Early 2020 13.3” MBP with an External Monitor

[iRun26.2]

I really wanted to get a 16” 2019 MacBook Pro because I want the power of 8-cores and a beautiful display. However, I have a 4K display that I want to use some of the time. I’ve seen too many complaints that I feel I’d be very disappointed with the fans and an external monitor. I totally don’t get this as my 2015 MacBook could drive a 4K display and stay relatively cool!

Does anyone have amy experience with the new (Early 2020) 13.3” MacBook Pro, connecting to a 4K monitor?

 

[JohnDoe12]

I’m pretty sure you should be fine. The 2020 MBP can drive two 4K displays simultaneously

 

[iRun26.2]

I’m pretty sure you should be fine. The 2020 MBP can drive two 4K displays simultaneously

Well, the 16” version should also be able to do the same but people seem to be having their fans go crazy when they have the monitors connected.

Has anyone hooked up a monitor to their new 13.3” and found the fans do stay quiet?

 

[ctyrider]

Uhm.. I have had 2016 MPB connected to a 5K UltraFine display for many years without issue. I am sure 2020 MPB with Iris Plus will be able to drive your crappy 4K display fine

 

[iRun26.2]

Uhm.. I have had 2016 MPB connected to a 5K UltraFine display for many years without issue. I am sure 2020 MPB with Iris Plus will be able to drive your crappy 4K display fine

Can sosomeone who has a 4K monitor and a new 13.3” (2020) MacBook Pro please respond?

People keep assuming it will work but I would argue that the same could be said about the 16” (2019) model yet it overheats. I need to know the new 13.3” does not overheat when connected to a 4K display.
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Can sosomeone who has a 4K monitor and a new 13.3” (2020) MacBook Pro please respond?

People keep assuming it will work but I would argue that the same could be said about the 16” (2019) model yet it overheats. I need to know the new 13.3” does not overheat when connected to a 4K display.

... or maybe I should just order the 2019 16” (which is what I really want) and return it if it overheats?

 

[kiburu]

guess u may find this video informative?

 

[matram]

There is a whole thread on this topic. In summary ...

Discrete graphics mus be used when an external display is connected. When using both internal and external display the GPU consumes 18 W. This is more than the 2016 model for the same use case. It is unclear if this is a driver issue or a HW limitation.

18 W is not a problem as such but in combination with a high CPU load it will cause the fans to spin up.

 

[iRun26.2]

guess u may find this video informative?

Thank you sir! That is very informative. It sounds like both be fine if they were connected to an external monitor but the fans would run more if the system was under a stronger computing load. I also see that the 13” version would be similar to the 16” but be warmer and have higher fan speed earlier than the 16”.


I now feel that either would work for me.
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There is a whole thread on this topic. In summary ...

Discrete graphics mus be used when an external display is connected. When using both internal and external display the GPU consumes 18 W. This is more than the 2016 model for the same use case. It is unclear if this is a driver issue or a HW limitation.

18 W is not a problem as such but in combination with a high CPU load it will cause the fans to spin up.

Thank you! I starting reading the thread but it got to be so long I had trouble sifting through all detail.

I wonder when (or if) Apple will fix it. Maybe it is what it is.

 

[Patcell]

A little late to the game here, but I have a 2020 Ice Lake MBP and I routinely connect to a 4K monitor without heat issues. In fact, at idle connected to the monitor the fans are often off completely (as in 0 RPM).

Also, if I understand correctly, the 16” isn’t overheating when driving a high-res monitor. It is just that Apple decided to be much more aggressive with the fan curves with the 16” Pro than they had with past machines.

This video was informative...

 

[roncron]

I really wanted to get a 16” 2019 MacBook Pro because I want the power of 8-cores and a beautiful display. However, I have a 4K display that I want to use some of the time. I’ve seen too many complaints that I feel I’d be very disappointed with the fans and an external monitor. I totally don’t get this as my 2015 MacBook could drive a 4K display and stay relatively cool!

Does anyone have amy experience with the new (Early 2020) 13.3” MacBook Pro, connecting to a 4K monitor?

No problems here. I received my 4-port model 10 days ago. Use it a lot. Half the time, it’s plugged into a powered Thunderbolt dock connected to a Dell 24” 4K monitor and powered speakers. Fans usually off or spinning under 2500rpm, which is inaudible to barely audible. Temps usually between 35 and 55 Celsius, rarely above 60 and very rarely above 80.

However, my normal daily use has not so far really pushed the machine, except within the first few days when I was intentionally trying to push it to see how hot and loud it got.

 

[maflynn]

Uhm.. I have had 2016 MPB connected to a 5K UltraFine display for many years without issue.

The same cannot be said for the 2019 16" MBP, just look at all of the complaints (here and elsewhere) regarding the heat, and fan noise. The 16" MBP driving an external monitor pushes the temps to a point where it causes the fans to really spin up and annoy the owners.

 

[MrGunnyPT]

The problem on the 16" is mainly due to the dGPU spiking 18W.

If you use in clamshell mode you avoid these issues, however if you like to work with the lid open on the laptop that's when the 18w spike kicks in.

Honestly it's a BIG ISSUE from a machine that costs way more than 2k.

Personally I learned to live with it, when I'm doing some heavy lifting I just connect the 16" to two monitors instead of having the lid open.

If it's a casual workload I work directly from the laptop display.

It is what it is at the end of the day, so if you haven't bought it yet see the folks reviews regarding this issue on the other topic and then think if it's worth for you to spend 2k on a machine with this issue.

Right now I stopped caring about this issue but I always let people know what to expect when they connect this laptop to an external display

 

[iRun26.2]

A little late to the game here, but I have a 2020 Ice Lake MBP and I routinely connect to a 4K monitor without heat issues. In fact, at idle connected to the monitor the fans are often off completely (as in 0 RPM).

Also, if I understand correctly, the 16” isn’t overheating when driving a high-res monitor. It is just that Apple decided to be much more aggressive with the fan curves with the 16” Pro than they had with past machines.

This video was informative...

Thank you for posting the video! That was very informative.

 

[joelhinch]

I have 2x 4K Displays connected to the 2020 10th Gen i7 13” MacBook Pro via Caldigit TS3+. 4K60p on both. Performance is fantastic for iGPU. Fans are silent on small work loads even with 13” open.

16” open with 1x 4K displays = 18w power draw and loud fans.

 

[iDarkTraveler]

Uhm.. I have had 2016 MPB connected to a 5K UltraFine display for many years without issue. I am sure 2020 MPB with Iris Plus will be able to drive your crappy 4K display fine

5K over TB3 works without any issues with MBP 2019 when I'm at work.

And hey, 4K are not crappy, I'm still rocking my Dell FHD at home, reliable machine

 

[jqc]

I have 2x 4K Displays connected to the 2020 10th Gen i7 13” MacBook Pro via Caldigit TS3+. 4K60p on both. Performance is fantastic for iGPU. Fans are silent on small work loads even with 13” open.

16” open with 1x 4K displays = 18w power draw and loud fans.

Thanks for this insight. Are they USB-C monitors and if so, can you plug them both into one side of the computer instead of having to plug one into each side? I havent been able to find this answer and would like to avoid wires coming out of both side, and avoid the extra expense of a dock I dont need.

Thanks!

 

[joelhinch]

Thanks for this insight. Are they USB-C monitors and if so, can you plug them both into one side of the computer instead of having to plug one into each side? I havent been able to find this answer and would like to avoid wires coming out of both side, and avoid the extra expense of a dock I dont need.

Thanks!

Both can be plugged into the one side, yes.

 

[macuser5123]

So it is still the case, that I would be better off with a 13" MBP if I mainly use it at home with 2 external 4k monitors than with a 16" MBP? The fan noise of the 13" will be fine?

 

[joelhinch]

So it is still the case, that I would be better off with a 13" MBP if I mainly use it at home with 2 external 4k monitors than with a 16" MBP? The fan noise of the 13" will be fine?

If you are not doing graphics intensive work, I would say go the 13".

 

[Patcell]

So it is still the case, that I would be better off with a 13" MBP if I mainly use it at home with 2 external 4k monitors than with a 16" MBP? The fan noise of the 13" will be fine?

If your use case is primarily basic computing (i.e. office work), then the 13" will be fine. Mine runs two 4K displays easily and fan noise is not an issue.

 

[Stefi]

Hi all,

I just come across this thread and was looking for the answer on same question

Am planning to get the i5/16/1TB version of mbp 2020 and the idea is to use it on one 27 4k LG display and later probably i might upgrade to one more display, but the main question am not doing video editing but more of a coding, heavy safari browsing and kind of usual office work. Now am not sure whether i5 would be sufficient to support 4K display or even two of them and have smooth experience on 1(1later) + 1 display of mbp itself ?

edit: will be also using virtualization for let say 2-3 VM's running Linux.