2018 MB Pro Get Hot and Constantly Loads

[Christian 5G]

Hello,

MY '16 gave up to the flex gate issue I written a post about few weeks ago. Keeping it until the repair program comes out to fix it and get rid of it.

Meanwhile I upgraded to the '18 model and can't help but notice that it is 1. getting hot under basic tasks I used to do before on my '16, as well as that colorful loading circle that comes on very frequently ( in fact just did as I type this). My '16 did that but definitely not this frequently.

Both models are base at 256GB Touch Bar to compare '16 & '18.

Everything updated and checked, is this normal?

All help appreciated, makes no sense to me and I was kind of expecting a better experience. Also have Apple Care Plus because it doesn't look like Apple's MacBooks will last more than it warranty time.

Thank you for all the feedback and input!

 

[maflynn]

1. getting hot under basic tasks I used to do before on my '16,

The 2018 model has two more cores then the 2016 and with thin design, it does a rather poor job at evacuating the heat. What temps are you talking about? Get an app that documents the temps

 

[treekram]

Hello,

MY '16 gave up to the flex gate issue I written a post about few weeks ago. Keeping it until the repair program comes out to fix it and get rid of it.

Meanwhile I upgraded to the '18 model and can't help but notice that it is 1. getting hot under basic tasks I used to do before on my '16, as well as that colorful loading circle that comes on very frequently ( in fact just did as I type this). My '16 did that but definitely not this frequently.

Both models are base at 256GB Touch Bar to compare '16 & '18.

Everything updated and checked, is this normal?

All help appreciated, makes no sense to me and I was kind of expecting a better experience. Also have Apple Care Plus because it doesn't look like Apple's MacBooks will last more than it warranty time.

Thank you for all the feedback and input!

A few months ago, I did a lot of HandBrake transcodes on my base 15" 2018 MBP. I was surprised that it DIDN'T get that hot to the touch despite all of the cores being worked at a high load for extended periods of time (the fans were loud though). We may have different ideas of what is hot and what is not, but from what you describe, it may be something else.

Make sure you've allowed enough time for the Spotlight indexing to complete. If you are getting slowed down doing "basic tasks" and don't use the Apple iCloud services, you might want to try Safe Mode to see if there is 3rd-party background software which slowing you down.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201262

If you find noticeably better performance in Safe Mode, then there is likely some 3rd-party background software doing something. If you still find poor performance, you might want to have Apple look at your MBP. As I mentioned, on my MBP, the fans are loud when the computer is being taxed. If you don't hear the fans when the MBP is hot, that could be an issue. As with the heat case, your idea of "loud" may differ from mine.

Also, if are using a different browser than on your 2016 MBP or are watching higher-res videos, that could be an issue. There are certain types of videos don't work well with certain browsers.

 

[Infinite Vortex]

My MBP 13" 2018 (with the i7) was noticeably warmer than the MBP 13" 2016 (both with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD) it replaced and the fans ramped up when I thought it was "doing nothing". The fans would ramp up at the slightest effort in fact. However, after a while it settled down and isn't any noticeably hotter than my 2016 in any way. No idea what's different as I haven't done anything special to my system that would explain things.

As maflynn mentions I would get some tools to quantify what's happening with your MBP. Without knowing how you setup your system its even possible something happened in your transition. I'll always clean install a new system to get an understanding of its performance baselines.

 

[Banglazed]

I believed that most MacBook Pro have similar heating issues.

I recommend you to get Turbo Switcher Pro to disable Intel Turbo Boost when using specific apps or disable it to minimize heating and get better battery life. You can also get Macs Fan Control to use sensor CPU/GPU to automatically adjust fan speed.

If you are tech savvy, you can open up your Mac and reapply better thermal paste where you may see up to 10 degrees in cooling.

Reset SMC and PRAM may also resolve power and hardware related issues.