MacBook 16-inch Fan Noise

Said that it is clearly a defect in regard of the steering of the VRAM. Might be AMD. The provider of the hardware at the end is Apple - who needs to ensure the work is done right. Apple could provide with a solution as with Xresolution it is possible to steer the RX5500 to use less power without flickering.

You keep calling it a "defect" when you have presented exactly zero proof of that.

Surely if it were a "defect" in the macOS drivers the new Bootcamp drivers recently delivered would have addressed the issue in Windows, but I am unaware that it has; please correct me if I am wrong.

AMD has stated they are not willing to risk flicker to preserve the user experience, which is why they drive the VRAM at full speed.

If you read the thread I linked to on the RX 5000, on AMD's own version of this forum, that's precisely what they said in response to calls for lower VRAM refresh rates for that particular GPU.

People asked AMD when they were going to address it, and they stated clearly and unequivocally that the answer I posted was them addressing it - the design engineers said (for the RX 5000) "works as designed."

You can disagree with that all day, but ultimately it's AMD and Apple's call, and I doubt Apple is going to do something the manufacturer of the GPU considers to be contrary to its design.

AMD and/or Apple may change the refresh rates in the future, but for now, they are what they are, and that decision is one I am certainly not going to be privy to.

He keeps calling it a defect because you don't expect a $4000 "PRO" machine to go all the way to 100 degrees which causes cpu throttling and the fans running like the machine is ready to go flying WITHOUT RUNNING A SINGLE PROGRAM, just by connecting an external monitor.

iTech23 wrote:

He keeps calling it a defect because you don't expect a $4000 "PRO" machine to go all the way to 100 degrees which causes cpu throttling and the fans running like the machine is ready to go flying WITHOUT RUNNING A SINGLE PROGRAM, just by connecting an external monitor.

Mine certainly doesn't, nor do those of other users here, so you're exaggerating. I understand your displeasure, but it is not a universal issue.

I can also point you to several Windows laptops that do the exact same thing, so it's certainly not an Apple-exclusive trait.

Nevertheless, that's why Apple gives you a 14 day return period to determine the suitability of its products for your environment.

I don't consider something working contrary to how you would prefer it to operate to be a "defect."

adaptiv wrote:

Wrong William. Its the customers call. We want a silent machine while talking to clients co-workers or others over skype etc....

If you manage to find one, let us all know; the MacBook Pro 16" with the Radeon Pro 5600M may actually fit the bill for reasons I explained previously. HBM2 VRAM is pretty awesome and uses an average of 1/4 the power of the GDDR6 VRAM used with the 5300M and 5500M GPUs… but is also more expensive; there's no free lunch in the tech world (and didn't yet exist when the MBP 16 was introduced.)

Certainly current high-end laptops from Dell, HP, and Lenovo with high end GPUs all fail this test when being used with just their internal displays.

Hi,

My only addition to the thread is that this issue is real. Apple should start recognizing it instead of denying it.

I am a very upset customer. I upgraded from my old MacBook Pro 2014 after 6 great years, only because I needed more ram for work. (thank you apple for not allowing to add more ram in existing machines).

I was reluctant to buy the new version after hearing online about potential issues, as you all know it's a very expensive machine , but we buy it for the superior experience.

Unfortunately i have to join the choir of people claiming that APPLE MESSED UP.

I noticed since the first day i bought the new Mac that it was overheating (at touch) and that the fan was way way too noisy. No it doesn't happen in the old mac book pro with the same apps running and a much less powerful processor . End OF.!

For anyone wondering This is my spec.

MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019 2,3 GHz)

Intel Core i9 8 core

32 GB 2667 MHz DDR4

Intel UHD Graphics 630 1536 MB

MacOsCataline

They made me think it was some software issue , installed OS , reinstalled OS, reset ram reset smc. and time goes by and now i am stuck with an inferior machine.. I am looking of finding ways to claim refund.

This is a hardware issue. Apple must fix it. We pay a huge premium for superior experience. This is not. Not specially if an old machine performs better than a new one.

New customers should be very wary and understand this is a real issue.

Stop telling customers they are making up the problem. We are thousands!!

Regards,

An upset customer who bought it's new mac in august 2020.

Yet another user... same issue, excessive fan noise, heat & battery drain with any external monitor connected. Extremely disappointed in Apple in the design decision and lack of a fix. It's an excellent machine aside from this issue, but the high fan noise and 2hr battery life when doing presentations completely wrecks the day-to-day experience for me. If I could return the unit I would.

Apple should issue a fix for this or they should do a recall, in my opinion. This is a defective product.

Specs:

10.15.7

2.3 GHz i9

32GB

5500M 8GB / UHD 630

Or at least with an adequate warning sign „can produce significant noise in silent environments, recommended to test before buy“ and regarding battery lenght „can significantly reduce battery powered duration with external displays attached in presentations“

Just a data point regarding the suggestion to use a USB-C to DP/mDP cable.

Hardware: i9, 32Mb RAM, 5500M 8Gb GPU, running 10.15.7. The display is a Dell U4919DW at 5120x1440.

I was having similar issues to those raised here: 17W reported for Radeon High Side, with some fan noise all day, even when just doing email and other humdrum tasks. Any moderate additional CPU usage would ramp fans to max.

I had power plugged in on the right hand side, with a (1st gen) Apple USB-C Multiport adapter feeding my external display over HDMI, also on the RHS. Left hand USB-C ports feeding USB devices only. Clamshell mode (because need for mobility has taken a nosedive of late...)

Ditching the Multiport adapter/HDMI combo and moving to USB-C -> DP dropped the Radeon high side to ~4W, same display & resolution at 60Hz. Video calls still seem ramp that radeon high side number back up, but once off calls, I'm back to silence. Huge quality of life improvement right there...

There’s no way they’d do that. That’d be such a large amount of the 16 inch MacBook pro’s they’d lose near total revenue from for the whole year. If you don’t use a monitor, it’s still awesome. Trust me, I have the exact same specs as you, I just use and elevated stand and it makes the noise of the fans far far less noticeable. It idles on around 3500rpms and I don’t hear it much. I think the best thing for us to do is to use the tool as a tool and to enjoy it, cause there’ll be a time where you replace it and move on(if you want to).

“Use the tool as a tool” ... so, don’t use the battery when doing presentations? Don’t worry about the excessive noise when on video calls? Don’t connect to my reference display for colour grading? Or just don’t use the tool as it’s designed to be used (with external displays) because using it on a stand happens to work for you?

Why would fan speed matter when color grading?

Why do you need to use your external color grading monitor for video calls?

Nothing is stopping you from using your tool as a tool other than the fact that you deem the fan speeds excessive and annoying.

On the other hand, if you do find it too annoying to use at present, and none of the other strategies presented work for you, you will need to explore other strategies or purchase another machine.

(However, stay away from many Windows laptops as they have similar fan issues if not worse ones.)

Why would a quiet environment matter while monitoring the audio of a film? Why would someone need to use an external display while on a video call or doing a presentation? Do you think there might be valid answers to those questions?

Again... great that it works for you.

I don’t get why people spend their energy debasing other people’s valid concerns because it doesn’t affect them.

Because you are telling people it is impossible to use the tool because of the issues you experience.

Some of the color graders I know listen to speed metal on headphones while grading a film., but I wouldn't suggest that as a fix, either. 😁

It's pretty clear at this point that the way it works is the way it will continue to work for the moment, so if it's completely unacceptable to you and you are unwilling to try alternatives, you need to find a way to get your job done, whatever that is.

I am watching this discussion for a while. As I can see many people have the same problems. I reported a "solution" but it doesn't worked well, the noise of that pro product is not acceptable. The poor quality of the Mac Book 16 technical design is a shame for apple. There is no other wording for that. I am very disappointed and will not spend further time or money on that. And I will not buy other MBP 16 for my company - market driven solution: no more money for apple. Maybe others wouldn't buy too - maybe apple decides to build better products. Cheers - I am off and do some coding on my noisy, loud MBP 16.