Macbook + Firestorm upgrade 68380 = Overheating + battery

[Skye Tenenbaum]

 

I have an old Macbook Pro 2015  (stats below) and have used it on SL via firestorm with NO problems.

I was off SL for a few years, came back this summer (2023).

I upgraded Firestorm to  6.6.8  (68380). 

Since then EVERY time I go on SL (or even go ON to the FS app BEFORE even signing in) my fan kicks in and my brand new battery drops down fast-then I get an icon saying the power cord is unable to charge the battery (assuming bc it's too hot) A full battery  (I bought it 5 months ago) is sucked down to empty in less than 20 min!

A friend loaned me a PC laptop so I could access SL but I'm not happy with the mouse pad transition (please no judgement-I have severe RA in my hands, the PC mouse is just harder for me).

So I know it is MY MACBOOK + this version of FS because this was not a problem before.

1.Any suggestions for a different viewer to reduce this problem? 

2. Is it possible to reinstall an earlier version of FS? I am not sure what version I was on I assume it would be from 2019 ish? I'm not sure they have FS from that long ago.

 

PC Folks- I get it. Get a PC. I'm gently asking if there is any other option with my computer.

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

Macbook Pro (Retina, 15" mid 2015)

Processor 2.2 Ghz Quad-Core Intel Core i7

16 GB 1600MHz

Intel Iris Pro 1536

Monterey OS

[Jenna Huntsman]

Chances are that there's not really anything wrong with your Macbook, but as a computer ages some "consumable" parts wear out, notably things like thermal pads and thermal grease, used to connect the heat-generating parts of the computer to cooling.

That, and the cooler itself can become clogged with dust and other FOD which severely impacts it's ability to keep the computer running cool.

You might want to take it to a computer repair place and get them to look at the above items for you, or if you have a friend who knows computers, ask them to do it.

 

As a sidenote, the GPU in your Macbook is a bit underpowered for SL. It's probably okay for now, but may not be in a year or so.

[AmeliaJ08]

2 hours ago, Skye Tenenbaum said:

Since then EVERY time I go on SL (or even go ON to the FS app BEFORE even signing in) my fan kicks in and my brand new battery drops down fast-then I get an icon saying the power cord is unable to charge the battery (assuming bc it's too hot) A full battery  (I bought it 5 months ago) is sucked down to empty in less than 20 min!

When running Firestorm the fan definitely should spin up although it doing it immediately does suggest that the laptop needs servicing. Heatsinks are likely clogged/thermal paste needs replaced. You can do this pretty easily yourself if you are able (there's countless guides and these are easy machines to service) but if not then any electronics repair shop will do it for a small fee.

The other symptom points to a failing charger though, when the GPU is active your laptop draws more power and clearly the charger is unable to provide all the power it needs which is why you get the message and why your battery is being drained. Replacing the AC adapter will possibly fix this condition but there are some other potential faults that could be causing it, I would try a new (or used) charger first but it might be something that you need to take to a repair shop.

Both problems point to hardware issues, it has nothing to do with Firestorm (or any other software) and the machine likely needs some servicing and possibly repair. It's all possible and likely not expensive to fix.

 

 

 

Edited November 26, 2023 by AmeliaJ08

[Rowan Amore]

Might want to try limiting your FPS in preferences, too.  My laptop will get 120+ fps but the fans will be working overtime.  If I limit my FPS to 70 or so, it runs quiet and cool.

[AmeliaJ08]

1 hour ago, Rowan Amore said:

Might want to try limiting your FPS in preferences, too.  My laptop will get 120+ fps but the fans will be working overtime.  If I limit my FPS to 70 or so, it runs quiet and cool.

Yes always a good idea, many laptops have 60Hz displays too (not all but many). I'm not 100% sure why but Nvidia recommend setting the maximum frame rate to 58 in this case, any more is just waste heat as you say and you're not going to see any benefit if the screen can only refresh at 60Hz.

 

[gwynchisholm]

You may have a faulty battery or didnt get that battery conditioned properly after it was installed. The system is going to draw any more power under load than its capable of normally. SL in any viewer will absolutely max out a crystalwell i7 quadcore and draw as much power as the system will let it. 

Getting that error that your system cant charge faster than its discharging means power delivery degradation or battery degradation. Or it may be throttling its power delivery due to being too hot, that can be caused by a variety of things but redoing thermal paste/pads on the cpu and power delivery components can help with that. This is a hardware issue, no viewer or settings will fix that. You need to get your laptop serviced if youre not down to do that kind of work yourself. Though the 2015 mbp's are fairly easy to work on as far as macbooks go.

I have a 2015 i5 retina mbp and its absolutely a little toaster oven if the paste has dried up or if theres a contact issue.

[gwynchisholm]

Got my i5 one out for reference, same generation, different layout. But the idea is the same

these are not hard MacBooks to get into, to at least figure out what’s going on, no weird clip tabs or glue like later models, at least on the board half 

but if you’re not good with the idea of doing it yourself, it’s a pretty quick and easy job for any computer repair center, a lot more friendly of a device to work on than say, the m1/2/3 MacBooks are

 

[Skye Tenenbaum]

11 hours ago, Jenna Huntsman said:

Chances are that there's not really anything wrong with your Macbook, but as a computer ages some "consumable" parts wear out, notably things like thermal pads and thermal grease, used to connect the heat-generating parts of the computer to cooling.

 

Thanks so much for the advice...I think I need to pop to an apple store and see if they can blow it out and "look under the hood" a bit. I appreciate all of your thoughts!

[Skye Tenenbaum]

9 hours ago, AmeliaJ08 said:

When running Firestorm the fan definitely should spin up although it doing it immediately does suggest that the laptop needs servicing. Heatsinks are likely clogged/thermal paste needs replaced. You can do this pretty easily yourself if you are able (there's countless guides and these are easy machines to service) but if not then any electronics repair shop will do it for a small fee.

The other symptom points to a failing charger though, when the GPU is active your laptop draws more power and clearly the charger is unable to provide all the power it needs which is why you get the message and why your battery is being drained. Replacing the AC adapter will possibly fix this condition but there are some other potential faults that could be causing it, I would try a new (or used) charger first but it might be something that you need to take to a repair shop.

Both problems point to hardware issues, it has nothing to do with Firestorm (or any other software) and the machine likely needs some servicing and possibly repair. It's all possible and likely not expensive to fix.

 

 

 

Thank you for giving me such detailed things to look in to. After I read a number of the replies I think my 'puter and I need to get a check up at the apple store (luckily they don't charge for labor, only parts). Hopefully they can determine if I have a faulty battery, need a new AC adapter. to get a blow out or ...something else.  Thanks so much for all the time you put into your response.

[Skye Tenenbaum]

3 hours ago, gwynchisholm said:

 

these are not hard MacBooks to get into, to at least figure out what’s going on, no weird clip tabs or glue like later models, at least on the board half 

but if you’re not good with the idea of doing it yourself, it’s a pretty quick and easy job for any computer repair center, a lot more friendly of a device to work on than say, the m1/2/3 MacBooks are

 

I used to tinker with older macbooks - nothing huge, could change ram, replace batteries (before they glued everything down). Clearly I need to hit the store. As silly and sentimental as this is, I do love my Macbook-it is wonderful in all other areas of my life. I do appreciate you and everyone not screaming about buying a PC...I'll try and get an appt this week and post when I have some clarity!

 

[Skye Tenenbaum]

4 hours ago, gwynchisholm said:

You may have a faulty battery or didnt get that battery conditioned properly after it was installed. The system is going to draw any more power under load than its capable of normally. SL in any viewer will absolutely max out a crystalwell i7 quadcore and draw as much power as the system will let it. 

Getting that error that your system cant charge faster than its discharging means power delivery degradation or battery degradation. Or it may be throttling its power delivery due to being too hot, that can be caused by a variety of things but redoing thermal paste/pads on the cpu and power delivery components can help with that. This is a hardware issue, no viewer or settings will fix that. You need to get your laptop serviced if youre not down to do that kind of work yourself. Though the 2015 mbp's are fairly easy to work on as far as macbooks go.

I have a 2015 i5 retina mbp and its absolutely a little toaster oven if the paste has dried up or if theres a contact issue.

Interesting you suggest the battery may be faulty. I'm unsure how to "condition it properly" (when they installed it I got NO instructions! The other one lasted for years. I had never even seen the icon with the power cord on it! And as I think about it...I did get the new battery before I returned to SL...so you may be spot on. It's not the viewer...it's the battery! Unsure what "redoing thermal paste/pads on CPU" means (off to google that one). 

Everyone seems to be in agreement, despite my feelings about it being a viewer issue, it is more likely a recent Hardware issue. I'm so grateful for your patience and advice. I'm taking notes and will bring a LONG list to the apple store!!
Thank you again for such a detailed response. Despite being in SL a very long time, I'm new to this forum (apologies about the "quotation" thing- was unable to sort out how to just repond w/out your statment. 
Take care,

Skye

[gwynchisholm]

38 minutes ago, Skye Tenenbaum said:

I'm unsure how to "condition it properly"

After a new battery is installed basically you want to fully charge and then fully drain it a few times in a row. To get the system to know the batteries various charge states.

39 minutes ago, Skye Tenenbaum said:

redoing thermal paste/pads on CPU

Between the cpu and the heatsink is thermal paste, it is a thermally conductive compound that allows for better heat transfer to the heatsink. The cpu and the heatsink contact surfaces are both imperfect, the thermal paste fills in the microscopic air gaps. It’s a metallic paste and it tends to dry over time, dry thermal paste makes for a poor thermal conductor.

Thermal pads are the same concept but for lower heat and wider gaps, it’s a foam or fiber pad impregnated with thermal paste. They will usually be on particularly hot power delivery components, memory, and sometimes the integrated graphics portion of some cpus that have a dual die design. They can also dry up with age and perform worse.

So my guess is that something is getting too hot, and the system is limiting power delivery to not damage itself. It may be the cpu, it may be power delivery components to the cpu, it may be the battery or power delivery to or from the battery.

 

[AmeliaJ08]

8 hours ago, Skye Tenenbaum said:

I used to tinker with older macbooks - nothing huge, could change ram, replace batteries (before they glued everything down). Clearly I need to hit the store. As silly and sentimental as this is, I do love my Macbook-it is wonderful in all other areas of my life. I do appreciate you and everyone not screaming about buying a PC...I'll try and get an appt this week and post when I have some clarity!

 

I love that generation of Macbook Pro, they're great and still very usable. Worth giving it the service it deserves

 

 

 

[Kathrine Jansma]

A newer Firestorm is able to use more of the CPU/GPU resources due to some multi-threading optimizations that have been added.

So it is expected that it goes a little harder on your machine than an older version. And using the CPU/GPU more consumes more power, heat and makes the fans start.

Try playing with some of the tuneable settings in: https://wiki.firestormviewer.org/preferences_graphics_tab#hardware_settings this may reduce the load a bit.

But the MBP and charger should still be able to handle that without failing.