How LOUD is the new c2d macbook ?

[Romulus]

I've posted before about the C2D notebook noise... They are not the quietest notebooks out there, but besides the fan noise, this computers are perfect.

Mine does have a wine associated with them at around 2300 rpm, but I do not think it would be considered abnormal... I just ordered an antec notebook cooler to see if that may do a better job.

I also think the fan speed has to also do with the time the machine has been up. After hours of operation, even if I am doing minimum work on it, the temperature stays at over 60 and the fans are spinning at around 2500. At that speed the buzz does not bother me, but now there is a whining sound with it.

What should I do? Apple store is not exactly nearby, but I guess I can try to take it in... I guess it did not get to me yet... hehe

 

[Chack]

I am kind of disappointed that this noise is there. I think every aspect of this C2D MacBook Pro is quieter than my PowerBook, except that fan buzz is driving me crazy. I think maybe I will just have to listen to iTunes radio all the time to cover it up (it's not very loud, it's just annoying).

For those who wonder what it sounds like, here is a video clip.

Note that it is much louder in this video than it is when normally using the computer. When my fridge kicks on in the other room, its noise totally obscures the fan noise.

I think maybe I will just keep this computer in excellent condition so that I can sell it and upgrade for a small cost in a couple of years when the laptops are TOTALLY silent

 

[chmedly]

what about hard drive noise?

I've got 2 mbp 17 c2d with the 160 gb drives. One is almost dead silent but the other has a different hard drive sound to it. Instead of a faint chatter it has a little more "thunk" to it. Its still pretty quiet but the fact that there is a difference causes me some concern.

 

[mojohojo]

hi clicq,

my new macbook sounds just the same as yours. its fairly loud (louder than any laptop i've had used) and sounds like a jet engine starting up. is this normal or something wrong with hardware? its my first day using it

also, is it normal for a loud clicking noise when inserting/ejecting cds?

 

[Romulus]

The first couple days it was at its loudest. I think it's because it's doing many things in the background because of you installing new software, indexing the drive, indexing spotlight, etc... I found that it was quieter a couple days down the road.

The clicking noise is normal. You to to pay for that slot loading drive - you got to suffer to be beautiful... Hehe..

 

[scott523]

I don't think these MacBooks are the quietest either but it's the quiet computer of all the other computers I have. However, in a room with moderate volume with 20 people around, it is quiet unless I'm playing CoD2.

Before I had a 2-click sound clicking from the single mouse button but all that stopped for some reason (probably the continual use/wear on the button). Now what remains a little annoyance is the buzzz that's audible when facing your ear toward the magsafe connector when plugged in.

Another off topic issue is that I see a gray streak (looks like a bruise) below the Apple logo on the casing and rubbing it off is impossible. I don't know how that got there since it's been in nowhere but in my carrying case.

 

[whawhat]

Whoa those fans sound more scarier than mines. Anyways, I would always hear something coming out of the MacBook. At idle, I would hear a nice calming hum of the fans shooting hot air out of the vents. The only thing I'm a little concerned of is the addition of a buzzing sound coming at the top left area of the keyboard (esc key) and only gets louder (higher pitch rather) when the Magsafe adapter is plugged in.

same with my c2d mb - that buzzing sound comin from the top left area is def. noticeable......anybody know what it is?

 

[clicq]

hi clicq,

my new macbook sounds just the same as yours. its fairly loud (louder than any laptop i've had used) and sounds like a jet engine starting up. is this normal or something wrong with hardware? its my first day using it

also, is it normal for a loud clicking noise when inserting/ejecting cds?

I think to a certain extent, it is supposed to sound like a jet engine -- if you have a small fan spinning at 6200rpm, pushing out lots of air, there's going to be a bit of noise. (I had an old thinkpad laptop, and it didn't have a high speed fan like that in it, which is why it's quieter... then again, it was only 300mhz lol.) I do have friends with relatively modern laptops, and they considered my fan noise normal (one said it was quieter than his laptop even!).

On the other hand, what had me concerned is that the fan hummed even at idle (this sound was distinct from the magsafe whine and cpu whine). I tried to capture it on my recording, but my crappy microphone had too much background noise. If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't have been bothered much by it.

The only suggestion I can make is to go to a store with Macbooks and listen to how they sound, or take it to an Apple store and ask them to have a listen.

 

[austerlitz]

whine

I had a macbook, C2D, purchased online, BTO, on 10-NOV. I had the whine noise coming from area near where the magsafe plugs into the computer. Not that noticeable at home, but quite noticeable at the libary. It seemed to be related to cpu activity; when the cpu was active, no whine; when the cpu was inactive, irritating whine. For example, with a web browser open, the whine was audible when I wasn't scrolling, but while scolling, the whine would stop. Very irritating. I discovered a couple of work-arounds: open photobooth and leave it running in background, or open "mirror widget" (then close it, then sleep, then wake up, and miraculously no more whine, until i printed something, and the whine started again; repeat process until next time I printed something; there is stuff on the web about this "mirror widget" fix.). So it seemed that with the video camera (and related cpu processing) active, the whine was silenced. Also, no whine when working on battery. I took it to a genius. He took it into the back room and came back and admitted that he understood what I was talking about, but he said that such kind of noise is within spec. I responded by saying that if there is no whine sometimes (when cpu is active; with photobooth open for example), and whine at all other times (when cpu is inactive), that seems like problem...perhaps with power supply? He agreed to make a notation of it in my tech support file, which enabled me to return the computer. I sent it back today. I'm bummed. I loved everything else about the computer (I was a switcher), but this irritating, intermittent whine was not workable for me, as I do most of my work in quiet environment. I've listened to a couple of macbooks in store, and I fear that this whine noise coming from near where the magsafe is plugged in is just normal for a mabook. So i think I'm going to go with IBM thinkpad. Does anyone else have this whine? Or are my ears just a bit too sensitive?

 

[imMAColata]

I am fairly sensitive to noise, but I do not find the macbooks noise level to be concerned about. When you word and surf, no noise. When you do more intensive work, a bit of a wooosh sound from the fans. But no whine so far.

 

[imMAColata]

I had a macbook, C2D, purchased online, BTO, on 10-NOV. I had the whine noise coming from area near where the magsafe plugs into the computer. Not that noticeable at home, but quite noticeable at the libary. It seemed to be related to cpu activity; when the cpu was active, no whine; when the cpu was inactive, irritating whine. For example, with a web browser open, the whine was audible when I wasn't scrolling, but while scolling, the whine would stop. Very irritating. Does anyone else have this whine? Or are my ears just a bit too sensitive?

Gawd damnit! I have the same whine noise as you do! And two stuck pixels. I think Ill use the option to return the computer and tell them that it is not good enough quality for me to bother with.

The whine could be the same thing that the MBP owners suffered from earlier. It seems to develop over time, ie. not right when you boot but after some time working.

Sigh.

Apple QA: They've heard of it. Possibly maybe. The message just never got to china.

 

[juna]

I had a buzz and dead pixel on a custom order--got lucky and got it replaced, but the buzz is still there. sounds pretty much exactly like the movie chack posted...geniuses told me that is not the fan, but the screen's inverter. on my first one, they said it was louder than average (but within spec, *of course), but my replacement's buzz is just about as loud. interestingly, i find the fan doesnt kick in as often, and when it does, is not as loud. anyone else have input on the buzz? if there are quieter ones, can they replace just the inverter?

 

[shov]

yup. my c2d has that annoying high pitched whine... it's very quiet but it's just the pitch that's annoying. i like it when the fans come on and the nice whooshing sound covers it up.

other issues: one dead pixel (at the bottom of the screen, don't notice it unless you look for it)
white bezel at bottom of screen a bit loose (not bothered about that either)
side panel where all the ports are is a bit loose (annoying)
keys around a s and d on the keyboard sound a bit loose when pressed.
the case between them moves a bit (also annoying).

bought with uk he contract so got three years limited warranty. i'll wait for something proper to go wrong before sending it in.

 

[whawhat]

at first the whine didn't bother me but now it's really noticeable and annoying. anyone want a black macbook w/ 200gb HD and 2gb RAM?

 

[Kardashian]

Mine sounds the same as the Core Duo it replaced. No moo or whine.

 

[clicq]

Fixed my fan!

I just got my Macbook back from Apple today, and I am happy to report that the fan is much quieter (I can no longer hear it at idle, and at full speed, the "motor whine" that was there previously is greatly diminished, so now I hear mostly the rush of air from the fan). Looks like all they did was replace the fan assembly. The Macbook is in as good condition as when it was sent in (no loose/missing screws or bezel). It did take a whole week, but I believe it was due to waiting for the parts; they overnighted it back to me, which I thought was pretty nice of them (probably typical of their service, but I wasn't expecting it back until Monday, considering the status didn't change until late last night).

Though now that my fan is quieter, the CPU whine is more noticeable, but I can live with that .