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POLL: How noisy is your Mac Studio Ultra vs Max?

How noisy is your Mac Studio?

  • Silent

    Votes: 100 37.0%

  • Noise is audible but acceptable

    Votes: 32 11.9%

  • The fans are rather loud but I can live with it

    Votes: 5 1.9%

  • I am returning the Mac Studio because it's too noisy

    Votes: 18 6.7%

  • Silent (Max)

    Votes: 57 21.1%

  • Noise is audible but acceptable (Max)

    Votes: 25 9.3%

  • The fans are rather loud but I can live with it (Max)

    Votes: 11 4.1%

  • I am returning the Mac Studio because it's too noisy (Max)

    Votes: 22 8.1%
  • Total voters
    270
So disappointing. How can they apply to much attention to detail on every aspect, but not the noise difference between the two models...

The 2010 Mac Pro I have is fine as the noise is a low frequency and there are no annoying noises or pitches. I need to hear the Studio Max for myself, but I'm already thinking of some sort of ventilated box or something to put the damn thing in (in my recording studio), which for a ~£2800 machine is a bit ridiculous.
 
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Anyway, I changed the poll. There are 8 possibilities now. I can't add the word "Ultra" to the first 4 options but these refer to the ultra.
 
I have the Max (32 GPU version) and I can barely hear it - only when I stick my head right next to it - and there's just me at home and no other noise - including during setup, spotlight indexing etc.

In comparison my 2016 MBP i7 is constantly spinning the fans up, even when just watching something in 4k - and they're loud and constant. It's all day every day when we have video conferencing running.

The studio in comparison is a dream when it comes to the noise.
 
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VideoFreek said:
Just set up a new Ultra here. Definitely hear some air flowing at idle with the Mac sitting under my display. I'm sitting in a very quiet room. The sound is not at all annoying, though; in fact, I find it to be rather pleasant.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I think this is a fair description of how I hear it on my Ultra too. It's a very quiet, somewhat relaxing (?) sound.
 
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I find it a bit ironic to see people describing fan noise as "pleasant" and "relaxing". I can understand someone trying to justify their new expensive and shiny piece of technology, but give me a break.

I attached my 2020 i7 Mac Mini under my computer/work table (with velcro tape and pins), because of the fans and occasional buzzing noise from the SSD controller. Now I never hear the electronic noise at least. That's probably more difficult with the larger Mac Studio, though. Sounds like Apple messed up the acoustics with the cooling solution this time, especially considering the huge temperature overhead. Why not have the CPU/GPU run 10C higher, and have something completely silent like the iMac Pro, Mac Mini etc. Hmm...
 
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Peter_M said:
I find it a bit ironic to see people describing fan noise as "pleasant" and "relaxing", ok. I can understand someone trying to justify their new expensive and shiny piece of technology, but give me a break.
Click to expand...
I have no need to justify anything. If the noise were annoying or unpleasant, I would return the computer to Apple without batting an eye. But it isn't, at least not to me--just a very soft, barely audible "whoosh" sound. I think if you haven't heard it in person, you're really not qualified to weigh in on it, are you?
 
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VideoFreek said:
I have no need to justify anything. If the noise were annoying or unpleasant, I would return the computer to Apple without batting an eye. But it isn't, at least not to me--just a very soft, barely audible "whoosh" sound. I think if you haven't heard it in person, you're really not qualified to weigh in on it, are you?
Click to expand...
One of the main draws of having a Mac, is avoiding fan noise that you get with an average PC system (unless you build your own stationary case). Now Mac fan noise is "pleasant" and "relaxing". Ok, whatever.
 
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Peter_M said:
One of the main draws of having a Mac, is avoiding fan noise that you get with an average PC system (unless you build your own stationary case). Now Mac fan noise is "pleasant" and "relaxing". Ok, whatever.
Click to expand...
This is really nothing like the din of a typical PC tower--the Studio is far quieter than that. But to be fair, it is not dead silent (like, for example, the first M1 Macs), so if that is what you're looking for, this may be a bit disappointing. I was just trying to convey that in my very quiet home office, the Studio emits a very low-level white noise that is not at all bothersome. There is no electrical hum or vibration at all--I would find either of those extremely annoying.

Edit: here's something unexpected. I ran Cinebench R23 to max out all 20 CPU cores, and of course the thing is a beast. What I did not expect is that there was no discernible change in the fan noise! This test causes the fans on my 27" iMac to really crank up. I only ran the test for 5-10 minutes, so maybe after a longer time we'd hear the fans spin up (?), but I was pleasantly surprised.
 
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VideoFreek said:
This is really nothing like the din of a typical PC tower--the Studio is far quieter than that. But to be fair, it is not dead silent (like, for example, the first M1 Macs), so if that is what you're looking for, this may be a bit disappointing. I was just trying to convey that in my very quiet home office, the Studio emits a very low-level white noise that is not at all bothersome. There is no electrical hum or vibration at all--I would find either of those extremely annoying.

Edit: here's something unexpected. I ran Cinebench R23 to max out all 20 CPU cores, and of course the thing is a beast. What I did not expect is that there was no discernible change in the fan noise! This test causes the fans on my 27" iMac to really crank up. I only ran the test for 5-10 minutes, so maybe after a longer time we'd hear the fans spin up (?), but I was pleasantly surprised.
Click to expand...
Fair enough. Overall it is a very impressive piece of tech with great performance, and I really like the overall design. Maybe the fan noise will be improved with a future MacOS and/or firmware update. There is certainly plenty of temperature headroom available.
 
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Sharky II said:
So disappointing. How can they apply to much attention to detail on every aspect, but not the noise difference between the two models...

The 2010 Mac Pro I have is fine as the noise is a low frequency and there are no annoying noises or pitches. I need to hear the Studio Max for myself, but I'm already thinking of some sort of ventilated box or something to put the damn thing in (in my recording studio), which for a ~£2800 machine is a bit ridiculous.
Click to expand...

I had two mac pros in the past, the latest g5 and the 1st intel, a I love how I can't hear anything, I move from DELL PCs at the time and I hate those damn extremely noise PCs, so the mac pros was heaven. I expect the same of this Studios.
 
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Peter_M said:
I find it a bit ironic to see people describing fan noise as "pleasant" and "relaxing". I can understand someone trying to justify their new expensive and shiny piece of technology, but give me a break.
Click to expand...
Basically in other words, the slight fan noise isn’t a problem for me. It’s not a justification. Same way I’m not complaining about the weight, or the look, or some other variable.

Would you prefer us to throw a tantrum over it instead ?
 
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Peter_M said:
One of the main draws of having a Mac, is avoiding fan noise that you get with an average PC system (unless you build your own stationary case). Now Mac fan noise is "pleasant" and "relaxing". Ok, whatever.
Click to expand...
I do not think a statistically significant percentage of Mac users are paying hundreds or thousands of dollars more over an equivalent PC system just for a machine that is slightly quieter
 
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fan.png


Ultra here (48GPU), fans run at a consistent 1300 rpm even though CPU temps are only 30 degrees according to iStat Menus. Nothing but cool air blowing out the back.

Definitely audible in fairly quiet room from 3ft away. The sound is consistant so not too annoying but I'd rather a fan curve profile to lower the fans while not really being taxed.


Iregardless of the heatsink difference, if the fans are always running at 1300rpm in either model, you're always going to hear them.
 
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