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will an M1 laptop solve my fan issue with external display?

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project_2501

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 1, 2017
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My 2015 MacBook Pro 15" finds it hard to drive an external 4k display, and the fans go crazy when watching YouTube full screen, even 720p.

This is over DisplayPort, and also happened with a 2017 MacBook Pro 13" nTB. I use it in clamshell mode, so it doesn't even have to drive 2 displays. Remember these laptops are advertised as being able to handle multiple external displays.

This has long been a problem with Apple's laptops - especially when you consider a £450 Thinkpad or a £200 Chromebook doesn't have this problem, and my fan-less smartphone can play 1080p YouTube videos for hours.

My questions is this - will a new M1 laptop solve this problem?
 
project_2501 said:
My 2015 MacBook Pro 15" finds it hard to drive an external 4k display, and the fans go crazy when watching YouTube full screen, even 720p.

This is over DisplayPort, and also happened with a 2017 MacBook Pro 13" nTB. I use it in clamshell mode, so it doesn't even have to drive 2 displays. Remember these laptops are advertised as being able to handle multiple external displays.

This has long been a problem with Apple's laptops - especially when you consider a £450 Thinkpad or a £200 Chromebook doesn't have this problem, and my fan-less smartphone can play 1080p YouTube videos for hours.

My questions is this - will a new M1 laptop solve this problem?
Click to expand...
If you get an M1 MacBook Air, I can guarantee you that you won't be troubled by fan noise...it doesn't have one :)

But seriously, the M1 machines run much cooler and more quietly than recent Intel MacBook Pros. I have the MBP16 and if using the dGPU with an external display, the fans become audible quite quickly when the machine is doing any significant work. (Note that you can run external displays via the integrated GPU if using a DisplayLink dock, and this is usually quieter)

The only time I've heard fan noise on my M1 Mini is when hammering all cores (e.g. video encoding / rendering) and even then it's very quiet...
 
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Fomalhaut said:
If you get an M1 MacBook Air, I can guarantee you that you won't be troubled by fan noise...it doesn't have one :)

But seriously, the M1 machines run much cooler and more quietly than recent Intel MacBook Pros. I have the MBP16 and if using the dGPU with an external display, the fans become audible quite quickly when the machine is doing any significant work. (Note that you can run external displays via the integrated GPU if using a DisplayLink dock, and this is usually quieter)

The only time I've heard fan noise on my M1 Mini is when hammering all cores (e.g. video encoding / rendering) and even then it's very quiet...
Click to expand...
thanks for this useful info - looks positive for M1

quick question - why would we need DisplayLink when we can connect a monitor to the thunderbolt port (thunderbolt to DisplayPort cable) or use a DisplayPort socket on a thunderbolt dock?
 
project_2501 said:
thanks for this useful info - looks positive for M1

quick question - why would we need DisplayLink when we can connect a monitor to the thunderbolt port (thunderbolt to DisplayPort cable) or use a DisplayPort socket on a thunderbolt dock?
Click to expand...
don't worry about displaylink on the M1, the other poster was talking about how to minimise fan noise on his 16", when using display on 16" it uses the intel GPU which is much cooler than the AMD GPU found in the 16"

The M1 Air will be cool and silent using a 4k monitor. What you need is a displayport to USB C cable.
Note M1 only supports up 1 monitor up to 6k.
 
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Kung gu said:
don't worry about displaylink on the M1, the other poster was talking about how to minimise fan noise on his 16", when using display on 16" it uses the intel GPU which is much cooler than the AMD GPU found in the 16"

The M1 Air will be cool and silent using a 4k monitor. What you need is a displayport to USB C cable.
Note M1 only supports up 1 monitor up to 6k.
Click to expand...


will a MacBook Pro M1 (with fan) also be silent?
 
Fomalhaut said:
If you get an M1 MacBook Air, I can guarantee you that you won't be troubled by fan noise...it doesn't have one :)

But seriously, the M1 machines run much cooler and more quietly than recent Intel MacBook Pros. I have the MBP16 and if using the dGPU with an external display, the fans become audible quite quickly when the machine is doing any significant work. (Note that you can run external displays via the integrated GPU if using a DisplayLink dock, and this is usually quieter)

The only time I've heard fan noise on my M1 Mini is when hammering all cores (e.g. video encoding / rendering) and even then it's very quiet...
Click to expand...

I’ve been using my MB M1 Air several days now. Hooked it up to my Sony Bravia 4K today. Doing semi a lot with it, the MB M1 Air’s heat generation (no fan noise, obviously, but I checked the keyboard as well as bottom side) has obliterated anything laptop I’ve used, pre M1 Apple or X86. Basically the heat control factor — which is critical to laptops and has been a past annoyance for me (average user do not! keep their aging vents clear) has been eliminated by Apple with M1 Air. I assume it’s also been eliminated for Pro and even the Mini desktop?
Be interesting to see if this continues when Apple releases M series chips with more cores and GPUs. Obviously they’ll need more power and with power comes more heat. But what they’ve done with gen 1 is singularly outstanding.
 
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project_2501 said:
will a MacBook Pro M1 (with fan) also be silent?
Click to expand...
I can't hear my M1 Mac Mini's fan at all, connected directly to two monitors (via HDMI & DisplayPort via a TB3 dock).

I did experiment with a DisplayLink dock, but it made no difference to internal temperatures of the M1 Mini, and had other issues (slower to wake, not recognized after reboot, couldn't remember window positions consistently after waking).

The M1 Mini is an outstanding computer for the price. I am very impressed.

I definitely see an Apple Silicon laptop in my future as well. Maybe not this year, but probably the next.
 
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Yeah it will fix, I have the same issue with my 16", currently using a Air for the time being to solve all these bloody issues.
 
project_2501 said:
My 2015 MacBook Pro 15" finds it hard to drive an external 4k display, and the fans go crazy when watching YouTube full screen, even 720p.

This is over DisplayPort, and also happened with a 2017 MacBook Pro 13" nTB. I use it in clamshell mode, so it doesn't even have to drive 2 displays. Remember these laptops are advertised as being able to handle multiple external displays.

This has long been a problem with Apple's laptops - especially when you consider a £450 Thinkpad or a £200 Chromebook doesn't have this problem, and my fan-less smartphone can play 1080p YouTube videos for hours.

My questions is this - will a new M1 laptop solve this problem?
Click to expand...
I have an M1 MacBook Air connected to my 32" 4K at home and similar monitor at the office. Smooth as silk. No fan in the MBA, so of course it's dead silent. And no, the fan in the 13" M1 MBP does not rev up, either.

But as others have said, the current M1 laptops only support one external display, even in clamshell mode.

Rumors of updated M1X (or M2) larger MacBook Pros coming tomorrow. We'll see.
 
I have an M1 MBP 13' connected to a 4k monitor. Even playing games I never hear the fan unless I strain to hear it.

I know what you're talking about, my work provided 2019 MBP i7 goes crazy with fans connected to my 4k monitor. So I use it with an eGPU to keep the internal fan quiet when working/doing VM stuff. Without the eGPU just switching tabs in safari causes the MBP to scream internal fans.

M1? Quiet even when doing graphics and cpu intensive tasks.
 
Do the fans of the MacBook Pro M1 even stay totally quiet when connected to the LG UltraFine 5K? Thinking about buying a MBP and using it in clamshell mode with the LG. Would buy the Macbook Air M1 to be on the safe side (noise-wise) and because I don't like the Touch Bar, but am afraid the Display flicker of the MBA is too much (probably worse than on the MBP).
 
johnscully said:
Do the fans of the MacBook Pro M1 even stay totally quiet when connected to the LG UltraFine 5K? Thinking about buying a MBP and using it in clamshell mode with the LG. Would buy the Macbook Air M1 to be on the safe side (noise-wise) and because I don't like the Touch Bar, but am afraid the Display flicker of the MBA is too much (probably worse than on the MBP).
Click to expand...
What display flicker on the MBA?
 
My 2015 MacBook Pro 15 temps ranged from 50 to 90 degrees when hooked up to a QHD monitor (I tried 4K and it was too hot). My M1 mini typically runs around 29-31 degrees connected to a 4K monitor and a QHD monitor and that's watching full-screen videos or YouTube. And the fan typically runs from 1,100 to 1,700 RPMs. We have an Air in the household but I am not up to taking things apart to test it right now.
 
The PWM on the MBP is probably less severe – Notebookcheck doesn't mention anything about 60 hz flicker on the Pro model. While the clamshell mode would be the main usage, I also want to use the MBP als a portable computer while on the couch, traveling etc.
 
project_2501 said:
My 2015 MacBook Pro 15" finds it hard to drive an external 4k display, and the fans go crazy when watching YouTube full screen, even 720p.

My questions is this - will a new M1 laptop solve this problem?
Click to expand...
Passive cooling was one the biggest reasons, why I got MBA M1 and I'm not disappointed.
I'm using it with LG 27UP850 4K monitor and not experienced any lags with my standard Home Office tasks(MS-Office, Skype, Telegram, Spotify, emails, browsing, streaming 4K videos and light photo editing).
 
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johnscully said:
The PWM on the MBP is probably less severe – Notebookcheck doesn't mention anything about 60 hz flicker on the Pro model. While the clamshell mode would be the main usage, I also want to use the MBP als a portable computer while on the couch, traveling etc.
Click to expand...

As someone who is pretty sensitive to flicker under 96Hz or so, how the heck are you able to see the flicker on the MBA? It is something like 118kHz on the M1 Air according to that site, and not something I’ve been able to see.

(Just to be clear, I’m not trying to suggest it is impossible, but it does seem rather rare for someone to see flicker at this high a frequency)
 
LFC2020 said:
Had my M1 pro since launch, have never heard the fan turn on. 😃
Click to expand...

Even when it does turn on it's not easy to hear. I test drove an M1 MBP and drove it very hard. The fan actually did turn on a few times and I didn't hear it. I only realized it was on when I noticed the laptop was warmer than usual. When I listened more carefully, I could hear the fan.
 
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smirking said:
Even when it does turn on it's not easy to hear. I test drove an M1 MBP and drove it very hard. The fan actually did turn on a few times and I didn't hear it. I only realized it was on when I noticed the laptop was warmer than usual. When I listened more carefully, I could hear the fan.
Click to expand...

My mini is running 29 degrees and the fan is spinning at 1,700 RPMs. I can't hear it but it's behind the monitor. I think that my Intel MacBook Pros normally have the fan spinning from 1,000 - 2,000 when the computer isn't doing much and I can't hear that either. The mini doesn't really need to run the fan at that temperature - maybe it has some minimum that it runs at.
 
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