Apple Silicon MBPs and Fan Noise

[groove-agent]

Hello all,

I've been tasked with having to create demonstration videos for software training. I've been using a 2020 16" MBP and Quicktime to record screen captures. Unfortunately while recording the videos my microphone is picking up fan noise. I've tried using a utility called Turbo Boost Switcher which has helped, but eventually the fan starts blasting away. I have an M1 Mac mini that I use as a server and when I tried it, the fan stayed quiet, but I need the portability of a laptop.

I'm wondering if anyone with a 13" M1 MBP can test using screen recordings with Quicktime to see if the fan can spin up? Also if anyone has advice on how to eliminate fan noise in general would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

[LuisN]

Hello all,

I've been tasked with having to create demonstration videos for software training. I've been using a 2020 16" MBP and Quicktime to record screen captures. Unfortunately while recording the videos my microphone is picking up fan noise. I've tried using a utility called Turbo Boost Switcher which has helped, but eventually the fan starts blasting away. I have an M1 Mac mini that I use as a server and when I tried it, the fan stayed quiet, but I need the portability of a laptop.

I'm wondering if anyone with a 13" M1 MBP can test using screen recordings with Quicktime to see if the fan can spin up? Also if anyone has advice on how to eliminate fan noise in general would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

MacBook Air M1 has no fans...

 

[Mike Boreham]

Hello all,

I've been tasked with having to create demonstration videos for software training. I've been using a 2020 16" MBP and Quicktime to record screen captures. Unfortunately while recording the videos my microphone is picking up fan noise. I've tried using a utility called Turbo Boost Switcher which has helped, but eventually the fan starts blasting away. I have an M1 Mac mini that I use as a server and when I tried it, the fan stayed quiet, but I need the portability of a laptop.

I'm wondering if anyone with a 13" M1 MBP can test using screen recordings with Quicktime to see if the fan can spin up? Also if anyone has advice on how to eliminate fan noise in general would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Are you asking about the M1 MBP because you have access to one? or because you might buy one for the task?

To state the obvious, if you are purchasing a new machine, an M1 MacBook Air will be silent. Without knowing your requirements exactly I would expect it to be capable.

 

[bobcomer]

Hello all,

I've been tasked with having to create demonstration videos for software training. I've been using a 2020 16" MBP and Quicktime to record screen captures. Unfortunately while recording the videos my microphone is picking up fan noise. I've tried using a utility called Turbo Boost Switcher which has helped, but eventually the fan starts blasting away. I have an M1 Mac mini that I use as a server and when I tried it, the fan stayed quiet, but I need the portability of a laptop.

I'm wondering if anyone with a 13" M1 MBP can test using screen recordings with Quicktime to see if the fan can spin up? Also if anyone has advice on how to eliminate fan noise in general would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Get an M1 MacBook Air for the job, no fan to hear. It's true it may throttle some from heat, but as long as you give it rests to cool down if it does, it should be great for that job.

 

[smoking monkey]

I have an M1 Air and it barely gets hot. I know if you do intense video editing/exporting it will heat up, but I do a fair bit of heavy Keynote editing and it's totally fine.

I read that the M1 MBP is also very quiet and the fans can barely be heard mostly. BUT you really need the advice from somebody who has a M1 MBP and what they think. Also, you could wait until the new 14" and 16" M1X MBPs are released in October(ish) as they should also be very quiet, especially the 16 with its larger size.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

If your needs match-up with the Air, then just get the Air.

The lack of a fan isn’t an issue. Because of the low power requirements of the M1 parallel with the improved heat sink, there is a surprisingly large headroom for the heat capacity. Put simply, it takes a relative long time before the Air needs to ‘throttle’, which in any case is only under loads that most consumers wouldn’t use (unless you’re a YouTube personality…)

The Pro only has a fan for two reasons; to guarantee sustained performance, and because it likely would have cost Apple more in manufacturing to redesign the internal layout without the fan, as crazy as that may sound.

Go with the Air

 

[Darkseth]

On the Pro: Anything, that's not 100% Load, won't get the Fans to spin up. And i've had Zoom with 40-100 people + office stuff, multiple Tabs, etc, nothing. Not even warm.
And if they do, they can hit over 7000 rpm, and that's loud. But that's when the M1 SoC consumes 15-20 Watt sustained. Like converting a Video with Handbrake.

Air throttles up to 15%~ under full Load. If you never need the maximum full load sustained Performance, and you hate fan noise, the Air is the device for you.

 

[deeddawg]

I've had my M1 MBP for nine months now.

Fan? I've heard it once.

I was specifically trying to make it audible by regenerating a couple thousand 20MP RAW file previews.

Otherwise it's been silent.

 

[dmccloud]

I can't even get the fans to spin up on my M1 Pro when exporting 4K video in FCP - granted, 8K video or a lot of effects and filters might change the results, but I've heard the fans once, and that was when I deliberately pushed the machine to its limits...

 

[kappaknight]

I read that the M1 MBP is also very quiet and the fans can barely be heard mostly. BUT you really need the advice from somebody who has a M1 MBP and what they think. Also, you could wait until the new 14" and 16" M1X MBPs are released in October(ish) as they should also be very quiet, especially the 16 with its larger size.

I honestly cannot wait to trade my 16" MBP in. Working at home, it's always attached to a 4K monitor so the fans are constantly spinning. Even after putting the laptop to sleep, it likes to warm up the room with its heater fans. I'm definitely seeing the same issues about holding conversations during work calls; just having the fans on constantly.

The sad part is, work had already given me a 15" MBP, which is my primary for work. Connected to the same monitor, it performs better than the 16" in terms of staying quiet. October cannot come soon enough.

 

[Darkseth]

I honestly cannot wait to trade my 16" MBP in. Working at home, it's always attached to a 4K monitor so the fans are constantly spinning. Even after putting the laptop to sleep, it likes to warm up the room with its heater fans. I'm definitely seeing the same issues about holding conversations during work calls; just having the fans on constantly.

Try "Turbo Boost Switcher", there's a Free version (Paid version can switch automatically for each application, and doesn't need a password for every switch).
It turns off Intel's Turbo Boost, so your i7 6 Core stays at maximum 2,6 Ghz (or lower of course), or the i9 Octacore at 2,3 Ghz Base clock.

had the Base model with 6 Cores here for a few Days, i couldn't notice any performance hit in normal everyday usage. But Power consumption, heat output and Fans were a whole diferent World.
Even with a Cinebench R20 stresstest Temperatures never went above 70-75°C, Fans were super slow, and it took longer to reach 70°C+, while with Turbo Boost, Temperatures shot up to over 95°C and Fans went crazy. Not to mention the Heat.

As long you don't need the maximum Multicore performance, i very highly recommend that little Tool.

 

[groove-agent]

Try "Turbo Boost Switcher", there's a Free version (Paid version can switch automatically for each application, and doesn't need a password for every switch).
It turns off Intel's Turbo Boost, so your i7 6 Core stays at maximum 2,6 Ghz (or lower of course), or the i9 Octacore at 2,3 Ghz Base clock.

had the Base model with 6 Cores here for a few Days, i couldn't notice any performance hit in normal everyday usage. But Power consumption, heat output and Fans were a whole diferent World.
Even with a Cinebench R20 stresstest Temperatures never went above 70-75°C, Fans were super slow, and it took longer to reach 70°C+, while with Turbo Boost, Temperatures shot up to over 95°C and Fans went crazy. Not to mention the Heat.

As long you don't need the maximum Multicore performance, i very highly recommend that little Tool.

I've been trying Turbo Boost Switcher. At first it seemed to keep my MBP quiet while doing screen recordings, but as I continued to use it, the fans always seem to come on regardless.

Also when I use Turbo Boost Switcher, it constantly asks me to enter my password. It's quite annoying. I'm pretty sure I gave it all the accessibility access it needed in System Preferences.

 

[zzemman]

I've been trying Turbo Boost Switcher. At first it made my MBP quiet while recording the screen, but as I continued to use it, the fans always came on.

Also when I use Turbo Boost Switcher, it constantly asks me to enter my password. It's quite annoying. I'm pretty sure I gave it all the accessibility access it needed in System Preferences.

I have been successful controling fan noise while video conferencing by combining Turbo Boost Switcher with Macs Fan Control. I use Turbo Boost Switcher to disable turbo boost at all times and let fans follow their default ramp-up curves. They are mostyl silent, but when on a video conference and connected to an external screen, fans become too noisy, even with turbo boost disabled. I then launch Macs Fan Control and set a fixed fan speed at the maximum level that is not disturbing (3250 rpm in my case). CPU temps goes into the 80s celsius range but does not go crazy. It's possible that the CPU throttles itself below base clocks in those circumstances but it doesn't seem to affect performance much. Note: works on my 2 MacBook Pros 15 inches still on Catalina. Haven't moved to Big Sur yet.

 

[groove-agent]

Are you asking about the M1 MBP because you have access to one? or because you might buy one for the task?

To state the obvious, if you are purchasing a new machine, an M1 MacBook Air will be silent. Without knowing your requirements exactly I would expect it to be capable.

I might buy one.

 

[groove-agent]

I have been successful controling fan noise while video conferencing by combining Turbo Boost Switcher with Macs Fan Control. I use Turbo Boost Switcher to disable turbo boost at all times and let fans follow their default ramp-up curves. They are mostyl silent, but when on a video conference and connected to an external screen, fans become too noisy, even with turbo boost disabled. I then launch Macs Fan Control and set a fixed fan speed at the maximum level that is not disturbing (3250 rpm in my case). CPU temps goes into the 80s celsius range but does not go crazy. It's possible that the CPU throttles itself below base clocks in those circumstances but it doesn't seem to affect performance much. Note: works on my 2 MacBook Pros 15 inches still on Catalina. Haven't moved to Big Sur yet.

Not a bad idea, I think I used to use an app called SMC Fan Control to do something similar while gaming back in the day. Maybe by proactively cooling with the fans at a higher RPM it can keep the temperature from increasing.

I'm starting to think a laptop isn't ideal for audio recording unless I physically relocate it somewhere else in the room. I typically have it in clamshell mode (I use an 21:9 monitor) while working which probably doesn't help.

 

[Mike Boreham]

Not a bad idea, I think I used to use an app called SMC Fan Control to do something similar while gaming back in the day. Maybe by proactively cooling with the fans at a higher RPM it can keep the temperature from increasing.

I'm starting to think a laptop isn't ideal for audio recording unless I physically relocate it somewhere else in the room. I typically have it in clamshell mode (I use an 21:9 monitor) while working which probably doesn't help.

Have you established that an M1 MBA won't meet your requirements? Throttling under heavy load is only around 10-15% from what I have seen.

 

[Darkseth]

Also when I use Turbo Boost Switcher, it constantly asks me to enter my password. It's quite annoying. I'm pretty sure I gave it all the accessibility access it needed in System Preferences.

Yeah, this is normal for the Free version, to try it out. There's a Paid version, where you only put in your password once.

Thought, in most cases it should solve the Fan/heat issue in daily use. At least, i don't know of any other way for those Intel Macs.

 

[Queen6]

Takes a heavy load to get the M1 MBP fan to spool up; all cores at 100% and passing 80C. Even the likes of Cinebench R23 will only push the fan to an average of 3.5K in an ambient temp of 26C.

M1 Air is obviously completely silent, just depends if the M1 MBP's greater sustained performance, brighter display & longer battery life are factors the user values. The latter serves my needs better so M1 MBP was my choice, Touchbar I can take or leave as although it adds some utility it equally subtracts.

Q-6

 

[Tenkaykev]

Takes a heavy load to get the M1 MBP fan to spool up; all cores at 100% and passing 80C. Even the likes of Cinebench R23 will only push the fan to an average of 3.5K in an ambient temp of 26C.

M1 Air is obviously completely silent, just depends if the M1 MBP's greater sustained performance, brighter display & longer battery life are factors the user values. The latter serves my needs better so M1 MBP was my choice, Touchbar I can take or leave as although it adds some utility it equally subtracts.

Q-6

I noticed the brighter display of the Pro is one of the differentiators, but I rarely have the display on my M1 Air above 50% ( the only exception is when watching something on Prime / Netflix etc, why are the “ atmospheric “ scenes always so bloody dark?

 

[groove-agent]

I just tried a screen recording without the laptop plugged into the charger and the fan didn't spin up at all, even after 8 minutes of recording. Either the laptop throttles while on battery or my external monitor could be adding CPU cycles (or both). More testing required...

 

[avedis]

Am using a LG5k Ultrafine for close to 2 years. My work intel MBPs 13" or 16" tend to drop frames often even on normal productivity tasks. Just surprised the M1 Mac mini/MBP is running it so well, no perceptible drop frames or responsiveness as far as I can see and machine runs really cool. 16" MBP fans will just kick in once you connects to an external monitor/projector.

Wonder how Apple optimised the M1 GPU so well. Can't wait to see how the M1x will perform

 

[Significant1]

I just tried a screen recording without the laptop plugged into the charger and the fan didn't spin up at all, even after 8 minutes of recording. Either the laptop throttles while on battery or my external monitor could be adding CPU cycles (or both). More testing required...

Intel machines lower the performance on battery compared to power-supply. External monitor activates the discrete GPU instead of the build-in. There is a long thread here, that might contain some usefull information.

(2019) 16" is HOT & NOISY with an external monitor! :(

I received a base 16" today and am disappointed because it get's as hot as my 2017 with an external 4K monitor. Is anybody else experiencing the same issue? I always work with external monitors and running on high resolution and this heating performance is upsetting. It's not cooler than the...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[MOM20xx]

I can't even get the fans to spin up on my M1 Pro when exporting 4K video in FCP - granted, 8K video or a lot of effects and filters might change the results, but I've heard the fans once, and that was when I deliberately pushed the machine to its limits...

sorry when i run handbrake (version 1.4.1 for m1 chip) and convert my recorded mov files of my iphone to mp4 with preset HQ 1080p30 Surround cpu goes up to 100% and fans are immediately also on full speed.

 

[Lihp8270]

Out there suggestion incoming…..

A decent microphone set up to record yourself will be a far cheaper solution than buying a whole new machine if this is the only use case you have for a new machine.

 

[jerryk]

Hello all,

I've been tasked with having to create demonstration videos for software training. I've been using a 2020 16" MBP and Quicktime to record screen captures. Unfortunately while recording the videos my microphone is picking up fan noise. I've tried using a utility called Turbo Boost Switcher which has helped, but eventually the fan starts blasting away. I have an M1 Mac mini that I use as a server and when I tried it, the fan stayed quiet, but I need the portability of a laptop.

I'm wondering if anyone with a 13" M1 MBP can test using screen recordings with Quicktime to see if the fan can spin up? Also if anyone has advice on how to eliminate fan noise in general would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Unless you need an MBP, get an Air. In many cases the Air has similar performance and it has no fan to spin up.

I record developer training classes in a sound booth (actually a sound treated closet) professionally. With other laptops, I always had to take a break when the fan spun up. With the M1 Air there is no concern about the fan spinning up since there is no fan. I use Adobe Audition to record and the Air will record for hours on end with no issues in performance.

FWIW, I always capture the demos separately from the voice-over and merge them in post. This makes it a lot easier to edit out typing or navigation errors, speed up video sections, etc. It also makes your life much easier when your boss comes to you and wants to remove or add a section. Finally, I always use a script.