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New MP sound levels

mattmower

mattmower

macrumors regular
Original poster
I don't know whether anyone is geared up to do it, maybe some of the audiophiles but I'd be very keen to know the idle & load sound levels of the new Mac Pro's.

In particular the 6-core 3.33GHz with the 5770 graphics card. But I guess there will also be people interested in the difference with the 5870.

Is there anyone out there with the necessary skill & equipment?

Matt
 
Seeing the 2010 MPs are the same as the 2009 MPs and I have all 10K RPM HDDs and the GTX285 (all which are quite loud), I don't have any issues with the computer being too loud. I also use a custom [in-ear] monitors, so that helps with my situation.
 
Lloyd Chambers of the Mac Performance Guide site says the 2010 Mac Pro with the 5870 is much louder than the 2009 with the fanless GT120. But I guess it's a matter of what you're used to or can stand while working on your computer. (Mine comes Tuesday with the 5870, so I'll know more then.)
 
PenguinMac said:
Lloyd Chambers of the Mac Performance Guide site says the 2010 Mac Pro with the 5870 is much louder than the 2009 with the fanless GT120. But I guess it's a matter of what you're used to or can stand while working on your computer. (Mine comes Tuesday with the 5870, so I'll know more then.)
Click to expand...

GT120 has a fan.
 
The ATI 5870 with stock fan is not that loud.
Under my desk i have a gaming PC that still has an ATI 5870 in it.
For sure its noticable - but not disturbing in any way - and i am a person who hates fan noise.
So the new Mac Pro with the 5870 should not be louder in any way than this pc i think. 😉
 
The GT120 should be super quiet in comparison, it's terribly slow.

I don't have any ATI cards, but I'm using a GF480 in a case that was built for quiet. I can hear the GPU fan when it loads up, but it mostly just sounds like air moving. And from what I understand, the ATI 5870 is even quieter.
 
I'm buying a Mac Pro as an audio production workstation so I'm quite sensitive to the issue of fan noise and I'd really like some quantitative data. That said the fans on my MacBook Pro are pretty loud so I'm hoping the MP might actually be quieter.

Matt
 
skiffx said:
its a pita, and will void warranty but I guess.

Edit:Best coolers for 5870 comparison
Click to expand...

This seems to be a possible solution that will fit the Pro,

Accelero XTREME 5870

Reading the reviews suggest the only possible issue is that the gap pads supplied for the VRAM might be an issue with early deliveries (e.g. don't stay stuck to the VRAM devices). Otherwise I'm reading it's very quiet and does a better job than the stock cooling scheme.

I'm not sure but it would seem that reinstalling the stock cooler would resolve the warranty issue. But maybe there is a tamper seal that I'm unaware of.
 
I've gone ahead and ordered the 6-core with the 5770. I guess it's not going to get any quieter than that. I'm hoping that with the vastly increased horsepower the machine won't be working hard enough to run it's fan!
 
mattmower said:
I've gone ahead and ordered the 6-core with the 5770. I guess it's not going to get any quieter than that. I'm hoping that with the vastly increased horsepower the machine won't be working hard enough to run it's fan!
Click to expand...

Please update us on the sound level when you receive your system, since most replies here are from people who do not have the 2010 MP.
 
oilfighter said:
Please update us on the sound level when you receive your system, since most replies here are from people who do not have the 2010 MP.
Click to expand...

Since I went with the BTO option it's going to be a while but if nobody beats me to it I will make some recordings and try and get an accurate sound level for the machine.

M.
 
5870 in 2010 MP is actually very quiet, Im sensitive to noise, and I dont notice it at all. So if you want, go ahead and order 5870 (or change order if its not too late)
 
PenguinMac said:
Lloyd Chambers of the Mac Performance Guide site says the 2010 Mac Pro with the 5870 is much louder than the 2009 with the fanless GT120. But I guess it's a matter of what you're used to or can stand while working on your computer. (Mine comes Tuesday with the 5870, so I'll know more then.)
Click to expand...

My GT120 has a fan .... barely audible, but there is a fan!

Update: Ups, I should have read the entire thread before posting this reply ... *blush*
 
Just received my 2010 MP (base quad) and after reading some people's responses I either have more sensitive hearing or mine is defective! This computer is WAY louder than my iMac, it makes more fan noise for sure but there is also a thrumming sound or something. I have it on my desk - there's no way I could sleep in a room with this thing on! (Thankfully I have a separate office.)
 
skiffx said:
5870 in 2010 MP is actually very quiet, Im sensitive to noise, and I dont notice it at all. So if you want, go ahead and order 5870 (or change order if its not too late)
Click to expand...

Ditto... I have a Hex with the 5870 and mine is whisper quiet too.

Chris
 
blackmtn said:
Just received my 2010 MP (base quad) and after reading some people's responses I either have more sensitive hearing or mine is defective! This computer is WAY louder than my iMac, it makes more fan noise for sure but there is also a thrumming sound or something. I have it on my desk - there's no way I could sleep in a room with this thing on! (Thankfully I have a separate office.)
Click to expand...

Is your graphics card a 5770 or 5870? Also, is the noise really coming from the graphics card in your case?
 
2contagious said:
Is your graphics card a 5770 or 5870? Also, is the noise really coming from the graphics card in your case?
Click to expand...

5770. Haven't opened it up yet to try and track it down. The fan noise is not really what is bugging me though, it is the low-pitch hum/vibration which is more subtle but gets on my nerves!
 
Got my Mac Pro 2 days ago with the 5870 (2.4x8). It is completely silent when idle. It's so quiet that I can hear the faint hard drive clicking sound when it seeks but never any fans from the cpu or graphics card, even after running the thing at 100% 16x cores (BOINC).

The loudest thing in it is the DVD drive, maybe that's why Apple doesn't like optical media 😛
 
VelNZ said:
The loudest thing in it is the DVD drive, maybe that's why Apple doesn't like optical media 😛
Click to expand...

ya, i wonder when optical media will be completely faded out and people just start walking around with large thumb drives?! 😛
 
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