How loud is the unibody MBP compared to the previous model?

[andyone]

Hi,

I own an early 2008 15" MBP, and the only thing that I don't like about it is the fan noise under load, e.g. when playing games. What is the situation with the unibody MBP? Is it quieter, louder, the same?

Thanks!
Andy

 

[Gabriel GR]

Hi,

I own an early 2008 15" MBP, and the only thing that I don't like about it is the fan noise under load, e.g. when playing games. What is the situation with the unibody MBP? Is it quieter, louder, the same?

Thanks!
Andy

Most of the time I can't even hear my 13". Not sure about the 15" with the extra fan but it's nearly dead silent. Especially now that I replaced the HDD with an SSD.

 

[Disc Golfer]

If I'm playing a graphics intensive game under windows my 13" 09 mbp fan gets going pretty good. I'm usually about ten feet from the computer with the audio going through the surround sound when playing games though so it's never been a problem, but I've noticed the fan does pick up a bit when the video card gets running. It might be annoying if I were in a silent room with the computer in my lap. I can't compare to older models.

 

[Pax]

Yep, I've got a 13" with both cores going 100%, fans are at 4000 rpm and I can hear it, but it's far from obtrusive. Perhaps like very distant traffic. In normal use the fans are at about 2000 rpm and I really can't hear them at all.

I guess at 6000 rpm the fans would be pretty noisy, but I've never heard them get anywhere near that.

Miles quieter than my old Macbook which was like a hairdryer when under load

 

[Disc Golfer]

Perhaps like very distant traffic.

Oya I didn't mention I live in a pretty dense area a half mile from a large bridge and a steel recycling plant, with a major port just on the other side. My tolerance to background noise may be higher than if I lived on a large piece of land in the forest or something. I still don't think it's super loud at its loudest, and I think it's silent the rest of the time. YMMV.

 

[andyone]

I like to listen to music, games, movies at rather low volumes, and often I have to turn up the volume as soon as the fans start kicking in, or I don't understand anything anymore. It's really annoying. I am using my MBP with an external monitor, btw. It's lying a few feet away from me on the table, closed most of the time, but I didn't find that opening it made any real difference in noise.

I would really like to hear an opinion of someone who knows both the unibody and the previous model and can compare them.

 

[Nein01]

Oya I didn't mention I live in a pretty dense area a half mile from a large bridge and a steel recycling plant, with a major port just on the other side. My tolerance to background noise may be higher than if I lived on a large piece of land in the forest or something. I still don't think it's super loud at its loudest, and I think it's silent the rest of the time. YMMV.

distant traffic! geez, i'm jealous. i can't wait to get a laptop.

my g5 tower sounds like an old window unit AC on full blast.

allllll the time...

i live on the busiest street in memphis and can't hear anything but my computer.

 

[ARF900]

Mine is dead silent even under load, the only time I hear anything is when im using a CD/DVD

Ripping/Burning can get REALLY loud

 

[Jottle]

I have a 15'' unibody The fans are pretty much silent under normal load. If you play any games or do any processor intensive activities, you'll be able to hear the fans at about 3000rpm. At full load (6000) while playing games, they make a subtle whistling noise (not too annoying and barely perceptible) and you can hear the air moving from across the room. They don't sound like jet engines, and they are quieter than the previous gen 15'' mbp. I think the 17'' actually has the quietest fans. They're large, move more air, and have no ball bearings.