MBP 16 keyboard noticeably hot

[hky740]

I'm streaming something, like a Facebook Live, for more than a couple minutes my keyboard area gets noticeably warm as does area just north of the touch bar.

I only really have Chrome open with 6 tabs - hardly anything strenuous.

I notice this when my camera is on for Zoom calls too.

Is this normal? What I'm doing shouldn't put much stress at all on an i7 MBP 16.

 

[chrfr]

I'm streaming something, like a Facebook Live, for more than a couple minutes my keyboard area gets noticeably warm as does area just north of the touch bar.

I only really have Chrome open with 6 tabs - hardly anything strenuous.

I notice this when my camera is on for Zoom calls too.

Is this normal? What I'm doing shouldn't put much stress at all on an i7 MBP 16.

You'd think it wouldn't put much stress on the computer but take a look at Activity Monitor when you're streaming, and especially when you're using Zoom. You'll be surprised at how inefficient those apps, and Chrome, are.

 

[fs454]

Normal. You have a 6 core CPU plus an active 45w dedicated GPU during those tasks and Chrome is horrendously inefficient. These laptops run hot as they've got hot hardware in them - Safari will be more efficient but anytime you're broadcasting/live-encoding video or doing a zoom call you're running the dGPU so expect to feel warmth and possibly hear fans.

 

[Dhock_Holiday]

Mine used to get noticeable hot near the touch-bar area, and near the top. I'm guessing this is normal behavior but you can create a custom fan profile to help manage profiles.

 

[elite953]

Zoom app is not optimized for mac OS. dont worry, your MBP 16 is perfectly normal

 

[iChriscr]

Do you use "Macs Fan Control"? I had similar issues with my MBP 13 2018 but since I installed that app my Mac doesn't get warm. Furthermore, I recommend to use Safari instead of Chrome.