Old 05-03-2021, 01:51 PM   #1
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Default Fans running high

Hi,

I'am working on a Macbook Pro 2019, MacOS Mojave, latest Reaper.
The performance meter shows very little activity.
The activity monitor also shows not so much activity
(the book has 8 cores, i9 processor)
But the fans running high (and making a lot of noise)
Does by chance anyone has a tip on that issue or do I have to live with it?

Thanks!



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Old 05-04-2021, 01:45 AM   #2
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is it possible for example to spread the processor load to more cores? I assume, that only one core is invoked and getting hot.
It could'nt be normal, that such a powerful machine is running hot from so little usage.

I would be greatful for comments..

Thanks!
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Old 05-04-2021, 02:09 AM   #3
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I'm afraid, this is normal. I have a 2020 i5 Air which failed to be a recording machine because of same thing. I just use my ThinkPad, not it.

if you're mixing, not recording, a much larger buffer size may help. or not. real-time audio is not 'small usage', it's a hefty load. and yes, it's not a bug in Reaper, other DAWs do the same.
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Old 05-04-2021, 02:16 AM   #4
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Could be dusty?

https://www.howtogeek.com/358960/how...-your-macbook/
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Old 05-04-2021, 02:32 AM   #5
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Quote:
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I bought it fall 2020, it seems a bit unlikely to me that there are already lots of dust..
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Old 05-04-2021, 02:34 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vasily View Post
I'm afraid, this is normal. I have a 2020 i5 Air which failed to be a recording machine because of same thing. I just use my ThinkPad, not it.

if you're mixing, not recording, a much larger buffer size may help. or not. real-time audio is not 'small usage', it's a hefty load. and yes, it's not a bug in Reaper, other DAWs do the same.
I'am mainly mixing, so I will try to increase the buffer size, thanks!
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Old 05-04-2021, 03:04 AM   #7
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Can anyone explain the settings in this preference window?
What means Thread priority and what means Behaviour?
And does it make sense to set the 'Anticipative FX Processing' higher then the default value?

thanks!

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Old 05-04-2021, 03:12 AM   #8
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I switched from macbook pro retina to 2015 to macmini 2018, due to constant fans activity in Reaper Projects, with even little CPU strain going on in those Projects.
During summers, the macbook just ran to hot and CPU throttling took place alot.
Unworkable, It drove me crazy.

Sorry to say but Macbooks arent built for proper cooling.
The macmini 2018 is the best buy in years for me.
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Old 05-04-2021, 06:47 AM   #9
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Got cats? Only takes a few cat hairs to start trapping wads of dust in the heatsink.
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Old 05-04-2021, 06:49 AM   #10
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No cats, no other hairy pets.
I kept the macbook insides always very clean.
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Old 05-04-2021, 06:52 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by o_e View Post
is it possible for example to spread the processor load to more cores?
If there's too much general activity on the first core, you can tell Reaper not to use it: prefs/general/advanced ui/restrict cpu/remove "0" from the list
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Old 05-04-2021, 08:38 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by foxAsteria View Post
If there's too much general activity on the first core, you can tell Reaper not to use it: prefs/general/advanced ui/restrict cpu/remove "0" from the list
I can not find it:

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Old 05-04-2021, 01:12 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by foxAsteria View Post
Got cats? Only takes a few cat hairs to start trapping wads of dust in the heatsink.
Or is it a smoking household? Before I gave up I had an iMac that was full of ash.
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Old 05-04-2021, 02:32 PM   #14
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Or is it a smoking household? Before I gave up I had an iMac that was full of ash.
Nope. Non-smoker :-)
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Old 05-04-2021, 04:28 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by o_e View Post
I can not find it:
Windows only, apparently. Sorry Idk much about Macs but I'd imagine there's some way outside of Reaper then.
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Old 05-05-2021, 03:06 AM   #16
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Does your lapop have dual video card? Have you enabled "10.14+ dark mode" in options? I found that Reaper uses the discrete video card instead of the embeded one, and usually the discrete one uses more power and fans get louder.

So i disabled the dark mode (also broke my melda plugins, and made midi editor stutter). You can also change the display updates (disable advanced drawing or classic mode), maybe it helps. I also disabled round buttons.

The biggest difference it makes the gswitch utility which lets me chose and lock the video card in use. https://codyschrank.github.io/gSwitch/

Now i can run reaper on the built-in video card with less fan noise, and when needed for other tasks i simply chose "dynamic switching" from the menu in the bar.


Last edited by lerian; 05-05-2021 at 03:20 AM.
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Old 05-05-2021, 04:04 AM   #17
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Originally Posted by lerian View Post
Does your lapop have dual video card? Have you enabled "10.14+ dark mode" in options? I found that Reaper uses the discrete video card instead of the embeded one, and usually the discrete one uses more power and fans get louder.

So i disabled the dark mode (also broke my melda plugins, and made midi editor stutter). You can also change the display updates (disable advanced drawing or classic mode), maybe it helps. I also disabled round buttons.

The biggest difference it makes the gswitch utility which lets me chose and lock the video card in use. https://codyschrank.github.io/gSwitch/

Now i can run reaper on the built-in video card with less fan noise, and when needed for other tasks i simply chose "dynamic switching" from the menu in the bar.

Thanks for the tips! Unfortunatly I have an external display in use..
At the moment I have the feeling that certain vsti's are using a lot of cpu (Vienna Instruments), will investigate further..
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Old 05-05-2021, 05:11 AM   #18
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Unfortunatly I have an external display in use..
oh, that loads modern Intel MacBooks very much (and frankly I didn't expect it as well).

when I just connect my 2020 i5 Air to the external display, I get helicopter sounds in the room. and they don't stop until I disconnect from the monitor.

i.e. in this case an external monitor might make more fans' noise than running a DAW.
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Old 05-05-2021, 05:56 AM   #19
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^ Yes, external display is the main reason your gpu spins the fans.

If you are willing to invest to fix the issue there are some eGPU enclosures on thunderbolt 3 where you can plug an external gpu, and the fan noise will be considerably lower because the pcie GPUs use larger fans that spin at lower speed. An external monitor is nothing for external GPU, so as long as you won't play 3d-heavy games, they run quietly. Of course you can also get a longer tb3 cable and put the box somewhere under your desk, maybe even behind a diy sound absorption panel (or box).

You can find out more on apple website:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208544

Found one compatible on ebay https://www.ebay.com/itm/133746503298?epid=2314802031

Last edited by lerian; 05-05-2021 at 06:49 AM.
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Old 05-05-2021, 08:59 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vasily View Post
oh, that loads modern Intel MacBooks very much (and frankly I didn't expect it as well).

when I just connect my 2020 i5 Air to the external display, I get helicopter sounds in the room. and they don't stop until I disconnect from the monitor.

i.e. in this case an external monitor might make more fans' noise than running a DAW.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lerian View Post
^ Yes, external display is the main reason your gpu spins the fans.

If you are willing to invest to fix the issue there are some eGPU enclosures on thunderbolt 3 where you can plug an external gpu, and the fan noise will be considerably lower because the pcie GPUs use larger fans that spin at lower speed. An external monitor is nothing for external GPU, so as long as you won't play 3d-heavy games, they run quietly. Of course you can also get a longer tb3 cable and put the box somewhere under your desk, maybe even behind a diy sound absorption panel (or box).

You can find out more on apple website:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208544

Found one compatible on ebay https://www.ebay.com/itm/133746503298?epid=2314802031
I'am using an ancient Apple 30' Cinema Display, could be so hard for a todays graphiccard which is capable of 5k..?
And beside Reaper I have zero issues with heat/fans.
When I remember it correctly, using Vienna Ensemble was helping with the
heat problem, I gave it up 'cause it was unconvinient, I have to do some research on the Vienna vsti's which I suspect..
BTW, external gpu's are sold out at the moment..

Last edited by o_e; 05-05-2021 at 09:06 AM.
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Old 05-05-2021, 12:19 PM   #21
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It does not look like as if the discrete graphic card is running hot
(Radeon Pro Vega 20)..?

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Old 05-05-2021, 12:28 PM   #22
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You can check the load on the GPU if you open Activity Monitor > Window > GPU History (or cmd + 4). Then you can cross-check with the fan activity and see if the fans start to spin faster when gpu is in use. Normally Radeon uses more power and gets hot faster, that's why fans spin to lower the temp.

There are some compatible external GPUs on ebay for sale.

Also, have you tried a SMC reset?
https://purplecomputing.com/tech-how...nt-controller/
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Old 05-07-2021, 11:36 AM   #23
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For anyone how is interested, I found a solution which seems to work for me: as shown in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzqKueUhbKk

the relative new Intel Turbo Boost function can be switched off with this tool:

http://tbswitcher.rugarciap.com/

and that prevent the quick-getting-hot issue at least on my
2019 Macbook Pro (I made a first quick test).
Maybe it also can helps others..?
If I will experience a downside of switching off the Turbo Boost, I will report it here..
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Old 05-17-2021, 04:43 AM   #24
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Quote:
Originally Posted by o_e View Post
For anyone how is interested, I found a solution which seems to work for me: as shown in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzqKueUhbKk

the relative new Intel Turbo Boost function can be switched off with this tool:

http://tbswitcher.rugarciap.com/

and that prevent the quick-getting-hot issue at least on my
2019 Macbook Pro (I made a first quick test).
Maybe it also can helps others..?
If I will experience a downside of switching off the Turbo Boost, I will report it here..
Thanks for sharing your solution, going to try now. Any drawbacks so far?
My MBP 2015 High Sierra is running up to 90°C and 6100rpm fan speed while even very heavy projects seem to use only around 30% CPU (with some RT spikes around 50%+ CPU tough).
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Old 05-17-2021, 10:19 AM   #25
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Thanks for sharing your solution, going to try now. Any drawbacks so far?
My MBP 2015 High Sierra is running up to 90°C and 6100rpm fan speed while even very heavy projects seem to use only around 30% CPU (with some RT spikes around 50%+ CPU tough).
No drawbacks until now. Temperature is max. around 60° (Celsius), Fans spinning max. 2500 rpm. Wonderful silent!
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Old 05-18-2021, 11:20 AM   #26
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No drawbacks until now. Temperature is max. around 60° (Celsius), Fans spinning max. 2500 rpm. Wonderful silent!
Ok thanks for the information. Mine maximum values are higher but my computer is less powerful than yours. Still it seems to run much cooler/quieter with no apparent drawback under low workloads.

I was trying some stresstests like having the browser open and playing a video while also having a big Reaper project open and trying to open another big project in a new tab and if the project load was initiated with turbo boost off Reaper was unable to load the project and froze. With turbo boost on it managed to start loading without issues.

Also it seems to me that seeking while in playback (in the same conditions as described before) hangs way longer with turbo boost off rather then on.

Also in such extreme situation the fans still got fast, but almost always below 5000rpm while with turbo boost off the max out to 6100rpm even in much easier situations.

I think I'll just have to see whether I notice a performance drop in real-world usage with big projects. If I do not notice it for about 2-3 weeks while the fans still run slower in most situations I will buy the pro version and keep it pretty much constantly engaged.

Will report here too after I will have decided whether to get and use it or go back to turbo boost.
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Old 06-06-2021, 02:09 PM   #27
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I have the same issue with a brand new MacBook Pro i9 / 8 core 32GB RAM Radeon Pro 5500M, Mac OS 11.4 Big Sur

-> no pets, no smoking, no dust, no esoterical waves out of space and I assume the magnetic field in our location is ok as well...

This is one of the fastest and most powerful notebooks currently available on the market (I thought ;-). With normal software (i.e. Safari, MS Office, Video, iTunes etc. I do not get much workload. CPU usage is typically below 5% - so no concerns regarding heat or fans)

Currently Reaper is the only "heavy" use on this machine. Even if I make heavy use of plugins, reverbs and delays, there is not much workload on the machine (maybe 10-15%). When the Reaper performance meter is getting above 10% or so the Touch Bar and back area of the MacBook housing/case is starting to get hot quickly and then fans start blowing soon. It sounds like a vacuum cleaner or a hair dryer! Unbelievable! At only 15% CPU! Also after less than 2h the battery is down! (they promise up to 11h battery time on the website, so I was not very amused). I thought I could sit in a Café and do a track there for at least some hours.... - I do not expect 10h with a high CPU usage but 2h is crap! production in a Café? no way with this machine!!!

I made an appointment with the Apple store because I thought this piece is not working properly (brand new machine). This is to come so we will see. But reading this - seems like this is normal.

So I will check out the GPU load. Indeed it could be related to my external monitors (I use external HP monitors sometimes). So I will test if there is any difference with or without monitors.

Also I will check that link provided regarding CPU boost. Thanks for investigating here, I am sure others will run into similar issues.

Also I will check if this happens with Logic Pro on similar load (did not have the time yet).
-> will update this post...
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Old 06-06-2021, 02:24 PM   #28
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Definitely try out the Turbo Boost Switcher! After some weeks of trying I bought the full version (10€) today. Due to Macbook's inefficient cooling, heat/fans can still get annoying at what I consider moderate CPU loads, but it is generally much better and it doesn't go full power when it doesn't need. Using multiple apps simultaneously became perfectly possible on my system, as long as none of the apps performs intense tasks.
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Old 06-07-2021, 02:49 AM   #29
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Definitely try out the Turbo Boost Switcher! After some weeks of trying I bought the full version (10€) today. Due to Macbook's inefficient cooling, heat/fans can still get annoying at what I consider moderate CPU loads, but it is generally much better and it doesn't go full power when it doesn't need. Using multiple apps simultaneously became perfectly possible on my system, as long as none of the apps performs intense tasks.
I can second that, I'am using Turbo Boost Switcher for a month now and I have zero sideeffects..
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Old 06-08-2021, 12:54 PM   #30
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Glad you found a solution...

I have the same machine. As I run 4 monitors off it, I found the only solution was to pony up and buy an eGPU and then a heat sink stand for it to help wick away heat. The fans come on for a few minutes every now and then when rendering or something more processor intensive. But yeah, eGPU was the only solution that actually worked.
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Old 06-08-2021, 04:20 PM   #31
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Quote:
Originally Posted by o_e View Post
It does not look like as if the discrete graphic card is running hot
(Radeon Pro Vega 20)..?


What kind of tool is this to read all the temperatures?
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Old 06-08-2021, 11:42 PM   #32
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What kind of tool is this to read all the temperatures?
https://crystalidea.com/de/macs-fan-control
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Old 06-09-2021, 02:25 PM   #33
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sehr geil! thanx!!!
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Old 01-18-2023, 06:35 AM   #34
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Default Confirmative, the Turbo Boost was the problem

Finally, I got rid of the fan that starts only (and always) when using Reaper, here on my Macbook Pro 15.6 i9 2019.

After running Reaper with the recommended app for an hour now, the fan is steady at +2000 = silensium.

Severe problem solved. Thanks to o_e!
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Old 01-23-2023, 03:21 PM   #35
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Definitely try out the Turbo Boost Switcher! After some weeks of trying I bought the full version (10€) today. Due to Macbook's inefficient cooling, heat/fans can still get annoying at what I consider moderate CPU loads, but it is generally much better and it doesn't go full power when it doesn't need. Using multiple apps simultaneously became perfectly possible on my system, as long as none of the apps performs intense tasks.
This is SO good, thanks for the tip.
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