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ajem

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 20, 2020
29
12
Hi all,

I read that there are lots of problems w/ the 16" MBP, but the problems seem to go away for the 5600m model.

For those of you with 5600m; are you happy with it?

I have a MBP15 2014 and love it, but it started to show its age and I replaced it with a 2019 MBP13. Unfortunately the laptop seems finicky, runs super hot, and is noisy when I run basic tasks. Some of my work is also constrained by the 4 cores. So I'm thinking of upgrading / get a second computer, but wouldn't do so if MBP16 is also hot and noisy...

Thanks!
 

Appledoesnotlisten

macrumors 6502a
Dec 2, 2017
505
208
I am thinking about the 5600m too, but its price looks like an extorsion to me and I also anticipate a refresh later this year.
I just ordered a used i7/Vega20 2018 to get buy till the end of the year. Will send the Vega back and buy the 5600m if Vega runs hot or something.
 
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ajem

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 20, 2020
29
12
I'm also a bit concerned about the display ghosting. Ugh. Apple doesn't have a reasonably powerful computer that's also stable and free of issues in its product line...
 

LinkRS

macrumors 6502
Oct 16, 2014
402
331
Texas, USA
It appears that the screen ghosting is highly subjective. Some folks have a real problem with it, and others (like myself) don't see a problem. Before you decide to NOT buy one because of ghosting, you should go see one in real-life to see if it is a problem for you. In my experiences, you either get a fast display, or a highly color-accurate display, with a tons of variations in-between. Apple "Pro" displays lean more towards the color-accuracy than speed. I have a fast monitor on my desktop PC (144Hz optimized for gaming, low 4ms GtG), and don't have an issue with my 16" MacBook Pro. I even checked https://www.testufo.com/ghosting, and didn't notice anything. My MacBook Pro was built and purchased about 3 weeks before the 5600M was released, and has the 5500M with 8 GB in it. Good luck!
 

bill-p

macrumors 68030
Jul 23, 2011
2,929
1,588
Between my 2018 13" and the 16", I'd say both get hot and noisy. The 16" is a bit more noisy but a bit less hot as well.

Neither is truly a quiet machine when I'm working. The only thing that is truly quiet was the 2017 12" MacBook that I owned a while back. It was silent. But it also sucked when it was pushed slightly harder than usual. 4K videos was a no go.

So you gotta pick your poison: performance and noise, or less performance and slightly less noise.
 

iGobbleoff

macrumors 6502
May 2, 2011
354
469
I got my 16" with the 5600M yesterday and after maybe a couple of hours of use I don't have any issues, but its too early to see I guess. I honestly thought I'd hate the Touch Bar but I kind of don't mind it. I like the TouchID too, its very very handy. Time will tell. I am coming from a 17" MBP for day to day use, but also have a MP coming at the end of the month which will be the main daily driver.
 

sco

macrumors regular
Apr 11, 2013
117
88
Brisbane, Australia
I switched from a 5500M to 5600M model. Wasn't happy with the 5500M's behaviour driving my 4K displays plus the internal display - the 5600M is much better at this. Ideally would prefer a quieter machine when it's working hard but will take the fan noise over the throttling I've had with my previous Macbooks. Most of the time however it's quieter than the fan in my Akitio Dock.
 

Appledoesnotlisten

macrumors 6502a
Dec 2, 2017
505
208
I switched from a 5500M to 5600M model. Wasn't happy with the 5500M's behaviour driving my 4K displays plus the internal display - the 5600M is much better at this. Ideally would prefer a quieter machine when it's working hard but will take the fan noise over the throttling I've had with my previous Macbooks. Most of the time however it's quieter than the fan in my Akitio Dock.
So it still makes noise?
 

LinkRS

macrumors 6502
Oct 16, 2014
402
331
Texas, USA
I switched from a 5500M to 5600M model. Wasn't happy with the 5500M's behaviour driving my 4K displays plus the internal display - the 5600M is much better at this. Ideally would prefer a quieter machine when it's working hard but will take the fan noise over the throttling I've had with my previous Macbooks. Most of the time however it's quieter than the fan in my Akitio Dock.

Howdy sco,

Are you talking about the behavior at the desktop, or in applications? I am curious, as the added performance of the 5600M should not really mean much for normal office-productivity or web browsing activities, only when the compute cores are engaged. Can you provide some examples where you have noticed the improvement? Thanks!

Rich S.
 

sco

macrumors regular
Apr 11, 2013
117
88
Brisbane, Australia
Hi Rich,

Check out my post history in the 16" is HOT & NOISY thread - TL : DR - was getting 20W Radeon power usage using 2 x 4K displays - workaround was to rotate one monitor to 180 degrees. Agree that I shouldn't need a 5600M in my scenario but it is working a lot better. Possibly a driver bug with the 5500M but I wasn't prepared to wait around for a fix and roll the dice on one becoming available and the eGPU workaround hassle and cost to me was better invested in the upgrade.

sco
 
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simonmet

Cancelled
Sep 9, 2012
2,666
3,664
Sydney
I switched from a 5500M to 5600M model. Wasn't happy with the 5500M's behaviour driving my 4K displays plus the internal display - the 5600M is much better at this. Ideally would prefer a quieter machine when it's working hard but will take the fan noise over the throttling I've had with my previous Macbooks. Most of the time however it's quieter than the fan in my Akitio Dock.

How much did that cost you to upgrade???
 

simonmet

Cancelled
Sep 9, 2012
2,666
3,664
Sydney
I had the 5500M 8GB so difference in cost to the 5600M is AU$900 less a bit of a discount through Apple Business. The 5500M machine was still in the return window so has gone back for a full refund.

Yeah, not worth it for us outside the window.
 

bomby0

macrumors member
Nov 7, 2014
54
117
truly hilarious people have to pay for a $600 upgrade on a $4k computer to make it run properly.

yeah. I'm unhappy a bunch of people are only buying the 5600m because the overheating external monitor issue with the 5300/5500m. How is that even a thing??? Here I am stuck with my 5500m vacuum cleaner because selling my 5500m to pay way more money for a 5600m to "fix" the issue is insane :(
 

poematik13

macrumors 65816
Jun 5, 2014
1,395
2,046
You are just cheap and bought an almost base model.

i7/32GB/5500 8GB/512 is almost base? What planet are you on lol. I just got a good deal on it because education pricing + I sold the free airpods that come with it. It's usually well over 3000 after tax if you're a regular sucker that pays MSRP or lives in europe or something

Some of you really have broken brains, likely on the spectrum
 
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Appledoesnotlisten

macrumors 6502a
Dec 2, 2017
505
208
i7/32GB/5500 8GB/512 is almost base? What planet are you on lol. I just got a good deal on it because education pricing + I sold the free airpods that come with it. It's usually well over 3000 after tax if you're a regular sucker that pays MSRP or lives in europe or something

Some of you really have broken brains, likely on the spectrum
Man, we talk about MSRPs and not about custom discounts that many don't have access to.
Get out of here, irrational human being.
 
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sco

macrumors regular
Apr 11, 2013
117
88
Brisbane, Australia
By the title I thought the thread was to see if the 5600 solves the fans+external under low load issue for people that purchased it...

Yes...
Screen Shot 2020-07-18 at 12.43.16 pm.png


The above configuration was 24W+ Radeon power usage on a 5500M.
 
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