Choosing Mac mini based on noise (fan)

[ArmouredBear]

I've had enough of my Intel Mac mini so would like to get a new Mac mini.
Noise levels are really important as the spinning up of the fan in my current mini is driving me mad, I have discounted the Studio because of the alleged fan noise. Am I correct?

So, what I'd like to know is, is there any difference in fan noise between the standard M2 and the M2 Pro configurations?
Just wondering if the pro is hotter, needs more cooling..
Thanks in advance.

 

[Feek]

I have discounted the Studio because of the alleged fan noise. Am I correct?

No.

 

[ArmouredBear]

No.

So it isn't noisier than the M2 Mac mini?

 

[Serge88]

The MacBook air does not have a fan. Problem solved.

 

[ArmouredBear]

The MacBook air does not have a fan. Problem solved.

No, I'm looking for a desktop, we already have a MacBook Air.

 

[meson]

What is your workflow that causes the Intel mini to spin up? What model do you have? Are the processes that cause the machine to heat up single core/single thread processes or multicore/multithread processes? If they are single core/single thread, then buying a machine with more CPU cores doesn't gain you anything. If they are parallelized, buying a machine with more cpu cores could be beneficial by distributing the load better.

The only issue I've heard about with the studio is a high pitched whine, but I have no idea how widespread it is. If you are old enough, it may well be beyond the upper limit of your hearing.

Can a MacBook Air handle your workflow? I know you already have one, but using one in clamshell mode as a desktop replacement is a reasonable solution if you are serious about eliminating fan noise. If the Air can handle your work, I couldn't fathom shelling out for a Studio for the same workload.

The M1 machines tend to run slightly cooler than the M2 machines, so you could save some money and pick up an M1 model that suits your needs.

Regardless, the cooling systems that weren't quite adequate for the Intel processors have carried over to the Apple Silicon processors and in some cases (Studio) are significantly beefier. With the much lower power draw of the Apple Silicon machines, it's all but a guarantee that any Apple Silicon based machine you choose will be significantly quieter.

 

[adamlbiscuit]

I have an M2 Mac mini and anything from digital illustration to light gaming, I’ve not heard the fan once.

 

[ArmouredBear]

What is your workflow that causes the Intel mini to spin up? What model do you have? Are the processes that cause the machine to heat up single core/single thread processes or multicore/multithread processes? If they are single core/single thread, then buying a machine with more CPU cores doesn't gain you anything. If they are parallelized, buying a machine with more cpu cores could be beneficial by distributing the load better.

The only issue I've heard about with the studio is a high pitched whine, but I have no idea how widespread it is. If you are old enough, it may well be beyond the upper limit of your hearing.

Can a MacBook Air handle your workflow? I know you already have one, but using one in clamshell mode as a desktop replacement is a reasonable solution if you are serious about eliminating fan noise. If the Air can handle your work, I couldn't fathom shelling out for a Studio for the same workload.

The M1 machines tend to run slightly cooler than the M2 machines, so you could save some money and pick up an M1 model that suits your needs.

Regardless, the cooling systems that weren't quite adequate for the Intel processors have carried over to the Apple Silicon processors and in some cases (Studio) are significantly beefier. With the much lower power draw of the Apple Silicon machines, it's all but a guarantee that any Apple Silicon based machine you choose will be significantly quieter.

If I translate a website in Safari that immediately causes it, have also seen mobileassetd (76%cpu) and translationd (26%cpu) cause fan to go from 1700rpm to 3500rpm very quickly.

 

[meson]

If I translate a website in Safari that immediately causes it, have also seen mobileassetd (76%cpu) and translationd (26%cpu) cause fan to go from 1700rpm to 3500rpm very quickly.

Have your tried reinstalling MacOS? Maybe you have an issue that can be fixed simply by reinstalling overtop of your current OS. Have you tried in Safe Mode to see if it is possibly some other software compatibility issue?

With that said, I don't visit many non-English websites, but tried sites for a couple companies global pages and used Safari's built-in translation feature (something I didn't realize existed), and saw virtually no impact to the fan speed and/or cpu load on my M1 16GB ram, 256GB SSD mini during the translation. It could be something along the lines of the silicon Macs making use of the neural processing unit to do something that is cpu intensive on the Intel machines. If you have a site that you are willing to share that gives you problems, I'll be glad to test it out on my mini or M1 MBP.

If this is the biggest issue, you will be more than satisfied with any of the Apple Silicon based machines.

 

[ArmouredBear]

Have your tried reinstalling MacOS? Maybe you have an issue that can be fixed simply by reinstalling overtop of your current OS. Have you tried in Safe Mode to see if it is possibly some other software compatibility issue?

With that said, I don't visit many non-English websites, but tried sites for a couple companies global pages and used Safari's built-in translation feature (something I didn't realize existed), and saw virtually no impact to the fan speed and/or cpu load on my M1 16GB ram, 256GB SSD mini during the translation. It could be something along the lines of the silicon Macs making use of the neural processing unit to do something that is cpu intensive on the Intel machines. If you have a site that you are willing to share that gives you problems, I'll be glad to test it out on my mini or M1 MBP.

If this is the biggest issue, you will be more than satisfied with any of the Apple Silicon based machines.

Thanks a lot, I suspect you may be right, on our MBA M1 it seems effortless.

楽天トラベル: 品川プリンスホテル 宿泊予約

品川プリンスホテル、品川駅より徒歩約2分のエンタメホテル！360度の東京パノラマビューを望める希少なロケーション♪、東海道新幹線・ＪＲ線・京浜急行　品川駅（高輪口）より徒歩約２分。京急線 羽田空港国内線ターミナル駅より最速14分、駐車場:有り　500台　1500円/泊　※予約不可

travel.rakuten.co.jp

If I translate that website on safari the fan goes from 1700rpm to 3500rpm very quickly.

 

[haddy]

So it isn't noisier than the M2 Mac mini?

My two Studio ultras are dead silent.......no noise.

 

[meson]

Thanks a lot, I suspect you may be right, on our MBA M1 it seems effortless.

楽天トラベル: 品川プリンスホテル 宿泊予約

品川プリンスホテル、品川駅より徒歩約2分のエンタメホテル！360度の東京パノラマビューを望める希少なロケーション♪、東海道新幹線・ＪＲ線・京浜急行　品川駅（高輪口）より徒歩約２分。京急線 羽田空港国内線ターミナル駅より最速14分、駐車場:有り　500台　1500円/泊　※予約不可

travel.rakuten.co.jp

If I translate that website on safari the fan goes from 1700rpm to 3500rpm very quickly.

On the 13" M1 MBP, the fans are off and didn't spin up at all, and the translation happened without breaking a sweat. I'm sure the mini would keep hovering at 1700rpm as well.

It very well may be time to move on to a new machine, and I don't think you will need to spend a fortune to get the performance you want.

 

[MikeDr206]

I went from a 2018 Intel Mini to an M2 Pro Mini.

The Intel fans would come on full bore when using Zoom or Teams, and every so often when running a VM in Parallels.

I have yet to hear the M2 Pro’s fans.

 

[ArmouredBear]

Thanks a lot, seems like a no-brainer, Stocktwits.com is another site that sends the fans crazy
Sounds like just the normal M2 with (1TB SSD and 16GB RAM) would be a huge, quiet upgrade.

 

[fricotin]

Running stocktwits and 30 other tabs opened on Brave and Mini 2012, temp 67C, fan 1800 rpm.

 

[weckart]

Just for a laugh, I opened Stockwits and translated Rakuten in Firefox on a Mac Mini 2012 running the latest Ventura release. Temps spiked at 60ºC before falling back to the mid 50s. Fans didn't even get out of bed.

I would hazard a guess that it's less the hardware and more your actual setup that is causing the issue: Plugins, background tasks or whatever.

 

[ArmouredBear]

I have a very large Photos Library (400GB+), photoanalysisd sometimes uses quite a bit of cpu, nothing else special.

 

[watakoola]

On the 13" M1 MBP, the fans are off and didn't spin up at all, and the translation happened without breaking a sweat. I'm sure the mini would keep hovering at 1700rpm as well.

It very well may be time to move on to a new machine, and I don't think you will need to spend a fortune to get the performance you want.

Mac mini M2 Pro: The Rakuten web site translated in 1-2 seconds. The temps went from 35c to 43c during those 1-2 seconds then settled back down. As an ex-2018 Intel Mac mini owner I find the M2 Pro fans ridiculously quiet.

 

[ArmouredBear]

I powered up my mini 10 mins ago and CPU temps are around 60c, room temperature is 25c. Do the intel chips really run that much hotter than Apple's?

In terms of fan noise, there is no difference between the M2 and M2 Pro Mac mini, correct?
The Mac Studio also is no less quiet than the mini but there have been coil noise reports, correct?

 

[watakoola]

Do the intel chips really run that much hotter than Apple's?

Yes. My Intel mini cooked itself to death. The M2 and M2 Pro are far superior computers in all aspects.

 

[ArmouredBear]

Yes. My Intel mini cooked itself to death. The M2 and M2 Pro are far superior computers in all aspects.

Thanks, just need to decide on M2 or M2 Pro.
I wish Apple's upgrade costs weren't so obscene, I'd love 24GB RAM but 400 is robbery.

 

[watakoola]

Thanks, just need to decide on M2 or M2 Pro.
I wish Apple's upgrade costs weren't so obscene, I'd love 24GB RAM but 400 is robbery.

My Intel mini was the top-of-the line with 32Gb.

I purchased the 16Gb, 512Gb M2 Pro.

I have not had any issues with the 16Gb of RAM in the M2 Pro but, I don't do video. I do however give it a hammering with (too) many open apps, too many browser windows, database compiling and queries, and, and, and...

 

[ArmouredBear]

My Intel mini was the top-of-the line with 32Gb.

I purchased the 16Gb, 512Gb M2 Pro.

I have not had any issues with the 16Gb of RAM in the M2 Pro but, I don't do video. I do however give it a hammering with (too) many open apps, too many browser windows, database compiling and queries, and, and, and...

Thanks, 16GB would be more comfortable financially, I am often guilty of keeping stupid numbers of tabs being open at once.
I won't do any developing on it (I have my work computer for that) so I imagine standard M2 is enough?

 

[watakoola]

I presume so. I needed the extra ports, so the M2 Pro was a no-brainer.
Either should suit you fine...

 

[LambdaTheImpossible]

Yes. My Intel mini cooked itself to death. The M2 and M2 Pro are far superior computers in all aspects.

I had an i3 mac mini. It was a coffee warmer.

The M1 mac mini I had got spanked pretty hard and never heard it make a sound. I'd assume the same with the M2 one.