I have an overheating Macbook Pro (same goes for Macbook Air as well) and as far as I see the problem is caused by the Zwift application not providing the option to decrease CPU usage (i.e by frame rate?) in the game. Reducing resolution doesn’t solve this issue. There is an option for battery saving, which actually decreases frame rate on the backend afaik, but obviously applicable only when power is unplugged, thus if you work on battery, it works cooler and actually the fans stop. Else, fans blow at 100% and it feels like the notebook will explode any time Needless to say CPU temps go well over 100 degrees celsius. :o
Soo, this is clearly a Zwift for Mac optimization issue, and not being resolved so far is a big disappointment if you ask my opinion.
If I were able to run Zwift while the macbook is powered, I would be able to continue using clamshell mode but now I cannot. (When lid is closed, if you unplug the laptop, secondary monitor is disabled. You need to open the lid.) And when unplugged, with the current battery health, I can ride about 2 hrs max, and the battery dies.
Yes, this is a problem, I have given up using Zwift on my MacBook Pro, which has an enhanced GPU, as the fan run continuously and the computer overheats. I don’t have any sense that there is any Zwift interest in sorting this. Disappointing.
The Air is unusable after a few minutes, as it loses connectivity. Maybe that’s kind of excusable, since it has no fans.
The MBP has enough processing and cooling to drive three 4k monitors and Gradle builds all day long, yet somehow it’s thermal throttling to 40% while only running Zwift at 720p on its built in display.
I found an application called appolice that allows me to throttle my CPU for a specific app ( in this case zwift) - I was able to go from 99-103degrees C to about 67-69C by limiting the CPU to 55% +_ , you will need to play around with your setup to see which limit works best
secondly I used fanny widget to monitor the temps and fan speed , while I made adjustments on apppolice- i let it run for 30min with the power plugged in. This helped me hone in on the best CPU limit for my setup
Hi - I had this issue and found what i think is a fix - my macbook pro (2015) would chew up all the battery and not recharge while plugged in while using Zwift App. I did two things - 1: An SMC (system management controller) reset - the SMC manages hardware functions like cooling fans, status lights, system performance, and power supply. Search for : AVAST How to Reset PRAM and SMC on Your Mac to see the steps 2: I installed a CPU limiter -went for a free one AppPolice - and limited the CPU usage by the Zwift App. Not sure if this worked (my guess it was the SMC reset) but given I can now run Zwift for 4hrs and still have 100% power I am not changing.
Needless to say CPU temps go well over 100 degrees celsius. :o