How loud is the fan in the MacBook Air at full speed?

[pgiguere1]

I have a 2009 MBP 15" (2.53GHz C2D) and a 2011 MBA 11" (i7).

When the fan are at full speed, both are exactly as loud. They don't make exactly the same noise but the volume is the same.

However, it takes much more intensive stuff to make my MBA's fans go at full speed, as the processor can handle more and is rarely at heavy load. I only hear the fans while gaming or playing flash videos while my laptop sits on fabric (pants, bed sheets, couch).

I never hear the fan while browsing or using casual applications, while it's the case with the 15" MBP. The fans basically only make noise when there is sound playing over it so it's not an issue.

 

[richpjr]

Wow. At least you recognize your hostility. Recognizing you have a problem is the first step in fixing it. If you can't handle a little criticism perhaps you should not be posting on the Internet.

Good luck with deciphering different people's definition of "loud" and "louder". I bet your MBA has a Toshiba SSD and LG screen and that is making you cranky...

Kind of amazing.

To the OP, have you had a chance to go to an Apple store and try them out? That would probably get everyone's subjectivity out of the picture.

 

[ZBoater]

I had previously avoided posting on this thread because of ZBoater. He would say the same thing when other criticized fan noise, or that it is perfectly okay for the CPU to run within 4-5C of TJunction.

Sorry if I drove you away from posting, but that just happens to be my opinion.

The fan at full blast makes a wooooosh sound that simply doesn't bother ME. I wouldn't call it loud. For others, it seems louder than a rock concert. That was the point of my response. The term "loud" when it comes to fan noise is relative.

And yes, it is perfectly ok for the CPU to run within 4-5C of TJunction. The processor is DESIGNED to tolerate that. If your CPU is running at that temperature from the moment you turn your laptop on and at all times, even when idle, THAT is a problem. Just because you push a processor from time to time and it gets up there, that doesn't mean it's a problem. There are thermal protections built into Intel CPUs to avoid damage.

 

[Adidas Addict]

I tell you something, my 2011 11" MBA's fans hardly ever ramp up, infact I haven't heard them yet. My 2010 13" MBA was pretty loud after only 5 mins or so scrolling round google earth street view (I do this a lot) but the current model is whisper quiet when doing this. I guess it's stressing the CPU less than the C2D so creating less heat.

 

[qwerf123]

I find the Macbook airs fans are marginally louder

 

[Hackfix21]

My 2011 MBA 13" is perfectly entirely utterly quiet. I don't hear any fan noise at all regardless of whether I'm browsing, watching a film, doing word processing etc.

With one major major exception. About 30 seconds after I start a game (anything more serious than solitaire) the fan gets going like an aircraft. Really badly. And it just keeps howling away, regardless whether I'm doing much or little in the game. It's the thing that is stopping me from playing games on this machine.

Equally, 30 seconds after quitting the game, the computer happily settles back into its totally quiet snooze.

 

[orfeas0]

Unless we are measuring this with a gizmo in decibels, this question is pointless. What is loud for you may not be loud for me.

FWIW, it's not loud.

He didn't ask if it was loud, he asked a comparison of the "loudness" between a mba and an mbp.
It's like if he asked "which is faster, mba or mbp15?" and you answered "well speed is relative to your needs, the mba is slow for me blablabla trolling trolling..."

No, not really. Same problem. My relative perception of sound is still pointless.

troll

What was that? I can't hear you...

ultra useless troll

I agree with ZBoater, sorry it is a dumb question. It is all relative. It's like comparing stock exhaust to Borla. I say they're similar, Borla is slightly louder. My mother in law says its 10 times louder. Sorry buddy, quit hating and go to a store and test it yourself.

How can your mother in law say its 10 times louder and you hear it at the same volume? It's not possible, sorry.

Ok, I think this is a dumb question.

Fans spin at different speeds. Even if you actually measured the volume, you'd also have to do it running comparable tasks. Otherwise a MBA encoding a movie might sound "louder" than an idle MBP.

The only way you are going to get an answer that remotely resembles something useful is for you to listen to both while you are doing a similar task (or maybe running smcfancontrol) so you can decide.

Does my opinion count for inclusion in your thread?

He asked for the MAXIMUM SPEED of the fans.
Please people, even if you don't want to help, at least read the starting post of the topic...

For me its not.
For some people it is.

It all depends

Read above.

Wow. At least you recognize your hostility. Recognizing you have a problem is the first step in fixing it. If you can't handle a little criticism perhaps you should not be posting on the Internet.

Good luck with deciphering different people's definition of "loud" and "louder". I bet your MBA has a Toshiba SSD and LG screen and that is making you cranky...

More troll... Seriously dude, don't you have a job or something?

Its been so rare that the fan actually comes on that its hard to judge. Its not very loud and I'd say its quieter than my iMac for sure.

The problem with asking this sort of question is that its too vague, and too dependent on personal opinion. There are two different (base) processors in the MBA and one runs hotter than the other thereby causing the fan to come on more often.

and hearing the fan more OFTEN might make it seem LOUDER, but it would just be the same decibel as before.

It's not about often, it's about max fan speed.

Sorry if I drove you away from posting, but that just happens to be my opinion.

The fan at full blast makes a wooooosh sound that simply doesn't bother ME. I wouldn't call it loud. For others, it seems louder than a rock concert. That was the point of my response. The term "loud" when it comes to fan noise is relative.

Compared to the 15" macbook pro isn't relativity!


@OP: But seriously, go check it out yourself... Someone must test his 2 machines at maximum full speed, good luck finding that person.

 

[ZBoater]

More troll... Seriously dude, don't you have a job or something?

Dude, seriously, I read your post and all I could think is "pot", "kettle", and "black". LOL!