MacBook 16-inch Fan Noise

A small ray of sunshine...

I've been emailing CalDigit customer support around two issues related to the 10.15.4 update. They are: CalDigit's firmware update tool no longer works as of 10.15.4, and frequent kernel panics on wake when connected to the CalDigit TS3+ (which only started in 10.15.4). CalDigit recently provided the following update (in relation to the kernel panic):

We just got reminded by our engineer that we have seen this behaviour with several customers on the 16” MacBook Pro which is caused by Apple’s GPU driver. We have contacted Apple regarding this and a fix is in the works. However, due to the COVID-19 situation, this might be a bit delayed. We would recommend to stay updated with macOS as this should be resolved with a new macOS update.

This gives me some cause for hope that Apple is indeed addressing GPU driver issues.

Hooray.

Since some of the participants of this thread don't like when they don't have answers to some questions, i've been banned for a week lol. Meanwhile I got myself a 2nd gaming monitor to use in the office.

With this monitor I can confirm that HDMI on high FPS mode uses same power as DP - interface doesn't matter. This is Dell S3220DGF - a 2560x1440 @ 144-165hz monitor. I am running it over HDMI and with 60hz it uses 20w (as expected), but in 144hz mode it only uses 5w.

All 3 people who claim that their computer is working fine with external monitor and that the fans are running due to "legacy interface", can now look for new reason to justify 20w :) Hope this is useful for 1266 people who marked that the are having problem with their computer.

It really is unbelievable how this issue could not be resolved after all this time. From what I read from this thread and others, I first thought that it was an issue regarding tuning of fans in software. However, I also think that if it was fixable in terms of software, Apple would easily embed the fix in one of the Catalina updates, but they just did not... well, which makes me think that, it may not be a pure software issue, but might also be related to hardware also.

The moral of the story is: I am among the people which want to upgrade their Macbook Pro's, but just because of this problem, can't pull the trigger.

I think people love macs because of their ability to stay quiet even in moderate loads, and being virtually silent while casual web browsing. Even my oldish 2015 13 inch Mbp can do it with an external 4K monitor attached, running in scaled resolution.

The issue is not fan tuning. Fans kick in as expected (when stuff gets hot), the issue is that components get too hot for no reason. At least we have collectively found a workaround by using high FPS displays. Since I have discovered that, I can use my computer to its fullest. I of course cannot use 2nd screen and have to keep mac in clamshell mode and also if I want to use macbook's webcam, I have to disconnect external screen... Other than that I have temps as low as 45-50 which gives plenty of headroom to run more stuff before fans kick in.

jc_9 wrote:

...

I'm about to receive a refurb 16 this week but am now very worried since I found these threads as I plan on using 3 monitors over HDMI with it. (2x 1440p@60hz + 1080p@60hz)

...

You can't run three legacy displays (such as HDMI) directly with ordinary adapters. At least one needs to use an ACTIVE adapter, because the signals out of the Mac are at lower DisplayPort levels, and there is not enough extra to directly drive three "legacy" displays. An ACTIVE adapter will boost the signals for the third one up to "legacy" display levels.

Off-topic but where can I get more infos about this "legacy" limitation? One of my adapter also have a usb-c PD port which will connect to the official wall charger for charging the laptop, does that mean this becomes an "active" adapter?

The usual way to tell is the word ACTIVE in the description. Plus the ACTIVE adapters have signal re-drivers inside, so they are more expensive.

Apple's adapter is already expensive, but does not specify whether it is an ACTIVE adapter.

"However both fans only runs at 1.7k RPM which is not very noticeable. Temps are averaging at 65 °C during casual web browsing with a Youtube video opened with the 3 externals displays + lid opened.

Still annoyed that Apple is not aknowledging the issue though."

If you're not experiencing such issues with 3 screens plus the MacBook Pro screen open and getting low temps then what is there for you to be annoyed about? I often wonder why you guys read these forums and still buy such a product and then still complain?

What happens if you set all your external screens to be 1920x1080 @ 60hz? Maybe for now it would give you slightly stretched view on all of them but 5w power usage and therefore 50C temp. I noticed that fans kick in hard at 70C, so you have like 5C buffer now.

DPJ, by now you should know (if you were to listen what others are saying of course) that 65C is not normal idle temp as running high FPS displays gets it down to 50c. 65C is JUST bellow the threshold when fans spin up to ~3.5k RPM.

raimiss wrote:

What happens if you set all your external screens to be 1920x1080 @ 60hz? Maybe for now it would give you slightly stretched view on all of them but 5w power usage and therefore 50C temp. I noticed that fans kick in hard at 70C, so you have like 5C buffer now.

I just tried and it's about the same results, a little bit higher. 65-70°C and 20.5W.

DPJ wrote:

If you're not experiencing such issues with 3 screens plus the MacBook Pro screen open and getting low temps then what is there for you to be annoyed about? I often wonder why you guys read these forums and still buy such a product and then still complain?

I bought the Macbook before finding these threads. There is still too much power draw from the GPU for no good reason and there is still no response from Apple since the issue was reported back 6 months ago.

"I bought the Macbook before finding these threads. There is still too much power draw from the GPU for no good reason and there is still no response from Apple since the issue was reported back 6 months ago."

Then at this point I would highly recommend for you to return it. No reason to keep a product you see as faulty, especially since Apple has not acknowledged such a problem after 6 months. You're certainly not stuck with it since you just received it so you should definitely get a refund and wait for the next model, or find a similarly equipped Windows machine to get the job done.

Be thankful yours is running great without issues. Mine runs like that too and ranges anywhere from 45-65 in general use.

Yesterday I did the zoom meetings with all three screens and sharing 4k desktop with the front camera and it only hit around 70 at the hottest and the fans still were just fine. This was also teaching some graphic intensive programs.

The person I was in the meeting with was using a PC and they had significant performance issues when sharing their desktop - low resolution too. She ordered a new computer hoping it would help. I didn't realize Zoom was so resource intensive. My 16" MPB makes it act like it's nothing.

We are the exception for quite a few people in this thread as theirs gets much hotter.

are you using a dock? I can't quite tell by the picture. I see several things plugged in.

I'll use the 2 weeks period to make sure it doesn't get worse in a few days using my daily applications for working, but yeah it doesn't look as bad as the others.

I am not using a dock. Here are the adapters I use:

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B085NLTTLB (HDMI + Apple charger + USB Keyboard)

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01M6C49X2 (HDMI)

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07BYWJN6K (HDMI)

I have this problem too and it's annoying the **** out of me. I DID NOT buy a 3000+€ laptop for it to not be usable on a daily basis.

Which, for me, is recording podcasts.

Imagine this: I open ONLY Garageband, record ONE SINGLE audio track with an external microphone, and after about three minutes, the MacBook Pro 16inch gets so loud that I have to stop recording because it's too loud. There is NOTHING else going on.

Also- it gets so hot, it could burn your fingers, on the right side, right above the Touch Bar.

This feels like an actual joke. I bought this device because my old 2013 MacBook Air can't be used for video editing anymore. But it runs smoothly in Garageband, without a noise, with dozens of audio tracks even.

Just takes the fun out of everything, I'm so frustrated and this is NOT okay for a device in this prize class.