MacBook 16-inch Fan Noise

I'm start thinking that the best what we all can do now is to inform about the issue as much media / blogs / YT channels as we can.

It's odd that every single review I read about this mac said nothing about external monitors. I suppose that they don't event tested it so they didn't notice any issue and this is why there is no info about this issue in media.

Maybe when media will start talk about issue this would force Apple to do something because it's 3 months from the release...

papsa wrote:

I'm start thinking that the best what we all can do now is to inform about the issue as much media / blogs / YT channels as we can.

It's odd that every single review I read about this mac said nothing about external monitors. I suppose that they don't event tested it so they didn't notice any issue and this is why there is no info about this issue in media.

Maybe when media will start talk about issue this would force Apple to do something because it's 3 months from the release...

I was thinking about highlighting this issue to some popular tech YT channels e.g Linus Tech Tips. I'm sure they would be more then happy look into this and make a video about it.

I have a new i9 and i can hear the fan when using it on my couch. not very loud but with my old 15 i never hear it. so i start to using my old macbookpro 15 late 2013 again for leasure stuff. and the new 16" only in the office …

I'm not really seeing much difference in the temperature when switching between the lowest and highest resolution. I can see that the Radeon High Side is about 19w on the lowest and about 19.5w on the highest, so a slight difference in power.

The built-in display uses the Integrated GPU for most ordinary purposes.

There is no pathway from the integrated GPU to the external display output -- connecting an External display REQUIRES the Discrete GPU.

Once again, that depends entirely on your use case for the machine.

None of the reports here indicate the MBP has gone into thermal shutdown or otherwise has failed to do whatever it is asked to do, just that it seems to be heating quickly and the fans run loudly while it does so.

Apple does design their machines to shut down if thermal parameters are exceeded, so even if you believe it is running too hot, if it does not shut down, it isn't.

The reports of graphical glitches and such seem to be unit to unit failures that may be addressed by repair, save for glitches when connecting/disconnecting eGPUs.

I would have no issue recommending the MBP 16 to anyone in the market, especially if I knew they didn't use an external monitor or know what laptops with really loud fans (looking at you, Acer Ferrari 3400) sound like.

BradyT_ wrote:

Is this worth cancelling an order over? I have a MBP 16 in processing and work with external monitors everyday. This would be unfortunate.

If I were in your shoes I'd cancel it, but I've been burned twice so far on the MBPs.

You could be lucky as some people swear up and down it doesn't happen to them, so maybe worth getting it and seeing, otherwise return it quickly.

And when you open the lid you will not be able to sync your photos or Mail.app can get stuck syncing because of the thermal daemon suspends all sync processes and starts waiting till the machine becomes cooler and this will never happen. As we discussed here many times, and until now no one could show the opposite: every MBP 16 doesn't work properly when it is connected to an external display while lid is opened.

I didn't say these issues happen for everyone, it clearly does work fine for some people in certain situations. A lot of people however are experiencing the same issues.

I have the 2.3 i9, 16GB with 5500M 4GB linked to a LG 34WK95U

I don't disagree that there are a lot of things to like about this MBP and of course nothing is perfect, I just really hope that there can be a fix for these problems sooner rather than later.

It's cold winter where I am now, in the summer the ambient room temps will go up and if it is not fixed it will make this problem even worse.

TimUzzanti wrote:

Totally agree. This is supposed to be a professional machine that is supposed to be hooked up to a ton of devices to do some heavy lifting...

William, I have an off-road vehicle I would be happy to sell you... but you have to keep it on the road. It doesn't work well off-road.

Actually, you have that backwards.

You bought a laptop that can be connected to all kinds of external devices, so you bought an off-road vehicle but are upset at its highway manners.

If your primary use case is connected to one or two external monitors, get an iMac Pro or better yet, a Mac Pro.

I actually 100% disagree with you William. It is the portable use case that makes the MBP the computer I have chosen for 14 years.

Also, another point; I am not a video editor or developer, I just want a powerful machine that won’t break a sweat doing the easy stuff. That includes just plugging in a monitor.

Ok, everyone doesn’t have this problem, but enough of us Radeon 5500 users are having it and there needs to be a solution. I would happily return mine for a standard graphics version and buy a Razer Core X and get my power on the desk with the portable form factor.

it isn’t about unreasonable expectations, it’s about it working the way it was pitched by Apple.

Sorry to jump in, Bryce, what model do you have? Do you have the Radeon 5500M?

I have the same issues as TailsDog, my config is 6 core i9, 32 GB, R5500M 8 GB

I would still buy one, but I may have skipped the Radeon graphics and bought a Razer Core X for the desktop. But I LOVE the machine otherwise; best one I have owned except for this issue.

Indeed and it sounds like the tip of the iceberg looking at other forums and blogs.

One thing I will say is a lot of people with this problem are not negative, they are looking for solutions and spending time troubleshooting, optimistic even. The original poster has spent months on this, they are dealing with a lot of machines and even been sent new units from Apple and from what I understand 100% have had thermal issues surrounding the GPU.

So my fans don't get loud. The machine is pretty much silent. My machine is definitely hot. I almost wish the fans would kick on lol. See my iStats menu.

This is with 2 1080p monitors plugged into a Plugable dock. I had no issue with the same setup using my 2017 MBP.

The CalDigit dock is great for me in clamshell mode with dual displays. My computer stays quiet (but mine isn't loud or overly hot directly connected either) in clamshell unless I'm really driving it, which is the way it should be, and then quiets down when the tasks are finished. Maybe I just keep my rooms cooler?

Many of my posts have been deleted because of the secret information I've been posting. I apologize Apple.

Right now with the screen open I'm at 26C. I only have mail and teamviewer, safari and parallels open (paused). I'm also not connected to the dock.

FYI I noticed last night that if I had jAlbum opened my RFS wattage would be at 7 (disconnected from Dock), but when I closed it would drop to .08W. Apparently software can makes calls to increase or decrease when closed.