Hi, I read that sometimes MacBook Pro 16" with M1 Max generates fan noise. Given that the M2 Pro and M3 Pro have more cores but perhaps more energy efficient, do you think the current 16" case design can remain silent if the M1 Pro chip is replaced by a 3nm-5mm M2 Pro or M3 Pro chip?
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Can current MacBook Pro 16" 2021 case handle M2 Pro and M3 Pro CPU while remain silent?
- Thread starter hajime
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The 16” M1 Max MacBook Pro is silent, so the M2 Pro and M3 Pro will also be silent.
The M2 Max probably won’t be.
The M2 Max probably won’t be.
Based on experience from the past few years, how likely will Apple use the exact same just-redesigned case as the MacBook Pro 16" 2021 on the M2 Pro version?
Trying to decide whether to buy now or wait. What I don't want to happen is that the MacBook Pro 16" with M2 Pro gets delayed until next year and then after all these waiting, we find that with the M2 Pro (be it 5mm or 3mm), the MacBook Pro 16" is no longer dead silent.
Trying to decide whether to buy now or wait. What I don't want to happen is that the MacBook Pro 16" with M2 Pro gets delayed until next year and then after all these waiting, we find that with the M2 Pro (be it 5mm or 3mm), the MacBook Pro 16" is no longer dead silent.
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It probably depends on what you're doing. If you're just browsing the web or doing something light it's not going to get hot. If you're a professional benchmarker then expect fan noise 🤣
Historically Apple will reuse the same case design with some internal changes. So the M2 and M3 14"/16" MBPs will look the same on the outside.
The MBP only has fan noise while doing something very demanding.
So if I buy an expensive protective case for the current MacBook Pro 16" 2021, most likely I will be able to use the same case when the one with M2 Pro or M2 Max become available? I think sometimes protective cases can be used for MacBook Pros made in consecutive years but sometimes there is a slight change even they are made a year apart.
Yes. You will 100% be able to use it with the M2 16". The only reason why you might not be able to use it with the M3 is if Apple turns the 16" into a 17", but that seems unlikely.
I don't see Apple ditching a case design after one year. I would imagine it costs lots of money to do that.
I agree that it wouldn't be after one year. I think the M2 and M3 MBPs will keep the same design which means there wild be an M4 redesign either 4 1/2 years (18 month updates) or 6 years (two year updates) after the M1 14"/16" MBPs.
They like to make profits so probably you are right.
If they upgrade the HDMI port to 2.1 and the SD card reader to support USH-II SD cards, probably they can still use the same case.
The 14"/16" MBP laptop normally has the fans not running until the SoC temp becomes hot. Quite a few Macs use fans that are always on, the 2021 MBP quite unique with their thermal design.
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The SD slot is UHS2.
But to your point, the case would not change if they use HDMI 2.1.
I am not sure what you mean: the M1 Max MBP is silent when you do basic stuff, while even the M1 MBP 13 makes a lot noise when you need all its power. In the future it will be the same, however 3nm chips will generate less heat to deliver the same performance of 5 nm chips.
I have not used a M1 Max MBP so I can't tell for sure. I recall some forum users mentioning that the M1 Max MBP 2021 generates more heat and have fan noise while the M1 Pro MBP 2021 is dead silent.
Thank you for the clarification. Yes it's true that the M1 Max generates a bit more heat, but in my experience fans never turn on unless I am doing something requiring a lot of power (at least on the 16 inch model, which has a better heatsink than the M1 Max MBP 14).
On average, Apple refreshes its laptop designs about every three years (sometimes more, sometimes less).
Depends on what you mean by "silent" and what you mean by handle. The 14" Pro chassis can dissipate around 25-30W easily without ramping the fans up, for the 16" Pro this is around 35-40W. If M2 Pro is M2 based (N5P), then the CPU clusters should peak at around 40-45W under sustainment load.