Despite the power jump from Apple’s M1 chip to the M2, users of the company’s new MacBook Pro might find things running slowly, and at scalding temperatures.
Vadim Yuryev of the Max Tech YouTube channel put the new 13-inch, M2 powered MacBook Pro to the test under heavy load, finding that Apple’s design may be rather flawed.
During resource heavy tasks, the MacBook Pro reached super high temperatures, which in turn, throttled performance heavily.
We discovered SEVERE thermal throttling with Apple's new M2 MacBook Pro, proving that it needs a BETTER cooling system with two fans instead of one.
We exported 8K Canon RAW and saw temps hit 108°C, more than we've ever seen on a Mac, even an Intel Mac.
But it gets worse…
1/7 pic.twitter.com/JFCN7qJQbf— Vadim Yuryev (@VadimYuryev) June 29, 2022
According to Yuryev’s tweet, the MacBook Pro hit 108°C, despite the fan being maxed out at 7200RPM, indicating that despite it’s best attempts, the device had no way of cooling itself down. Temperatures found on the M2 MacBook Pro were reportedly considerably higher than any found on previous MacBooks, including Intel powered ones.
Throttling happened in waves, with performance cores dropping from 3200MHz to 1894Mhz, and efficiency cores dropping from 2229MHz to 1444MHz. GPU cores dropped to a standstill from 1393MHz to 289MHz, bringing overall power down from 29.46 watts to 7.31 watts. When throttling occurred, the MacBook Pro would drop temperature to 84°C, only to ramp back up.
While most MacBook Pro users might not need it for heavy tasks like exporting 8K video as Yuryev did, it is a worry that a device said to be boasting next generation power is unable to use it.
The M2 is currently only available in the 13-inch MacBook Pro, but will soon be found in more premium 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros, as well as a MacBook Air. The concern is that the MacBook Air will experience throttling even worse, as it won’t be fitted with a fan at all.
