New MBA 13'' i7: Two Issues - normal?

[keyser]

Hi everyone,

I got my 13'' MBA i7 about a week ago and I'm very happy with the performance.

I have two "noise"-regarding issues, though:

1. My Fan is always running - it's very quite, but noticeable. It runs at approx. 2000rpm when in idle. Is that normal? I hear that some MBAs are really dead-quite. I can't say that.

2. My MBA does make a (also very silent but noticable) "scratching" sound e.g. when scrolling on websites. It sounds a bit like an old Hard Disk working (I know it can't be the SSD - but still that's what it sounds like)

Do any of you have similar effects? It's no biggie but it's annoying and I can't stop noticing it Am I correct to expect absolute silence while doing light tasks like surfing (no flash sites), or is it something I will have to live with?

Thanks in advance!

 

[iZeeshan]

I have an i5 13" and it's dead silent right now, like not even a little bit of fan noise, even if I hold it close up to my ear. All I'm doing is web surfing though at 2100 rpm. Even when I'm watching a 720-1080p video, I'll occasionally pause, and the fans will be silent.

I have no idea about the second one though.

 

[Roman2K~]

1. My Fan is always running - it's very quite, but noticeable. It runs at approx. 2000rpm when in idle. Is that normal? I hear that some MBAs are really dead-quite. I can't say that.

My 2010 13" makes a faint buzzing noise at 2000 RPM (minimum speed), but I can only hear it with my ear very close to the top of the keyboard.

The 2011 is absolutely dead silent. iFixit have noted that Apple specifically used good amounts of oil in the fan, this time around.

If I was you, I would take it to the Genius bar.

2. My MBA does make a (also very silent but noticable) "scratching" sound e.g. when scrolling on websites. It sounds a bit like an old Hard Disk working (I know it can't be the SSD - but still that's what it sounds like)

I bet you can year that sound only when plugged to the wall. Never had this problem on a MacBook, but it happened to me once on a desktop computer. The sound came from the motherboard (something about capacitors vibrating in response to increased charge in the power supply).

Nothing major apparently. Just another chore for the Genius to take care of .

 

[keyser]

My 2010 13" makes a faint buzzing noise at 2000 RPM (minimum speed), but I can only hear it with my ear very close to the top of the keyboard.

The 2011 is absolutely dead silent. iFixit have noted that Apple specifically used good amounts of oil in the fan, this time around.

If I was you, I would take it to the Genius bar.



I bet you can year that sound only when plugged to the wall. Never had this problem on a MacBook, but it happened to me once on a desktop computer. The sound came from the motherboard (something about capacitors vibrating in response to increased charge in the power supply).

Nothing major apparently. Just another chore for the Genius to take care of .

Thank you! You are 100% correct. If I unplug it, the noise is gone. Furthermore I just noticed it only occurs when I scroll in Google Chrome (Safari is silent). Also it only makes the sound when the MBA is connected to my external monitor. When I only use the MBA itself, there's nothing.

Also, I just compared the 2000rpm Fan-Noise of my i7 with the sound of my buddy's i5. While I wouldnt say that mine is louder, it is buzzing on a "different frequency" which makes it more noticeable. Sitting in front of his i5, it seems completely silent except for when you put you ear directly on the keyboard. My i7 is definitely noticeable when sitting normally in front of it.

I was going to get an i5 anyway but they didnt have them in stock at the Apple Store, so I went for the i7. I am thinking of returning it for an i5 - will I have to make any excuses or refer to my noise problems or will they just swap it without asking since I'm in the 14-days timeframe?

Thanks again for the great help.

 

[KPOM]

2000 rpm is normal for the fan, and it is pretty quiet on the new models.