New MBPr - Are these sounds normal?

[newbourne]

Hi guys!

Received a brand new mid 2014 MBPr 13" 128GB earlier this week. I'm new to Mac and new to SSD, but I noticed some sounds which made me wonder, if they are supposed to be there?

1. When I turn on the Macbook, there's a short spinning sound on the right side of the trackpad. It almost sounds like a HDD spinning up, but my guess is it's a fan, and that the sound is suppose to be there?
2. When I wake up the Macbook from sleep, there's a short click. Seems to come from the left side next to the trackpad. Is it the SSD that connects or something like that?
3. When I transfer a large amount of files, or run Blackmagic Speed Test, there's a strange sound coming from the left of the trackpad. I'm quite sure it's not a fan. It's not very loud, but when I sit in a silent room, I can hear it clearly. I can best describe it as the sound of a coffee vacuum pot/thermo, which makes this distinct sound after a while after you close the lid.
   If I boot the computer and run Blackmagic, the sound is not there immediately, but after hitting start/stop a few times, it's there. It stops immediately when I press stop. Afterwards I can also hear the sound briefly, even if I open a small document in Pages.
   My best bet is that it's the SSD, since the sound is only there, when I read/write on the drive. But shouldn't the SSD be inaudible? No moving parts.
4. Finally, the charger makes a strange noise. It's mostly there, when the computer is fully charged, and the charger is still connected. The sound seems to change character, when I scroll on a page. It not very loud, but it sounds almost like an old 56k modem.

 

[eezacque]

Doesn't sound good (indeed, ssd is supposed to be silent)

 

[Tourgott]

My best bet is that it's the SSD, since the sound is only there, when I read/write on the drive. But shouldn't the SSD be inaudible? No moving parts.

Yep. I had the same strange noise on the 128 GB SSD. I returned it. My new one is absolutely silent.

 

[markyr17]

Really odd. My 2013 is absolutely silent. There shouldn't be moving parts other than the fans AFAIK

 

[MagicBoy]

Most likely some variant of frequency or coil whine. It's not uncommon in SSDs when benchmarked.

Some people can hear it, some can't.

 

[newbourne]

Thanks guys!

Please comment on all four issues, if you can.

Issue number 3 alone with the coffee-pot-sounding SSD makes me consider returning it. But if it's a common problem, maybe a new machine sounds the same. So, maybe it's of no use wasting time returning it?

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Most likely some variant of frequency or coil whine. It's not uncommon in SSDs when benchmarked.

Some people can hear it, some can't.

The sound is not only there when benchmarking. I can also hear it when opening e.g. Pages and a document. Just very briefly. It's almost like a traditional HDD, but a lot more quiet.

 

[newbourne]

Bump!

Can an experienced Macbook user comment on all four issues?

 

[MagicBoy]

FYI - Bumping is against the rules. Try using the link at the top.

As for you comment regarding opening pages etc - that's still accessing the SSD. Electronic noise is more noticeable during benchmarking as the drive is under sustained use rather than short bursts of activity. I just don't notice it nowadays.

My rMBP does it a bit, the Crucial M4 in my Windows PC does it a lot.

 

[newbourne]

FYI - Bumping is against the rules. Try using the link at the top.

As for you comment regarding opening pages etc - that's still accessing the SSD. Electronic noise is more noticeable during benchmarking as the drive is under sustained use rather than short bursts of activity. I just don't notice it nowadays.

My rMBP does it a bit, the Crucial M4 in my Windows PC does it a lot.

Thanks! What about the other issues? Are they normal?

 

[MagicBoy]

I've not encountered them. I've got a 15", so I'm not going to provide a comment with no value just to keep you happy.

I don't know if they are an issue, or you're just being OCD!

4 is going to be the same answer as the SSD - some sort of frequency you can hear related to the power state f the machine if I was to take a guess. My 2006 MBP did it, it was typical for that generation of machines. The ThinkPad T60 I used at work with the same CPU did the same thing.

 

[newbourne]

I've not encountered them. I've got a 15", so I'm not going to provide a comment with no value just to keep you happy.

I don't know if they are an issue, or you're just being OCD!

4 is going to be the same answer as the SSD - some sort of frequency you can hear related to the power state f the machine if I was to take a guess. My 2006 MBP did it, it was typical for that generation of machines. The ThinkPad T60 I used at work with the same CPU did the same thing.

Thanks for answering! It's not OCD

Interesting, I thought issue 1 and 2 were normal sounds for a MBP, but you don't even hear number 1 when you hit the start-button?

 

[MagicBoy]

The battery cells are under the palmrest, either side of the trackpad on the 13" rMBP, so no idea how you are hearing sounds from that area of the machine. SSD is under the trackpad.

Fans are at the far edges of the screen hinge under the keyboard.

Take a look at the iFixit teardown. They're quite educational - all the unibody series MacBooks are very cleverly designed. The first gen MBP from was a mess by comparison with random wires on the board and bluetooth modules taped to the side of the hard drive etc.

 

[newbourne]

The battery cells are under the palmrest, either side of the trackpad on the 13" rMBP, so no idea how you are hearing sounds from that area of the machine. SSD is under the trackpad.

Fans are at the far edges of the screen hinge under the keyboard.

Take a look at the iFixit teardown. They're quite educational - all the unibody series MacBooks are very cleverly designed. The first gen MBP from was a mess by comparison with random wires on the board and bluetooth modules taped to the side of the hard drive etc.

Super, but I'm more interesting in whether you (or someone else) hear the sounds that I describe in 1-4; not so much if I'm able to locate where the sounds come from.

But thanks for the detailed description of the location of the hardware.

 

[Angriff]

The first 15" I returned had no audible SSD noise, the 2nd one does, but I think I'm going to keep it as I only heard it when straining the SSD with the BlackMagic test. Maybe a little bit during a large file copy. It doesn't seem a big deal and worth exchanging a laptop that I'm otherwise thrilled with.

 

[newbourne]

The first 15" I returned had no audible SSD noise, the 2nd one does, but I think I'm going to keep it as I only heard it when straining the SSD with the BlackMagic test. Maybe a little bit during a large file copy. It doesn't seem a big deal and worth exchanging a laptop that I'm otherwise thrilled with.

Super, sounds like the same noise that I'm hearing. I also mostly hear it when straining the SSD, like when I transferred 75GB to the SSD or using Blackmagic. But sometimes it's also there, when I open a program and a document.

Do you also hear the "spinning" of a fan, very briefly, when you start up the computer (not from "Sleep", but from "Shut down")?

 

[alphaod]

The whine is quite normal if that's what you're concerned about.

I have that on some of my computers, while not on others. I don't think it affects performance or detrimental to the use of the computer. It can get annoying if your attention is focused on it though.