Do all MacBooks overheat and have such a loud fan noise? I'm huge Apple Fan, have never used anything else but Apple, but I am done with these overheating issues and fan issues. 3 MacBooks - all the same issue - 2 factory reset, ambient temp. 20C

Hi givemegoodapples,

If all of the Macs you're referencing are Intel-based Macs, unfortunately this makes sense. Apple designed the 2016-2020 Intel MacBooks hoping that Intel would provide more efficient processors. Unfortunately, they did not, and those systems have no room to breathe for thermals - thus performing poorly.

If you're willing to consider another Mac, I'd strongly recommend any Mac with Apple silicon - so far, the M1 or M2-series chips, as long as it has 16 GB of RAM or more. The M1 MacBook Air may be a good choice for your use case - it's fanless and should be able to easily run the apps you mentioned simultaneously. The 14" M1 Pro MacBook Pro is also a really solid machine that can handle more intensive tasks if needed.

Apple silicon chips (SoCs) are much more efficient than Intel CPUs; they provide much better performance while using a fraction of the power and stay cool for the most part. It's why several reviewers deemed the M1 MacBook Air to be the best consumer laptop to purchase when it came out at the time.

Do all MacBooks overheat and have such a loud fan noise?

The answer to that question is no. However, Macs that have been brought to my attention with fans that became objectionably audible with no overt cause were all infested with Google. The cause was easily identified by using Activity Monitor. Uninstalling Google in accordance with its instructions resolved the problems.

I have never experienced the symptoms you describe with any Macs that I own or control, but I prohibit the installation of Google products on them.

Try to clean the fan. Sometimes there is so much dust on and in the fan , that it doesn't work or doesn't provide much needed air to the chip. If it is an Intel chip, then it is usual. Apple M chips are better option if you want to buy a new MacBook, especially M2 or M1 with fan-less design.

Can’t say I’ve ever had that issue except under very heavy load. You could also buy a MacBook M1 or M2 with no fan

W have 5 Intel Macs ... two 2020 27" iMacs, 1 13" 2020 MBP, 1 13" 2016 MBP and I 2015 21.5" iMac. All are silent until worked hard, then that subsides quite quickly. So no, not all.