Quick question for the NEW Aluminium Macbook owners on Fan noise

JW8725 · Oct 24, 2008, 10:55 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, 10:57 PM

wayyyy down the page, about half way.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=586459

jav6454 · Oct 24, 2008, 10:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JW8725

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 24, 2008, 11:03 PM

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...

it's quiet as a mouse.

JW8725 · Oct 24, 2008, 11:09 PM

thank you, just as i suspected. I'm going to have to give in and buy a couple.

Dairyman · Oct 24, 2008, 11:20 PM

no fan noise just my HD is loud when i press om it the noise goes away

EricJD · Oct 25, 2008, 12:19 AM

My USB external hard drive is louder than my MacBook's fan

NewMacbookPlz · Oct 25, 2008, 02:10 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, 09:27 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, 09:36 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, 09:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jav6454

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, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lopes

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, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lopes

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, 10:27 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, 10:31 AM

Mine is Very quiet.

JW8725 · Oct 25, 2008, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Obama

Mine is Very quiet.

Well there you go folks, Obama uses a Macbook!

MacBook08 · Oct 25, 2008, 11:46 PM

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, 01:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacBook08

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, 10:17 AM

Yes, it is extremely quiet. I have yet to even hear the fans.

MacBook08 · Oct 26, 2008, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by southerndoc

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, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacBook08

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, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacBook08

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, 12:12 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, 06:49 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

Zortrium · Jan 27, 2009, 06:51 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).

Oct 24, 2008, 10:55 PM	#1
JW8725 Banned Join Date: May 2005 Location: UK	Quick question for the NEW Aluminium Macbook owners on Fan noise 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
	0

Oct 24, 2008, 10:57 PM	#2
mcdj macrumors 603 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: NYC	wayyyy down the page, about half way. http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=586459 __________________ Posts with a 2 word subject line are rarely worth the click. ISOauto
	0

Oct 24, 2008, 11:03 PM	#4
Jak3 macrumors regular Join Date: Jul 2008	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... it's quiet as a mouse. __________________ Windows XP, 3.0 GHz C2D, 8800GT+ 1GB, 2 GB RAM, 750GB HDD, 22" Acer LCD Screen [Aluminum Macbook\| 2.0GHz \| 2GB Ram \| 160GB HDD \| GeForce 9400M]
	0

Oct 25, 2008, 02:10 AM	#8
NewMacbookPlz macrumors 68040 Join Date: Sep 2008	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. __________________ Collector's Edition 2.0ghz Aluminum MacBook, 8 GB iPhone EDGE, Canon 450D/50mm f1.8
	0

Oct 25, 2008, 09:27 AM	#9
mobilehavoc macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jun 2007	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. __________________ 2011 Macbook Pro 15" \| 1680x1050 screen \| 2.2Ghz Quad-core i7 \| 8GB RAM \| Radeon 6750 w/1GB VRAM \| 250GB OWC Mercury Extreme Pro SSD + iPad 3 32GB LTE White + GSM Galaxy Nexus
	0

Oct 24, 2008, 11:09 PM	#5
JW8725 Thread Starter Banned Join Date: May 2005 Location: UK	thank you, just as i suspected. I'm going to have to give in and buy a couple.
	0

Oct 24, 2008, 11:20 PM	#6
Dairyman macrumors member Join Date: Feb 2008	no fan noise just my HD is loud when i press om it the noise goes away
	0

Oct 25, 2008, 12:19 AM	#7
EricJD macrumors regular Join Date: Aug 2007	My USB external hard drive is louder than my MacBook's fan
	0

Oct 25, 2008, 09:36 AM	#10
Lopes macrumors regular Join Date: Jun 2003	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?
	0

Oct 25, 2008, 10:27 AM	#14
Critical Hippo macrumors member Join Date: Sep 2007	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.
	0

Oct 25, 2008, 10:31 AM	#15
Obama macrumors member Join Date: Jun 2008	Mine is Very quiet. __________________ iMac 20" 2.66Ghz OS X Version 10.5.3
	0

Oct 25, 2008, 11:46 PM	#17
MacBook08 macrumors regular Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Santa Cruz, California	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. __________________ 21.5" iMac (2012); iPhone 4S
	0

Oct 26, 2008, 10:17 AM	#19
SgtDutysBlog macrumors newbie Join Date: Aug 2008	Yes, it is extremely quiet. I have yet to even hear the fans. __________________ Check out my site with Apple and Apple related product reviews: homepage.mac.com/sgtduty/
	0

Jan 27, 2009, 12:12 AM	#23
Krauser macrumors regular Join Date: Jan 2009	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! __________________ 13.3" Aluminum MacBook 2.0GHz, 4 GB RAM, 500GB Western Digital HD; 64GB iPod Touch 3rd Generation, 8GB iPod Nano, iPhone 4S 64GB
	0

Jan 27, 2009, 06:49 AM	#24
nope7308 macrumors 6502a Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Ontario, Canada	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 __________________ "Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man." - The Dude - Aluminum MacBook, 2.4Ghz, 4GB DDR3 RAM, 250GB HD / Canon EOS 40D
	0

Jan 27, 2009, 06:51 AM	#25
Zortrium macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jun 2003	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).
	0

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