M4 / M4 Pro fan noise

[dsaad89]

Well that looks like a custom build. Maybe call Apple first...they probably would like to have it back and "capture it" and maybe they can put a new replacement custom build order in front of the line of production.

Yes, it’s a custom build with 64GB RAM.

Do you have any suggestions how to contact them?

I live in Germany, I have already made appointments for Genius Bar for next week Tuesday. If there is another way to make it faster would be great.

I have made multiple videos, I wanted to share here but I couldn’t upload them.

 

[DeepSix]

I'm just blown away by the lack of fan noise on the M4 Pro. You really have to push the system to hear it. From the reviews I read said the M4 base model has noticeably louder fan noise due to only having one fan. Otherwise the M4 Pro model sounds exactly like an Air for everything else, which is completely silent. The appeal of the airs running 100% silent is no longer a feature for me anymore.

If you want the least fan noise, M4 Pro is the one to get due to having two fans so it doesn't have to spin as fast as the M4 base model. Im seriously very impressed by what Apple has accomplished.

 

[honcho]

I'm just blown away by the lack of fan noise on the M4 Pro. You really have to push the system to hear it. From the reviews I read said the M4 base model has noticeably louder fan noise due to only having one fan. Otherwise the M4 Pro model sounds exactly like an Air for everything else, which is completely silent. The appeal of the airs running 100% silent is no longer a feature for me anymore.

If you want the least fan noise, M4 Pro is the one to get due to having two fans so it doesn't have to spin as fast as the M4 base model. Im seriously very impressed by what Apple has accomplished.

This is music to my ears. I ordered a 14” M4 Pro 14/20 that is due to be delivered today. Coming from a 2019 MBP, I have been fretting about potential fan noise. I think five years of the i9 Intel MacBook Pro legit traumatised me. The noise was so obnoxious. The only thing that has been worse was my dual-processor G4 Quicksilver Mac in 2002. I had to get rid of it after a couple of months.

 

[PBG4 Dude]

This is music to my ears. I ordered a 14” M4 Pro 14/20 that is due to be delivered today. Coming from a 2019 MBP, I have been fretting about potential fan noise. I think five years of the i9 Intel MacBook Pro legit traumatised me. The noise was so obnoxious. The only thing that has been worse was my dual-processor G4 Quicksilver Mac in 2002. I had to get rid of it after a couple of months.

Got mine last night and have done updates, installs, and restores from Time Machine. Haven’t heard the fan yet. Even playing around with the 76 track demo song in Logic Pro isn’t enough to get the fans’ motors running.

Will be installing Blender soon but have work and cooking duties to complete before I can truly dive into my new machine (that apple pie isn’t gonna bake itself!).

 

[neuralengine]

I’ve had my 14" M4 Pro (unbinned) for a couple weeks and have only heard the fans come on when running Cinebench. I’ve never heard them in normal use. In fact, I ran Cinebench to make sure the fans were there and to see what they sounded like.

Mind you, I don’t do a lot of GPU-bound things like LLMs or gaming. I think those things do tend to get the fans going.

When they did come on during the benchmark, it was a pleasant, steady white noise that was relatively quiet compared to the 2020 i9 iMac I had.

 

[honcho]

Got mine last night and have done updates, installs, and restores from Time Machine. Haven’t heard the fan yet. Even playing around with the 76 track demo song in Logic Pro isn’t enough to get the fans’ motors running.

Will be installing Blender soon but have work and cooking duties to complete before I can truly dive into my new machine (that apple pie isn’t gonna bake itself!).

Mine arrived this evening. I’ve been setting it up, installing software, transferring data. It’s lightning fast and the machine is completely silent (I live in a rural area with no perceptible ambient noise apart from the occasional hoot of an owl). After the i9, I am in state of shock.

Also, going from 16” to 14”. I’m absolutely in love with the smaller form factor. I’m going to put the machine through its paces tomorrow, but so far, this upgrade is amazing.

 

[Performa 6300]

Fan Noise is a non-issue on the 16 at least. Having owned many laptops this thing is a cut above and it's not even close. Pushing it will ramp them but that's part of the rub with any PC/Laptop. The light/mid workloads/gaming you won't even hear the fans.

 

[someoneoutthere]

I have an M1 Pro 16" and I only hear the fans kick in when I am gaming during the summer (hotter ambient temperatures) - other than that during my every day use, I am yet to hear them go off all these years.

 

[DeepSix]

Mine arrived this evening. I’ve been setting it up, installing software, transferring data. It’s lightning fast and the machine is completely silent (I live in a rural area with no perceptible ambient noise apart from the occasional hoot of an owl). After the i9, I am in state of shock.

Also, going from 16” to 14”. I’m absolutely in love with the smaller form factor. I’m going to put the machine through its paces tomorrow, but so far, this upgrade is amazing.

Make sure you check your keys and make sure they all press okay. There is huge variation from unit to unit on the keyboards according to posts on Reddit. One guy already exchanged his 14 Pro five times. Some feel mushy, some are firm. Im luckily got a firm one.

Im seriously blown away. When not doing heavy tasks this is pretty much Air fanless like sound operation. Ive never used a laptop before that runs this silent. I loved how the Air was completely silent and fanless and always saw that as an advtange of the Airs but now I see the Pro as an advantage because the fans will go on if needed.

I use a Pro M1 16" for work and Im glad I got the 14. The 16" is just too heavy. Im pleasantly surprised that the 14" is still very portable. Coming from the Air 13 the extra weigh is noticeable but the Pro 14 is just slightly larger and I don't mind the extra weight.

 

[DeepSix]

I’ve had my 14" M4 Pro (unbinned) for a couple weeks and have only heard the fans come on when running Cinebench. I’ve never heard them in normal use. In fact, I ran Cinebench to make sure the fans were there and to see what they sounded like.

Mind you, I don’t do a lot of GPU-bound things like LLMs or gaming. I think those things do tend to get the fans going.

When they did come on during the benchmark, it was a pleasant, steady white noise that was relatively quiet compared to the 2020 i9 iMac I had.

Same, I ran Cinebench last night and it's the only time Ive ever heard the fans come on. Otherwise it's pretty much an Air for silentness.

 

[honcho]

Make sure you check your keys and make sure they all press okay. There is huge variation from unit to unit on the keyboards according to posts on Reddit. One guy already exchanged his 14 Pro five times. Some feel mushy, some are firm. Im luckily got a firm one.

Im seriously blown away. When not doing heavy tasks this is pretty much Air fanless like sound operation. Ive never used a laptop before that runs this silent. I loved how the Air was completely silent and fanless and always saw that as an advtange of the Airs but now I see the Pro as an advantage because the fans will go on if needed.

I use a Pro M1 16" for work and Im glad I got the 14. The 16" is just too heavy. Im pleasantly surprised that the 14" is still very portable. Coming from the Air 13 the extra weigh is noticeable but the Pro 14 is just slightly larger and I don't mind the extra weight.

I’ll check my keys when I get home to make sure they are OK. I didn’t feel anything amiss last night, but I was so focused on the silence, speed and beautiful screen, it might have escaped my notice.

Yes, 16” is too heavy and bulky. I think that was the reason my last laptop didn’t see that much use. As I am retired, I didn’t need it for work, so I used my iPad 99% of the time. It’s telling that, after five years, my 16” MBP has a battery with 92% capacity and not very many cycles. I’ll certainly be using the 14” on my lap while on the couch and at the kitchen table without feeling like I am lugging a workstation around.

Even though I owned and loved a couple of G4 PowerBooks back in the day, in more recent times, I have always found even the 13” too small. The 14” seems to be the perfect compromise. I will get a Studio Display next year for the occasions when I need more screen real estate. I can’t wait.

 

[DeepSix]

I’ll check my keys when I get home to make sure they are OK. I didn’t feel anything amiss last night, but I was so focused on the silence, speed and beautiful screen, it might have escaped my notice.

Yes, 16” is too heavy and bulky. I think that was the reason my last laptop didn’t see that much use. As I am retired, I didn’t need it for work, so I used my iPad 99% of the time. It’s telling that, after five years, my 16” MBP has a battery with 92% capacity and not very many cycles. I’ll certainly be using the 14” on my lap while on the couch and at the kitchen table without feeling like I am lugging a workstation around.

Even though I owned and loved a couple of G4 PowerBooks back in the day, in more recent times, I have always found even the 13” too small. The 14” seems to be the perfect compromise. I will get a Studio Display next year for the occasions when I need more screen real estate. I can’t wait.

The 16" is nice to use for the screen real estate, I really enjoy using the one at work. I did consider the 16" for myself because it has better thermals and better speakers than the 14 but it's clunky to transport it around. Doesn't fit into small spaces very well. Feels like a huge slab of metal. Im surprised that I actually prefer the screen on the Pro over the air. Not just because it's mini LED and gives a better picture but the extra 0.6" of screen real estate is nice and doesn't feel as cramped as the 13.6" on the Air. And this is coming from someone who has always preferred 13" laptops.

The keyboard on the Pro M4 is noticeably better than the ones on the M3 Air. But still leaves a lot to be desired. I notice my #4 key and a couple others shows more backlit when seen from a certain angle. So that means it could be sitting slightly higher than the rest of the keys. Even though I can't see it or feel it when I run my fingers along that row. Not sure if I'm going to exchange it but this definitely should not be happening on a device this expensive.

 

[honcho]

The 16" is nice to use for the screen real estate, I really enjoy using the one at work. I did consider the 16" for myself because it has better thermals and better speakers than the 14 but it's clunky to transport it around. Doesn't fit into small spaces very well. Feels like a huge slab of metal. Im surprised that I actually prefer the screen on the Pro over the air. Not just because it's mini LED and gives a better picture but the extra 0.6" of screen real estate is nice and doesn't feel as cramped as the 13.6" on the Air. And this is coming from someone who has always preferred 13" laptops.

The keyboard on the Pro M4 is noticeably better than the ones on the M3 Air. But still leaves a lot to be desired. I notice my #4 key and a couple others shows more backlit when seen from a certain angle. So that means it could be sitting slightly higher than the rest of the keys. Even though I can't see it or feel it when I run my fingers along that row. Not sure if I'm going to exchange it but this definitely should not be happening on a device this expensive.

Strangely, I noticed the same issue with my 4 key last night. I was using the MBP in bed so I was at a 45-degree angle. It didn’t really bother me, though. I’m going to check my keyboard more carefully when I get home shortly. It seemed OK but best to be sure before the 14-day return window closes.

 

[DeepSix]

Strangely, I noticed the same issue with my 4 key last night. I was using the MBP in bed so I was at a 45-degree angle. It didn’t really bother me, though. I’m going to check my keyboard more carefully when I get home shortly. It seemed OK but best to be sure before the 14-day return window closes.

Only 14-day return policy? Where did you buy it from? If you bought from Best Buy you have the extended holiday policy that goes until the third week of January 2025.

Make sure you check all the outer keys like shift, delete, return. Press on the inside of the keys a few times, then press a few times in the middle of the keys and then a few times on the outside part of the keys.

Notice how it feels different each time you change position? And you can hear that it sounds different from each position when it bottoms out.

 

[raythompsontn]

I’ve had my 14" M4 Pro (unbinned)

How do you know if the chip is binned or unbinned? I was under the impression that the entire die for the M4 chips was configured as the MAX. Those chips that have failures in one or more of the modules have enough modules disabled to bring the chip down to the highest level of good modules. (A module being a GPU or CPU.)

 

[honcho]

Only 14-day return policy? Where did you buy it from? If you bought from Best Buy you have the extended holiday policy that goes until the third week of January 2025.

Make sure you check all the outer keys like shift, delete, return. Press on the inside of the keys a few times, then press a few times in the middle of the keys and then a few times on the outside part of the keys.

Notice how it feels different each time you change position? And you can hear that it sounds different from each position when it bottoms out.

I’m in the UK. Bought online from the Apple Store.I checked my 2019 MBP and the keys seem evenly backlit even when viewed at a fairly shallow angle. Will check the feel of the keys later. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[PBG4 Dude]

Not only has this laptop been totally silent, it’s the first laptop I’ve owned that is cool enough for me to actually use on my lap. It’s stayed as cool as my iPad, which is awesome to me.

 

[neuralengine]

How do you know if the chip is binned or unbinned? I was under the impression that the entire die for the M4 chips was configured as the MAX. Those chips that have failures in one or more of the modules have enough modules disabled to bring the chip down to the highest level of good modules. (A module being a GPU or CPU.)

Oh, interesting! I did not know that.

By unbinned I just meant the 14-core CPU / 20-core GPU version.

 

[raythompsontn]

Oh, interesting! I did not know that.

I am not saying this is fact. Apple may run three chip lines, base, pro and max. The binning may be done on those three lines. Or maybe Apple runs two lines, base/pro for one max for the other. I suspect they run just one chip line and the base, pro and max are separated during final testing.

Intel does this on their chips. All models come from the same die and have parts disabled that don't work bringing the chip down to a lower level. Intel will also lower the clock speed of chips that flounder under higher clock speeds thus giving lower performance.

It is incredibly expensive to make a silicone wafer, create the die, making the layers, etc. I cannot imagine a company running several die lines to create chips. It would be cheaper, and more effective, to have one die line and then separate the chips based on faults. So if a chip has 14 GPU cores, and two cores have flaws, the cores are disabled by laser and the chip sold as a 12 core GPU.

If the chip maker did not do this the yield for the die would be very low and the cost would be dramatically higher. Having a common die line saves money on production by using as many of the chips on the wafer as possible. I highly suspect that Apple does the exact same thing.

 

[dsaad89]

UPDATE:

The first MacBook Pro 14” M4 Max had faulty fans (it had a grinding noise when it started) and I returned it, and I got a replacement today. The new one I got has always had a fan on. I don’t know why.

Honestly, I don’t want to return it again.

I have another MacBook Pro 16” M3 Max from work, and I’ve never heard the sound of the fan since the day I got it.

 

[throAU]

I am not saying this is fact. Apple may run three chip lines, base, pro and max. The binning may be done on those three lines. Or maybe Apple runs two lines, base/pro for one max for the other. I suspect they run just one chip line and the base, pro and max are separated during final testing.

Intel does this on their chips. All models come from the same die and have parts disabled that don't work bringing the chip down to a lower level. Intel will also lower the clock speed of chips that flounder under higher clock speeds thus giving lower performance.

It is incredibly expensive to make a silicone wafer, create the die, making the layers, etc. I cannot imagine a company running several die lines to create chips. It would be cheaper, and more effective, to have one die line and then separate the chips based on faults. So if a chip has 14 GPU cores, and two cores have flaws, the cores are disabled by laser and the chip sold as a 12 core GPU.

If the chip maker did not do this the yield for the die would be very low and the cost would be dramatically higher. Having a common die line saves money on production by using as many of the chips on the wafer as possible. I highly suspect that Apple does the exact same thing.

I doubt that max and pro are the same die, as there's a lot to be gained by attempting to build smaller parts. you get a lower defect rate overall when attempting to build smaller parts, and the double GPU size on the max is just a lot of wasted die (a full pro GPU worth, plus the extra memory controllers, media engine, etc.) to potentially fully disable to bin it down to a pro. Plus you can build a lot more pros on a given wafer if you intend to build smaller pros which means more profit per wafer.

This is why both pro and max have "binned" and "un binned" (to use the terminology here in thread) variants. I would wager the defect rate is low enough that two variants for each "line" (the lines being M4, M4 pro and M4 max) is enough to get good utilisation of the dies they're producing.

 

[honcho]

Two weeks on, I am yet to hear the fans on my 14” M4 Pro 14/20. I analysed 1000 audio files last night, parallel processing. Nothing. Coming from the 2019 Intel i9, it blows my mind.

 

[throAU]

Funny you say that yet according to reviews, it’s seems just the opposite??

If you set high power mode the fans will come on, and they will come on hard to enable the SOC to run as fast as possible. If you want a quiet machine…. don’t do that. Set auto (fans on but reasonable for a machine working hard) or low power mode in which case the machine (even my 16/40 14” max - the “Worst” configuration for thermals and noise) will be almost or entirely silent.

 

[tarzanyow]

16" m4 pro owner here, since day 1 purchase use till now, fans never spin before, use a lot PS, and capcut.

 

[theanimaster]

Based on my experience with my M4Pro 14" MacBook Pro -- fans don't go on at with normal graphics design. In fact, I can't seem to push the CPU and Memory usage to their limits. So the fans stay off.

Now it becomes a "liiiiiiiiitle" different when gaming, and I tested my son's M4base 14" MacBook Pro just to rule out any discrepancies between the two:

Civilization VII has my fans going on 50-51% and temps of up to 80+ celsius sounds like... fans.
Starcraft 2 will get the fans going similar, maybe just a smidge more quiet.

You want to hear LOUD? Try Draw Things (AI generative art app) -- and you will get fans at 100% Fortunately I don't do a lot of generative AI. Yet. And even then, renders are about 2-5 minutes -- so I'm not overtaxing my MacBook. Or at least I hope not.

I am good about frying out graphics cards in Macs. As in, I've burned out my 2005 iMac G5 graphics once, and the ATI Radeon in my 2011 15" MacBook Pro TWICE. Gotta hand it to the 2011 MacBook Pro though -- that thing lasted me over 10 years before I replaced it with a M2 MacMini (which I traded in for the M4Pro MacBook Pro almost 2 years later).