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MacBook Pro 15" 2.8Ghz Dual Graphics - HIGH Temperatures

U

Uddername

macrumors member
Original poster
May 9, 2013
41
9
Hey peeps,

So I purchased a 15" 2015 2.8GHz Dual Graphics model from eBay and immediately formatted the hard drive and installed Catalina... and the temperatures on this thing get really hot and I was wondering if it was common or not?

So starting up the machine the temperature is 80-85°C (around 186.0 °F), then if left alone for a few minutes the machine creeps down to around 45°C (around 110.0 °F)... but then I opened Final Cut Pro, Microsoft Office, Logic Pro and Photoshop in quick succession... and the temperatures soar to 90°C (around 194.0 °F) in about 1 second... a 45°C jump... they then often go up to 100°C, the fans kick up to about 4000 RPM and the MacBook stabilises.

Is this normal? The exact same processes on my MacBook Pro 13" i5 2012 result in much lower temperatures, as in when it starts up the machine will go to around 60°C, and the same when all of those softwares are opened in quick sucession. The only time my 2012 model would go even near 95-100°C would be if it was doing some heavy rendering... not just opening software.

I was also thinking it could be graphics related but noticed in Catalina you can't turn off auto graphics switching.

Any advice would be appreciated as I'm not sure whether to flag this up as an issue with this indivual machine, or whether it's these models in general and because they're so powerful, that's what causes the increase in temperatures.

Thanks!
 
Also, I changed the thermal paste and cleaned any dust and nothin really altered.
 
Anyone own a 2.8Ghz i7 2015 15" model, can just let me know if these temps are normal or not?
 
Apple lets their systems run hot before throttling them. 100C is the usually upper limit. Since the fans are spinning up (a 15" runs the fans at 2000 RPM or so when idle) to speed to cool things off and it is holding the temps down into the 90s or lower, it sounds like it is running OK.

FWIW, my 2015 15" would spin the fans pretty hard. And my 2018 15" sounds like a vacuum cleaner when doing model training, or long renders in Premier Pro.

BTW, are using an external monitor? That requires the dGPU to be active and creates more heat.
 
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No I'm not using an external monitor. I've just never owned or witnessed a MacBook Pro going into the 80's/90's just when starting up and opening photoshop. I've dealt with hundreds of 2008-2012 MacBook Pros and if any of them were behaving like that it would signal a problem to me. Whether it being the logic board was severely dusty/clogged up, the thermal paste would need reapplying or something's unplugged/wrong with the logic board.

I have used 2.2 and 2.5GHz 2015 MacBook Pros without the incredibly high temps... so I wasn't sure if it was not normal or whether the 2.8GHz model is that much more powerful thus creating the heat and it's pretty normal.

To be fair, the temperatures don't stay like that... they eventually go down, but i've just never seen a MacBook shoot up 50 degrees in a second before.
 
Uddername said:
Anyone own a 2.8Ghz i7 2015 15" model, can just let me know if these temps are normal or not?
Click to expand...

Yes, I just upgraded from a 2.2 2014 Modell to a 2.8 Ghz 2015 Dual Graphics Modell and I have the same issue. Fan spins upon boot but cools down. I don't see just as high temperatures as you do, because I have Turbo Boost disabled. But my CPU temperatures would probably behave the same as yours, if I had Turbo Boost enabled.

My 2.2 Ghz Haswell was running quiet and always under 60 degrees (because of Turbo Boost). Now I'm in the 70s under constant load.

I was about to change the thermal paste but thanks to you I won't be doing it.
 
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Glockworkorange said:
"15" 2015 2.8GHz Dual Graphics model "

What is this "dual graphics model" thing?

Is this referring to integrated and discrete?
Click to expand...

Yes. Dual Graphics means AMD R9 370X chip. 28nm.

But I think it's the 2.8 Ghz chip that's at fault for the high temperatures. Someone with 2.8 Ghz and no AMD R9 could report back...
 
@Uddername: do you have Thunderbolt devices connected? I recently switched from TB2 Gigabit Ethernet Adapter to WiFi and now my CPU runs much cooler...
 
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My 2015 15" 2.8 Ghz runs on the warm side also. With a couple apps and nothing heaving going on right now I am sitting at about 135-140 F. When I open up a VM in Fusion in spike up to close to 190F and then it settles down again. I do run an external monitor in clamshell mode and I do believe the temps are related to the GPU as when I connect a second monitor my idle temp goes up more. I am using a Thunderbolt Ethernet Adapter so maybe I will try using WIFI to see if that makes a difference
[automerge]1575402082[/automerge]
I switched my Network connectivity to WIFI and my primary display from Thunderbolt/Display Port Adapter to HDMI and my idle temps dropped about 10 degrees to 125-130 now.
 
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Thanks for letting us know.

Clamshell mode and using an external monitor, especially on models that have dGPU have much higher temps... I had a 2014 2.2 Ghz model without dGPU and it was much cooler in general and even with external monitor...

generally to keep my temps cool and my fans quiet I use two tools: "Turbo Boost Switcher Pro" to disable Turbo Boost and gfxcardStatus to disable dGPU whenever possible.

It's weird that using WiFi keeps my MBP cooler, but what's even weirder is that my Bluetooth range for my headset increases dramatically if I have WiFi turned on instead of using Thunderbolt Gigabit Ethernet ...
 
Just checked my Mac again after having made the change to WIFI and HDMI and now my Macbook Pro is idling around 116 so it has made a decent difference in idle temperature for me. I don't think I can disable the dGPU when connected to an external monitor.
 
Can you also check if it's just the Gigabit Ethernet adapter or the Thunderbolt Display Adapter or both?

Yeah, you can't disable the dGPU if you have one when using external monitors. Compared to a model without dGPU you have higher temps when using an external monitor...
 
Issues like this are the biggest reason I am considering getting rid of the Macbook Pro and getting a new Mac Mini. Not sure if the Mini would operate as well as my old 6 Core Mac Pro, but I could fire up a VM on that and the temperature would barely move. I fire up the same VM on my Macbook and the temp spikes to almost 200 before settling down in the 170-180 range.
 
I recommend always manually controlling your Mac fans according to what you doing. Personally I use iStat with configurations on battery and while charging.
 
I had the same one for years. i7 2.8 GHz and AMD R9 M370X. That thing would get hot before the fans kicked in. If I was doing an export I'd use Macs fan control and cool it down for better performance...
 
I have weird problems with my DG 2.8 model. I tamed the CPU somehow with undervolting and disabling Turboboost, and it can go up to ~80 with no much noise, but as soon as R9 GPU starts the buisness even handling the lightest tasks it whines horrendously from 67C and up. It's painful.
Also it doesn't stop whining untill it cools itself to ridiculous 50C which is too cool to spin 6000rpm, f***! I hate this noise and it's illogical nature. I can't get it and can't get rid of it.
What could it be? I found many similar questions but no solution.
 
Uddername said:
No I'm not using an external monitor. I've just never owned or witnessed a MacBook Pro going into the 80's/90's just when starting up and opening photoshop.
Click to expand...

Welcome to current intel CPU boost - intel runs things HARD under boost now, modern intel cpus are essentially pre-overclocked vs. what you would have seen 5 years ago.
 
I have a 2015 at 2.5 Ghz with discrete and it's hooked up to either dual QHD monitors or 1 4K. It runs an office and development workload including zoom, slack, etc. I never hear the fans come up on it.

I also have a 2014 at 2.2 Ghz and only Intel graphics and I run trading and video applications on it and it can get warm with the fans spinning and making a lot of noise. I use it in clamshell hooked up to a 4K display. My fix to get temperatures down:

Capture.PNG
 
Intenditore said:
I have weird problems with my DG 2.8 model. I tamed the CPU somehow with undervolting and disabling Turboboost, and it can go up to ~80 with no much noise, but as soon as R9 GPU starts the buisness even handling the lightest tasks it whines horrendously from 67C and up. It's painful.
Also it doesn't stop whining untill it cools itself to ridiculous 50C which is too cool to spin 6000rpm, f***! I hate this noise and it's illogical nature. I can't get it and can't get rid of it.
What could it be? I found many similar questions but no solution.
Click to expand...

Yes, the R9 dGPU is horrible. I usually disable it with gfxcardstatus when using the internal display.

For external displays, I recently bought the ASUS XG Station Pro with the PowerColor Red Dragon RX 5700 - all components specifically selected (ASUS not Razer Core X, PowerColor Red Dragon not any other, RX 5700 without XT) because everything runs very silent together. Under light load at 0db.

Also note that any USB or Thunderbolt adapters connected to your Mac will add additional heat. I can run a little cooler if I use USB Ethernet vs. Thunderbolt Gigabit Ethernet for example. Maybe Wi-Fi is even better?
 
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Nozgog said:
Yes, the R9 dGPU is horrible
Click to expand...
Why didn't I know that buying this machine ;(
Is a previews one with GT 750M notacably better, don't you know? Constantly working in GPU-intensive software such as Cinema 4D with a second screen hooked up I can't deal with it, it kills me noise.
Or maybe any recipes to undervolt and downclock the gpu?

The most weird thing anyway is the fan speeds which go up even when it's to cool to do so. I could get it when GPU is hot, but not when it's 65℃
 
Intenditore said:
Why didn't I know that buying this machine ;(
Is a previews one with GT 750M notacably better, don't you know? Constantly working in GPU-intensive software such as Cinema 4D with a second screen hooked up I can't deal with it, it kills me noise.
Or maybe any recipes to undervolt and downclock the gpu?

The most weird thing anyway is the fan speeds which go up even when it's to cool to do so. I could get it when GPU is hot, but not when it's 65℃
Click to expand...

Haha I think many people wish they knew before. I wish I knew before.

I "upgraded" from a 2014 2.2 Ghz iGPU Model and it was silent.
I believe the 2.5 Ghz from 2015 is better than 2.8 Ghz.
My brother who has a 2017 model is also having constant noise.

I would have gone with the 2.5 Ghz if I knew before. However I was specifically selecting the dGPU model because I wanted higher resolutions for external monitors... little did I know about my own stupidity...

Undervolting/downclock the dGPU? I don't know about macOS but with Windows this should be possible.
 
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