I can't hear a thing from my Ultra. Maybe all those years of loud music . .
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
POLL: How noisy is your Mac Studio Ultra vs Max?
- Thread starter Mac Hammer Fan
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Cross-post, but interesting article: https://soyacincau.com/2022/03/23/a...o-is-actually-still-being-assembled-in-china/
Apparently some parts of the Mac Studio are made in Malaysia, but still assembled in China. It seems that the lable "Made in Malaysia" is used by Apple to avoid tariffs shipping to some countries from China. In the end, it seems, it shouldn't make a difference whether it says Malaysia or China when it comes to fan noise or coil whine.
Apparently some parts of the Mac Studio are made in Malaysia, but still assembled in China. It seems that the lable "Made in Malaysia" is used by Apple to avoid tariffs shipping to some countries from China. In the end, it seems, it shouldn't make a difference whether it says Malaysia or China when it comes to fan noise or coil whine.
My Max 10/32/32/2TB is dead silent. Not to mention that it sits 2 ft in front of me.
I have the base model Max which was purchased from the Apple Store in north Texas on April 3, built in Malaysia.
I picked Silent as my vote, because sitting about 36" from it at my desk, I cannot hear it running. Obviously if I put my ear up to the back of it, I can hear air being pushed out the vents. I don't have any high pitched whine that others have noted.
I picked Silent as my vote, because sitting about 36" from it at my desk, I cannot hear it running. Obviously if I put my ear up to the back of it, I can hear air being pushed out the vents. I don't have any high pitched whine that others have noted.
So I received my Max base with 1TB drive this afternoon. It is up and running currently using migration assistant to transfer 400GB from my old 2011 MacBook Pro 15”. The Max is virtually silent while the MBP has been louder than a jet the whole time. I am happy with the lack of fan or other noise coming from this machine.
I have a base model Max and it's exceptionally quiet, and I can't hear any high pitched whine.
It's not silent, as I can hear the fans whirring, but barely.
I'm currently doing some Handbrake testing, and it's been running at 90% CPU for about an hour and the fans haven't got any louder at all.
I'm very pleased!
It's not silent, as I can hear the fans whirring, but barely.
I'm currently doing some Handbrake testing, and it's been running at 90% CPU for about an hour and the fans haven't got any louder at all.
I'm very pleased!
Last edited:
My Studio just arrived yesterday. It's the base model with 1TB storage. Yes, I can hear the fan noise. It's much louder than 2018 Intel MacBookPro at idle. Was surprised when I first turned it on, I thought it was a first time thing but turned out that this is the normal.
But I can live with that sound. If I am listening to music or have heater/AC on, I don't hear it.
But I can live with that sound. If I am listening to music or have heater/AC on, I don't hear it.
I decided to order the Mac Studio 32 core GPU/1TB because only 15% returns it after buying. I'll give it a try. When coil whine is unacceptable, I will return it. Fingers crossed.
Max. Ive had it for a week and I can't head the fans in a dead quiet room with my ear 2 feet from it.
I hardly notice the noises of my Studio Max.
I’ve had my Studio running for about two weeks now. I have edited and exported up to 100 raw files at a time, in different sessions, from my Fuji XT3. I have done the same in ON1 Photo Raw, DxO PhotoLab 5, and C1Pro 20 (Fuji). Not once has this Studio made any sounds of stress. This is my primary use for this machine.
I am only comparing to the 2018 Mini i7/32GB that I was using before. That machine would crank the fans to max with little effort. The Mac I had before the mini was a 2012 iMac that also cranked the fans when pushed.
I’ve had my Studio running for about two weeks now. I have edited and exported up to 100 raw files at a time, in different sessions, from my Fuji XT3. I have done the same in ON1 Photo Raw, DxO PhotoLab 5, and C1Pro 20 (Fuji). Not once has this Studio made any sounds of stress. This is my primary use for this machine.
I am only comparing to the 2018 Mini i7/32GB that I was using before. That machine would crank the fans to max with little effort. The Mac I had before the mini was a 2012 iMac that also cranked the fans when pushed.
People hear differently and have the computer in different environments and positions: Ambient background noise comes into play, where the computer is located in relation to you, the acoustics in the room, hearing sensitivity to certain frequencies and there is also a psychological / perception / experience / focus component to hearing.
For reported fan noise or lack of, the variances in opinion can be attributed more to the above than variances in the units themselves, imo.
Im more concerned with the reports of modulating, whining sounds and overtones / resonances. Users on this thread reporting such issues seem to know what they're talking about; professional type observations. These sorts of sounds can not possibly be an oversight in the design phase for a computer at this price range.
Great to hear dude, can you tell me what spec your Studio Max is? Your workflow and use sounds very similar to mine, just curious if you bought the base model or upped your ram? Cheers.
Some people put on white noise to sleep and things like recordings or rain, recordings of the ocean. Its a thing.
Ultra, 64/64.
My subjective view of noise levels.
With the Mac Studio sitting in its permanent place to the right of my display and the fan exhausts facing away from me making the rear of the machine a meter distant from my ear. In a quiet room (daytime and Apple Watch recording 34dB fwiw) I don’t even register that the machine is on while in working mode.
When listening attentively to the MS, yeah, it definitely has a presence and I can clearly hear it which is particularly apparent when you shutdown, otherwise it sort of blends in with the ambient room noise. A form of white noise seems a good description. It doesn’t bother me, and if I wasn’t focused upon the noise, I wouldn’t notice it. However, if one was sensitive to sound and used to silent Macs, then it may well be a problem in quiet environments.
With my ear 10 cm from the rear vent I can hear the fans and a high pitched tone — the tone is not very loud but an aggravating sound and not something you would want to always hear.
After a 2 hour Resolve render with Activity Monitor reporting around a constant 96% GPU utilisation and there is no discernible difference in the noise levels from any distance on the Mac Studio.
Running the same render on my D700 trashcan in a like setup was a 7hr 40min job with the fans running full speed, so relatively fairly loud. The ambient room temp was 23°C.
If I place my ear 10 cm from the trashcan I can also hear a high pitched tone. Not as high as the Mac Studio and less aggravating and presumably because of only one large fan.
Overall I would classify the Mac Studio I have as a quiet Mac and compared to the trashcan under load, very quiet. At idle I don’t think there’s much in.
My subjective view of noise levels.
With the Mac Studio sitting in its permanent place to the right of my display and the fan exhausts facing away from me making the rear of the machine a meter distant from my ear. In a quiet room (daytime and Apple Watch recording 34dB fwiw) I don’t even register that the machine is on while in working mode.
When listening attentively to the MS, yeah, it definitely has a presence and I can clearly hear it which is particularly apparent when you shutdown, otherwise it sort of blends in with the ambient room noise. A form of white noise seems a good description. It doesn’t bother me, and if I wasn’t focused upon the noise, I wouldn’t notice it. However, if one was sensitive to sound and used to silent Macs, then it may well be a problem in quiet environments.
With my ear 10 cm from the rear vent I can hear the fans and a high pitched tone — the tone is not very loud but an aggravating sound and not something you would want to always hear.
After a 2 hour Resolve render with Activity Monitor reporting around a constant 96% GPU utilisation and there is no discernible difference in the noise levels from any distance on the Mac Studio.
Running the same render on my D700 trashcan in a like setup was a 7hr 40min job with the fans running full speed, so relatively fairly loud. The ambient room temp was 23°C.
If I place my ear 10 cm from the trashcan I can also hear a high pitched tone. Not as high as the Mac Studio and less aggravating and presumably because of only one large fan.
Overall I would classify the Mac Studio I have as a quiet Mac and compared to the trashcan under load, very quiet. At idle I don’t think there’s much in.
Hello everyone,
I think most of you don't understand. Who cares about the fan noise. For the most sensitive, just slow it down to 1100 rpm and soon less with Macs Fan Control Update.
It's the whistle that's the problem, on my mac Studio, it goes, it comes, changes frequency and can be heard several meters away. It makes the work difficult and requires putting music in the background to drown out the noise.
Finally, those who lean behind the machine or perform tests with a sound level meter are not concerned.
Best
I think most of you don't understand. Who cares about the fan noise. For the most sensitive, just slow it down to 1100 rpm and soon less with Macs Fan Control Update.
It's the whistle that's the problem, on my mac Studio, it goes, it comes, changes frequency and can be heard several meters away. It makes the work difficult and requires putting music in the background to drown out the noise.
Finally, those who lean behind the machine or perform tests with a sound level meter are not concerned.
Best
I have an ultra have yet to hear any fan noise… completely silent so far.
My Ultra is dead silent. What's amazing is average Power is 27w LOL That's insane.
It's you that doesn't understand. Some of these studios make noise, period, sensitive hearing of not, and I definitely don't have sensitive hearing! Mine is loud even at 1100RPM but I wouldn't forcibly set it that way anyway, too risky. I can hear mine from 2 feet away (in front of it), even with my air cleaner going on the other side of the room.
It's not the fan noise people are complain about. I don't know why people keep stating this. I'm on my third Mac Studio. Changed the first and the second was quiet for about a week. There are 2 different power supply and an apparent power supply lottery going on. Anyone complaining about noise can hear a higher than normal oscillation frequency. Typing on mine right now I can hear it without other noises in the background. I don't think people with the problem should be relegated as liars. This is a real issue to some and can totally understand why others are not bothered. Way to many variables in environments, etc. I will say lowering the fans to 1,100 RPM lessons the high pitched noise being rapidly exhausted out of the rear of the Studio. That's about it. I still think if you want a system on the cheap and with 32 GB of memory, the Mac Studio is the best value going. I don't subscribe to the fact that spending 1300 more on. a MBP with max processor is a better value. I tried the laptop thing and will never go that route again.
It's the fan noise for some people. (like me)
I personnel could deal with the fan noise that's what makes this so tough. That's why I think apple will not prioritize a fix for this one. Sad as it is, this is probably the legacy for the Mac Studio. Its super alarming that fans at 1,100 RPM fix a great deal of the perceptive problems, and without raising internal temps, yet stay at mid 1,300's all the time. And it's a pretty windy day here and I can hear the wind outside, but still does not cover up the high pitch sound. For reference I'm 3' away from a window to my right, and the Mac Studio is 2.5' away to the right under my desk.
Sounds like you should just send it back and get a replacement.