this post covers a set of configurations and external factors to assess and fix heating issues with MacBook Pro; some of the below might work for you and some might not. i’ve curated this list from my own hit and trial experiments.

MacBook Pro

Device: MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)

activity monitor

check your activity monitor and figure out the processes with max CPU and memory consumption; manually close some of them if you’re not using it. on a decent environment (optimal temperature, work station, stand), i’ve used a couple of IntelliJ instances (Idea, GoLand) and it works like a charm; but they consume a lot of resources.

cooling pad

ideally, you shouldn’t need a cooling pad with your laptop since the aluminum casing and the hidden vents should do a good job of dissipating the heat; but i think that all laptops can use a cooling pad because they all run warm in normal use and hot when heavily loaded.

temperature

Apple suggests to use the laptop within 10° and 35° C; i’ve noticed MacBooks running better when temperature is below 25°C. if you live in a hotter region, try getting an air conditioner.

fan control application

you can turn the fans to operate at full blast when your laptop starts freezing; this helps in eliminating the heat. i’ve tried Macs Fan Control and it does the job.

external monitor

if you are using an external monitor (with USB-C port) and your laptop freezes every now and then, you can try switching to a different side for better performance (seems like heuristics; will update this post once i figure out a logical explanation for this). i didn’t find this much useful (read about it somewhere on the internet).