Chosen Solution
The fans on my MacBook Pro 15" Retina Display Mid 2012 (macOS Catalina) often run at max 5800rpm without any high CPU usage. The CPU Core temperature are high at 90°C but I don’t know what is causing that… Sometimes my CPU does peak at around 120% when watching youtube on google chrome, which also causes my fans to run at max. People suggest to use Safari instead, which I would like to avoid if possible since I have everything synched on chrome (Work, School, Personal). Looks like Safari only fixes the youtube/high CPU % problem? Here is a screenshot of my activity and Mac Fan Control
I can’t seem to find the source or a solution for this problem. Not sure if it’s a general fan problem since it’s older macbook. Notes I saw on other threads: no, I have not spilled anything on my macbookmy room temperature isn’t high eitherI downloaded the chrome extension h264ify to avoid the youtube VP8/VP9 problem Update (04/21/2020) @danj here is the screenshot showing my current TG Pro and activity window. I just have a youtube video and twitter open in the background (to get the same effect)
This listing was cut off as the window was not long enough to capture in one snapshot all of the sensors. You did manage to get the two I was looking for but I’m not sure if that helps as I really need to see the CPU and the air flows together as the same time. Lets assume you took them close enough together. Then we need to do some cleaning of dust and also inspect the heatsink for coolant leakage (do this first). Do you see any staining or white powder caked around the tube and the logic board where it crosses. You’ll need to get a small soft bristle paint brush to scrub the surfaces to loosen the debris from the logic board, case and fans. Then use a can of can’ed air to blow it away with short bursts. If you are upto it I would clean the old thermal paste and apply a fresh coat of a good quality paste. Remember! its not the quantity its the placement that matters! You want the paste on the black die part not the green base or on the other SMT devices around the chip die. I prefer Arctic Silver Thermal Paste paste and I also use the Arctic Silver ArctiClean as well. Here’s a basic guide on how to clean and apply a fresh coat How to Apply Thermal Paste
Hi @danj – I’m also experiencing a similar issue on my MacBook Pro 15" Retina Display Mid 2012 (Mojave). I’ve followed the steps you’ve listed above to diagnose my issue but haven’t been able to figure out exactly what’s causing my MacBook Pro to heat up/fans run without high CPU usage. Here’s what I’ve done so far: –tried to get to the onboard diagnostics but no luck. I get the same error code (0x8000000000000003, Cannot Load ‘EFI/Drivers/TestSupport.efi) –got rid of auto loading apps –no longer use Chrome (so sad) –checked out the size of my drive and available space (698GB available of 751GB) The link below is a little snapshot of what I’m experiencing on my MBP –link: https://youtu.be/9SPHl8erWIg I’m hoping to use this MBP for personal projects that require Powerpoint, Excel, Photoshop, etc. so fingers crossed the issue im experiencing is a simple fix (i.e. thermal paste, fan speed control, etc.) instead of having to get a completely new laptop. Thanks in advance!
