M5 Max getting hot to touch under load, normal?

[Matt2012]

I just got my new 16" MBP Max (40 core GPU/64GB Ram).
One of the first things I did was to use Topaz Video AI to convert a clip (approx 30 mins length) which took about 11 mins to complete.
Within 3 mins or so minutes though, the metal frame that runs across just above the keyboard/below the screen got pretty warm to to the touch. Not burning hot but certainly warm. Elsewhere on the chassis seemed ok.
I had a screen open and running on battery.
Is it normal for these things to get warm/hot like that under a sustained load?
The fans were working as I could hear them.

 

[avkills]

Since that is where all the heat gets expelled, then it is probably normal.

 

[dblissmn]

Seems reasonable to me. Better than having it be hot to the touch with big tasks like the M1 Max.

 

[throAU]

Yes normal, my m4 max does the same.

If you want it to run cooler run automatic or low power modes. Low power its normally silent.

If you don't care about heat and noise and want it to do the job faster run high power mode.

 

[Matt2012]

Yes normal, my m4 max does the same.

If you want it to run cooler run automatic or low power modes. Low power its normally silent.

If you don't care about heat and noise and want it to do the job faster run high power mode.

Thanks and good to know

 

[maflynn]

The M5 seems to be a rather hot chip, more so then the M4, and the max variant is going to be the hottest, so yeah its normal.
Consider using Macs fan control this way you can adjust the fan speed and not reply on Apple's fan control where apple prefers hotter temps over louder fans

 

[Matt2012]

The M5 seems to be a rather hot chip, more so then the M4, and the max variant is going to be the hottest, so yeah its normal.
Consider using Macs fan control this way you can adjust the fan speed and not reply on Apple's fan control where apple prefers hotter temps over louder fans

Awesome and will try that 👍

 

[throAU]

Any new chip these days will aim at running as hot/fast as possible within the limits of the thermal solution. Its just how things are, everyone wants to win benchmarks on high power mode, and that means running as hot as possible with fans blasting.

If you want it to run cooler/quieter, as above, low power mode.

 

[Matt2012]

I’m really pleased with the Max performance but damn, I thought Macs ran quiet which is part of the reason moving away from PC. Under heavy load, the Mac definitely seems louder than my desktop 5090 PC running the same task.

 

[avkills]

I’m really pleased with the Max performance but damn, I thought Macs ran quiet which is part of the reason moving away from PC. Under heavy load, the Mac definitely seems louder than my desktop 5090 PC running the same task.

That is weird; my M3 Max does not fan up loud while doing heavy loaded tasks. The loudest thing in my office is the stupid server grade UPS (but it is nice.)

 

[Matt2012]

That is weird; my M3 Max does not fan up loud while doing heavy loaded tasks. The loudest thing in my office is the stupid server grade UPS (but it is nice.)

Mine is M5 though that is faster than my 5090 desktop so something special is going on inside it.
I returned my M3 ultra/M4 Max Studios as they just didn’t compare to 5090.
Whatever Apple has done, it runs superb, just noisy with fans spinning to keep it cool under a heavy, sustained load.
It’s not so bad in DaVinci Resolve and is quiet using Photoshop with Topaz photo plugins.

 

[throAU]

I’m really pleased with the Max performance but damn, I thought Macs ran quiet which is part of the reason moving away from PC. Under heavy load, the Mac definitely seems louder than my desktop 5090 PC running the same task.

Turn off high power mode and try low power.

Its not much slower and basically silent.

 

[Matt2012]

Turn off high power mode and try low power.

Its not much slower and basically silent.

But i want POWER! 😛

 

[Matt2012]

After a few days with it now, Its probably going back as the noise is driving me mad 🙁

 

[Ben J.]

But i want POWER! 😛

But it's how it works; using lots of power to perform tasks as fast as possible equals cpu cores running hot, which in turn causes fans to spin and create noise.

I don't use mac laptops, but using 'low power mode' sounds like a good idea. You could turn it on before starting a process that you know will use all cores at max, creating heat and noise, like a video conversion, and go get a coffee or take a break. Turn off low power mode when it's finished.

A video process like that is typical of a multi-core process that will run all cores at 100%. Same thing for me when I want to f.ex do a batch noise reduction on a lot of audio files - the fans scream. It'd be nice if mac desktops offered a low power mode too. These processes have in common that they don't care about anything but raw math, so they can spread the job out over all the cores, and just add up the results in the end. Other processes, like running heavy video/graphics applications consist of multiple threads and requiring them to be in sync and order, this is especially obvious in digital audio workstations where it's essential that all tracks are timed in relation to eachother.

So, these are basically two totally different ways for a cpu to be working. It's reflected in the benchmark numbers of f.ex Geekbench, single-core and multicore scores. In the studio/audio world, we were always told to focus on the singlecore performance, because it simply doesn't benefit our apps much to have lots and lots of cores. Number crunching like bitcoin mining - totally multicore.

 

[Matt2012]

But it's how it works; using lots of power to perform tasks as fast as possible equals cpu cores running hot, which in turn causes fans to spin and create noise.

I don't use mac laptops, but using 'low power mode' sounds like a good idea. You could turn it on before starting a process that you know will use all cores at max, creating heat and noise, like a video conversion, and go get a coffee or take a break. Turn off low power mode when it's finished.

A video process like that is typical of a multi-core process that will run all cores at 100%. Same thing for me when I want to f.ex do a batch noise reduction on a lot of audio files - the fans scream. It'd be nice if mac desktops offered a low power mode too. These processes have in common that they don't care about anything but raw math, so they can spread the job out over all the cores, and just add up the results in the end. Other processes, like running heavy video/graphics applications consist of multiple threads and requiring them to be in sync and order, this is especially obvious in digital audio workstations where it's essential that all tracks are timed in relation to eachother.

So, these are basically two totally different ways for a cpu to be working. It's reflected in the benchmark numbers of f.ex Geekbench, single-core and multicore scores. In the studio/audio world, we were always told to focus on the singlecore performance, because it simply doesn't benefit our apps much to have lots and lots of cores. Number crunching like bitcoin mining - totally multicore.

Its wiped and boxed up for return now. The main reason for getting it was less noise and heat but its just louder than my desktop PC when that's running at full load. Could have dealt with the heat, just not the noise.

 

[throAU]

It’s wiped and boxed up for return now. The main reason for getting it was less noise and heat but it’s just louder than my desktop PC when that's running at full load. Could have dealt with the heat, just not the noise.

This is par for the course with portable machines.

If you want silent high performance, build a custom desktop.
If you want silent portability buy a fanless laptop like the Air
If you want portable performance - prepare for noise when run full tilt.

As above, the M4/M5 are still FAST when run on low performance mode versus pretty much anything else on the market in similar form factor, power consumption, etc.

Yes, the noise is annoying. If i don’t NEED some background task to run quickly i do not use high performance mode.

In low performance mode the machine is still very responsive. Just that background/batch tasks take longer. I still game on my m4 max on low performance mode and performance is decent whilst being quiet.