My Hex + 5870 = quietest Mac Pro I've ever used

[reel2reel]

Been using my Hex w/ 5870 for a day now, doing all my installations (Final Cut Studio, Adobe, etc, etc) and I'm amazed how quiet this Mac is. I've got it elevated beside my desk and don't hear anything.

The first time I booted, I thought it didn't turn on b/c it was silent.

Needless to say, I was worried about reports of the 5870 sound levels, but I couldn't be happier with mine. It's a lot quieter than the 2008/2009 Mac Pro's we use in my workplace. To be fair, though, my work suite can get pretty hot at times.

I've also had no problems with monitor sleep flakiness so far. I've only got my 24" Samsung attached (MDP > DVI) at this point. My 30" Dell is waiting on the sidelines until I have everything installed and my desk cleaned up (fun).

Next step is to add my SSD and 3 x 8GB of OWC RAM, then clone my fresh system from mechanical to the SSD (with the exception of the Home folder).

I'm extremely happy to report I have no "popping" sounds from the audio out.

 

[ryan0402]

man that sounds to me like the perfect evrything machine for games video compositing. we had a couple of the old hexs at my school and I used one and I have lust for one ever since.

 

[wnarv]

Thank you for this information. I ordered the Hexacore with the 5870 and was curious about the noise levels. My current Power Mac Dual G5 seems quite noisy and I was hoping the Mac Pro wouldn't exceed this sound level.

 

[Honumaui]

got to say this new one 3.2 is more quiet than our other 3 mac pros we have in our office !
very nice now if i can just quiet up the other stuff more

 

[reel2reel]

I just filled up the three empty drive bays with 1 and 1.5 TB drives. Curious to see how that adds to the noise now! And just finished up putting the SSD into the lower optical bay. I'll report back about noise level after everything is up and running and I actually launch some app's.

 

[w00tini]

I just filled up the three empty drive bays with 1 and 1.5 TB drives. Curious to see how that adds to the noise now! And just finished up putting the SSD into the lower optical bay. I'll report back about noise level after everything is up and running and I actually launch some app's.

please do! i'm waiting on delivery of the very same MacPro and have three Seagate Barracudas sitting next to me waiting to be installed when it arrives

pictures are always welcome

 

[Honumaui]

my noise issues
my mac is silent I cant hear it over the other 50 or so HDD spinning in the room

 

[2contagious]

then clone my fresh system from mechanical to the SSD (with the exception of the Home folder)

Why clone the fresh system instead of doing a fresh setup from the DVD? Is it better for the SSD to clone it instead of installing it?

 

[alphaod]

This makes me want to 5870 even more…

Why clone the fresh system instead of doing a fresh setup from the DVD? Is it better for the SSD to clone it instead of installing it?

Cloning is easier than manually installing everything all over again

Though for SSDs, I would go a manual install.

 

[jedijoe]

I would agree, I was soo, soo super surprised at how freakin' quiet this thing is.

I have a 8-core harpertown Linux box with all 4-pin fans and a motherboard with smart RPM built-in and you always know when its on. The CPUs are even using the stock heatsink/fan combo.

 

[telequest]

I'm also very happy with how quiet my Hex + 5870 + two 1TB Caviar blacks + one 2TB Caviar green + the stock drive is. I was worried that the 5870 might suck so much power it would keep the fans going. But no problem, barely hear it.

 

[w00tini]

that's great news! so excited

 

[Hamsterz]

man that sounds to me like the perfect evrything machine for games video compositing. we had a couple of the old hexs at my school and I used one and I have lust for one ever since.

Sorry to inform you, but there are no 'old' hexacore processors.

 

[reel2reel]

Still silent with the four mechanical drives. I'm not saying I won't hear them working if I'm copying or playing huge video files, for instance, but this thing is dead silent so far. So I've got 2 WD Blacks (1 TB) and 2 Seagate 1.5 TB's. That includes the WD Black that shipped as system drive.

Though for SSDs, I would go a manual install.

Any particular reason? I hope I'm not missing something important!

I'm only cloning because it's easier for me to install final cut studio and then move extraneous files I don't need on the system drive. For example, I want all the libraries of loops and sound effects, but I don't need them on the system drive. I tend to manually manage these (drop them into FCP as needed instead of using them in Soundtrack Pro) so it makes more sense to put all that bulk on a mechanical drive. And this way I'm not having to install/delete it all via the SSD.

 

[w00tini]

great to hear reel!!

 

[reel2reel]

Why clone the fresh system instead of doing a fresh setup from the DVD? Is it better for the SSD to clone it instead of installing it?

It's just an organizational thing for me (see post above). Otherwise, I'd do my install straight to the SSD. I'm always worried that the clone might screw up some subtle things (like destroy important links between files and programs, for instance) but I've had good luck running off cloned drives in the past, so I figured I'd chance it in order to better manage all the bulk I'm installing.

 

[reel2reel]

great to hear reel!!

I just wanted to make sure nobody who has a Mac Pro on order is needlessly freaking out about potential noise issues. Not sure why Digilloyd is hearing a "drone" but I'm definitely not getting that.

I feel bad for the people that are having the 'audio pop' problem, though. Hope they get it resolved. A new Mac should be cause for elation, not stress!

 

[tomscott1988]

I just wanted to make sure nobody who has a Mac Pro on order is needlessly freaking out about potential noise issues. Not sure why Digilloyd is hearing a "drone" but I'm definitely not getting that.

I feel bad for the people that are having the 'audio pop' problem, though. Hope they get it resolved. A new Mac should be cause for elation, not stress!

Seen as tho your system is practically brand new, there is no need to re-install everything, the clone will be 100% fine. If you had had the system for say 6-12 months then i would say yes definitely a fresh install of OSX. The clone will be fine, and non of your links will break as it will copy everything in the same name and rename the new directory as the old so no worries there.

 

[Mr_Ed]

Just echoing the subject of the thread. My Hex+5870 is extremely quiet. My MacPro1,1 was VERY noisy (1900XT GPU). It got significantly quieter when I installed a 4870, but the new machine is in a league of its own regarding noise.

 

[reel2reel]

Seen as tho your system is practically brand new, there is no need to re-install everything, the clone will be 100% fine. If you had had the system for say 6-12 months then i would say yes definitely a fresh install of OSX. The clone will be fine, and non of your links will break as it will copy everything in the same name and rename the new directory as the old so no worries there.

Cool, thanks. SuperDuper hasn't failed me yet.

 

[Yukon Joe]

How noisy is it under load however?

 

[reel2reel]

How noisy is it under load however?

I've only been doing light photoshop so far and it makes no difference. I'm not even done installing everything, though, so I'm not pushing it yet.

My worry was noise at idle, though, because there were reports that the 5870 is very loud and has a drone at idle. Mine is silent, though.

I'll report back when I start pushing Lightroom (a hog) and Final Cut.

 

[KeithPratt]

My Hex+5870 is extremely quiet. My MacPro1,1 was VERY noisy (1900XT GPU). It got significantly quieter when I installed a 4870, but the new machine is in a league of its own regarding noise.

I have a 4870 and would upgrade to the 5870 for lower noise levels alone. Anyone else found this to be, or not to be, the case?

 

[w00tini]

I'll report back when I start pushing Lightroom (a hog) and Final Cut.

please do, thanks