When the 13-inch MacBook Pro is running hot here are some ways to keep that extra heat under control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve been splitting my time between the new 16-inch MacBook Pro (late 2019) and the 13-inch MacBook Pro (mid-2019). One critical difference is how the two MacBooks dissipate heat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My unscientific but practical litmus test is how hot the palmrest gets. The bigger (and newer) MacBook generally doesn\u2019t get hot, even under larger workloads. The much smaller, more-thermally-challenged 13-inch, however, needs a little help sometimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The MBP 13 CPU load in my case is, in order of the biggest heat triggers: (1) running an LG UltraFine 5K display at 5,120-by- 2,880 resolution, (2) intermittent live video news feeds, (3) 15 to 20 active Chrome tabs, and (4) productivity stuff (Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneDrive, and\/or photo editing).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The single biggest trigger is the LG UltraFine 5K. But it\u2019s the use of the LG UltraFine in combination with other software that gets the MacBook hot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Problem: On larger workloads (delineated above) the 13 MBP palmrest often gets too hot to work with comfortably. In other words, my hand is sitting on metal that\u2019s radiating temperatures between 95 and 105 degrees F.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The heat can vary depending on what I\u2019m doing and other variables that, frankly, are a bit of a mystery. Sometimes Apple\u2019s built-in thermal management works. Sometimes it doesn\u2019t \u2014 again, a mystery on why Apple\u2019s thermal management comes up short in some cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solution: I\u2019ve tried various fixes but the one that has been most consistently effective for me is Mac Fans Control. The program allows you to set CPU core temperature fan triggers and upper CPU core temperature limits. Or, alternatively, you can set custom RPM (revolution per minute) values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bottom line is, Mac Fans Control can bring down palmrest temperatures in some cases. Temperatures can drop enough that I can work comfortably for longer periods with large workloads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other solutions: there are other, simpler ways to fix overheating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014A simple reboot sometimes does the trick because that will jettison background processes that may be unnecessarily gobbling up CPU cycles. This can be surprisingly effective. But it\u2019s hardly a permanent fix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014Or switching browsers: while all browsers are resource hogs, Chrome is notorious for the \u201cGoogle Chrome Helper\u201d that appears very conspicuously in Apple\u2019s Activity Monitor utility eating up processor cycles and ratcheting up CPU core temperatures. This is not necessarily a permanent fix, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014Or you could also invest in a cooling pad \u2014 which is one of the most popular traditional fixes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014Or opt for the 16-inch MacBook Pro which, based on my testing so far, handles bigger workloads just fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Noise: when the MacBook Pro 13 is doing something like video streaming or running a dozen or more Chrome tabs, the fans get active \u2014 even without a program like Mac Fans Control. But the fans do kick in a little earlier with Mac Fans Control than they would otherwise. That said, fan noise doesn\u2019t bother me because it is barely audible and the duration is short.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not for everyone: As a disclaimer, the Mac Fans Control program is not meant for everyone. Also, you run the risk of overtaxing your fans if you max out the settings \u2014 among other possible risks including breaking the warranty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I would also argue that a program like Mac Fans Control is necessary for users like me. Apple didn\u2019t do its homework when, for example, the MacBook Pro 13 is hooked up to LG\u2019s UltraFine 5K display (which Apple sells at its Apple Store \u2014 both online and physical stores). In short, some professional workloads break Apple\u2019s thermal modeling. After all, the reason you purchase a MacBook Pro \u2014 with \u201cPro\u201d being the operative word \u2014 is to run Pro-level software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anyway, proceed with caution. That\u2019s what I did.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When the 13-inch MacBook Pro is running hot here are some ways to keep that extra heat under control. I\u2019ve been splitting my time between the new 16-inch MacBook Pro (late 2019) and the 13-inch MacBook Pro (mid-2019). One critical difference is how the two MacBooks dissipate heat. My unscientific but practical litmus test is … Continue reading “MacBook Pro 13-Inch (2019) Under Stress: Heat, Fan, And Noise Control”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[765],"class_list":["post-995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-laptop","tag-macbook-pro-13"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=995"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/995\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":996,"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/995\/revisions\/996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}