Poll: How would you describe the noise level of your Mac?

[MacRumors]

Vote: Poll: How would you describe the noise level of your Mac? (http://www.macpolls.com/?poll_id=263&ref=forums.macrumors.com)

[bousozoku]

I have two Macs in my bedroom: a PowerMac G3/400 (reasonable) and a PowerMac dual G4/800 (noisy).

I've gotten accustomed to having them both going and it's certainly quieter than some of the work environments where we had 500-2000 user machines, elevated floors, and climate-control.

[coumerelli]

I have the iMac DV (400mhz) and what is so loud about it is the hard drive! It just crunches like King Kong sitting on a bag of chips - a lot. I'm running 10.2.5 and even after I've logged in and everything seems to settle down, it'll keep on churning. Go figure. Can't wait to upgrade to the G5 (c'mon rev-2).

coumie

[MoparShaha]

I've got a FW800 Power Mac, and its damn loud. They are supposedly "fixed" and "quieter" than the first MDD Power Macs -- well, not mine! I have an iMac DV SE that I used to leave on all night because I could barely hear it (super quiet seagate hard drive I put in :D). But this Power Mac has to be put to sleep at night, it literally wakes me up at night because of the constant drone. Been considering a Verax kit though....:rolleyes:.

[DreaminDirector]

my dual 1.25 MDD is kinda noisy. I've gotten used to it but I'm glad the fan rarely has to kick into high gear (like it does on startup...)

my powerbook is super quiet though.

[Freg3000]

I have a MDD Dual 1 GHz. with replacement power supply. It is still very noisy. although when I first installed the replacement power supply, and then turned on the machine, I thought it did not start up. That is how quite the fans were. Well, now it seems noisy again.

I can't imagine how noisy it used to be!

[caveman_uk]

Originally posted by Freg3000
I have a MDD Dual 1 GHz. with replacement power supply. It is still very noisy. although when I first installed the replacement power supply, and then turned on the machine, I thought it did not start up. That is how quite the fans were. Well, now it seems noisy again.

I can't imagine how noisy it used to be!
I have the same machine with the same update. It's a lot quieter than it was and is a LOT quieter then my old Athlon PC. So much so that when I tried adding an old PC hard drive to it the drive sounded too loud so I took it out.

That isn't to say I wouldn't mind it being quieter....;)

[3rdpath]

my QS dual 1ghz seems very quiet to me...of course before that i ran a g3 with external cheetah drives...talk about noise...

[Gymnut]

I have a Dual 1Ghz MDD and never bothered getting the replacement power supply because I never thought it was very noisy. I even sleep with it on next to me(Guess I'm a deep sleeper) and it's comparable to the lull of a fan. Consequently when I'm using it, the music I'm playing from the connected Klipsch Promedia 4.2 and two additional Klipsch SWS subs drown out any whirring whatsover.

[weev]

A Cube owner so noise is, well, what noise. Replaced the Maxtor HD for a Seagate and now I can't even hear that.

Let the Cube live long and proud -- the slow but silent computer:o

[yoshi1013]

I have a 350 BW G3, I only really take notice of the noise when the CD-Burner I installed starts spinning, then the entire thing vibrates.

[j33pd0g]

1.25 MD DP over here... and it is noisy... loud as a fan and air conditioner. In fact, with the AC on I can still here my mac. It's not the whir of the fan in high power, that drives me insane, it's the unbalanced gallop of the fan that does. Tah tah, tah tah, tah tah, tah tah, tah tah... :(
I can't simply put it to sleep because of the bright blue strobing power light. Man. that thing lights up the whole room. I'd cover it up with something... but that would be disrespectful - as would removing the light source.
Shhhhh... it's quiet right now... but than in about 3 minutes - tah tah, tah tah... :(

[joelc]

My iMac DV ranks in as Very Quiet. No fans, and I'm glad of it! My girlfriend's PBG4 is louder!

[theipodgod16]

imac 500 - acceptable, HD is constantly on though.

eMac - ....Jet Engine Like. Ive never heard how loud the g4 800 got, but my emac always sounds like a bus.

ibook - Very quiet.

[Plutoniq]

My Pismo is close to being "dead silent". After throwing 1gb of RAM + a 40GNX Travelstar, and new Toshiba DVD-R/RW, only in the dead silence of night is any sound noticible from it, and even then it's just subtle hardrive sounds. The 500mhz G3 never gets hot enough to actually turn on the internal fan, even after long 3d game play or video rendering. The silence of this machine, i consider, to be it's best quality...... After this much peace n quiet, couldn't ever go back......

ryan

[Victoriatus]

My PowerBook is very quiet if it gets an air flow good enough. Original iBook is quieter, but its hard drive (30GB DIY) is noisy. Flat panel iMac and eMac are both modified to be much quieter, and they are a real delight, especially the iMac which works as a player for my audio system and does just that. Our FW800 Dual 1.25 is modified and is very nice now. Its air flow is restricted to necessary areas only, all the fans are replaced with very quiet and slow PAPST ones, a fan speed controller is installed inside the case to make it possible to rev up the fan speeds higher if necessary, and many parts of the case are stuffed with noise absorber mats. Me likes it. A lot.

[DreaminDirector]

On the same topic here, but if any of your get a chance, go listen to one of the G5s at the Apple store (or reseller). That thing is dead silent compared to my dual 1.25.

You have to put your ear up to the metal mesh to hear anything.

I love my FW800 dualie, but damn, those G5s are sweet!!!

[esheep2001]

I've got 1st Gen FP iMac and it varies from super quiet to acceptable (which means quieter than your average PC) when it's been on for a while.

The HD is inaudible and only the DVD makes a racket when reading or writing. Overall a lovely machine to work on in a small environment.

About the noisiest thing I have is an old Lacie 60GB external HD (one with the silver/grey enclosure and blue front). Wow is that noisy! It's now relegated to doing system backups so I don't need it on that often, phew!

I just hope my new Dual G5 is as quiet as my iMac :-)

e.

[backspinner]

CRT iMac - silent, some harddrive whine
eMac - loud like a vacuum cleaner
PowerBook - is it on now? ah I hear the harddrive rattle!

[MetallicPenguin]

My flat panel iMac sounds like a turned on, muffled microwave. ˜ow that's fine, but hen I actually start doing something it can get kind of noisy. But I usually don't notice it too much.

[pivo6]

I don't notice the noise on my flat panel iMac with superdrive until you put in a CD or DVD. Of course I have two children running around all day, which blocks out almost any other noise. :)

[beez7777]

i can only hear the fan going on my 17" 800 mhz iMac when i put my ear up to the base. i think it's very quiet.

[MacManDan]

My PowerBook's very quiet. I was really impressed with its noise level when I first got it, especially after I had switched from my old Compaq laptops that sounded like wailing dogs (wailing dogs? well, they were loud anyway) in comparison.

[BigJayhawk]

Hmm, I can never hear my Mac Cube over the fan in my Laser Printer. Come to think of it, I don't think I could hear my Mac Cube over the NEIGHBOR'S PRINTER! heh.

Fortunately, until the fan kicks on (Warcraft will do it), the PowerBook and iBook are as quiet as the Mac Cube.

[wdlove]

I have a Power Mac G4 450 Dual, consider the noise level to be acceptable. It's a quiet fan sound. Most of the time I'm listening to a CD or the Radio, so then I don't notice it at all!

[medea]

I'd have to say my FP iMac is pretty quiet, I don't hear the hard drive just a constant hum though it's pretty low and not bothersome in anyway.

[edenwaith]

The loudest thing on my computer: the hard drive spinning up. Past that, my computer (400 MHz G4 Powermac) is very quiet. now, take my fiancee's Dell which rattles and roars, making us all deaf in the process. Very annoying.

[DaUlf]

FP 15" 800MHz iMac w/Superdrive here. Very very quiet... except if I put a CD in. Certain audio CDs have the property of making the superdrive decide it wants a career as a lawnmower, and it's going to do its best to at least emulate the sound. It's *loud*... really kills listening to audio. It only happens on some CDs, and supposedly it's a balance issue, but it's a royal pain.

Just more of an excuse to rip them, though, and it's not something that kills the experience of the machine. You can tell that the computer's making a bit of noise without a CD, but you can't really tell what that noise is. Overall, highly satisfactory.

[G4scott]

My 12" PowerBook G4 doesn't make that much noise. The fan used to go off at home, but here in the dorms, it's so cold, the fan stays off, even when folding!

Edit: My roommate's home built PC, on the other hand, is as loud as heck... It's louder than my dual 1ghz MDD at home (before the fan and PS replacement.) What sucks even more, is that the fans don't go off when the computer goes on standby. He claims it's too much trouble. I'll be tearing into that thing one day, either to cut the wires on the fans, or fix them myself.

[scem0]

I clicked on the poll hoping that there would be an option in betewen silent and acceptable, and there was so I clicked on 'quiet' becore I read 'of your mac'.

So, my PC is 'quiet'. But then again, my iMac (g3) is also quiet, so I guess quiet is the noise level of my mac too.

scem0

[a1291762]

I have an iMac DV 400. Initially, it was louder than the fan-wielding PC it replaced due to the crappy hard drive they'd used (the PC had sat *under* the desk too). When the drive died, I got a much larger one that said it was quiet. It certainly is! I can barely here the seek noise.

*Sigh*. I wish Apple was still able to make fanless computers.

Unfortunately my iMac shares a room with a HP 712 (acceptable noise level until I turn on the external HD/CD/TAPE units, which I don't do often) and a loud (I can't believe the PS isn't a plane) PC.

I just hope the G5 (which I would like to get) is as quiet as Apple seems to imply it is. One of these days I'll replace the power supply in the PC and I'd hate for my Mac to be the loudest machine in the room.

[Mudbug]

I've got a range of machines to comment on, in order of age (before beauty, I guess): Beige G3 300 - quiet as a churchmouse, even with dual drives, until the DIY CD Burner starts up. Dual G4 450 - mostly quiet, but can huff and puff in photoshop, TiBook 667 - Silent unless playing UT2K3, then the fan kicks on, but still quiet, TiBook 800 Silent most of the time, and the brand spakin' new Gen3 iPod 15 just barely squeeks in a silent room. :)

I voted acceptable.

[macnews]

17" flatpanel and it is very quite. Actually seems louder until I go to a my PC - which then sounds like a jet engine. Very nice.

Have a first gen eMac at work which is incredibly loud - even more so than my G4 server w/ 4 SCSI hard drives in it. Just got a new eMac and it is much better.

[Mac til death]

I have a 12-inch Powerbook and I hear no noise... ever.

When I'm sitting around with my dad (667mhz TiBook (VGA)), the noise difference is very noticeable... The fan(s?) in his are always spinning....

My room mate at college's 17 inch iMac is whisper silent... the only thing that ever makes any noise is the optical drive....

[wdlove]

Originally posted by medea
I'd have to say my FP iMac is pretty quiet, I don't hear the hard drive just a constant hum though it's pretty low and not bothersome in anyway.

That is just the way that my Power Mac sounds. It is actually quite soothing, to to know that it is there!

[job]

My iMac DV is silent fanless goodness. ;)

Perfect for music/movies.

[OutThere]

ahhh I love the silence of my iMac DV. The only thing that has started making noise is the aging HD. :rolleyes:

[hagertmb]

Although this thread is (5 years!) old, I thought I'd post to it in case anyone else is having the same problem.
My girlfriend bought an imac g5 (17-inch) in Oct. 2005. She had been complaining about the noise and when I finally saw/heard it in person I realized the disk drive was spinning way too fast and loud. I had her bring it in to the apple store (it was under extended warranty). At first they said there was no problem but I insisted they look again and they (eventually) reluctantly agreed that the disk was bad. So they threw in a new hard drive.

Well, here we are 3 years later, my girlfriend is now my wife, we have half a dozen computers around the house, and that imac g5 is almost never used because it's TOO DARN LOUD. The disk spins at furious RPM's even when there are no processes running. I've done disk scans and the disk has no errors. It just spins all the time and too fast, which makes me wonder if it's the controller. I've done every "apple fix" I can find on the web, including resetting the PRAM, NVRAM and SMC. Nothing has helped.

I am a scientist and for my work I have to manage many computers - Sun Solaris servers, Linux boxes, PC's. I also own a macbook which I've had no problems with. What has really surprised me is how amateur apple seems when it comes to hardware support. The "geniuses" at the apple store were arrogant and hostile -- in other words, they were typical IT support people, and I wouldn't mind their behavior (much) if they were also competent, but they weren't.

So I'm posting this vent here. My wife's imac is clearly a lemon. Had the applestore "geniuses" caught it during the 3 years that it was under extended warranty, it could've turned out all right. But as it is now, I have to fix it myself and that annoys me as she paid for a product that never worked correctly and apple never took responsibility for and fixed. Instead I find a host of similar complaints (noisy imac and mini-mac drives) scattered all over the web on different apple forums, but apple support never issued a coherent response anywhere.

So if you're suffering with a LOUD mac drive, I feel your pain. This is clearly a common mac ailment which apple has never addressed during 2003-2008.

[wawanarchist]

My Powerbook G4 is silent 80% of the time, but when it gets going its almost embarrassingly noisy when I'm at the library or some other quiet place

[63dot]

rev. a iBook, very quiet

rev. a dual 500 mhz Power Mac, noisy

G4 mac mini, very quiet

[92WardSenatorFE]

MacBook early 2008... quietest computer I've ever owned.

[TinyHulk]

Quiet, until Photo Booth or simular cpu intensive app is running :o

[leishan]

My iMac G5 sounds like it is going to take off!! Very loud!

[SFStateStudent]

My MBAir 1.6 = Noisy when running video, youtube, powerpoint on an external monitor/projector/TV. Fans at about 6400rpms.

MBAir 1.8 = Noisy when running video, youtube, powerpoint on an external monitor/projector/TV. Fans at about 6400rpms.

MBP 2.5GHz = Noticeably less noisy in every way.

Mac Pro = Fans only kick in when I'm loading a DVD/CD and that's about it.

[LordOfTheMacs]

17 inch iMac G5 w/ iLife 08, tiger,160 HDD, 512 RAM is merley humming as I type. 366 clamshell w/ tiger,10HDD, 320Ram cries as if to say, WAHHHHHH! Please max my RAM!

[numbersyx]

MBP 17 - very quiet - none of the fans problems that plagued this model originally..

[spacecadet610]

macbook air usually silent, but revs up usually with any video. i'm used to it now though

[DiamondMac]

The noise level on my 3 year old MacBookBook is pretty darn loud. So loud I can have trouble hearing mp3's unless the volume is all the way up

Same with my newer MacBook but it rarely goes on unless it has been on consistently for hours

[phatmuther]

My G5 tower purrs at me, a sort of intermitant hum. Doesnt sound too bad but after a few years it is fudging annoying to say the least. Loud music cures the problem though ;)

[millerj123]

I can't hear my mini over the fans in the PC's in the same room. With all of them off, the only thing I hear is my external hard drive. If I plug in my external burner, that's all I hear.

[Hoo03]

So far all my machines are very quiet, particularly my alu imac.

[wrldwzrd89]

I have 3 computers in my room. 2 of them are Macs, and both of the Macs make very little noise in normal usage. The other computer is VERY noisy.

[AceWilfong]

Like an ant dragging a leaf over a sheet of aluminum foil.

[carlosbutler]

i can never, ever hear my iMac's anything. no hard drive noises, no fan noises - was a bit worried at first so installed iStat pro to make sure things were working, and at the same time i made sure i specifically listened out for a fan noise when i switch on the machine, just to make sure.

but even at 100% CPU (ripping DVD's for example) still dead quite no noise, a bit extra heat (mentioned by iStat) but thats it.

its uncanny to say the least, although it could be because ive always been used to windows box's making HUGE amounts of noise, and my previous machine was an alienware laptop which was constantly making a stupid fan noise (bose noise canceling headphones helped out though:rolleyes:)

[mithrilfox]

My wife uses my iMac mainly, since I'm using my current Hackintosh. My Hackintosh makes about as much noise as any regular PC, but that's cause it is one...

As for the *real* Mac, the iMac, it's DEAD SILENT.

It's so gosh darn silent that sometimes I hit the power button thinking I'm going to turn it on, and in fact the monitor turns on and I realize that it was fully running with just a black screen. I often put my ear close to it and can't even hear anything going on.

That's a lot of performance for such a quiet machine. Even when it's running a 3D game for hours, it still doesn't make much noise. Unfortunately, the top of the machine becomes sufficiently hot that I end up blowing a fan across it, just because I'm psycho paranoid about heat issues with computers.

[Syonidism]

high.

but thats expected with an overclocked mac.

but i really really hate the startup fan...:confused:

[mercedes]

Well our iMac is nearly silent. My MacBook Pro too, but sometimes he's a bit loud for some minutes or so. But I'm okay with it.

[alleycat]

My Mac Pro is very quiet, but you can still hear a very low hum of the fan. Since I replaced the hard drive on my iBook clamshell, it makes no noise at all. The little Seagate drives are super quiet. :)

[Its Trish]

My 13" Macbook 2.4GHz has pretty much the same low level of noise
as my Fujitsu LifeBook notebook, and my Sony 14" notebook.

However, both the Fujitsu and Sony run with a very hot bottom,
so I cannot place it on my lap without using a pillow or magazine
between the notebook and my upper legs.

[MacUser:Batman]

I have a new iMac 2.4GHz and I am very happy with the noise level. It is very minimal. Most of the time I don’t even notice it is on. I come from a troublesome PC past so I cant compare to other Macs but for me it is perfect! :D

MacUser:Batman:apple:

[DolemiteJackson]

My MBP goes from almost no sound to a whining roar for short periods of time.
All in all, I'm OK with it's sound.

[NightSailor]

My Mac Pro is loud as heck--sounds like a jet taking off, on boot up. When running it is quiet. My external drives are louder.

My Mac Mini is pretty quiet also.

My nieces MacBook is silent.

[backblade]

Using macbook 13 inc. Silent most of the time, makes noise only when i'm playing games/movies. But the noise gets covered from the sound i'm playing, so acceptable.

[Arnenys]

My alu MacBook makes no noise at all! :D

[JackSYi]

My unibody MBP is definitely quieter than my previous MBP.

[Andreios]

My unibody MacBook Pro is whisper quiet most of the time. It is far quieter than my old Sony Vaio.

[SFStateStudent]

MBP 2.5GHz 15.4" Matte, hardly makes a peep. Seldom gets over 125ºF or 2500rpm on the fans...:cool:

[ashjamben]

late 2007 macbook fine, unless a website has a little bit too much flash or i'm watching a lengthy video.

i also find it does it more if im using it on my bed cover, maybe i'm blocking an airway or something?

[MCIowaRulz]

My Power Mac 867 G4 is loud. I have to shut the door to the computer room at night so I can sleep! I would describe it as, you shut the door to the room and stand outside of it you can still here the thing running.

[ElectroGhandi]

My iBook's fan never comes on. The only noise it makes is from the hard drive.

My PowerBook's fans come on a lot and it's not loud at all, but it is far more noticeable than the iBook.

[bobfitz14]

my PC is loud as hell, most of the time. i don't know what is making the noise either, nor have i really opened it while it was on. something i should get on...

:(

[alphaod]

Can't hear my MacBook and I can barely hear my MacBook Pro.

[Jolly Jimmy]

Flash is the only thing that makes my macbook noticeable noise wise... other than that it's damn quiet.

[NightSailor]

Vote: Poll: How would you describe the noise level of your Mac? (http://www.macpolls.com/?poll_id=263&ref=forums.macrumors.com)

Mine is a bit loud right now. My side cover is off. When it is on, it is not bad. But I have an external drive case with a bunch of fans. I just bought a fan speed controller, but have to figure out how to mount it. Once I button everything up and dial the fans down, it should be fairly quiet.

[Noob616]

mine (intel mac from new update) is silent. however i've only had it for like a week and 2 days so it might get louder

[Mastodon160]

I have a Macbook Pro.
very nice and quiet.. only hear it when the HD starts up when I turn it on.

[tkelly888]

I have an MacBook (Early 2008) and the fan can get fairly noisy when using fairly intensive applications (ie Garageband), as the microphone picks it up.

[63dot]

iBook, G3 300 Mhz, 160 megs RAM, 4 megs video RAM, blueberry...very quiet

Power Mac, Dual G4 500 MHz, 1 gig RAM, 16 megs video RAM...very noisy

Mac mini, G4 1.42 GHz, 1 gig RAM, 32 megs video RAM...moderately quiet

[xparaparafreakx]

Quite but I always have my Rokit on so I can't hear the fan.

[MistaBungle]

My PowerBook 12" is ungodly loud. Screen at it's darkest and just surfing with safari and the fans blast up. Can't wait for a nice MB.

[SuperMacMan]

Great work resurrecting a thread from '03. NOT!

Anyways
- iMac (as seen in sig) is dead quiet. Like, dead quiet. Until I try encoding video...
- Custom built PeeeeeCeeeee is as noisy as all hell!! Like a jet plane about to take off. It's the power supply fan, real crap... Barely use it, thank god...
- Asus EEE PC 701SD 7" 8GB 512MB is quiet when only surfin the net, eg MacRumors. I have AdBlock Plus on it, so no Flash ads for me, which has aided in getting it quieter. A LOT!
- iPod Touches make no noise at all... lol! :)

Shaun

[dmmcintyre3]

Another newbie reviving old threads in this section! I did it too and it was actually my first post was a old thread revival.

[MarcBook]

The only thing I can hear under normal operation is the hard drive. It makes a constant, soothing whirr noise (very quiet, though) and makes faint clicking when it's accessing/writing files, which is normal spinning platter stuff, of course.

It does make a lot of noise under CPU-intensive tasks, but it's still quieter than my old Alienware desktop by quite some way. :p

iMac is completely quiet apart from when I push the power button to start it - it makes a sigh as it wakes up. :D

[millerj123]

Great work resurrecting a thread from '03. NOT!


It was revived over two and a half months ago, and has seen an almost equal number of posts since then. What's the problem?

[dmmcintyre3]

Other than the glitch where I saw the posts from the beginning of these polls where do these people get these old threads?