Loud fans on 16" macbook pro

[Trixster]

I´m coming from a old (2014) 13" macbook pro and I'm amazed at how freaking! loud the fans on my new 16" mbp are. it's practically unbearable when I'm editing in Premiere Pro, as the fans spin up the noise level is really intense, so much that I'm forced to work with headphones with noice canceling.
I´m not sure if I'm just being silly about it, but the fans really annoy the crap out of me... so much that I'm thinking of giving up the mbp range altogether and exchanging it for an iMac.

Am I alone in this complaining? how loud are your mbp´s?

 

[MrGunnyPT]

It might be indexing via Spotlight for the first few days.

I did a migration from a 13" 2017 and the first few hours indexing all the documents were putting it crazy. This last few days have been fine, what I usually do is control fans via iStats.

 

[Trixster]

I´ve had it for two weeks so the indexing should be done by now, and the fans really only spins up when the cpu is under heavy load from editing, they really do spin up quickly though, and to a degree I haven't seen in any other laptop... it sounds more like an old desktop really.

 

[Fravin]

But wait a minute…
Fans are supposed to be spins up, right?

 

[Trixster]

But wait a minute…
Fans are supposed to be spins up, right?

ofcourse, but there are different degrees of, well... hell
Spinning fans are ofcourse normal, but on a 4´500€ machine I would assume that they would be "silent" fans, and not be this loud. But maybe it's because they are so thin, they need a higher rev count to be able to achieve the necessary airflow... still though, they are loud!

My question is really if anyone else have noticed the fans being louder then, what I would assume to be, normal?

 

[grmlin]

15" MacBook Pro's are very thing and light machines, with 45w CPUs and dedicated GPUs. They get VERY hot very fast if you put load on them.
The fans do of course run at full speed then, otherwise you would get the performance of a netbook with all the thermal throttling happening then.

I personally think the fan noise is good for a laptop, I heard other machines with insane fan noise. Higher pitch etc.

That said, if it bothers you and you don't need to edit on the go, you should absolutely go for an iMac imo. Fantastic screen, cheaper, quiet, user expandable memory...

 

[leman]

In my experience they are at least as loud as the 15”, maybe even a bit louder. But far from being the losers laptop on the market, it’s still quieter than Lenovo’s and Razer abladend etc. At any rate, the noise is different. It is possible that it might appear louder to you than you think. Or it might be broken.

 

[grmlin]

In my experience they are at least as loud as the 15”, maybe even a bit louder. But far from being the losers laptop on the market, it’s still quieter than Lenovo’s and Razer abladend etc. At any rate, the noise is different. It is possible that it might appear louder to you than you think. Or it might be broken.

Oh, it can of course be broken. In my experience MBP fans make a whooshing sound, while others sound like a hair dryer or jet engine.

 

[matram]

The 16" has higher cooling capacity. This means that at maximum temperature it is likely to make more noise to provide (a higher) max air flow.

At medium temperature the opposite should happen. Larger fans can spin more slowly to give the same airflow, which normally means lower noise.

 

[Trixster]

Thanks for all your input. Seems like this is normal then, it's probably just me being used to quieter machines... Will have to think this over, if portability is worth the extra noise. at this time, I honestly don't know...

 

[macrunach]

Hey, why don't you measure the decibels using a phone app and post it here. It easy to compare then.

 

[grmlin]

Decibel X on my iPhone says my 15" from 2019 hovers at around 55 decibels at full fan speed. (manually triggered by iStat) in clamshell mode

 

[leman]

The 16" has higher cooling capacity. This means that at maximum temperature it is likely to make more noise to provide (a higher) max air flow.

Not necessarily... they also have larger fans and also bigger air vents so they could achieve more airflow at lower rpm/noise levels. But we need some acoustic tests. I can't run any since I don't have the equipment.

 

[macrunach]

I haven't used any phone apps to conduct this analysis. But the correct way to analyse sound waves is to measure its amplitude and the frequency content. The amplitude would indicate 'loudness' and the frequency spectrum would indicate the type of sound 'whine, rumble' etc. By comparing the different spectra, one can deduce, if its defective or not, assuming background noise from other sources is minimal. Quick google check reveals this type of analysis is available with Decibel X.

I also want to mention that just running the fans to max speed may not be the only source of noise. Noise is also generated with a heat source and this interacts with the sound wave creating a thermoacoustic instability. This has the effect of creating high noise levels and is typically found in commercial heating and gas turbine engines. I have no clue if this happens in laptops, but interesting to investigate such phenomena.

 

[MacRS4]

My 16 i9/32Gb/1Tb unit is a lot louder than my 15 i9/32Gb/512Gb. As in I had them both running today, both under load through VMs, and the 16 was audibly louder.

Lot faster though, so there's that.

 

[matram]

Which is exactly what I said in the second part of my posting which you choose not to quote.

Not necessarily... they also have larger fans and also bigger air vents so they could achieve more airflow at lower rpm/noise levels. But we need some acoustic tests. I can't run any since I don't have the equipment.

At medium temperature the opposite should happen. Larger fans can spin more slowly to give the same airflow, which normally means lower noise.

 

[iemcj]

But wait a minute…
Fans are supposed to be spins up, right?

Except he's coming from a 2013 model and doing the same tasks, the "new" computer is the louder one which seems very backwards since technology is supposed to get better not worse.

 

[leman]

Which is exactly what I said in the second part of my posting which you choose not to quote.

Oh, I am in complete agreement with the second part of your posting, I just didn't agree with the first one

 

[Trixster]

My 16 i9/32Gb/1Tb unit is a lot louder than my 15 i9/32Gb/512Gb. As in I had them both running today, both under load through VMs, and the 16 was audibly louder.

Lot faster though, so there's that.

Thank you, then it might not just be me!

Except he's coming from a 2013 model and doing the same tasks, the "new" computer is the louder one which seems very backwards since technology is supposed to get better not worse.

actually, the 2014 mbp I had was only used for light editing, it was to slow to edit anything with 4k, but yes, under heavy load that machine is way quieter then this new 16" mbp. Might not be a fair comparison though, as I imagine its cpu has a lower tdp, and no discrete gpu. But nevertheless, the difference is, in my opinion, much bigger then what can be contributed to the tdp.

I will measure it with some decibel app tomorrow and let you guys know. It seems to use a bit less resources now though, the fans doesn't spin up as quickly... it might actually have been Premiere indexing new footage in the background that made the fans go nuts... we'll see, time will tell I guess.
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This is under some load, the cpu didn´t max out, think the fan speed was around 5500rpm in iStat.
it is idling around 2000rpm, barely noticeable (noice wise) at those speeds.

 

[Fravin]

Spinning fans are ofcourse normal, but on a 4´500€ machine I would assume that they would be "silent" fans, and not be this loud.

Well, you know. Better performance means more heat, that leads in fans kicking...

I still didn't get the point.

Want a silent computer? Buy a Macbook 12". No fans at all!!!!
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Except he's coming from a 2013 model and doing the same tasks, the "new" computer is the louder one which seems very backwards since technology is supposed to get better not worse.

So, you are proposing that newer computer shouldn't run hotter than old ones?

Is that your point?

If you don't want fans, try a MacBook. Maybe an iPadPro...

The 16"MBP runs hot because of the 5500M and their i7s (i9 are a way hoter). If you want a heck of a computer, you have to learn to live with the odds. The MacBook Air is there, you can even swap your 16"MBP for it.

 

[grmlin]

This is my 15" in clamshell with the fans at 5500/5900rpm. But it's pretty much the same noise when open.
I don't know how accurate the app is, but >70 decibels seems to be a lot louder than mine. I would compare it to other 16" models.

 

[Trixster]

This is my 15" in clamshell with the fans at 5500/5900rpm. But it's pretty much the same noise when open.
I don't know how accurate the app is, but >70 decibels seems to be a lot louder than mine. I would compare it to other 16" models.

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Thanks. it really depends on where you had the phone though, mine was just next to the computer, if I had it at ear level it would measure about what you got there (50db).

 

[jerryk]

If you do a lot video editing the iMac may be better choice. Portable machines sacrafice quietness, cost, and screen size. And having a iMac with a 27" display is a huge difference for editing videos. But then you tradeoff any notion of being portable.

 

[alphaod]

If you can use a desktop, it will preform better and be quieter.

I deal with the noise... and it's not any louder than my old 15"

 

[grmlin]

Thanks. it really depends on where you had the phone though, mine was just next to the computer, if I had it at ear level it would measure about what you got there (50db).

That was 1cm away from the vent slots of the MacBook. 😉

It's about 36 decibels where I sit near my ears, maybe 60cm away from the MacBook.

If the 70 decibels of yours are not even under full load, and given that the app tells the truth, I would definitely check other 16" models. And I would not keep it, that is way too loud imo.