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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
Just curious. Does the Monterey 12.4 update solves the noise problem (high pitch control)? I saw that there was a firmware update although I don't have the Studio Display.
 
Just curious. Does the Monterey 12.4 update solves the noise problem (high pitch control)? I saw that there was a firmware update although I don't have the Studio Display.
The 12.4 update today did not resolve my whiney fan(s) noise. Was hoping it would, but, unfortunately I still have to use the Macs Fan Control app.
 
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No relevancy, just follow the posts in this thread poll for fact finding. Its likely has to do with the thermal differences between using aluminum cooling with the Studio w/M1 Max and the superior copper cooling that weighs 2 pounds on the Studio w/M1 Ultra. :)
Yeah, no. That's not true. Read the threads. There are issues with both models.
 
Got my Mac Studio Max today.

I can hear the fan noise in a quiet room from 6 feet away, even when fans are turned away from me.
No high-pitched noise though. I guess that's good :-/

It's still not clear to me if "dead silent" described by some just means their hearing is bad enough so they can't hear the fan noise, or if it's really dead silent.

My current iMacPro is silent except if I tax the GPU a lot. But when idle, I can not hear fan noises. Not sure if I can get used to the Mac Studio "fanning" in the background.

-t
 
Got my Mac Studio Max today.

I can hear the fan noise in a quiet room from 6 feet away, even when fans are turned away from me.
No high-pitched noise though. I guess that's good :-/

It's still not clear to me if "dead silent" described by some just means their hearing is bad enough so they can't hear the fan noise, or if it's really dead silent.

My current iMacPro is silent except if I tax the GPU a lot. But when idle, I can not hear fan noises. Not sure if I can get used to the Mac Studio "fanning" in the background.

-t
My Mac Pro's 2009 were much more noisier, although I still could live with it. ?
 
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Ok, follow-up.

1) Installed Mac Fan Control. Set fans to min. (1100 rpm) unless avg. CPU temp reaches 50C.

2) Ran a stress test (max. CPU usage on all 10 cores, for about 12 hours).
Temperature at min. fans (1100 rpms) never went above 47C. That's nuts.
The thermal envelope for this machine is completely over-designed.

At 1100 rpm, fan noise is not completely gone, but almost inaudible. I don't think I can hear it from 6 feet out anymore. At about 1 ft distance, it's there, barely.

-t
 
Got my Mac Studio Max today.

I can hear the fan noise in a quiet room from 6 feet away, even when fans are turned away from me.
No high-pitched noise though. I guess that's good :-/

It's still not clear to me if "dead silent" described by some just means their hearing is bad enough so they can't hear the fan noise, or if it's really dead silent.

My current iMacPro is silent except if I tax the GPU a lot. But when idle, I can not hear fan noises. Not sure if I can get used to the Mac Studio "fanning" in the background.

-t
My M1 Max is silent to me. Dead silent no. If I get close I can hear the fans ever so slightly but no whine. It's very subtle and no bother at all. My 2004 Power Mac G5 was much louder and that didn't bother me. At high loads it would sound like a jet taking off. My most recent 2011 MacBook Pro would even rev at times. The Studio has yet to even rev up.

Note: Years of many concerts and way to much loud music has contributed to my hearing being less than optimum.

So maybe this: "dead silent" described by some just means their hearing is bad enough so they can't hear the fan noise.
 
Well, unless they are broken, they have fans inside running at 1300rpm so, no, they are not “dead silent”.
I’m sure the M1 Mac mini has a fan running at 1,700 continuously and is dead silent. And the pitch changes slightly on the Mac studio (still there but a little less annoying) if I swap the apple studio display from TB 4 port to TB 1 port, which leads me to believe the high pitched noise is power related and not fan related.
 
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Ok, stress test at 100% CPU load ran for 30 hours straight.
Fans at 1100. Avg. CPU temperature never went above 47C. Amazing. I can't get this thing to heat up.

-t

Screen Shot 2022-05-19 at 20.54.55.jpg
 
Ok, follow-up.

1) Installed Mac Fan Control. Set fans to min. (1100 rpm) unless avg. CPU temp reaches 50C.

2) Ran a stress test (max. CPU usage on all 10 cores, for about 12 hours).
Temperature at min. fans (1100 rpms) never went above 47C. That's nuts.
The thermal envelope for this machine is completely over-designed.

At 1100 rpm, fan noise is not completely gone, but almost inaudible. I don't think I can hear it from 6 feet out anymore. At about 1 ft distance, it's there, barely.

-t

Profits.

They could've just put M1 Pro and Max in the higher end mini, but Timmy probably liked the idea of hyping an entirely "new design" to sell those chips at a much higher margin.
 
Studio Ultra here, close to maxed out at 64 GB/8 TB. I use it in a recording studio, have it on the desk behind a monitor about 75 cm from my head.

It's effectively silent: ambient noise (measured at the desk 40 cm from the computer) when prepped for recording is 24 dB with computer off, 24.6 dB with computer on and under load (admittedly using an iPhone app, I haven't bothered to be more precise as it is a non-issue for me).

Fortunately I seem to have one of the quiet ones.
 
I really can’t understand why fan noise is an issue, ‘whining’ aside.

Apple designs a computer that actually puts function at the centre of the experience, where the components barely get warm. The cost of that is a large heat sink and a slightly audible fan. What’s the problem? If Apple did the opposite and let the Max/Ultra melt in a silent enclosure, people would complain about the opposite as they have done for years.

It makes me wonder how these people ever put up with hard drive grinding, CD-ROM drives spinning up or multiple fans dotted around large cases. Don’t even get me started on the G5 - I went to bed still hearing the noise.
 
I really can’t understand why fan noise is an issue, ‘whining’ aside.

Apple designs a computer that actually puts function at the centre of the experience, where the components barely get warm. The cost of that is a large heat sink and a slightly audible fan. What’s the problem? If Apple did the opposite and let the Max/Ultra melt in a silent enclosure, people would complain about the opposite as they have done for years.

It makes me wonder how these people ever put up with hard drive grinding, CD-ROM drives spinning up or multiple fans dotted around large cases. Don’t even get me started on the G5 - I went to bed still hearing the noise.
This is funny to me. If you’ve heard the high pitched nails on a chalkboard sound emitting from the Mac studio when the fan noise is different from what people are actually upset about and returning their systems over. I’ve had 4 now all with the same problem. I for one don't mind the fans at 1300 ish RPM’s. The high pitched noise though is unacceptable. And I have a apple SuperDrive hook up which makes zero noise.
 
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I really can’t understand why fan noise is an issue, ‘whining’ aside.

Apple designs a computer that actually puts function at the centre of the experience, where the components barely get warm. The cost of that is a large heat sink and a slightly audible fan. What’s the problem? If Apple did the opposite and let the Max/Ultra melt in a silent enclosure, people would complain about the opposite as they have done for years.

It makes me wonder how these people ever put up with hard drive grinding, CD-ROM drives spinning up or multiple fans dotted around large cases. Don’t even get me started on the G5 - I went to bed still hearing the noise.
It's the pitch of the noise that bothers me, not the volume -- it's right on the edge of my hearing it but it's just plain annoying. Like fingernails on a chalkboard type thing. My ears/hearing physically bother me when I'm sitting at my home desk with the Studio on it. And I have plenty of those hard drives and other computers there too and and they don't bother me at all. Thinking it's just a noise doesn't cover what the problem is. If

If were still in my first 2 weeks and knew what I know now, I'd send it back for a full refund and wait for the next desktop Apple makes. Sure, it's fast and a good machine otherwise, but getting irritated by the sound isn't conducive for productivity.
 
I really can’t understand why fan noise is an issue, ‘whining’ aside.

Apple designs a computer that actually puts function at the centre of the experience, where the components barely get warm. The cost of that is a large heat sink and a slightly audible fan. What’s the problem? If Apple did the opposite and let the Max/Ultra melt in a silent enclosure, people would complain about the opposite as they have done for years.

It makes me wonder how these people ever put up with hard drive grinding, CD-ROM drives spinning up or multiple fans dotted around large cases. Don’t even get me started on the G5 - I went to bed still hearing the noise.
Most people who have this problem own multiple Mac computers, myself included. They know what a normal working Mac computer should sound like. The idea that you can’t fathom or comprehend people might have an issue or know the difference is ridiculous. Just because your machine might not have the problem don’t make the assumption all machines are the same. You’re giving way too much credit to Apple.
 
Most people who have this problem own multiple Mac computers, myself included. They know what a normal working Mac computer should sound like. The idea that you can’t fathom or comprehend people might have an issue or know the difference is ridiculous. Just because your machine might not have the problem don’t make the assumption all machines are the same. You’re giving way too much credit to Apple.
Reread my original post - I said, “whining aside”. It’s clear that this whine noise is indeed an issue.
 
Most people who have this problem own multiple Mac computers, myself included. They know what a normal working Mac computer should sound like. The idea that you can’t fathom or comprehend people might have an issue or know the difference is ridiculous. Just because your machine might not have the problem don’t make the assumption all machines are the same. You’re giving way too much credit to Apple.
The top half of the Mac Studio is a fan. That is part of the reason I bought it, since every normal Mac (MacBook Pro, iMac, 2013 Mac Pro) has been thermally limited.
 
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I have no equipment to measure the noise, but putting my head over the Studio Max, LOL! I can't hear a thing.
You must hear the fan noise?
I returned my max a few weeks ago as the fan noise was audible, a constant groaning fan which I could hear even as I walked over to the window (around 10 foot), it was louder than my PC with multiple Noctua fans. There was also a high pitched sound going on beneath it which I could hear when I was sat by it.
 
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I just got my ultra that I ordered 1.5 months ago or so. Fan noise doesn't bother me but the high pitch whining does a little. For those that have experienced this, does it eventually go away? Do you think Apple could release an update to fix it? I wear headphones 95% of the time so its not THAT big of a deal, but that 5% will get annoying.

Fan noise doesn't bother me. My custom built PC has 7 fans in it and its loud even under my desk. But its low pitched noise. I would definitely prefer a louder Mac that is low pitch than this high pitch issue.
 
I just got my ultra that I ordered 1.5 months ago or so. Fan noise doesn't bother me but the high pitch whining does a little. For those that have experienced this, does it eventually go away? Do you think Apple could release an update to fix it? I wear headphones 95% of the time so its not THAT big of a deal, but that 5% will get annoying.

Fan noise doesn't bother me. My custom built PC has 7 fans in it and its loud even under my desk. But its low pitched noise. I would definitely prefer a louder Mac that is low pitch than this high pitch issue.
The high pitched noise won’t go away.
 
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