I’ve read about the heat problems with 16” Intel MBP but is it as bad as it seems?

[darkus]

For several reasons, I have to get an Intel MBP as a backup-spare machine.

I’m debating between a 13” or 16”.

I’ve read about all the heating issues with the 16” and I’m wondering if this is intrinsic to the machine or if it’s just the people with problems that are posting? Should I expect the machine will be too hot to use on my lap for say 30 minutes or more of normal use (web browsing and Microsoft office products). It will also potentially see routine boot camp, does boot camp also result in sustained heat?

Just wondering if there are any owners out there who are consistently using a cool Intel 16” ?

 

[mac.ross]

From experience it's not too hot to use on your lap unless you're pushing it super hard, it does however run way hotter than a lot of previous models.

I 'upgraded' from my Late 2013 15" MacBook Pro with an i7 to the 2019 16" MacBook Pro with the i9 and I was extremely disappointed, I went from a rock solid machine that ran pretty cool where the fans would only spin up when you started to push it to a machine that got very warm from even basic web browsing and video playback, doubly so with BootCamp where the option was either hot or loud fans.

I had the Late 2013 15" model for around 6 years and was extremely happy, I sold the 2019 16" Pro and got myself an M1 MacBook Air when it was released, it was just an all around disappointing machine and I prefer the M1 Air in every way other than the size.

 

[zarathu]

IMO, Apple believed the crap that Intel was feeding that it would have less heating chips, and so designed the 16 inch Intel with a cooling system based on the crap that Intel said they would deliver. Intel did not, and so the 16 inch intel macs run really hot.

 

[Fear12]

I use my 2019 16" in two ways:

Main way: Clamshell mode, docked & turned vertically. Driving two 1080 monitors so nothing crazy but using the GPU and not the built in. With the i9 (with turbo boost disabled) it sits at 65°c while doing idle web browsing and email (minimal fan noise but kinda hot for the workload imo). If I turn on turbo boost and compile something that takes a bit, it will go over 100°c easily with fan noise.

Rare way: normal laptop, not docked. Idles down to ~35°c. Compile will get the temp and fans going but not near the 100°. Since its just the laptop screen, the GPU is disabled which really increases battery and decreases temp.

The biggest control on temps appears to be if turbo boost is enabled and if the GPU is enabled. Unfortunately, I don't believe there is a way to run in clamshell mode with external monitors without the GPU being enabled.

 

[GumaRodak]

Well, its not so bad.. what ppls do not figure or not adressing as a fact is that the base clock of the cpu i9 is like 2.3. But when the turbo boost is ON, the cpu runs mostly in overclock mode at 4ghz during loads, so it runs hotter. To decrease heat, turn it off for some performance cost

 

[throAU]

Intel portables are hot, they have been since at least my 15" 2011 MBP.

The max TDP has only gotten higher since then, and the machines have become smaller.

If you're planning to use a machine on your LAP I'd suggest steering clear of any intel machine and especially any intel machine with a discrete GPU.

 

[chengengaun]

My 2019 i9 heating issue was bad for various reasons. The problem I faced seems to be related to the 5500M graphics chip (or its driver) and VRM. The Mac ran cool when unplugged, but would start to throttle soon after I plugged it in to an external monitor, sometimes even when doing nothing. This thread has a very extensive discussion of the issues.

When I worked with Apple Support, they suggested that I uninstall JetBrains apps and Microsoft Office. That was the end of it until I replaced the i9 with the 14".

Edit: 2019”, lol. I forgot to mention that these issues seemed to be resolved in 16” Intel models with 5600M, which more information is also available in the thread.

 

[ddhhddhh2]

Intel Macs are indeed hotter, and i9 is hotter than i7, and when AMD is enabled, the temperature is higher, but that may not be the main issue. The decision must be based on your usage.

If you keep high performance for a long time, the intel mac will drop speed, but here's the question, do you always maintain high performance?

For general use, that's almost impossible, so under normal circumstances, speed drops are not a concern, if it is the output video or 3D rendering, over time it is possible, because the temperature is too much.

In addition, if the external monitor, AMD must be enabled, the temperature will also be raised, incidentally, even though it's only for browsers, Chrome has a bad reputation and is prone to high load in some cases, not sure if it's the front-end program, but Safari is apparently less prone to it.

In terms of performance, the intel Mac is still quite good, but you have to manage the temperature well.

The macOS default fan is low and it is recommended to use fan control to improve detection points, then your intel Mac, especially the i9, will give you a nice return.

 

[ddhhddhh2]

I use my 2019 16" in two ways:

Main way: Clamshell mode, docked & turned vertically. Driving two 1080 monitors so nothing crazy but using the GPU and not the built in. With the i9 (with turbo boost disabled) it sits at 65°c while doing idle web browsing and email (minimal fan noise but kinda hot for the workload imo). If I turn on turbo boost and compile something that takes a bit, it will go over 100°c easily with fan noise.

Rare way: normal laptop, not docked. Idles down to ~35°c. Compile will get the temp and fans going but not near the 100°. Since its just the laptop screen, the GPU is disabled which really increases battery and decreases temp.

The biggest control on temps appears to be if turbo boost is enabled and if the GPU is enabled. Unfortunately, I don't believe there is a way to run in clamshell mode with external monitors without the GPU being enabled.

It seems that an external display will definitely enable a separate GPU, and I have seen discussions about this. The main reason is that the output channel will pass through a separate GPU, so this is unavoidable.

 

[MayaUser]

Is not that hot if you dont use both cpu and gpu to the max...if you do, then it will be very hot
Compared to my new 16" M1 max...its night and day...on the same tasks , i think there is around 5-7C difference to the touch between the Intel and M1..but on normal use, the Intel one is warm ..while the M1 max is cold

 

[tdbrown75]

For several reasons, I have to get an Intel MBP as a backup-spare machine.

I’m debating between a 13” or 16”.

I’ve read about all the heating issues with the 16” and I’m wondering if this is intrinsic to the machine or if it’s just the people with problems that are posting? Should I expect the machine will be too hot to use on my lap for say 30 minutes or more of normal use (web browsing and Microsoft office products). It will also potentially see routine boot camp, does boot camp also result in sustained heat?

Just wondering if there are any owners out there who are consistently using a cool Intel 16” ?

It is intrinsic to the machine. Toasts your lap even surfing the web.

Tim

 

[Hunter5117]

I have had my MBP 16" I9 for about a year and a half and I use it for my daily driver. No real heavy lifting, occasionally some very basic editing in FCPX but mostly email, Safari, photo editing, Pages and Numbers.

I would not say the heat issue is that much greater than my previous 15". The fans do spin up if I am downloading a large file for instance when I updated to Monterey, the fans ran pretty much full time during that download and install. Other than that, they run at pretty low speed and are not noticeable over any audio that may be playing.

I have found a couple of times when something seems to cause the laptop to run very hot for no apparent reason. Temps close to 100C and the fans run at pretty much maximum. Each time this happened I did a SMC reset and everything went back to normal with heat and fans both very manageable.

 

[DesertNomad]

Get it with the 5600M video card and it will be fine.

 

[smbu2000]

It definitely does depend on what you are doing with it. For general usage stuff it doesn't get too hot. Applications that use the CPU/GPU at the same time will definitely cause it to start heating up.

Mine is only the i7 (6core), so it does run cooler than the 8core i9. Although, it has been upgraded to the 4GB 5500M instead of the base 5300M. My 13" M1 MBP runs cool and silent all the time, but I do like the bigger screen on the 16" model.

I think bootcamp tends to run a little hotter, but that could just be Win10 stuff causing that. My fans do ramp up more. Fan applications do work in Win10 though, too. I have Macs Fan Control installed on both macOS and Win10.

 

[fleaplus]

I would suggest the 13 inch MBP with 10th Gen i5-1038NG7 if its performance can fit your needs. It actually can perform faster then the i9 in the 16 inch in single-thread scenarios thanks to its better IPC and 10nm CPU. External displays are driven by the Intel GPU so it does not increase heat or noise like the 16 inch models with AMD GPU's.

 

[bill-p]

It will also potentially see routine boot camp, does boot camp also result in sustained heat?

Yes. Because in Bootcamp, you cannot use anything but the discrete GPU. The integrated GPU is not available under Bootcamp.

In short: the computer will eat 15-20W even when it's idling and it'll get warm to the touch. Once you start doing anything in Bootcamp, expect battery life to tank to about 2-3 hours and the machine getting very very warm. I would not use it on my lap for extended period of time longer than 5 minutes.

If you absolutely must have a 16" MacBook, I'd recommend one with the 5600M GPU. That one should run cooler than the 5300M or 5500M.

 

[throAU]

If you're buying a Mac to mostly live in bootcamp you're better off buying a PC to be honest.

 

[Fomalhaut]

I use my 2019 16" in two ways:

Main way: Clamshell mode, docked & turned vertically. Driving two 1080 monitors so nothing crazy but using the GPU and not the built in. With the i9 (with turbo boost disabled) it sits at 65°c while doing idle web browsing and email (minimal fan noise but kinda hot for the workload imo). If I turn on turbo boost and compile something that takes a bit, it will go over 100°c easily with fan noise.

Rare way: normal laptop, not docked. Idles down to ~35°c. Compile will get the temp and fans going but not near the 100°. Since its just the laptop screen, the GPU is disabled which really increases battery and decreases temp.

The biggest control on temps appears to be if turbo boost is enabled and if the GPU is enabled. Unfortunately, I don't believe there is a way to run in clamshell mode with external monitors without the GPU being enabled.

There is a way, which is to use a DisplayLink dock. I did this for a number of months and didn't have excessive heat or fan-noise issues. However, DisplayLink has its own vagaries with screens sometimes failing to work, changing window order etc.

 

[syncopy]

If you absolutely must have a 16" MacBook, I'd recommend one with the 5600M GPU. That one should run cooler than the 5300M or 5500M.

AMD isn't the main problem. The Intel i9 MBP gets hot during normal use in Finder, Chrome, Mail, Messages, etc. Throw a 3D rendering or video export at it (without the dGPU being active) and you literally cannot use it on your lap or else your skin will turn red. We don't yet know how this will affect the longevity of the machine's components over the years, but it's not something I would recommend to anyone unless you can find an i9 for a really cheap price.

 

[Srao1982]

AMD isn't the main problem. The Intel i9 MBP gets hot during normal use in Finder, Chrome, Mail, Messages, etc. Throw a 3D rendering or video export at it (without the dGPU being active) and you literally cannot use it on your lap or else your skin will turn red. We don't yet know how this will affect the longevity of the machine's components over the years, but it's not something I would recommend to anyone unless you can find an i9 for a really cheap price.

I have the i9 16”. It does not get hot during normal use, using Finder, Chrome, Mail, Messages, etc. At all.

 

[Daniel L]

Fine for light usage - videos/browsing/messages - if it does get hot while browsing, there's usually a culprit website that's open

Can't use for long periods on lap in boot camp as boot camp automatically enables the GPU

 

[MBAir2010]

last year 2020 everyone (well many users) on the apple support website complained
how hot and loud the fan was on the newer intel airs, the retina display one (non-bezel).
but the bezel ones like mine were still okay, lees fan noise and heat
that was because every1 used "Zoom "that year and the architecture was not ready for that.
now I'm thinking that  probably did something to sell and promote the M1.
win/win!

 

[CalMin]

I had the base spec 2019 i7 16” and it was fine. It spun up the fans on initial boot then calmed down. After that it would depend. I mostly heard the fans with OneDrive sync, VMWare, Final Cut, video conferencing and heavy MS Office multitasking. But it wasn’t overly hot for those things and the fans audible but not intrusive.

As for temperature, it was warm but rarely hot. It was toasty when I sat on my couch and had it on my legs but only heavy use would make it uncomfortable.

 

[bill-p]

AMD isn't the main problem. The Intel i9 MBP gets hot during normal use in Finder, Chrome, Mail, Messages, etc. Throw a 3D rendering or video export at it (without the dGPU being active) and you literally cannot use it on your lap or else your skin will turn red. We don't yet know how this will affect the longevity of the machine's components over the years, but it's not something I would recommend to anyone unless you can find an i9 for a really cheap price.

AMD is the problem. Once you connect an external display to the 16" Intel MacBook, the dGPU has to constantly be active and it draws at least 15W all by itself on top of whatever the CPU is drawing. This means that the machine is constantly hot and the CPU cannot boost to its max possible clock speed.

The 5600M supposedly doesn't run into this problem. Low Power Mode seems to help but it also drops overall system performance, which is undesirable.

 

[MrGunnyPT]

Only the 5600M models are good trust me.. The moment you connect any other model to a external display you hit the 15w mark from the dGPU and it becomes a mess.