD, 5500M 4G like you and exactly the same issues.
I went through same steps and also escalated it to senior tech staff.
Currently waiting for answer from their tech team....
And of course I was told multiple times that they never heard of issues like this
Infuriating denial.I have an MBP 16, i9-2.3GHz, 32GB, 1TB SSD, 5500M 4G like you and exactly the same issues.
I went through same steps and also escalated it to senior tech staff.
Currently waiting for answer from their tech team....
And of course I was told multiple times that they never heard of issues like this
I have an MBP 16, i9-2.3GHz, 32GB, 1TB SSD, 5500M 4G like you and exactly the same issues.
I went through same steps and also escalated it to senior tech staff.
Currently waiting for answer from their tech team....
And of course I was told multiple times that they never heard of issues like this
The first Apple support person I spoke to today was similar. When he brought in a more senior support person, he actually acknowledged that he had heard of others with this problem. So maybe it’s getting some profile now?
The more of us escalate it, the better. Nothing will happen otherwise.
We need to start a movement Cool Macs matter.
I have 2 x LG 27UK850 displays connected via USB-C in clamshell mode at "Default for Display" resolution and Radeon High Side idles at 6–7W. Open shell mode of course goes straight to 20W. Weird that your UL850 is making it spike.
Don't worry. Your ****** experience is expected behaviour. Goodbye.
The only recourse is to fight for a refund under false advertising. The machine is not usable with fans blazing all day long and fans blazing was not mentioned alongside the promise that internal and 4 external displays can be used.
Just got myself one of the 2.3GHz Macbook Pros with the 8GB 5500M. Currently have 2 x LG27UD69W 4K monitors (with one at 90 degrees rotation) drawing around 8W in clamshell mode. No custom frequency settings. Both are scaled with the second setting (from the left). With the MacBook Pro open it jumps up to 21W.
If I turn off turbo boost and have all three displays on the fans are fine for normal usage (left fan around 2100 RPM). They will ramp up a bit if the machine gets busy (e.g. booting a VM or doing a compile). If I enable turbo boost the left fan runs about 3000 RPM. Ambient is about 25 deg C. I have 13 days to make a call as to whether I'll put up with it or send it back.
I went from an 2015 i7 MBPro to an iMac for day to day usage because I was having the CPU throttle under normal usage once ambient went above 24 deg C. Now trying the 2019 to see if I can go back to a laptop.
Edit: Thought I should mention both displays are plugged into a DisplayPort on a thunderbolt device which is then plugged into the MBPro. One on each side. Power is connected on the right.
Thanks for your input!
I tested resolutions/rotation in clamshell mode with 2 displays (LG 27UK850, LG 27UL850):
- Both displays "Default for display": 5-8W
- Both displays using the second scaling option from the left, standard rotation: 20W
- Both displays using the second scaling option from the left, one display rotated by 90°: 5-8W
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As someone who has to do tech diagnosis on a regular basis as part of my job - jumping to conclusions and assuming that something is the result of a known issue is a recipe for disaster.
Whilst it may be the case, treating every case as unique is the only sure fire way to properly diagnose the problem. Just because something DOES happen, doesn't mean it is always the root cause of every trouble ticket.
To use a car analogy: it's like assuming (with no further investigation) that because most car accidents are driver error - EVERY ACCIDENT IS DRIVER ERROR.
Which is clearly not how you find out what really happened.