First review about sound... fan noise

[blufrog]

Mine base Mac Mini M4 16GB was buzzing as soon as any display was connected, either to HDMI or via USB-C. Tried different cables, different power outlets, no way to fix it. Yes it was buzzing when turned off but connected to outlet too. My desk is pretty flimsy Ikea desk so i literally felt vibrations on desk. I have very quiet room and honestly couldnt stand it, my desktop full tower PC is more quiet. I returned it.

I watched teardown video and dude said that power supply components in Mac Mini M4 are low quality, everyone is using japanese components but not Apple in Mac Mini, i suspect this is power supply shielding noise or something.

Someone posted this on reddit:

"At first I thought it was the fan but then realised it's coming from the power supply which is on the top of the dice if you rest your hand on it, it stops because it's vibrating."

It is indeed true, if you put a hand on top of it and press, it stops buzzing. Must be bad quality coils.

Some random dude in a video says so and that's it?

I'd check your HDMI cable and your monitor. I read that some devices are not earthed, or not earthed properly, and so when HDMI is connected it is earthing via that instead, and is causing the buzzing.

I'm in the UK (230V AC) connecting to a Samsung TV with an Amazon Basics $5 HDMI cable, and no issues whatsoever.

Europe (depends on the country) has some shoddy AC wiring, and this could be the problem (bad earth).

 

[tysonhero]

Some random dude in a video says so and that's it?

I'd check your HDMI cable and your monitor. I read that some devices are not earthed, or not earthed properly, and so when HDMI is connected it is earthing via that instead, and is causing the buzzing.

I'm in the UK (230V AC) connecting to a Samsung TV with an Amazon Basics $5 HDMI cable, and no issues whatsoever.

Europe (depends on the country) has some shoddy AC wiring, and this could be the problem (bad earth).

I mean Mini is being sold in Europe without grounding pin on power cable, so i assume its insulated properly inside.

I have multiple desktop PCs, gaming consoles, Macbooks, monitors and Apple TV. Mac Mini m4 is the ONLY one with humming noise even when turned off. I understand that Apple probably sees it as cheap computer for poor people, but it kinds sucks.

Maybe you just dont hear it over other electronics/background noise.

 

[blufrog]

I mean Mini is being sold in Europe without grounding pin on power cable, so i assume its insulated properly inside.

I have multiple desktop PCs, gaming consoles, Macbooks, monitors and Apple TV. Mac Mini m4 is the ONLY one with humming noise even when turned off. I understand that Apple probably sees it as cheap computer for poor people, but it kinds sucks.

Maybe you just dont hear it over other electronics/background noise.

I'm in a very quiet room (other computers aside).

I get coil whine from my PC GPU on the odd occasion, but it is louder than even the noise of the rust drives.

I'm sat about 4 ft from both computers; the Mini is to my right on the desk against the wall, while the open-sided PC is to my left on the floor (I'm sat such that I'm actually to the front of the computer).

If the Mini was whining, I'm sure I would hear it.

What are you doing when it occurs, or is it even when it is sat idle?

 

[tysonhero]

What are you doing when it occurs, or is it even when it is sat idle?

It was humming even when Mini was completely turned off.

This guy describes the problem https://discussions.apple.com/thread/255838373?sortBy=rank

If you have Mini Pro, then this might be a reason why yours is quiet, Pro for sure have different power supply inside (it requires much more energy), maybe its higher quality/different design of power delivery.

 

[ZipZilla]

I don't think the M4 Mini can be a proper Pro form factor. there isn't enough computer there to dissipate the heat.

 

[Wando64]

Look what I found on Reddit. Then people complain of overheating and fan noise…

 

[DCIFRTHS]

Look what I found on Reddit. Then people complain of overheating and fan noise…

View attachment 2470993

What purpose would that enclosure serve? It seems like more of a meme than real life.

 

[ubinko]

I'm still yet to hear the fan kick in on my M4 Pro Mini (12 core, 24RAM, 512HD) and I've been video editing, gaming and all sorts. Maybe that will change in the Summer months.

 

[Wando64]

What purpose would that enclosure serve? It seems like more of a meme than real life.

A fool and his money…

 

[Patrickf73]

No noise with my M4pro. The only fan noise was when I tested it in Cinebench 24. Otherwise, the operation is absolutely noiseless, even when I put my ear to it.

Same here….I still haven‘t heard the fan (12 core, 48 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD)…

Mac Mini m4 is the ONLY one with humming noise even when turned off.

It seems like your Mac Mini has an issue. You should get it replaced. Mine doesn’t have any humming noise; it’s an EU version.

 

[Wando64]

It seems like your Mac Mini has an issue. You should get it replaced. Mine doesn’t have any humming noise; it’s an EU version.

Do you have the M4 or the M4 Pro?

Apparently the humming only happen on some M4, but not on the Pro.

 

[Patrickf73]

Do you have the M4 or the M4 Pro?

Apparently the humming only happen on some M4, but not on the Pro.

One M4 Pro and and two M4. None of them has a humming noise.

 

[Segi_de]

Same issue here- I have a base mini since last week and I notice the buzzing regardless of connecting a display or whether the device is turned on (as long as a power cord is connected). Im in the EU (Germany) and I have had a different Mac mini M4 a month ago (returned it back then for other reasons) which to my knowledge did not have this issue.

I am currently debating to return and/or exchange it... but I have to admit: The process of exchange really sucks because afaik Apple does not send out a new one prior to getting the old, right? That way I am out of my personal machine for a while without really knowing if this will fix the problem...

 

[Dimvol]

Your stories about the cold and quiet Mac mini M4 irritate me.

What should I do with this? Try to change the thermal interface or return it under warranty?
The fan turns on immediately at 5000 rpm when the temperature reaches 100 degrees Celsius. It's very noisy!
You can adjust the program, of course. It won't be very noisy, 65 degrees CPU and 75-77 degrees GPU, 2500 rpm fan. Even at rest, the temperature does not drop below 45 degrees.
What are the operating temperatures in your mini M4?

 

[Betamagic]

I have returned the Mac mini M4 that I purchased 3 weeks ago. The mini was quiet during the first week, but it started producing a subtle hum / whine / case vibration after that. Eventually, this noise became even audible at my workplace. It persisted even when I turned off the machine. Only disconnecting the mini from the external display and UTP cable 'fixes' the problem. It is unfortunate that this problem was probably caused by a smart Apple accountant, who saved a few pennies by using cheap components in the power supply.

 

[Dimvol]

Due to a software error, the fan speed does not change until it reaches 100 degrees. When the temperature reaches 100 degrees Celsius, another algorithm is triggered and the fan accelerates to 5000 rpm. This is very noisy.
Replacing the paste helped partly. Gradually, the critical temperature will still be reached. In combination with a program like Macs Fan Control, you can stay within 70 - 80 degrees with a fan speed of 2500 rpm and a tolerable noise level. Of course, they will fix it later. And they will cut down on performance.
Another thing is annoying: why did you, those who bought it earlier, keep silent. Why didn't you warn that you shouldn't buy it, because it is not good for anything except reading news and looking at photos?

 

[tomstone74]

Got my Mac Mini M4 Pro 14c/20c/64GB/2TB/10Gbit this Friday. Kind of a desktop replacement for my 14" MBP M1 Pro when using it in clamshell mode. Outside of benchmark tools, in my day-to-day usage for software development (Java backend combined with Docker), surfing, streaming, email etc ... the Mini is completely silent at ~ 1000rpm 40-50°C according to TG Pro. Similar with my 14" MBP M1 Pro with a difference that fans there are almost always OFF vs. the Mini constant at at least 1000rpm.

Need to say the Mini is placed in a closable (mostly closed) bookshelf together with a running Synology DS218+ and the ISP cable mode, connected with a 2m DP cable to my Dell 27" 4K. Ambient temperature in the closed bookshelf is ~ 28°C compared to ~ 22°C in my living room. Thus possible fan noise perhaps even less of an issue compared to others, when the Mini is placed on the desk close to the monitor.

The Mini is a beast of a tiny (in a for me perfect small package when space (on the desk) is an issue) and efficient machine for a real desktop machine compared to my MBP in clamshell, at least for my day-to-day usage, with a performance headroom when it's really needed for software builds, perhaps playing a bit with / getting more into local LLMs and occasional gaming.

Love the Mini. No regrets not waiting for a M4-based Studio with likely better thermals, cause that would be an even higher priced machine and overkill for my use case (especially in the GPU department) + the more bulky chassis.

 

[tony359]

Your stories about the cold and quiet Mac mini M4 irritate me.

What are the operating temperatures in your mini M4?

My MacMini M4 (base model) tends to run hot when running Resolve but the fan will gradually speed up once the temps reach 80+. Under 80C (I think) the fan runs at minimum.

I haven't seen what you experience so either they introduced a software bug or your unit is defective.

To clarify, my MacMini only gets 80+ when doing heavy video editing/rendering/caching. In fact, even just editing (no caching) usually is not enough to take it more than 70+ celsius.

Right now it's 47C, fan at minimum.

 

[Edouard Perreault]

Due to a software error, the fan speed does not change until it reaches 100 degrees. When the temperature reaches 100 degrees Celsius, another algorithm is triggered and the fan accelerates to 5000 rpm. This is very noisy.
Replacing the paste helped partly. Gradually, the critical temperature will still be reached. In combination with a program like Macs Fan Control, you can stay within 70 - 80 degrees with a fan speed of 2500 rpm and a tolerable noise level. Of course, they will fix it later. And they will cut down on performance.
Another thing is annoying: why did you, those who bought it earlier, keep silent. Why didn't you warn that you shouldn't buy it, because it is not good for anything except reading news and looking at photos?

If you use your Mac mini M4 to the point of heating it to 100 degrees Celsius, it's because you're giving it some seriously heavy work to do.
The maximum temperature I recorded on my Mac mini M4 (bought three months ago), only once went up to 98 degrees Celsius; and I do 4K editing with Resolve, photo editing, encoding and all that super well while staying around 80 degrees Celsius.
Personally, I've never heard the fan start (including during big tasks like a Cinnebench test).
Besides, we can't complain about the performance of this mini. If we really use it professionally to the point of burning it, it's probably better to go for the Mac Studio designed to do professional-level tasks permanently.

 

[tony359]

The maximum temperature I recorded on my Mac mini M4 (bought three months ago), only once went up to 98 degrees Celsius; and I do 4K editing with Resolve,

I'm not sure I could get to 98 with mine. The fan speeds up at around 83C, at that point the temps are kept around 80 or slightly below.

Maybe by running CPU and GPU at max... Resolve is usually GPU-centered and Cinebench is either CPU or GPU.

 

[Edouard Perreault]

I'm not sure I could get to 98 with mine. The fan speeds up at around 83C, at that point the temps are kept around 80 or slightly below.

Maybe by running CPU and GPU at max... Resolve is usually GPU-centered and Cinebench is either CPU or GPU.

The 98 degrees Celsius was during a multi-core Cinebench test, not using Resolve. Indeed, it never raises the temperature of the mini to that point.

 

[tony359]

This is weird.
I've just tested Cinebench 2024 on my Mac Mini (base model).

It takes 2m 45s for the temp to get to 80C, at that point the fan speeds up from 20% (minimum) to 24%. That's enough to keep the temp down to 80C (it oscillates between 81 to 83) and the fan eventually reaches 30% which is inaudible on my desk.

I've heard the fans speeding up more when exporting a 4K video with Resolve - the fan becomes audible but nothing too terrible. I guess that with Resolve you get 100% GPU and a good portion of the CPU being used?

But it's weird that we're getting so drastically different temps with Cinebench. I'm testing the GPU benchmark now and it seems even better than the CPU test: fan always at minimum and temp at 67C.

I see on Cinebench that my M4 seems to underperform compared to another one - it might be my previous test? Not sure. I haven't got something set to "low power", do I? (No, I am not in "low power mode")

 

[Edouard Perreault]

This is weird.
I've just tested Cinebench 2024 on my Mac Mini (base model).

It takes 2m 45s for the temp to get to 80C, at that point the fan speeds up from 20% (minimum) to 24%. That's enough to keep the temp down to 80C (it oscillates between 81 to 83) and the fan eventually reaches 30% which is inaudible on my desk.

Here are the results of my Cinebench tests (R23 and 2024) with the temperature recorded on my mini M4 by CleanMyMacX. For multicore, I note that after two minutes, it reaches a peak of 98 degrees Celsius, then drops slightly.

But what is interesting is that I never hear the fan as you mention, the temperature simply drops after the heat peak. The processor probably throttles itself with the temperature and reduces its load as a safety measure.

For GPU tests, it remains much more reasonable, turning around 80 degrees Celsius after the same test duration as for multicore. Maybe your temperature sensor acts differently from mine?
By the way, I am not in ‘Energy Saving’ mode either. 😆
Come on, full performance!

 

[tony359]

I get to 80C after 2m 45s - is your fan even spinning at all? It does feel that it is not.

I use smcfancontrol to monitor. Maybe it’s just showing different sensors?

 

[Edouard Perreault]

I get to 80C after 2m 45s - is your fan even spinning at all? It does feel that it is not.

I use smcfancontrol to monitor. Maybe it’s just showing different sensors?

No noise before, during and after 2min 45s in multicore test (and touching 98 degrees).
And my fan is running well, it is just completely silent. Happy with my mini! 😉