Level 2

252 points

MacBook 16-inch Fan Noise

We are testing two new 16-inch MacBook's before doing a rollout across our organization. Under low loads (25% cpu utilization), fan noise will get annoyingly loud. We're not doing any GPU related and more routine work such as: using web applications, debugging web pages, Microsoft Teams conferencing (audio/video) with a handful of people, Photos downloading from iCloud, Mac Mail downloading a new mailbox from Exchange.

We DID NOT notice this on our 2015 MacBooks and this might prevent us from continuing the 16-inch MacBook rollout in our organization.

Interested to hear others experiences.

Tim

MacBook Pro 16", macOS 10.15

Posted on Nov 21, 2019 11:34 AM

Top-ranking reply

TimUzzanti Author

Level 2

252 points

Posted on Dec 23, 2019 9:27 AM

All,

We are kind of wrapping up all our testing and working with the Apple Business Team to figure out how we move forward.

This thread is getting a little side tracked with monitors and so I wanted to point out that these issues discussed are completely unrelated to brand/model of monitors being used. That said, it IS related to having monitors connected and the internal GPU within the MacBook, along with the CPU and the overall heat that both generate.

In our final testings, we did clean installs with 10.15.2 and primarily tested an eGPU using a Razor Core and a Radeon RX Vega 64 so we could eliminate the internal GPU in the MBP.

It became really clear the combined heat from the internal Radeon Pro 5500m GPU and the i9-9880G CPU is too much for the current thermal management system, especially when using all USB-C ports. (I.e., for power, USB-C hub, USB-C to Display Port video cables). From all the testing and heat generated by the unit, it looks like our Radeon Pro 5500m GPU is fried because we are seeing artifacts on text (laptop display and external monitors) but not when we use the eGPU.

Just so you understand our configuration with the eGPU: We have one USB-C Hub connected to the MBP and one USB-C cable connected to the eGPU. The one USB-C cable to the eGPU is powering the MBP but also the eGPU has the two Display Port cable to the monitors. Now the MBP has two free USB-C ports. This was producing about 38 degrees less heat in Airflow on the MBP.

When the eGPU is connected, we can push the MBP to about 60% CPU for sustained periods before hearing the fans at about 4500 RPM. But as many of us have noticed, when we don’t have an eGPU, we’re seeing this at 5% to 10% CPU.

We have installed Parallels and ran Windows 10 on three monitors on separate space and have done Geekbench tests and a variety of stress tests with the eGPU and its operating normally.

Bottom line, the combination of using the GPU and CPU is pushing the MBP into heat conditions causing the FAN issues and in our case, possibly damage to the GPU.

Apple had a similar issue with the 2018 MacBook Pro and people were starting to stick their machines inside a Freezer to see if they could avoid the CPU’s from stepping down prematurely.

Hopefully Apple can find a solution because these new 16 inch MBP could be incredible.

Please start a support case with Apple so we can get this resolved sooner than later and it will also protect you a bit more if you need to return your units beyond the return policy. Moving forward, its all on Apple!

Tim

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4,224 replies

Jun 24, 2020 1:52 PM in response to jc_9

I hope the 5600m fixes the issues we're having, but it's just as disappointing how much Apple is charging for it.

I'm not holding breath on some kind of turn in program to alleviate unexpected use problems with external displays. At least us northerners might save a bit on winter heating!

Jun 24, 2020 6:25 PM in response to PhotogWithMac

Re: #2. Not to worry. Nothing is going obsolete any time soon.

For developers, the compiler will spit out a combined universal binary with one half for the old processor, one half for the new processor, so your software runs THE SAME on either execution platform.

The last time they switched processors (about MacOS 10.6.8) there was this program called Rosetta, that allowed you to run old programs on the new processors. They said they are doing that again.

Jun 24, 2020 6:28 PM in response to ahmedfromreservoir

ahmedfromreservoir --

According to that wikipedia article, HBM lets you have really Wide access to the memory without a lot of extra heat from a complex general purpose RAM controller. So I would not be surprised if HMB helped a LOT.

Jun 24, 2020 10:52 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Grant Bennet-Alder wrote:

Re: #2. Not to worry. Nothing is going obsolete any time soon.

Well not obsolete, but the prospect of ARM processors offering power at less heat - in the light of recent fan issues on intel laptops (not just Macs) - makes me think such an ARM model may be a better investment for the next 8 years. I have found the 2020 $1799 13" pro to be adequate in keeping things cool enough - now in 2020. However we all know that over time OS's and apps will grow more demanding. I need 3 units by September and it seems a bit awkward to spend my hard earned €€€ on this when the new models are virtually around the corner.

That said, the 13" pro is a fantastic machine, the best I've ever seen with the retina True Tone display and the new keyboard.

TimUzzanti Author

Level 2

252 points

Jun 25, 2020 2:06 PM in response to raimiss

For those running iStat and having fan and heat issues, are you seeing battery health unusually low for a new computer? The 16inch MBP's we still have running are 93% to 95% battery health with only 25 to 40 charge cycles.

Jun 25, 2020 5:18 PM in response to TimUzzanti

I've had my MacBook since mid-January, the battery health is at 91% - not sure if this is particularly good or bad?

I use it almost every day for about 8 to 10 hours, mixed plugged/unplugged situations.

Jun 26, 2020 4:20 AM in response to TimUzzanti

Mine battery is 91% health, bought mid-january, and before you told us your stats I considered this fact to be worrying, because battery on my previous 15" degraded slower.

Seems to be a 16" feature. 29 cycles btw

MrMackie

Level 1

88 points

Jun 26, 2020 5:34 PM in response to ahmedfromreservoir

we’ve have a large technical analysis of this fan noise issue on the 16”.

We’ve discovered a lot of causes to this so if anyone is interested in more details please see this thread.

it covers monitors cables and wattage and causes where this issue is or isn’t present.

[Link Edited by Moderator]

gol75

Level 1

57 points

Jun 26, 2020 9:50 PM in response to BizMarkie81m

BizMarkie81m wrote:

Hi,

it is on one hand good to see that many people have this issue with the fan noise on the new 16 inch Macbooks, on the other hand you would expect that a 3k+ laptop is thoroughly tested and something like that is not happening.

I did not read about it until recently. My old 3.5 years company Macbook was up for replacement, so I ordered the bigger one due to the increased screen and good specs. I got the best version. However I am going to return it and use my old Macbook. The noise when attaching an external display is soooo high, you even hear it with a noise cancelling headset and I start to get headaches and so on. I have tried all the tipps like charging differently, increasing ventilation and so on, but the only solution is to detach the displays or, like I have done now, use the old Macbook! Really sad! I am an all apple user and huge fanboy, but this is just a piece of junk!

Cheers

You really need to watch that video. I did and it's been smooth sailing ever since. Great laptop now. You're doing yourself a disservice if you're not using it.

Jun 27, 2020 4:24 AM in response to gol75

gol75 wrote:

You really need to watch that video. I did and it's been smooth sailing ever since. Great laptop now. You're doing yourself a disservice if you're not using it.

Which video? Did I miss something?

Dogcow-Moof

Level 8

36,827 points

Jun 27, 2020 2:02 PM in response to MrMackie

So you didn’t bother to actually read his post before responding?

JackVideo wrote:

…

Having only had the latest 2019 Macbook Pro 16 inch for 3 days

I also don’t recall anyone reporting this issue with their XDR display, and I have shown there are at least some displays to which you can connect and you will not have this issue.

Jun 28, 2020 4:08 PM in response to iTech23

How did you change the refresh rate? I am not able to do it no matter what settings I choose i.e. for native display there is no such setting as refresh rate shown even in scaled. Then for my external display it's greyed out all the time no matter if it's set to Default for display or Scaled - it's always set to 60 Hertz and changind resolutions from 2560 x 1440 to any lower won't enable it. The three monitors I have are Dell U2515H.

Jun 28, 2020 6:40 PM in response to jc_9

12W maximum for two monistors sounds very reasonable, although I've been suffering for so long maybe it's just more a step in the right direction than a true 'fix', it's probably still ramping up the memory clockspeed to maximum.

Jun 28, 2020 11:48 PM in response to iTech23

It should allow me to choose at least lower refresh rates. I also saw a web page on apple.com advertising the native screen's refresh rate can be changed but no such option has ever been avail.

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT210742

denizcan

Level 1

9 points

Jun 29, 2020 12:06 AM in response to iTech23

iTech23 wrote:

I don’t think the problem will be resolved anytime soon, if you check here: https://www.amd.com/en/support/kb/release-notes/apple-boot-camp you can see that AMD never updated the drivers for the Radeon Pro 5300 and 5500 and if the problem is a driver/software issue (like I think it is) it seems that AMD is not interested in fixing it since they didn’t update the drivers in 7 months.

And that driver is super buggy.. I whish there was an option to force Windows use iGPU.. It's that buggy..

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MacBook 16-inch Fan Noise