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Hos4m

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 28, 2012
7
1
Hi,

I noticed that my MacBook Pro (13" base model retina display 2016) overheats when connected to any external monitor, I know that the GPU has to do more work to push pixels to displays but I think that it should not be to the limit that it is not comfortable to touch.

I checked the Activity Monitor to check if there is any suspicious process that is causing this but everything is normal.

What can I do? could it be something with the OS itself and I need to do a clean install? I don't know but could it help?

Thank you.
 
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smallcoffee

macrumors 68000
Oct 15, 2014
1,667
2,208
North America
Overheats how? Does it shut off? Just getting hot, even so hot that you don't want to touch it doesn't not mean that it is overheating. GPUs are designed to be pushed to extremely hot temperatures.
 
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ZapNZs

macrumors 68020
Jan 23, 2017
2,310
1,158
Are you experiencing thermal shutdowns?
What temperatures are you seeing?
Do you use the system in clamshell mode?
Have you tested this with both higher and lower resolution monitors?
What are your top CPU processes when experiencing the high-heat?
What percentage does your CPU idle at?
 

SlyBriFry

macrumors member
Jun 25, 2012
32
26
I contacted Apple support over this. It seems to be a bug that was introduced in 10.12.4. It's driving me mad, I cannot work with this. Apple suggested either waiting for 10.12.6 coming out soon (and hope it contains a fix), or downgrade to 10.11.

Lameting over having to downgrade. Here it goes...
 

dev.zakhariy

macrumors newbie
Aug 23, 2018
1
0
I contacted Apple support over this. It seems to be a bug that was introduced in 10.12.4. It's driving me mad, I cannot work with this. Apple suggested either waiting for 10.12.6 coming out soon (and hope it contains a fix), or downgrade to 10.11.

Lameting over having to downgrade. Here it goes...

Now is 2018, and i have same issue, opened just browser and skype, version 10.13.6 (17G65), MacBook Pro 15" Space Gray (MLH32) 2016, connected via HDMI
temperature 55-65
 

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uller6

macrumors 65816
May 14, 2010
1,074
1,793
My late 2013 15” idles between 55-65 C when plugged into an external monitor in clamshell mode. With no external monitor, it idles from 33-35 C.
 
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jimchik

macrumors newbie
Feb 5, 2010
4
2
That's not over-heating.

Same thing here: with an ext. monitor via HDMI, fans to max, and temps sky rocket (via iStat Pro). Whatever it’s called, it can’t be normal. Or worse, if it is, then a fix should be in the works.
 
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buran-energia

macrumors 6502
Oct 9, 2017
298
115
Same thing here: with an ext. monitor via HDMI, fans to max, and temps sky rocket (via iStat Pro). Whatever it’s called, it can’t be normal. Or worse, if it is, then a fix should be in the works.

You bumped a year-old thread. Also different models will have different temperatures and fan noise. In case of recent 15 inch models, 55-65C is normal, because it turns on the dGPU once an external monitor is used. Then it might depend on OS version (drivers), whether it has Vega, etc.
 

jimchik

macrumors newbie
Feb 5, 2010
4
2
You bumped a year-old thread. Also different models will have different temperatures and fan noise. In case of recent 15 inch models, 55-65C is normal, because it turns on the dGPU once an external monitor is used. Then it might depend on OS version (drivers), whether it has Vega, etc.

So... the fact that the temps and fans kick up predictably when I use the ext. monitor is normal...? Sorry, I can’t buy that. As for the thermal paste replacement, I’ve seen that suggested elsewhere and it bears some merit.
 
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chabig

macrumors G4
Sep 6, 2002
11,461
9,328
So... the fact that the temps and fans kick up predictably when I use the ext. monitor is normal
Of course it's normal. All machines generate heat when they perform work--your automobile for example. Haven't you noticed that the engine gets warm when you drive. It's a different type of machine, but the principle is the same.
 
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