For anybody with the amd 450 gpu, does it make the MBp warm?

[dk808]

So i currently own the mbp with the 460 gpu and whenever its switched to the dedicated graphics the keyboard gets pretty warm. This is pretty essential because i use Ableton live and it forces the mbp to use the dgpu. Although it gets warm it is very silent though, i dont hear any fans spinning at all. The heat isnt a huge issue but Im just curious


I was thinking about returning it and maybe ordering another one with the 450 gpu isntead. Im assuming since its not as powerful that it will generate less heat and consume less power. However, if it also causes heat then i will just keep my current one

 

[fs454]

It's pretty much the same - it's likely the 460 you have right now is not running at full power with Ableton. The GPU is variable in both power draw and clock/memory speed, so I'm pretty sure the 450 would be close to identical for heat output unless you were comparing it with a side-by-side sustained gaming test.

Give gfxCardStatus a try. It's a little buggy with the latest 2016 models, but I'm able to force it to keep using the iGPU if done right. Get it running, and then with no apps open (so it's using the integrated GPU) click it and hit "Integrated Only". Then go back and do it 2-3 more times - what I've noticed is it doesn't usually like to stay on that setting, or at least visually it doesn't. But what'll happen is when you launch Ableton again it should refrain from powering up and switching to the 460. I've been able to get it to work with Premiere Pro and Photoshop while on battery power so I can save a bit more juice doing really light edits, but it's for sure pretty glitchy in its implementation.


On the other hand, it's perfectly normal for a computer running a pro app to become warm. It's nothing to worry about at all.

 

[Blackforge]

I'd recommend the fork of gfxCardStatus: https://github.com/steveschow/gfxCardStatus/releases/tag/v2.4.3i