MacBook 16-inch Fan Noise

You addressed bad magic? As i know noone knows what is it about, best bet is T2 sec chip and Catalina not playing nice together, as its not isolated to MBP16'' thats true. But it also has to do something with GPU switching, which can be many things at the end. ANd last issues look like GPU related, thats why i am saying it MIGHT be connected.

I went by the test results on a website running various ones on different GPU’s. How does reading Intel’s website about integrated architecture provide me with better real world examples than testing these actual gpus?

“You're hoping Apple addresses this "issue". Keep in mind it is very possible Apple and/or AMD may not see this as an issue and you will just be waiting longer. They do use their computers just we like we use them. “

Apple has often addressed issues only after a big enough stink has come from it. They’ve addressed issues only after class action lawsuits have been filed. Or they’ve seemingly never really admitted to issues. Thank you new keyboard! Dollars to donuts Apple has number crunchers running scenarios and seeing when it’s financially best to address an issue, to fix an issue, to not do anything. Their only mission is to make stockholders money. Sometimes stuff (purposefully) slips through the cracks.

You said it yourself, 5 months. In some Apple fixes that 5 months is nothing.

I’m holding out hope because I believe it’s a big enough problem. And because for a long time I’ve been fully within their product eco system, so switching is not an option.

People. It’s an issue, of course. Lot’s of people are finding it odd. It’s common sense, come on. Just google it and you’ll find LOADS of users reporting everywhere how strange and disappointing they’re finding this whole thing. Apple Communities is not the only place on earth where users discuss things about macs.

iTech23 wrote:More efficient?

Do you know the definition of that word?

“Achieving maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort or expense”

“Preventing the wasteful use of a particular resource”

i think this is definitely not the case for this machine.

Look at the specs for the previous generation of AMD Radeon Navi GPUs and you will see they had a higher published TGP than the 5500 used in the MBP 16, thus the new ones are more power efficient.

That isn't in comparison with other GPUs, that isn't in comparison with the GPUs used in previous MacBook Pros, that's in comparison with previous iterations of the same family of GPUs, the only valid comparison to make here.

Here are the two screenshots that show that this computer is defective. No, not the fact that it works not the way I want it to work, but the fact that it's defective. As others have stated previously - same gaming monitor supporting up-to 160hz running in clamshell mode:

1) 60hz and 85hz mode GPU draws 17w+

2) 100hz, 120hz, 144hz, 160hz draws only 5w.

How on earth this is not defective, that increasing load on the computer by up-to 2.5 times reduces its power draw / thermal load? William, please stop trolling everyone, you are providing no real value to this conversation and you only keep annoying everyone by cluttering otherwise useful thread with your "it's not defective" nonsense.

Btw, interesting fact - even though on 60hz the power draw is more or less stuck, on high refresh it seems to actually react to what is happening on the screen - the more stuff is being rendered, the more power it draws.

I always connect my external monitor to the same USB-C port, today that specific USB-C port started failing (check the attached image), coincidence?

This is worrying. And confirms I'm right not to connect an external monitor for the moment, with ALL THE LOSS IN PRODUCTIVITY THAT IT IMPLIES.

Power drawn by a GPU while drawing a screen literally has nothing to do with power delivered through a USB-C port whatsoever.

I can't imagine how your issues would be connected at all unless you connect and disconnect that monitor cable daily and doing so has put excess stress on the port which has caused fatigue or wear.

Regardless, if you are having issues with a port or if you are experiencing graphics issues using an external monitor, there is one solution:

Contact - Official Apple Support

Hi guys!

I posted here about 50-60 pages ago.

Since then, my MacBook was 2 time in authorized Apple Service and 2 time they claimed that there is no problem with this machine but my macbook like almost everyone's here have fan and heat issues.

But... Today I spent almost one hour on a call with Apple's Technician, and have some bad news to all people heaving issues with this machine.

My case was escalated to engineering team and they respond that it's normal that this computer is hotter with external monitor. That normal CPU temperatures are 80 - 110 Celsius and noisy fans are normal when there is heat. Also loud fan are normal...

But technician guy I spoke with said that I'm not first person who have problems with 16" macbook with i9 CPU and for now there is only one solution - wait till Apple will start a recovery program which will happen when there will be a lot of people with problem.

He also suggested me to install Mojave and check if problems are solved using this macos version.

If yes it would be Catalina issue. If not it would be a hardware issue.

I can't do that now because my macbook is in service. Maybe one of you can check that?

He send me this link https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372

And now one IMPORTANT thing:

All of you have to call Apple support and your case have to be escalated to engineering team because this is only way to make Apple notice a problem.

Calling Apple support without escalating your case to engineering team will not make Apple noticing a problem.

There’s enough evidence in this thread to claim that interface (at least between hdmi and disolay port) makes no difference. In fact my post on page 128 proves that even on display port relatively low res monitor requires 20w of gpu power. Running same monitor in 160hz only requires 5w

There may well be technical reasons why different refresh rates cause different degrees of power draw that are not defects; I am not privy to such reasons so I've no answer for you.

Yes, thermal shutdown is an extreme case, but certainly to decide what is too hot without knowing what the design parameters were is difficult at best.

BeatnikMoon wrote:

I understand they don't offer support through here. My reply wasn't to ask for support, but it WAS to support the issues we're seeing. But would it really hurt for someone, in some capacity, to say "we hear you, and we're actively looking into this issue", even if it was on their own time? It wouldn't even have to be that specific! Just a "we know this thread is going on" would probably be enough for most posters.

Simply put, Apple does not do that and never has. I don't know why, but you can Google Tim Cook's email address and perhaps he or someone on his staff will give you an answer.

Remember these forums exist to allow Apple users to help other Apple users with technical issues; you have has much access to Apple's rationales as those of us who've been here for over a decade.

I get you're passionate about Apple products. I am as well -- been an active user of virtually everything for a decade. What I don't understand is the "need to be patient" explanation and the lack of any communication. This thread was started 5 months ago, and has been viewed and responded to by a ton of people (way more than the stats show) seeing similar problems. I think we've all been MORE than patient.

I'm just explaining how Apple works; being petulant and indignant won't get them to respond any more than being all sweetness and light would.

Fact is, they don't respond here, and no amount of sunshine, vitriol or anything in between is going to change that.

Those of us who have, once again, been here forever only want to point that out so that you're not overly disappointed when the response you desire never comes.

Apple will respond by fixing the issue if it's software, offering a repair program if it's hardware and units are out of warranty, or not at all if the product is actually operating as designed.

Note I'm talking about the fan/heat issue, not the corrupted graphics issues which are clearly issues that should be handled directly on a machine by machine basis through Apple Support.

ntompson wrote:

For completeness, an update having just received a TB3 to DP cable. In short, no improvement.

To recap, I have now tried every combination I can think of, all of which produce the same result:

internal monitor + external monitor = 20 W GPU consumption + excessive heat + fan noise.

•

I have tried:

Internal monitor only = 6 W

• External 4k 60 Hz monitor + closed clamshell = 6 W

• Internal + 4k 60 Hz direct connected with USB-C to HDMI 2.0 cable = 20 W

• Internal + 4k 60 Hz connected via CalDigit TS3+ with DP cable = 20 W

• Internal + 4k 60 Hz direct connected with TB3 to DP cable = 20 W

...

I think we can also put to bed the idea that "legacy" interfaces behave any differently to DP interfaces.

The data point missing to clinch that argument --

(that "legacy" or "heartbeat refresh" as some prefer to call them) behave no differently --

is to connect your External display using an HDMI cable and turn off the Internal by closing the clamshell.

Your 2 March report of 20W (linked below) did not specify whether you had turned off the Internal display:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250878229?answerId=252216752022#252216752022

.

(16inch - i9 2.4 - 32GB Ram - 2TB SSD - 5500M 8GB)

I have done the same tests as you and came to the same conclusion:

Internal + External 60HZ = 21W

Internal + 2 External 60HZ = 21W

Internal Only = 7W

I'm not using a TB3 display, only using 2 x 43" 4K TV's using USB-C to HDMI 60Hz Belkin cables.

What is also worrying me is the heat produced by the TB3 ports, currently I have all 4 occupied with 1 Monitor, 1 USB Hub (powered), 1 Charger and 1 External SSD.

The ports are constantly around 57-62W, that combined with the Radeon and the i9 is just too much for the cooling system.

[Edited by Moderator]

I have this same issue, it started with 15.4 update, only occcurs with external monitor. It is getting gradually worse, i gave up working with external screen for now, i did all the resets it didnt help. It looks like it is triggered by youtube after a while- CPU usage goes over 70%, at the same time, computer becomes unresponsive - 1+s delay in clicks - i had this situation before with CPU and faulty RAM! Can you confirm any of those - i will write to the appropriate thread further observations. And no it is not limited to a window or application, it also changes position on every window/tab or app even.

pairadime wrote:

...

I am using Apple's recommended, designed for Macs/OSX and sold by them, monitor. I believe it does not fall into the "legacy" monitor you are talking about.

Could you please clarify in very specific terms:

What Make&Model display is that, exactly, and what cables and adapters are you using to connect it?