Hi everyone,
TL;DR - Could anyone with a 16-Inch MBP please help me out with a test? From a baseline state where your MBP fans aren't spinning audibly, could you see if starting a Handbrake video transcode (or ffmpeg command line transcode) causes your MBP to make a "click" noise immediately after the transcode begins?
Additional details:
I recently got a new 16-Inch MacBook Pro that was making a noticeable, periodic, single-click noise when it would heat up or cool down. I noticed this happening around 20 days after I got it. I could easily reproduce the click when I ran CPU-intensive video transcoding jobs, but it also happened when I was doing other things that caused high CPU usage / heat. I monitored the CPU temperature while testing and the scenario went something like this:
50° C - baseline
>> start transcoding job <<
65° C - heating up
*click*
75° C - heating up
85° C - heating up
*click*
90° C - heating up
>> stop transcoding job <<
80° C - cooling down
70° C - cooling down
*click*
60° C - cooling down
55° C - cooling down
*click*
50° C - baseline
My best guess is that the problem was related to the fans or something involving heat expansion/contraction. I sent the MBP out for repair, twice (well, technically three times because they dented the lid during the first repair and then replaced the display and lid), and I'm testing things again now to make sure that everything works as expected. Apple replaced both of my fans (twice), the top case + battery, and the IO boards on both sides because I was also having issues with plugged-in usb-c peripherals after the first repair. After these repairs, I'm not hearing the same very noticeable click from before, but I am hearing a quieter click when I start a video transcode process with Handbrake, and occasionally during other usage as well. A Handbrake video transcoding test reproduces the click just about every time.
I'm hoping that other 16-Inch MBP users here could help me out with a test, to see if what I'm experiencing now is normal or if there's still something wrong. From a baseline state where your MBP fans aren't spinning audibly, could you see if starting a Handbrake video transcode causes your MBP to make a single "click" noise immediately after the transcode begins? The reason I say "from a baseline state where your MBP fans aren't spinning" is because it's harder to hear the click when there's a lot of fan noise. I can still hear the click when my fans are running at 4000 RPMs and I start a new transcoding job, but it gets harder to hear when starting a new transcoding job when the fans are already at 4500+ RPMs. If you lean in with your ear near the top middle part of the keyboard and then begin the test, that's approximately where the sound seems to be coming from, but I can also hear it from a normal usage distance away.
Thanks!
Update: Using ffmpeg on the command line instead of Handbrake causes exactly the same behavior. The command I used was:
TL;DR - Could anyone with a 16-Inch MBP please help me out with a test? From a baseline state where your MBP fans aren't spinning audibly, could you see if starting a Handbrake video transcode (or ffmpeg command line transcode) causes your MBP to make a "click" noise immediately after the transcode begins?
Additional details:
I recently got a new 16-Inch MacBook Pro that was making a noticeable, periodic, single-click noise when it would heat up or cool down. I noticed this happening around 20 days after I got it. I could easily reproduce the click when I ran CPU-intensive video transcoding jobs, but it also happened when I was doing other things that caused high CPU usage / heat. I monitored the CPU temperature while testing and the scenario went something like this:
50° C - baseline
>> start transcoding job <<
65° C - heating up
*click*
75° C - heating up
85° C - heating up
*click*
90° C - heating up
>> stop transcoding job <<
80° C - cooling down
70° C - cooling down
*click*
60° C - cooling down
55° C - cooling down
*click*
50° C - baseline
My best guess is that the problem was related to the fans or something involving heat expansion/contraction. I sent the MBP out for repair, twice (well, technically three times because they dented the lid during the first repair and then replaced the display and lid), and I'm testing things again now to make sure that everything works as expected. Apple replaced both of my fans (twice), the top case + battery, and the IO boards on both sides because I was also having issues with plugged-in usb-c peripherals after the first repair. After these repairs, I'm not hearing the same very noticeable click from before, but I am hearing a quieter click when I start a video transcode process with Handbrake, and occasionally during other usage as well. A Handbrake video transcoding test reproduces the click just about every time.
I'm hoping that other 16-Inch MBP users here could help me out with a test, to see if what I'm experiencing now is normal or if there's still something wrong. From a baseline state where your MBP fans aren't spinning audibly, could you see if starting a Handbrake video transcode causes your MBP to make a single "click" noise immediately after the transcode begins? The reason I say "from a baseline state where your MBP fans aren't spinning" is because it's harder to hear the click when there's a lot of fan noise. I can still hear the click when my fans are running at 4000 RPMs and I start a new transcoding job, but it gets harder to hear when starting a new transcoding job when the fans are already at 4500+ RPMs. If you lean in with your ear near the top middle part of the keyboard and then begin the test, that's approximately where the sound seems to be coming from, but I can also hear it from a normal usage distance away.
Thanks!
Update: Using ffmpeg on the command line instead of Handbrake causes exactly the same behavior. The command I used was:
Bash:
ffmpeg -i source.mp4 out.mp4
Last edited:
