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Macbook Pro Retina noise (not fan)

B

Blue604

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 6, 2012
163
0
I just want to see if other owners of retina macbook experience the same. I am not talking about fan noise. There is this really faint noise that sounds like it's reading hard drive. It happens when I scroll thru HD thumbnails (and it lags a bit during scrolling), searching spotlight, opening certain movies files. It's more obvious when the fans are at low speed (2000rpm)

For retina macbook, can any other components make noise besides the fans?
 
Blue604 said:
I just want to see if other owners of retina macbook experience the same. I am not talking about fan noise. There is this really faint noise that sounds like it's reading hard drive. It happens when I scroll thru HD thumbnails (and it lags a bit during scrolling), searching spotlight, opening certain movies files. It's more obvious when the fans are at low speed (2000rpm)

For retina macbook, can any other components make noise besides the fans?
Click to expand...

Could be CPU. CPUs can make noise that sounds as you're describing, like almost an HD drive noise sounds. Probably other chips do too
 
so the slight lag when scrolling thru videos thumbnails in iMovie are normal?

I am quite impressed with the smooth scrolling with aperture. I have more than 25000 photos stored.
 
unwinded said:
Could be CPU. CPUs can make noise that sounds as you're describing, like almost an HD drive noise sounds. Probably other chips do too
Click to expand...

Uhh. No.

Only large coils make noise and you wont find any on your CPU.

More than likely what you're experiencing is some kind of electromagnetic interference sending signals to the speakers although I've not noticed any problems with my rMBP.
 
Blue604 said:
I just want to see if other owners of retina macbook experience the same. I am not talking about fan noise. There is this really faint noise that sounds like it's reading hard drive. It happens when I scroll thru HD thumbnails (and it lags a bit during scrolling), searching spotlight, opening certain movies files. It's more obvious when the fans are at low speed (2000rpm)

For retina macbook, can any other components make noise besides the fans?
Click to expand...
Maybe you are a bit more sensitive to very low-frequency noises that are undetectable for most people.

i.e. Tinnitus
 
Power Cable

My MBPR has the same noise and I just discovered that it only happens when the power cable is plugged into the machine. That makes me feel a little better, but it's still a little annoying. This fact also seems to point to some kind of electromagnetic interference. My partner's MBPR doesn't make a noise though.
 
I have a few SSDs that "squeal" when you read or write to it. One of them is 4 years old and still works great to this day. It's just something I've learned to live with.

If it bothers you, have it replaced under warranty.
 
My 2006 17" MBP would emit a high-pitched "whine", for lack of a better word, when I scrolled a heavy web page up and down. It was only audible during the scrolling, and only when using the built-in display. My conclusion was that it was an electronic component, perhaps the GPU or CPU, that was causing this high frequency noise during times of increased CPU/GPU usage.

I remember reading threads from a couple years ago about people experiencing this with their Mac Pros. Some of those issues were resolved by replacing the power supply, so maybe it's a power-related issue.
 
i think i am experiencing the same noise as you are (15" mbp retina display), although it has been a month, i only just noticed it now...

it sounds like its coming from under the upper left hand corner of the keyboard (under the 1, 2, 3, q, w, e keys). Sounds like a motor and it's ongoing. Definitely not my fans but could it be something stuck in the left fan? when I rotate my macbook it does pause, change frequency etc.
Any suggestions?
 
I have the same issue. High pitched sound coming from upper left part of MBP+R keyboard. It sounds like an old HDD would sound when you copy a file, or it is reading data from the SSD.

I tried unplugging my power as someone here suggested, and it actually stopped making the sound. I'm guessing there is some interference signals between the power supply and the CPU which is being picked up by the speaker. I've had my MBP+R for almost a year and I really just noticed the sound today. Not sure when it started...
 
Inverter boards or transistors can make this kind of hum. My 2006 MBP does it like crazy. Doesn't seem to hurt anything (it's still all original except for the battery with no problems) but it's a bit irritating.

Oddly enough, with my older model turning the iSight camera on mitigated the issue, indicating to me it's a power draw problem. You might experiment with power toggling different components and see what happens.
 
I had a 15" mbpr refurb over Easter it made a constant whiring noise, sent it back for a brand new one and it is silent.
 
Guys, solid state chips don't make noise. What's likely happening is that electrical noise is making its way into the audio components and getting picked up. I'd be willing to bet that if you put your ears to the speakers that's where you'll find the noise coming from. It would indicate bad grounding inside the unit.
 
I have the same issue (Mac retina 15"). Found someone else who had the same issue and he saved me from clawing my ears out.

Turn the brightness up (or down depending) and the noise goes away.

EDIT: I second the noise being picked up by the speakers. This isn't fan related.
 
Blue604 said:
I just want to see if other owners of retina macbook experience the same. I am not talking about fan noise. There is this really faint noise that sounds like it's reading hard drive. It happens when I scroll thru HD thumbnails (and it lags a bit during scrolling), searching spotlight, opening certain movies files. It's more obvious when the fans are at low speed (2000rpm)

For retina macbook, can any other components make noise besides the fans?
Click to expand...

I just had a talk to the Apple Support about that and they told me to reset the SMC (Shutdown; Shift+Alt+Ctrl+Power) and it worked for me. I'll tell you if it comes back.
 
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