M3 Max MBP Fan

[deputy_doofy]

Kind of hoping others with an M3 Max MacBook Pro can test something for me. I have noticed, in a really quiet environment, when my fans start, there is first a little click or tick sound, almost as if it's just an audible "the fan is starting" kind of noise.
This sound only ever happens once, and that's when the fans start. There are no clicking or popping sounds during fan operation and no similar click when the fans turn off. I've not heard this before on older MacBooks and was curious. A hardware test on the device came back with no problems.

I really don't want to take this in to Apple if it's just normal behavior for this device and, unless they do it in a super quiet room, they'll never hear that sound. It's very faint, but I can always make it happen by using a process I know will turn on the fans.

This does happen in low power mode also. Ultimately, I'd just like others with an M3 Max (I have the 16") can see if theirs makes a similar sound upon fan startup.

Thanks!

 

[jamdex]

Not heard my fans come on yet. Whats the process, i'll see if i can replicate?

 

[deputy_doofy]

Not heard my fans come on yet. Whats the process, i'll see if i can replicate?

Usually a handbrake conversion on a large enough file is enough to fire up the fans. Even in low power mode, you may never hear the fans but, in my case, I'll still hear that soft little sound that tells me the fans have turned on. iStat confirmed this for me, as I truly couldn't hear the fan at all in some cases and needed something to show me the RPMs.

 

[Xavier]

I'll try and listen for the fans on mine. I honestly don't know if they have even come on yet lol

 

[HuaTaishi]

Hi, my M2 Max 14-inch MacBook Pro has similar behaviour, when just start doing something intensive

 

[LinMac]

Do you have it elevated at all or is it just flat against the table/desk on the default attached spacers/legs? You can dissipate a lot of heat with a laptop cooling pad with extra fans. That helps keep mind from throttling back during code work and virt

 

[xraydoc]

Somewhat of an old thread, I know, but the fans on my 14" M3 Max (14/30-core model) are nearly inaudible when they fire up; I can barely hear them when they're going and I'm sure they can go higher, but I've never had them ramp all the way up as of yet. I guess my workflow just doesn't push the Max to its limits (though it did push the M1 Pro I used to have). The vast majority of the time, I hear absolutely nothing from my machine.