I have both an i7 and i9 model. Typically it's in the 60-70 degree range, sometimes up into the 80s with a screen plugged in, but not that high once I've put turbo boost switched on the i9 model. (I'm returning one of these, hah, not keeping both!). Post your temps here.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
POLL: How hot does your MacBook 16 run doing every day work?
- Thread starter Corncab44
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I have the 2.3 GHz i9 16" MacBook Pro. I am NOT using any utilities to change the behavior of the processor or system fans. Doing typical office productivity my system fluctuates between 40 and 50C. While playing Diablo 3, it "jumps" to around 68C and stays there. While running the Unreal Engine (development environment), I have seen the temp spike all the way to 99C, before the fans kick-in and drop it back down to around 64C. The Unreal Engine and Diablo 3 both use the AMD GPU, and the other tasks are all on the Intel GPU.
Rich S.
Rich S.
Are either of you plugged into monitors? What fan speeds are you finding? My fans kick up to 4,000RPM pretty quickly when I'm in the 70s. Turn off Turbo Boost and right now in the mid 3000s with a 4k monitor pugged in and chrome/firefox running. Seems like the fans should still be bit lower for such normal use... (see attached photo).
I'm thinking maybe it's worth downgrading to the i7 because it seems to run cooler.
Second attached photo is my fan profile over the last while. The first jump was when I was exporting a 10 minute video file -- I guess it's acceptable but still it was very, very loud. Second jump was... just from regular use. Up until then I had turbo boost on, and when I flicked it off you can see the rpms move down. Now it's around 3200-3500 RPM, still not really that low. Will test my i7 model later on with similar work load.
Attachments
Sooooo I AM on a 25" 1920x1080 (1080p) monitor. Yes I know I need to upgrade to 4k! & in the process soon.
But that could have 1 thing to do with it - less pixels to drive. I am also using a vertical stand for the computer so it may get better airflow in the bottom. I also don't do THAT intensive of work, so that's probably the 3rd thing.
Here's an update: just had a 15 minute video call and the fans ramped up to nearly 5k! Temperatures stayed in the 60s throughout, still plugged into 4k with 5-6 chrome tabs open and a number of other programs running, including slack, WhatsApp, vpn, Evernote, safari with a couple tabs. This is with Turbo Boost off! Def going to be testing these same things with the i7 later because that seems crazy...
Attachments
Last edited:
Howdy Corncab44,
No, I am not plugged into an external monitor. I am not using any third-party fan control software, and let macOS. handle it. My fans run around 1800 RPMs when idle and the spin up to around 5800 RPMs when they seem to be a the loudest. I would fully expect temperatures to be higher when using an external monitor, as it engages your AMD GPU, which makes the system run warmer. When I am using applications like a game, or the Unreal Engine the AMD GPU is used, and temps are much warmer (about double). What is funny/strange, is that when a game starts, the fans kick up almost immediately and the temps stay pretty stable (68 C) the whole time, but when the Unreal Engine starts, the fans start out low and the temps climb all the way to 99C before the fans kick in. I am not too worried about the temps, as if the systems not cooling them effectively enough, it will fail, and Apple will have to repair/replace it. My background in PC hardware/building/repair reminds me that unless you know the placement of temp sensors, you have to take a reported readings with a grain of salt. If the sensor is measuring temperature of an integrated-heat spreader or a heat sink itself, you don't actually know the tempature of the die itself. Intel CPUs have built-in sensors, which is what I assume Apple uses, but I have to wonder about that. The thermal-design threshold of most Intel CPUs is 100C before it will throttle itself to prevent heat damage. Unless Apple has overridden that feature, I don't know how my MacBook Pro can hit 99C and NOT throttle down. This makes me think that there is some wiggle room in the temps that are being reported.
Interesting run down there. Generally, when I haven't overriden fan settings, my temps stay in the 60s, it seems Apple has really emphasized keeping things cool vs. fan speed in these models. So you get high RPMS even when performing, say, a video call. I partly moved to Mac so that I didn't have to tinker with things like this, but it does seem reasonable to run the fans on a slightly lower profile, keeping them at around 50% unless you're doing something extremely intensive. I'm testing that now, and also am going to elevate the body of my laptop in a stand while using the external monitor. Curious about the difference between games and unreal engine though, don't know what to make of that! My experience is very much in line with the game experience you describe, not the engine. I think the most annoying thing for me is how loud the fans are during video calls... but maybe I can solve this on my own.