Not a Bug Axe-Edit III 1.05.11 Macbook Pro CPU and Fan Noise

M

Mark Al

Inspired
Axe-Edit III 1.05.11 causes my 2019 Macbook Pro (top of line configuration) to run hot with noisy fans. From Activity Monitor, the CPU usage is not super high, e.g. around 10%, however, the laptop get hot and noisy with fans. Closing the Axe-Edit III would cool it down and quiet the fan.

It doesn't feel right for the editor to cause such level of load on the powerful macbook pro. Some one may want to profile the software to to identify the issue, thanks.
 
I think you mentioned in another thread that it was when you selected a specific block in the editor?
 
Yeah, it seems to happen more often when selecting the Cab block, and it seem intermittent... Often after I either stop the playing or take off the headphone, I sudden notice my macbook was hot and fan running crazy.
 
Hello....this is a problem with all T2 chip based Macs. If you Google "MacBookpro fan noise" you will find a mountain of documentation on this. There are some things you can do to limit this but the overall problem is baked into the Mac. AXE Edit may seem like it is causing this but it is the overall processor loads and background "security functions" built into this chipset that are responsible for the fan running at full RPM.

Major pain in the neck for sure. Best chance at avoiding this is to shut down all non-essential applications. If you google as mentioned above you will find tips.
 
There has been quite a bit of publicity recently about which of your Macbook ports you use to plug in the charger. If the Macbook is charging via the LEFT-sided port(s) then the CPU will spin up, and the fans will kick in a lot. If you charge it via the RIGHT-sided port(s0 that happens MUCH less.
I have a 2019 Macbook Pro 15" fully specced up, and I've noticed this.

First thing to try is to unplug the power supply and run the Macbook on battery - see if that still has the problem. If it's better running on battery, then try plugging the power supply into a RIGHT hand port instead of the left. See if that's any better.

I don't think Apple have actually come out yet with an explanation as to why that happens. But it's real....
 
ARF said:
Hello....this is a problem with all T2 chip based Macs. If you Google "MacBookpro fan noise" you will find a mountain of documentation on this. There are some things you can do to limit this but the overall problem is baked into the Mac. AXE Edit may seem like it is causing this but it is the overall processor loads and background "security functions" built into this chipset that are responsible for the fan running at full RPM.

Major pain in the neck for sure. Best chance at avoiding this is to shut down all non-essential applications. If you google as mentioned above you will find tips.
Click to expand...
With all due respect, I don't think this is the same issue described here, where fan runs at full speed regardless of the load:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204463

My macbook pro fan spins up and it run super hot, a lot of hot air was being pumped out. The fan would stop within 15 seconds after I close the AXE III Edit program, and the computer cools down after that.

Doc Rock said:
There has been quite a bit of publicity recently about which of your Macbook ports you use to plug in the charger. If the Macbook is charging via the LEFT-sided port(s) then the CPU will spin up, and the fans will kick in a lot. If you charge it via the RIGHT-sided port(s0 that happens MUCH less.
I have a 2019 Macbook Pro 15" fully specced up, and I've noticed this.

First thing to try is to unplug the power supply and run the Macbook on battery - see if that still has the problem. If it's better running on battery, then try plugging the power supply into a RIGHT hand port instead of the left. See if that's any better.

I don't think Apple have actually come out yet with an explanation as to why that happens. But it's real....
Click to expand...
I have my macbook plugged from the right side of USB-C port.

Today this happened again and again multiple times, and I don't think I was even selecting/highlighting the cab block. It caused my Macbook Pro to be so hot and noisy that I have to close the AXE Edit III and resort to adjusting/dialing on the unit itself, because it's getting really uncomfortable touching/typing on it... Right after I close the AXE III Edit program, the fans slows down, becomes quiet and the computer cools down quickly as well....

I'd be happy to help you guys debug/triage the issue, let me know what procedures would you like me to follow, or what I can do help triage the issue. I am not totally strange to performance profiling, with the right tool it should not be hard to figure out which part of the code is causing this. @Michael Pickens @FractalAudio thanks :)
 
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Mark Al said:
Yeah, it seems to happen more often when selecting the Cab block, and it seem intermittent... Often after I either stop the playing or take off the headphone, I sudden notice my macbook was hot and fan running crazy.
Click to expand...
Me too. Brand new 16" MacBook.
 
Doc Rock said:
There has been quite a bit of publicity recently about which of your Macbook ports you use to plug in the charger. If the Macbook is charging via the LEFT-sided port(s) then the CPU will spin up, and the fans will kick in a lot. If you charge it via the RIGHT-sided port(s0 that happens MUCH less.
I have a 2019 Macbook Pro 15" fully specced up, and I've noticed this.

First thing to try is to unplug the power supply and run the Macbook on battery - see if that still has the problem. If it's better running on battery, then try plugging the power supply into a RIGHT hand port instead of the left. See if that's any better.

I don't think Apple have actually come out yet with an explanation as to why that happens. But it's real....
Click to expand...
Brand new 16" does this too. Thanks! Will try moving the charger....
 
I reset SMC, however the same problem remains, macbook runs hot, fan runs crazy.... had to close the Axe III Edit, and the computer becomes cool and quiet a minute after that....
 
Mark Al said:
I reset SMC, however the same problem remains, macbook runs hot, fan runs crazy.... had to close the Axe III Edit, and the computer becomes cool and quiet a minute after that....
Click to expand...
I reset the SMC a couple weeks ago, and other apps no longer trigger the CPU heat/fan spike, but AxeEdit seems to set it off. In the Activity Monitor, usually AxeEdit and the MIDI handling utility are competing for top CPU use percentage, and both using significant amounts over the baseline CPU usage.
 
Axe III Edit CPU usage is around 13% while MIDIServer is another 12%, these do not look very high, e.g. not as high as Google Chrome which often hover around 20~30%, however, switching to Energy tab of the Activity Monitor, Axe III Edit is at the top, WAY above Google Chrome.

So it seems, its CPU usage may not be high, but its energy impact is very significant. @Michael Pickens
 
Mark Al said:
And right now, it's running hot and noise again... :oops:

Here is a new finding, when I click on "Pause" on Axe III Edit, it'd quiet/cool down the laptop. @Michael Pickens
Click to expand...
Might be the MIDI communication? The MIDI handling utility and AxeEdit were swapping back and forth in the 1 and 2 spots when sorted in descending order of CPU percentage. I have not yet had the chance to see if moving the charger to the right side helped. We had an off-cycle deployment tonight....
 
How are you connecting the MBPro to the Axe-Fx? You must be using a USB C to A adapter of some kind, right? Have you tried another one?

I have no issues here with the fan and my 15” 2019 MBPro. I’m using an Apple USB C to A adapter that includes a C, HDMI and A port on it. All plugged into the right side of my MBPro.
 
iaresee said:
How are you connecting the MBPro to the Axe-Fx? You must be using a USB C to A adapter of some kind, right? Have you tried another one?

I have no issues here with the fan and my 15” 2019 MBPro. I’m using an Apple USB C to A adapter that includes a C, HDMI and A port on it. All plugged into the right side of my MBPro.
Click to expand...
Thanks @iaresee , my macbook is connected to Dell U2721DE monitor from the right side (a new monitor Dell just released two weeks ago), which itself serves as power and a usb-C hub, and the Axe III is connected to the monitor's usb-A.

I do have the same Apple USB C to A adapter, let me give it a try, will report back tomorrow.
 
Mark Al said:
Thanks @iaresee , my macbook is connected to Dell U2721DE monitor from the right side (a new monitor Dell just released two weeks ago), which itself serves as power and a usb-C hub, and the Axe III is connected to the monitor's usb-A.

I do have the same Apple USB C to A adapter, let me give it a try, will report back tomorrow.
Click to expand...
I run 2 HD cameras with separate capture cards and an ultra wide monitor plus the Axe3 and FM3 connected at the same time with no issues. that’s a lot of data from the cameras and Edit barely adds any CPU.
 
OK, since I am really curious (and bothered by this issue), I am doing a few late night experiments to debug the problem:
1. I tried to use the Apple usb C to A adapter, i.e. this one, however the same issue is readily reproducible.
2. I tried a different USB cable to connect AXE FX-III, the same issue remains.
3. I tried unplug my macbook pro from my monitor, running on battery, the same issue with Axe III Edit remains (and battery percentage drops quickly).

In all these cases, the issue would subside if I do any one of the 3 below:
1. turn off Axe FX-III hardware,
2. close the AXE III Edit,
3. "Pause" the communication between Axe Edit and the hardware.

Here I captured two screenshots, which compares my macbook's hardware temperature with vs without the issue:

Merely a minute after I turned on AXE FX-III, the CPUs get overheated to 90 celsius, power consumption increase sharply and fans runs like crazy: (The Edit doesn't cause crazy amount of CPU usage from the Activity Monitor, however, it increase the CPU temp quickly, I notice the MIDIServer and kernel_task processes are correlated to this issue as well)
hot.png

After I clicked on "pause" the communication between Edit and the hardware, temperature drops down quickly to below 60 celsius, power consumption drops drastically, and the fan becomes quiet:
pause.png

Right now the only way for me to use the Edit is to "pause" it constantly, however, that wouldn't work when doing IR auditioning, etc....

Let me know how else I can help debug it @iaresee
 
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