Macbook Pro 2019 16 inch fan noise with Ableton

[WilmarBoer]

Does anyone of you use the new Macbook Pro (i9) 16 inch Macbook Pro. I'm happy to use this computer, it's power is amazing. But in Ableton, only have Ableton started up (not even loaded a song yet) will get the fan's going. I'm now in a song with 25% CPU load and the fan's go like crazy and are very loud. I don't have this experience with other software (Photoshop, Capture One, Mainstage). So I think it's the way Ableton handles CPU load.

[jonljacobi]

It may be a particular plugin, but there’s no true solution. You can delay the inevitable a bit with https://www.crystalidea.com/macs-fan-control. Just be careful.

[Tarekith]

Heard a few reports of this on the forums, but I can't replicate it on my 16" MBP unfortunately. Are there any certain plug ins or Live devices you're using?

[shazbot79]

Hello, I think I know why this might happening. Basically any DAW kicks in the dedicated graphics card which in turn makes the fan spin after a few minutes on this model, I have had mine since the 4th Dec 2019. Great machine but this was starting to annoy me. Install gSwitch by Cody Shrank and select integrated and voila. Your fans will not spin up as quickly and the battery will last longer. I'm still not happy at having to do this but I genuinely do not think Apple will fix this. If I browse, email word etc this machine is whisper quiet. Fire up Live, FL or Logic and it really takes. I feel your pain, but gSwitch works.

https://codyschrank.github.io/gSwitch/

[jonljacobi]

Nice.

[TLW]

This might help - don’t know if it works on the current Mac models, but it has helped a lot with some older ones (including mine).

[WilmarBoer]

This might help - don’t know if it works on the current Mac models, but it has helped a lot with some older ones (including mine).

Nice! I'll try that.

[WilmarBoer]

Hello, I think I know why this might happening. Basically any DAW kicks in the dedicated graphics card which in turn makes the fan spin after a few minutes on this model, I have had mine since the 4th Dec 2019. Great machine but this was starting to annoy me. Install gSwitch by Cody Shrank and select integrated and voila. Your fans will not spin up as quickly and the battery will last longer. I'm still not happy at having to do this but I genuinely do not think Apple will fix this. If I browse, email word etc this machine is whisper quiet. Fire up Live, FL or Logic and it really takes. I feel your pain, but gSwitch works.

https://codyschrank.github.io/gSwitch/

Nice! I'll try that.

[WilmarBoer]

It may be a particular plugin, but there’s no true solution. You can delay the inevitable a bit with https://www.crystalidea.com/macs-fan-control. Just be careful.

I tried Mac Fan Control. While I can control the fan's now, the fan get less stable setting a minimal and max temperature based on a specific CPU temperature. The fan's go on and of which is more annoying than a constant buzz.

[Tarekith]

Is this happening on battery power or when you're PSU is plugged in?

[shazbot79]

It deffo works, this is the updated version of the older one for the 2011/12 models.

I also had the 2018 15" Macbook Pro prior to this machine. I couldn't figure out why it lasted about an hr when using live on battery. In addition to throttling, the high performance mode zapped the battery I kid you not, I felt sick tbh as it was so expensive. I then installed GSwitch and the machine last 3 hrs and ran much cooler using the integrated for the same session. It's clearly evident in the Activity Monitor energy tab. In the end, I got rid and waited for the 16 and the same thing happened, the big difference is though the fans kick in on this model. GSwitch to the rescue again. The app does not act like fan control, it's basically telling the machine to use the integrated. For normally browsing it runs cools. If I was to use Final Cut or Photoshop which I both use I would go for the dedicated and lets the fans do their job.

I cannot comment for the i9 models but just my experience on the i7 base model.

I never had this issue on the 2015 15 2.2Ghz at all. (no dedicated graphics card). I have also tried the 13 2018 Quad core and it runs pretty cool.

I'm still not convinced with being forced into Catalina and the fan issue, only time will tell. The most important thing it does not stop me making music and it is a beast.

[oratowsky]

I believe what you describe is normal behavior.

Are you concerned about the noise?

You can use Intel Power Gadget to monitor your CPU use and CPU temperature.

Also, the 2019 macbook pro has bigger fans and fans up more quickly so the CPU can run at higher clockspeeds for longer.

I had both 2015 and 2017 macbook pros and they overheated constantly, the temperature will rise to 100 deg and then the clockspeed will fall to 1ghz. Sessions will slow to a craw until the computer gets physically cooler.

So far so good with this one but they always start out okay, lol. At least with this generation they actively increased the fans and airflow performance and made it thicker. we'll see !!

[TLW]

I also had the 2018 15" Macbook Pro prior to this machine. I couldn't figure out why it lasted about an hr when using live on battery.

If I run Logic on my MBP when on battery it pops up a window to warn me it would be a very good idea to plug the Mac into the mains. Battery life is never brilliant on an MBP once you start pushing them a bit. I’ve come to think of them more as an easily portable computer than a “run it all day on battery” laptop. The various Air models do have good battery life if used for “everyday” computing tasks - web browsing, word processing, email etc. - but DAWs are very demanding on the system and the Air isn’t exactly a super-computer.

[supadisco]

I have a 2019 (15") MBP and had similar issues very early on, but not even running Ableton. The fan would go crazy, the laptop would burn up heat and a fully charged battery would die in a little over an hour. After many calls to the "geniuses" at applecare I reinstalled everything and the newer OS seems to have helped. My problem now is that these new USB type C ports to recognize my external hardware. I'll post separately about that....good luck with your problem! It's so annoying especially after shelling out so much $$.

j

[RDiiO]

Same issue with MacBook Pro 16 i9 32gb Ram. Soon as I launch Ableton with sessions fans start going crazy terrible fan noise, I can have a similar session using Logic Pro X and zero fan noise. This has been going on with Ableton for a long time and never addressed.

https://imgur.com/a/73meA8H