View Full Version : Quick question for the NEW Aluminium Macbook owners on Fan noise
JW8725
Oct 24, 2008, 11:55 PM
Do you find the fan comes on constantly?
When it does is it overtly noisy and off putting?
Is the hard drive (non SSD) noisy?
Do you find the noise of the laptop itself loud?
If its relatively silent, how silent are we talking? Almost dead silent?
Thanks for the help:)
mcdj
Oct 24, 2008, 11:57 PM
wayyyy down the page, about half way.
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=586459
jav6454
Oct 24, 2008, 11:58 PM
Do you find the fan comes on constantly?
When it does is it overtly noisy and off putting?
Is the hard drive (non SSD) noisy?
Do you find the noise of the laptop itself loud?
If its relatively silent, how silent are we talking? Almost dead silent?
Thanks for the help:)
1. Yes, when I'm doing intensive applications and processes.
2. *Very* quiet fans
3. No noise from my MacBook so far... very quiet system
4. Almost Dead Silent...
These are my experiences with my MacBook. Others may vay
Jak3
Oct 25, 2008, 12:03 AM
wait, it makes noises?
oh, yeah, my speakers were turned off...yeah, the thing is freaking noisy when you turn those on with some music...:mad: :p
it's quiet as a mouse.:D
JW8725
Oct 25, 2008, 12:09 AM
thank you, just as i suspected. I'm going to have to give in and buy a couple.
Dairyman
Oct 25, 2008, 12:20 AM
no fan noise just my HD is loud when i press om it the noise goes away
EricJD
Oct 25, 2008, 01:19 AM
My USB external hard drive is louder than my MacBook's fan :)
NewMacbookPlz
Oct 25, 2008, 03:10 AM
I don't hear a damn thing from this computer. Its as quiet, if not more than my G4 iBook was in light/medium use...but thankfully doesn't get as hot.
mobilehavoc
Oct 25, 2008, 10:27 AM
If you look at the iFixit breakdown of the Macbook you can see there's only 1 exhaust fan at the back of the laptop. According to iStatPro, mine runs at 2000rpm or less so it's next to inaudible. I haven't had it get loud at all yet but in general, it's completely silent and I've been very happy with it.
Temps have been decent as well.
Lopes
Oct 25, 2008, 10:36 AM
Does anyone else have a "jumpy" fan rpm speed? If i leave istat open on my dashboard and watch the fan rpms, i'll notice it'll go from 1987, to 2010, to 1998, to 2003, to 1990, to 20012, etc....anyone else noticing that or is my defective in some way?
Primejimbo
Oct 25, 2008, 10:42 AM
1. Yes, when I'm doing intensive applications and processes.
2. *Very* quiet fans
3. No noise from my MacBook so far... very quiet system
4. Almost Dead Silent...
These are my experiences with my MacBook. Others may vay
same here
jessica.
Oct 25, 2008, 10:52 AM
Does anyone else have a "jumpy" fan rpm speed? If i leave istat open on my dashboard and watch the fan rpms, i'll notice it'll go from 1987, to 2010, to 1998, to 2003, to 1990, to 20012, etc....anyone else noticing that or is my defective in some way?
I've never seen this happen to me. I've even tried to get it to jump up and heat up to where my PB would sit. I've ran a couple of flash videos while watching YouTube, running Safari with about 8 open pages, MS Word, iChat, Mail, iPhoto, AND I was transferring music from an external usb plugged into my airport over wifi to iTunes and asking it to pull the album art. Nothing happened as you explained.
Ron21
Oct 25, 2008, 11:00 AM
Does anyone else have a "jumpy" fan rpm speed? If i leave istat open on my dashboard and watch the fan rpms, i'll notice it'll go from 1987, to 2010, to 1998, to 2003, to 1990, to 20012, etc....anyone else noticing that or is my defective in some way?
That's perfectly normal all fans do that. There is always a slight change in RPM when the sensor takes the reading.
Critical Hippo
Oct 25, 2008, 11:27 AM
I haven't noticed the fan at all on my new Macbook. I had to use SMC to speed up the fan just to hear what it would sound like if it went above the constant 2000 rpm.
For me the noisiest thing is the hard drive. It starts spinning the instant the computer turns on and it never stops. You can hear it in a quiet room and it is always there buzzing beneath my hand. I spent the last eight months using an Air with an SSD though, so I guess I'm just getting used to using a laptop with a regular hard drive again.
Obama
Oct 25, 2008, 11:31 AM
Mine is Very quiet.
JW8725
Oct 25, 2008, 07:56 PM
Mine is Very quiet.
Well there you go folks, Obama uses a Macbook!
MacBook08
Oct 26, 2008, 12:46 AM
Wait it has a fan? Just kidding. It's absolutely silent. The only time I've ever heard it is when I put a DVD in. Even then, it's nothing that'll keep you up at night.
southerndoc
Oct 26, 2008, 02:03 AM
Wait it has a fan? Just kidding. It's absolutely silent. The only time I've ever heard it is when I put a DVD in. Even then, it's nothing that'll keep you up at night.
Is it really absolutely silent? If so, then I must have a defective hard drive. I can hear a barely audible whir coming from the hard drive.
SgtDutysBlog
Oct 26, 2008, 11:17 AM
Yes, it is extremely quiet. I have yet to even hear the fans.
MacBook08
Oct 26, 2008, 01:49 PM
Is it really absolutely silent? If so, then I must have a defective hard drive. I can hear a barely audible whir coming from the hard drive.
Well, if I put my ear real close to the trackpad I can hear the hard drive and feel its vibration, but just barely. However, it's usually not quiet enough where I am to notice. So, yeah, your HDD's probably not defective.
Does anyone know what a SSD sounds like? Not that I could ever afford one. Just curious.
southerndoc
Oct 26, 2008, 02:41 PM
Well, if I put my ear real close to the trackpad I can hear the hard drive and feel its vibration, but just barely. However, it's usually not quiet enough where I am to notice. So, yeah, your HDD's probably not defective.
Does anyone know what a SSD sounds like? Not that I could ever afford one. Just curious.
I think they're completely silent.
Ron21
Oct 26, 2008, 02:49 PM
Well, if I put my ear real close to the trackpad I can hear the hard drive and feel its vibration, but just barely. However, it's usually not quiet enough where I am to notice. So, yeah, your HDD's probably not defective.
Does anyone know what a SSD sounds like? Not that I could ever afford one. Just curious.
SSD has no moving parts, which means 0 sound.
Krauser
Jan 27, 2009, 01:12 AM
My fan on the 2.0ghz model stays at a pretty much constant 2k rpm. It only ever jumps when I play Call of Duty 4 and even then its only to 3k. I have yet to hear it at 4 thousand or 5 for that matter. And I have Call of Duty as high of settings as you can get it for the MacBook. Still cool and silent as a mouse!
nope7308
Jan 27, 2009, 07:49 AM
Just thought I would chime in...
The MB fans are almost inaudible. In fact, I was using uTorrent for Mac (Beta), and there was an issue where the CPU would jump to 100%. Even with the CPU holding steady at 100%, the fans were still really quiet (highest rpm was about 4000-5000). Since I noticed the problem, I've stopped using uTorrent (back to Transmission) and now I can't hear a thing.
I'm 110% satisfied with the MB :D
Zortrium
Jan 27, 2009, 07:51 AM
Only time I've noticed the fans on my Macbook is after playing Civilization 4 for awhile (and even then it's not too bad).
hacksaw-C87
Jan 27, 2009, 08:09 AM
If you're worried, once you've got your Macbook, you can download SMCFan Control. It allows you to control the Rpm of your Mac's fans and regulate its temperatures. Here's a link:
http://homepage.mac.com/holtmann/eidac/software/smcfancontrol2/index.html
Doju
Jan 27, 2009, 02:01 PM
So, could someone explain what the fans do? Keep it from overheating? If so, why do they stay low when the CPU is at 100%?
How high does the RPM have to be in order to hear it?
What are the temps like when just internet browsing with only a few other apps open? (iTunes, iPhoto, etc. nothing much)
Lastly, is the HDD noisy?
o2xygen
Jan 27, 2009, 02:41 PM
Doju, i boosted my fan up to about 2900 RPM and its completly silent (default is 2000RPM) , anything higher than that and its slightly audible, by that I mean u have to put your ear up to the exhaust.
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