So how silent is the M2 Pro Mac Mini?

[uller6]

I have a 2014 mini server that makes an audible fan whoosh sound. The M2 pro mini's fan was quieter than the 2014 mini (and the pro's fan never sped up beyond baseline), but the 2014 doesn't have a high pitched whine/buzz sound.

 

[eicca]

Saying first world problem because you aren't in a noise sensitive environment is ridiculous - I assume you've never used a condenser or ribbon mic that needs an enormous amount of gain - and yes, people have computers in their studios. I have a synthesizer in my studio that I have to turn off when I record with a sensitive Mic because it'll pick the fans in it up. These are all first world problems, we're talking about multi-thousand dollar computers from a high end brand. But they're still valid problems nonetheless.

Anything that sensitive need to be done in an isolated booth because there are a million things beyond the computer that could get into the recording and mess it up if it’s in the open.

 

[OneBar]

It's running at a base of 1690 rpm? Sounds like a job for Mac FanSpeed App. You'll be able to see what your sensors are reading and make a curve based off of the component of your choice or lower your rpm until the noise is comfortable. Sending back a machine because it makes machine noises is kinda silly. If you're in a noise sensitive environment, then your computer needs to be in a noise blocking cabinet so that it can do what it needs to do while you're working.

 

[tevion5]

Mine actually arrived early today. Should get a chance to run some benchmarks this evening and report back.

Ok I mainly use my Mac for Logic Pro and some light gaming, so fan whine on the studio was unacceptable to me.

Today I ran Geekbench, Unigine Valley and Cinebench. Never noticed any audible fan noise over my M1 Mac Mini. In both cases my external USB-C drive was louder, and still very quiet. 10 minutes into a Cinebench multi-core test I would still have to lean close to the M2 Pro Mac Mini to hear anything at all.

This is first impressions so I'll keep an ear out as I use it over the next week, but fingers crossed it's all good and those with noisy ones are the exception.

 

[tevion5]

I don't mind a bit of fan whoosh, but any high pitched noise would drive me mad.

This is exactly why I returned multiple Mac Studios before giving up on them.

It's not that it's *loud*, the PlayStation 3 has *loud* fans. But the type of noise the Mac Studio made was like a mosquito. 10 times quieter than a PS3, 100 times more annoying. Put me off using it, let alone in a recording studio setting!

Had a lot of tiring conversations with Apple and other people always having to explain the difference. A lot of the articles talking about "noisy / loud" fans didn't really get it.

 

[eelpout]

Sure, but you can lower the noise level significantly by installing a bigger fan. I think a premium brand like Apple could show a bit more effort in this direction.

I'm sure they would have put in a larger diameter blade if they could have. there's only so much room, at least they engineered a larger heatsink. but this is Apple, they like saving money. (even did back when I worked there in the 80's & 90's 🙂)

Under heavier or full loads, I would expect the fan to rev up some, but it still won't be "loud".
Noticeable (that it's running under load), but again, not loud.

what's "loud?" my i7 gets up to around 60 dB when stressed (~4400 RPM), which really is just the level of conversation. if the M2 Pro is less than that, I'll be fine with it.

 

[Sowelu]

Since I didn't need the 'Pro' power for my desktop Mac, cool and quiet was the priority for me, so I opted for the non-pro M2 mini (24GB/1TB config).

So far it's been dead silent and cool to the touch throughout the entire setup process in addition to the Venture 13.2 upgrade and several restarts. Either the fan hasn't turned on yet, or it's running at a low speed where you cannot hear it. I can also report that there is no coil whine or any PSU noise.

I am personally very sensitive to noise and primarily work from home in quiet surroundings, so a cool and quiet Mac is a priority for me. If you have any kind of steady ambient noise, I am sure the Pro models won't be all that audible and will also be relatively quiet, especially considering how powerful they are.

 

[tevion5]

Since I didn't need the 'Pro' power for my desktop Mac, cool and quiet was the priority for me, so I opted for the non-pro M2 mini (24GB/1TB config).

Good stuff! I've been amazed how well I got by with just a 16GB Ram M1 Mac Mini I honestly could have just got the base M2 as well and probably been fine. Main thing I wanted over the M1 was the ability to run more than x1 6K display and actually only realized after ordering the M2 Pro that the regular M2 can do that too!

 

[eelpout]

Since I didn't need the 'Pro' power for my desktop Mac, cool and quiet was the priority for me, so I opted for the non-pro M2 mini (24GB/1TB config).

would you mind installing Macs Fan Control or iStatMenus to see what your idle speeds are?

 

[novagamer]

Saying that daisy chaining for audio is a non starter, full stop, is a ludicrous sentence. I have 5 UAD apollo devices daisy chained to a thunderbolt with no issues. You might also want to look into the sound treatment that you have in your room and where your mic is located in said room in relation to the cpu if the sound is that unbearable. For goodness sakes, people do record audio outdoors and manage to remove background noises not related to the subject on a daily basis.

You're chaining like-for-like there and that's fine and workable I agree - I also have used 2 Apollos and a Satellite chained that were fine.

I was speaking specifically to hubs in the middle of that and should have specified it, e.g. running a long thunderbolt cable into a hub, then using the hub for audio either USB or thunderbolt - that has caused issues for me consistently, occasionally with UAD equipment but especially with Apogee hardware. I'd need 3-4 $350 thunderbolt cables to get what I need to have the computer in a distant location and that's where the problem is for me... I'll do it if I have to, but I'd like the coil whine to be nonexistent and fan noise to be fairly low given the cost of the machines.

One cheaper option since the chips do run fairly cool and the enclosures are physically tiny is to build a small Iso Box - rigging something up the size of the Mac Mini is not a huge deal and it could be a reasonable work around for a hundred bucks or something.

For most people none of this is going to be problem but I'm really glad there are a few folks who report on this, even if it gets downplayed by others. Both parties are right - average users, and even most professionals not in a very low noise floor environment won't or shouldn't care about a small amount of fan noise. Coil whine is a different story IMO which is annoying even for office work to me. A lot of people aren't careful with their hearing protection and lose the upper frequencies pretty early though so it doesn't surprise me that the Studio fan noise thread is full of people who just have no idea, and other people who have looked at 2 dozen Mac Studios to find one without coil whine without success. I hope the person in this thread is an outlier because it would be a shame if Apple doesn't at least correct that.

 

[Sowelu]

Good stuff! I've been amazed how well I got by with just a 16GB Ram M1 Mac Mini I honestly could have just got the base M2 as well and probably been fine. Main thing I wanted over the M1 was the ability to run more than x1 6K display and actually only realized after ordering the M2 Pro that the regular M2 can do that too!

Ah, nice, I didn't realize that. I have one ASD display connected to my Mac mini - I'd love to get another, but my home desk isn't wide enough to accommodate two! 🙂 If Apple ever released a 32", it's an instant buy for me (as long as it doesn't cost $5K!)

 

[Sowelu]

would you mind installing Macs Fan Control or iStatMenus to see what your idle speeds are?

I actually installed iStat Menus this morning, but none of the sensors (other than the SSD) are available yet. They probably have to update it for the new Macs. I've not heard of the other app, but will give it a shot at some point today.

 

[Sowelu]

would you mind installing Macs Fan Control or iStatMenus to see what your idle speeds are?

I just downloaded Macs Fan Control and much to my surprise, the fan is indeed running (at minimum speed), I just cannot hear it - even when putting my ear closer to the mini. This is the M2 mini non-pro:

 

[^^BIGMac]

I've ordered so will wait and see for myself.

I bailed on getting a Mac Studio because of these similar reports.

I've waited a long time to upgrade my 2015 27" iMac. Hopefully this won't be a huge issue. Damn you Apple... 😡

 

[pransu]

I've ordered so will wait and see for myself.

I bailed on getting a Mac Studio because of these similar reports.

I've waited a long time to upgrade my 2015 27" iMac. Hopefully this won't be a huge issue. Damn you Apple... 😡

Mine is 2013 27" iMac 😄. Yeah mine is long over due.

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

Sure, but you can lower the noise level significantly by installing a bigger fan. I think a premium brand like Apple could show a bit more effort in this direction.

Apple will definitely show a bit more effort and make much better desktop Macs with better, less noisy fans and cooling at some point.

But first we have to buy these $2000-$3000 semi-portable semi-desktop Macs only be semi-satisfied.

Then when they drop a $4000+$6000+ iMac Pro or Mac Pro we'll think it's an amazing value compared to a Mac Studio or Pro mini and pull the trigger instantly.

I know the wait for a true Pro Apple desktop is infuriatingly long.

But the Pro mini just isn't it. Too many compromises, even more than Mac Studio which already has too many.

 

[Bernie015]

I've been following this thread. I have an M2 Pro Mini set to arrive in ~10 days. Anxious to see how it behaves in real time running editing sessions on Pro Tools. I am comfortable with SOME fan noise, but that one fellows video is somewhat concerning. Hopefully it only revs up like that during GPU-intensive activities like video-rendering, which is effectively never part of my personal workflow. In any case, I am coming from a 2014 imac 27" that sometimes overheats and runs louder than my washer/dryer, so I have little doubt it will be a night-and-day improvement.

As an aside, I am someone who returned my M1 Max Studio because of the notorious "whine". It was not exactly loud, it was just annoying and frustrating that a device that cost so much money had any imperfect attributes. What I discovered which very few people seem to be mentioning is that the whining noise would to stop when external thunderbolt devices were plugged in and mounted; it seems to be an electronics issue and has nothing to do with the fan function. So while I believe there is a bandaid "fix", I did not feel good about a $3000 machine requiring that of its user.

 

[aknova]

You're chaining like-for-like there and that's fine and workable I agree - I also have used 2 Apollos and a Satellite chained that were fine.

I was speaking specifically to hubs in the middle of that and should have specified it, e.g. running a long thunderbolt cable into a hub, then using the hub for audio either USB or thunderbolt - that has caused issues for me consistently, occasionally with UAD equipment but especially with Apogee hardware. I'd need 3-4 $350 thunderbolt cables to get what I need to have the computer in a distant location and that's where the problem is for me... I'll do it if I have to, but I'd like the coil whine to be nonexistent and fan noise to be fairly low given the cost of the machines.

One cheaper option since the chips do run fairly cool and the enclosures are physically tiny is to build a small Iso Box - rigging something up the size of the Mac Mini is not a huge deal and it could be a reasonable work around for a hundred bucks or something.

For most people none of this is going to be problem but I'm really glad there are a few folks who report on this, even if it gets downplayed by others. Both parties are right - average users, and even most professionals not in a very low noise floor environment won't or shouldn't care about a small amount of fan noise. Coil whine is a different story IMO which is annoying even for office work to me. A lot of people aren't careful with their hearing protection and lose the upper frequencies pretty early though so it doesn't surprise me that the Studio fan noise thread is full of people who just have no idea, and other people who have looked at 2 dozen Mac Studios to find one without coil whine without success. I hope the person in this thread is an outlier because it would be a shame if Apple doesn't at least correct that.

You hit the nail on the head with running long cords into hubs… DEFINITELY a pain point. Makes me question if some of these hubs have the throughput they specify.

I still run an Intel mbP for my UAD setup, BUT I’ve offloaded a lot of processing to the UAD do’s instead of native plugins and an analog vocal chain which keeps my system resources down for tracking. However I did place my mbP near some acoustic treatment which is really cut down on ambient noise to the mic.

Hopefully apple figures out what’s going on with the studio whine. They have a little more freedom on enclosure design since it will be just a second gen. The mini still needs to retain its rack Mount potential I’m guessing.

 

[Sowelu]

One thing I've noticed as a first time Mac mini owner, I really can't tell if it's actually sleeping or not because I can't hear the fan (so I can't tell whether it's on or off while in sleep mode) and the white LED doesn't shut off while it's sleeping. It also doesn't run warm, so it usually feels cool to the touch all the time.

So when I select 'Sleep' from the Apple Menu, or when it automatically goes to sleep, the Apple Studio Display does indeed turn off, but I am not sure if the Mac mini is actually going to sleep as well.

Normally I wouldn't care, like with my M2 Air which has no moving parts, but since the mini does have a fan, I'd like it to sleep and not run all the time when not in use.

Hopefully iStat Menus gets updated soon to properly read the sensors in the M2 Mac mini so that I can see a history of activity and try and decipher whether it's actually sleeping or not. Unless there is another way to tell?

 

[SmallDane]

One thing I've noticed as a first time Mac mini owner, I really can't tell if it's actually sleeping or not because I can't hear the fan (so I can't tell whether it's on or off while in sleep mode) and the white LED doesn't shut off while it's sleeping. It also doesn't run warm, so it usually feels cool to the touch all the time.

So when I select 'Sleep' from the Apple Menu, or when it automatically goes to sleep, the Apple Studio Display does indeed turn off, but I am not sure if the Mac mini is actually going to sleep as well.

Normally I wouldn't care, like with my M2 Air which has no moving parts, but since the mini does have a fan, I'd like it to sleep and not run all the time when not in use.

Hopefully iStat Menus gets updated soon to properly read the sensors in the M2 Mac mini so that I can see a history of activity and try and decipher whether it's actually sleeping or not. Unless there is another way to tell?

Put your hand close to the exhaust vent at the back. You should be able to feel cool airflow if the fans are running.

 

[Sowelu]

Put your hand close to the exhaust vent at the back. You should be able to feel cool airflow if the fans are running.

Ah, indeed, there is a slight cool breeze coming from the back. For some reason I thought the fan vents were around the circular plate on the bottom and the fan wasn't producing enough exhaust to feel it. 🤦‍♂️

Hmmm, so I wonder why it's not sleeping. The ASD turns off, perhaps it's my BT Apple Magic Keyboard and TrackPad that's keeping it awake? I thought those went into standby automatically after a while.

 

[gentlefury]

Do you have an Apple Watch? It would be interesting to learn the dB number. My guess is 80. 🙂

I do. Never even thought to use it to test noise.

 

[tevion5]

Do you have an Apple Watch? It would be interesting to learn the dB number. My guess is 80. 🙂

Using my Apple Watch and my forearm resting on top of the M2 Pro Mini, it's 34dBs (basically watch minimum) at idle / web browsing [1700 RPM] and 55dBs when I manually set the fans to max [5000 RPM].

 

[JavaScript Jackal]

Have a M2 Pro mini 12 CPU 19 GPU 32GB RAM 1TB drive Delivered yesterday. Have thrown Adobe artwork, larger size XCode projects, renderings (Everything that would make my M1 mini fan audible). Everything I can think of. The machine is silent. I’m sure there is a fan and it will come on eventually. But dang I would have to be nitpicking to the nth degree to complain about the noise coming from this machine.

 

[Plughugger]

I'm not sure if the people who have issues with the noise of the M2 Pros are having slightly noisier fans compared with others.

I have an 2018 i7 and I have no problems with it. Under load it sounds a lot but that has never been an issue for me.

The issue as I see it if the idle fans are noticeable or (way worse) producing some whining high-piched buzz. That stuff can make me go mental. The tone and characteristics of the noise is definitely more impactful for noise sensitive people.

Anyone who has an i7 who can compare the two?