Do you by any chance have it connected to an external monitor? My MBP was really quiet until I decided to connect it to a 4K monitor, after which the fans have been running almost constantly despite being totally idle (I tested to just leave it alone). If I unplugg the external monitor the fans almost immediately goes down to whisper quiet. This is REALLY bad if it isn't something that can be avoided, if fans need to be at 5-6K just to display a word document on a 4K screen. Especially considering that the ultraslim Dell XPS13 (a 13" laptop in an even smaller chassi) has no problems running the same screen with same load and does not even require fans you can hear to do it.
(I've verified that there are no background processes or similar causing this)
It`s due to when you use an external display with the 15" MBP, with dGPU the system automatically switches to the discrete GPU which ramps up the internal temperature, nor can you disable this action. The only thing you can do is try to keep the system cooler. I moved away from the 15" for the very same reasons. As the 15" has gotten more powerful over recent years, it`s becoming far harder to keep the internal temperature low enough to avoid the fans spooling up to an intrusive level. Fair enough if your generating a high load or gaming it`s to be expected, however basic productivity tasks the last thing I want is the fans "roaring" when I am trying to concentrate.
Being an owner & user of the 15" MacBook Pro forever; Over the years the 15" has frequently struggled with it`s thermals, especially when an external display is connected as the dGPU switches on as default, internal temperatures soar;
- Elevate the rear, aluminium passive coolers generally work best (I use RainDesign`s mStand & iLap)
- Increase base fan RPM to 3K or as much as you are comfortable with (MacsFanControl or SMC Fan Control)
- Limit the dGPU`s usage with gfxCardStatus
- Swap out Chrome for Chrome Canary as it`s way more optimised for OS X and will extend battery run time, reduce thermals
- Swap out VLC for Movist as again it`s a reduced load on CPU/GPU
- Uninstall or block Flash
- Install an ad blocker Ublock extension works well
- Powered coolers are very much a "mixed bag" when it comes to Mac portables, you need one that has a high capacity (100 CFM minimum) and preferably a large single fan, this can help to keep the 15" internal fans below 4K which for many is good enough as often it`s this point and beyond where the fans become intrusive. Don't expect a powered cooler impact internal temperatures, beyond a couple of degrees
- Older machines can benefit from cleaning the cooling system
- Replacing the thermal paste has been hit & miss, some with very positive results, some with no improvement over stock. Personally I would only do this on a Mac Portable that was either very old, or one that I can confirm was definitely running hotter than stock.
The key to a quiet life with a 15" MacBook Pro is several incremental changes that do add up to reduce thermals. From my experience over the years if your going to push a 15" hard the fans are going to max out fast, with associated noise. If your using it with a moderate load life can be made quieter
For the most part your MBP runs hot as that`s how Apple designed it, the trade of for form over, function, thin & light...
The old adage still applies; it`s easier to keep a system cool, than cool-down an already hot machine. This being said it`s not strictly necessary, equally it`s nice to know that there are options for reducing temperature out there
Although I still have 15" rMBP`s I much prefer to use the 13" rMBP and even the new 12' Retina MacBook. I only use the 15" Retina for the occasional heavy lifting. To me it`s pointless adding ever more powerful CPU/dGPU when the Notebook is already at it`s thermal limits, and why I have never upgraded my 2012 Retina.
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