M1 macs vs 2018 mbp and external 4k monitors: do they slow down due to heat?

[unagimiyagi]

Hi guys,

When I connect a 2018 Macbook pro 13" 4core i5 , 8gb ram, 256gb ssd to a 4k monitor, after say 15 minutes it really starts to slow down. It's totally unusable for intense websites. The entire computer slows to a crawl if I'm doing anything more than reading say cnn. Go onto a somewhat interactive site like showing interactive charts.

Then when I unplug my 4k monitor, things are totally fine just using the 13" screen.

What is the problem here? I think it's the heat generated, because the fans kick in and that's when the computer is totally unusuable.
Is the issue also weak video ram or 8gb of RAM? I would not think so, but I just want a solution.

Do I need a new mac? If so, does the M1 mac solve this problem? I am actually very surprised that this is an issue. I would think my quadcore mbp from 2018 would be fine for this.

 

[JCHH]

It's definitely the Intel iGPU. I came from a 2019 MBP 8GB 4c/i5 with Intel Iris graphics and 1x external 4K monitor. CPU/GPU stays at 70C minimum and when doing basic tasks, it would shoot up to 90C-100C. Same exact problems as you. Barely can do anything, and fans would be at 100% 24x7. Even sitting at the login screen caused the fans to kick in. Once unplugged, or using a lower res monitor resolves the issue.

My solution? The M1 MacBook Pro. With my 4K monitor plugged in, this damn thing doesn't jump in temperature. Sits at around 25-35C. In fact, I have never heard the fans on this M1 mac. Viewing 4K, 8K content on YouTube? Or even playing games? Never once has the fan kicked in for me. Nothing lagged. This thing really is a gamechanger. The fan may kick in if you're doing a long export on premiere or something, but I have yet to experience it. I have the 16GB model, but even with the 8GB model, you will have just as good of an experience.

 

[unagimiyagi]

Thank you, this to me is worth it to upgrade. May wait for the m2, but for my workflow--lots of tabs in a browser on 1 4k monitor, which to me is pretty normal, this is unacceptable. I don't even know what happened b/c I had a 15" mbp retina in the day and it did not even have this problem. It did have an nvidia gpu. I heard the fans which is one thing but it did not slow down. Thank you, my problem is solved.