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Mac studio v1 fan noise - it's going to be one of the loudest Macs at idle.
- Thread starter AdamSeen
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If you don't mind, please do us a favor and run a multicore Cinebench r23 benchmark and let's see how loud it gets.
Cinebench Release 23 Installers (maxon.net)
Hmm, I went to my local Apple Store (Norwich, UK) and they had Mac Studio on display (with M1 Max). I couldn't hear any noise from it from roughly 2-3 feet distance. The store is of course quite noisy environment, so I turned the Studio around and put my ear directly to the vents (I actually touched the vents with my ear) - there was cold air blowing out and barely audible hum. The Studio was running Safari with several tabs open. My wife was with me and she couldn't hear the fans neither.
If that's what the noise from Mac Studio is, I'm more than fine with that. This thread got me worried, but my personal experience today tells me that people hearing the "loud" noise at idle are exaggerating "slightly".
I'm going to buy M1 Ultra 128GB/4TB for my home music studio later this year.
If that's what the noise from Mac Studio is, I'm more than fine with that. This thread got me worried, but my personal experience today tells me that people hearing the "loud" noise at idle are exaggerating "slightly".
I'm going to buy M1 Ultra 128GB/4TB for my home music studio later this year.
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No, no, no... what's need here is a "gate" -- Studio Fangate... Sudiogate... Noisegate....???
It is also possible that some units have the issues and others don't. Not all parts are sourced from one vendor. Also, some frequencies are not audible to everyone, especially in the older set.If that's what the noise from Mac Studio is, I'm more than fine with that. This thread got me worried, but my personal experience today tells me that people hearing the "loud" noise at idle are exaggerating "slightly".
I think the word you’re looking for is Millenialgate or maybe Ithinkmyopinionmatterstoomuchinternetposterirrelevantgate.
It's obviously a lot quieter than a typical desktop PC but we expected the zero noise we experienced on previous m1 base macs but it has a fan hum which can be quite annoying for those who have experienced other m1 macsHmm, I went to my local Apple Store (Norwich, UK) and they had Mac Studio on display (with M1 Max). I couldn't hear any noise from it from roughly 2-3 feet distance. The store is of course quite noisy environment, so I turned the Studio around and put my ear directly to the vents (I actually touched the vents with my ear) - there was cold air blowing out and barely audible hum. The Studio was running Safari with several tabs open. My wife was with me and she couldn't hear the fans neither.
If that's what the noise from Mac Studio is, I'm more than fine with that. This thread got me worried, but my personal experience today tells me that people hearing the "loud" noise at idle are exaggerating "slightly".
I'm going to buy M1 Ultra 128GB/4TB for my home music studio later this year.
I went to an aircraft carrier and they had a rock band playing. I stood right next to them as a jet plane took off 3 metres away. The band was gesticulating and going hard with their instruments. I put my ear right next to the speakers and as they bled out, I could hardly hear them. The groundcrew were frantically trying to hand me some ear defenders, there was no way they could hear the rock band, either.Hmm, I went to my local Apple Store (Norwich, UK) and they had Mac Studio on display (with M1 Max). I couldn't hear any noise from it from roughly 2-3 feet distance. The store is of course quite noisy environment, so I turned the Studio around and put my ear directly to the vents (I actually touched the vents with my ear) - there was cold air blowing out and barely audible hum. The Studio was running Safari with several tabs open. My wife was with me and she couldn't hear the fans neither.
If that's what the noise from Mac Studio is, I'm more than fine with that. This thread got me worried, but my personal experience today tells me that people hearing the "loud" noise at idle are exaggerating "slightly".
I'm going to buy M1 Ultra 128GB/4TB for my home music studio later this year.
As the jet launched off and there was an audible ringing that became the only thing I could hear, I realised that people are exaggerating about rock bands being loud and I’m happy for them to have a concert right next to my house in a few weeks time.
I went to an aircraft carrier and they had a rock band playing. I stood right next to them as a jet plane took off 3 meters away and I could STILL hear my Mac Studio.
I don't think there is a need for sarcasm. Unless you are desperately trying to prove your point ?
I just described MY today's experience and subsequent PERSONAL opinion. You can always return your Studio or not buy it, if it's not for you due to YOUR tolerance for noise level from it.
In that case ? best if you return it. Why torment yourself with those unbearable noise levels?
It might also simply be that some people's hearing is just more sensitive than others.If that's what the noise from Mac Studio is, I'm more than fine with that. This thread got me worried, but my personal experience today tells me that people hearing the "loud" noise at idle are exaggerating "slightly".
E.g. I have a younger (adult) brother who can not hear some things I'm complaining about. Apparently, him having gone to rock concerts in his youth while I was into the clubbing experience has made a difference.
I almost envy him. Almost.
you’ve entirely MISSED my point. My point was: sound is relative - you can’t deduce the quietness of something in a loud environment.
You also dismissed a group of people as exaggerating “slightly” (isn’t that the same sarcasm that you berated me for using?). But your method of deduction was completely flawed. If I’d walked into an Apple shop and listened to it, I would have the same conclusion as you if I didn’t know any better.
At the beginning of the thread I state that most people shouldn’t worry and give instructions on how to determine if you will even notice it. If your office isn’t super quiet it won’t matter as the noise floor will be higher than the computer.
"ArtisRight" made a great review/video about the Mac Studio Max in regards to "Real World Photo Apps".
Here he briefly talks about fan noise on his Max version:
So, it's clearly audible a couple of feet away. This will bother me but it might be totally fine for others.
Here he briefly talks about fan noise on his Max version:
So, it's clearly audible a couple of feet away. This will bother me but it might be totally fine for others.
I cannot test it at home yet, so that was the only available to me (imperfect) way to check for noise level. I agree with what you’ve said in general, it all depends on one’s personal hearing sensitivity and ambient noise. I also said that while putting my ear directly to the exhaust, I could hear slight hum.
I might be deaf, but I’ve had hearing test recently and it’s fine for my age (51).
I only took issue with people saying Studio is loud at idle. For me, loud is HP Z4 or Dell workstations (about 40-50dB at idle) or any PC gaming tower. Mac Studio has audible fans, but seems to be near silent in comparison.
I considered my Mac Pro 2013 virtually silent, so my tolerance for noise level is certainly high.
Haven’t ordered yet, need to see new Mac Pro first and compare with Studio. If I go with Studio, it will be Ultra 128GB/4TB.
Fan in the Max base model is running at all times. Coming from an iMac that was always silent, this is annoying.
If you’ve got to spend 4 grand just get a quiet one , then that’s me out of the equation
If I’m blowing that much I might as well wait for the updated Mac Pro and go all out .
I had a Mac Pro in 2006 and while it wasn’t very quiet it was very very fast ? and unlike the studio very very upgradeable
If I’m blowing that much I might as well wait for the updated Mac Pro and go all out .
I had a Mac Pro in 2006 and while it wasn’t very quiet it was very very fast ? and unlike the studio very very upgradeable
This thread had me a bit worried until the excellent advice to test the decibel levels of my home environment - 40 dB at 7AM before the city outside comes to life, so I don't think the fan noise will stress me out too much. Another big win for us godless urban millennials!
Some say you can lower the fan speed from its default. From 1300 to 1100 rpm, I think? Isn't it quite unusual for a Mac that you can do that? AFAIK, most other Macs have the default set at the lowest rpm possible.
That makes me wonder why Apple chose to set the default higher than seems to be necessary. And how safe is it to lower that default?
Also, for those that have tried lowering the default rpm. Does it ramp up the fans quickly when you start doing stuff? Or does it still take a lot to make it go above the lowest speed?
That makes me wonder why Apple chose to set the default higher than seems to be necessary. And how safe is it to lower that default?
Also, for those that have tried lowering the default rpm. Does it ramp up the fans quickly when you start doing stuff? Or does it still take a lot to make it go above the lowest speed?
Yip, I noticed that from the minute I turned it on and its not got any less over the last couple of days while I complete setup. In my office just now, the CPU is showing 90% idle, but I can hear the fans.
I don't have any music playing, I'm not on any conference calls at the moment, so that's obviously got to be taken in to account, but I'm a bit disappointed at the level of them given the system is doing nothing. My benchmark for this sort of stuff was the iMac Pro which was utterly silent unless I was really pushing it.
Its averaging 32dB at that sort of load.