What I really don’t understand here is the extreme variation in user experiences. OP has multiple problems when doing simple tasks, yet I have a 2016 nTB MBP and I have experienced none of those problems. No fan noise (even when watching video), no overheating, no keyboard failures, and no melting adhesives. I use my machine about 10 hours a day 5 days a week with a Thunderbolt Display and I rarely hear the fan. It’s been a very reliable machine for me so far. Of course the sample size is too small to draw a conclusion, but the vast difference in user experience between the machines is really puzzling.
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2017 MacBook Pro 13 non-TB Review
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Hello and sorry for my english.
I own a macbook pro 13 2017 ntb and my cpu core temperature 1 and 2 come to 93 degrees only when I convert a video or use handbrake.
I also saw that with the power supply attached the fans start working at about 60 celsius, with battery use the fans start working at about 76 degrees, before they are at 0 rpm. Are these temperatures normal?
in normal use the cores are around 35 45 degrees celsius with fans at 0 rpm
I own a macbook pro 13 2017 ntb and my cpu core temperature 1 and 2 come to 93 degrees only when I convert a video or use handbrake.
I also saw that with the power supply attached the fans start working at about 60 celsius, with battery use the fans start working at about 76 degrees, before they are at 0 rpm. Are these temperatures normal?
in normal use the cores are around 35 45 degrees celsius with fans at 0 rpm
Hmm what kind of external display, and do you have your retina display active as well? Right now, with a 1080p monitor, Twitch streaming, and a few tabs on Safari - I am at 60C.
The majority of MacBooks don’t have heat problems. That is to say, there were only one or two designs that had a heat issue designed into them. Anything else is either an assembly or part fault. Or loud people who have unrealistic expectations. Personally, I have had a 2012 MacBook Air and a 2017 TB MBP 13 and neither have had excessive heat or fan noise. Yes, under load, they get hot and the fans come on to evacuate the heat. But this is a product of using a computer. It creates heat. Neither one overheated (105C and cutting off) or slowed down when hot. And neither has/had excessive temperatures or fan noise for the given task. In fact, the only time I’ve ever activated the fans on my MBP (that is, had them even come on) is playing fortnite. They haven’t come on in any other use, including doing a lot of excel work in parallels using a 1080P display and the Retina display in the MBP.
While I do think there’s something going on with OP’s system, I’m not sure what it is. It’s quite hard to parse his info from unrealistic expectations and an actual issue.
Do you think it is unrealistic to expect
- Keys that don't repeatedly fail within weeks of replacement
- Be able to play Netflix, YouTube and BBC iPlayer at full screen on a supported external display without the cpu temp hitting 102C
- Have the display adhesive not fail due to hear in clamshell mode and require replacing
- Not expect to pay for full topcase replacements due to key failure every few months after warranty
- Be able to perform no worse than a laptop 2 generations older? Or even a cheap ThinkPad at 1/4 of the price from 5+ years ago?
I'm keen to understand what you think is an unrealistic expectation?
I use an Apple Thunderbolt Display (2560x1440) and I leave my Mac in clamshell mode. Yesterday I had Axure, Word, Excel, Airmail, iTunes, Pixelmator, Affinity Designer and Safari with about 5 tabs open and the CPU was around 50C. The fan was on at around 1200RPM but this is inaudible. I wasn't doing any video streaming, but I've never experienced a problem with excessive heat or fan noise when streaming.
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That's great for you. I need a 4k display to work and the 2015 MBP13 and 2015MBP15 work fine.
The new 2017mbp is supposed to support 3 or 4 external 4k displays according to apple ...
It's true. But bear in mind that you have to with off the Retina display by using Clamshell mode.
HD 650 isn't powerful enough to drive even a single 4k display and an external 4k at the same time. Turning off the Retina display will be necessary to use external monitors.
PS: I'm testing the 10.13.4 beta. And it's worth to mention that the iGPU performance has increased! Now it's faster even in Open CL. Thanks Apple!
That is how I use it in clamshell mode.
Even though Apple staff say both modes are supported.
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I hope this is good news for future macos
It's true that Apple states that everything gonna work fine. But real world has told us a different story in all those years.
It's possible to run even three 4k monitors with Retina display at one time. but you will not have OpenCL acceleration. So, whats the point to try to do it? Nowadays, what piece of software doesn't use Open CL?
It's better to close the lid and watch the show!
It's possible to run even three 4k monitors with Retina display at one time. but you will not have OpenCL acceleration. So, whats the point to try to do it? Nowadays, what piece of software doesn't use Open CL?
It's better to close the lid and watch the show!
I have read all of your experience with bad support from Apple. That's a shame. Hope that you can work it out.
But when I was reading your story I have noted that you has a plastic cover in your MBP. I do live in Brazil, it's very hot down here. And we have discovered that such cases are not suitable where heat is a concern. Perhaps you should remove it and let the aluminum enter direct contact with air to let things cool down.
Here in my office I run a MBP with a 4k monitor and it easily reaches 70C˜80C. So I started to use this thing here:
It was capable to cool the MBP at 45C˜50C even at high work loads. Maybe you should give it a try and note the temperatures. Hope this can help you.
That's a useful idea. Thanks.I have read all of your experience with bad support from Apple. That's a shame. Hope that you can work it out.
But when I was reading your story I have noted that you has a plastic cover in your MBP. I do live in Brazil, it's very hot down here. And we have discovered that such cases are not suitable where heat is a concern. Perhaps you should remove it and let the aluminum enter direct contact with air to let things cool down.
Here in my office I run a MBP with a 4k monitor and it easily reaches 70C˜80C. So I started to use this thing here:
It was capable to cool the MBP at 45C˜50C even at high work loads. Maybe you should give it a try and note the temperatures. Hope this can help you.
Apple confirmed the case was not the problem. We tested without the case for 2 weeks.
I'm in England. This is the weather right now.
Yes, I noted it. But Apple never has the right person to told such statement in front of you. Genius Bar is now populated by dumb people that even know the specs inside the machines. I was in London las Christmas and have experienced bad knowledge by the attendants in all 3 stores. Shame it!
When using a notepal like that one, try to remove the bottom plastic case, air blowed by the fan should be in contact with bare aluminum. Give it a try.
Besides you are experiencing The Beast I believe that your room temperature is about 24C, right? It's enough to make your MBP reach 80˜100C very fast.
This notepal isn't expensive and is very useful take a look:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cooler-Mas...19913223&sr=8-6&keywords=coolermaster+notepal
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Thanks!
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Mine is a 2016 model, without the TB and with 16GB of RAM and 512GB SSD.
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Maybe it's an issue with the 2017 models? If I recall a review I read (I think it was Notebookcheck) talked about the loud fan in the 2017 nTB but I don't remember anything mentioned about the 2016 model.
I don't need a 4K display and don't really steam video on my Mac, but I'd be interested to try it and see how it performs.
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The problem was op thought his 13" MacBook Pro 2017 could drive external displays as good as a 15" MacBook Pro with dgpu can. It's not physically possible.
He also got mad about hearing audible fans. I've had the 2015 15" and it's a lot louder than the 15" 2016/2017.
All the other physical issues he had were either fixed or not reproducible at the Genius Bar. He ended up returning it for a 15" 2015 and suddenly realized he needed the quad core with dgpu the whole time. This thread is pretty much dead.
He also got mad about hearing audible fans. I've had the 2015 15" and it's a lot louder than the 15" 2016/2017.
All the other physical issues he had were either fixed or not reproducible at the Genius Bar. He ended up returning it for a 15" 2015 and suddenly realized he needed the quad core with dgpu the whole time. This thread is pretty much dead.
Actually it's not simple like that.
In the nTB MBP the fan is different from TB models. And it is quite annoying even in low RPMs. It sounds like a toot! It's very annoying sound. And it's very hard to explain with words. It is the kind of thing that can drives one crazy!
I really think the 2017 has a fan problem, whereas the 2016 model doesn't seem to have this issue. The fan in my 2016 is at 0RPM most of the days whenever I am doing light tasks (word processing, Internet, mail, etc.) and goes to about 1200RPM when I’m running a little more, but that is pretty much inaudible. The only time I’ve heard the fan really spin up was after I first got it and it was indexing and if I play a 3D game.
it actually really is that simple. It's a computer fan that is audible when under heavy load like any other MacBook Pro. You can hear the fans on all the current and past MacBook pros. It's really not that hard to understand.
What op didn't understand is that there is a difference between the lower-end MacBooks vs the 15" quad core MacBook pros in speed especially when using an external display. This is obvious if you ever buy any computer product from any manufacturer. You can't buy a lower end model and then be upset that it cannot provide the power you need.
You need to consider how they advertise it. They make it seem as if the nTB can run up to 2x 4K monitors. Meanwhile one 4k monitor on the nTB will make it **** the bed.
The fan in nTB model is a different model from all other Macs from now. iFix It folks even call it a "cheap fan".
It is definitely loud and noisy even on low RPMs.