Mac Pro 2010, Case Fans Replacement

[kennyman]

Hello,

I have an old 2010 Mac Pro, 8 Cores. I noticed the fans are quite louder now that they were before when I purchased the unit. Can I replace the case fans with normal PWM fans or should I go with Apple Fans? Please help me, as I want to make it quieter again. All the fans produce some low-hum noise when the computer is ON.

 

[El Awesome]

Hello,

I have an old 2010 Mac Pro, 8 Cores. I noticed the fans are quite louder now that they were before when I purchased the unit. Can I replace the case fans with normal PWM fans or should I go with Apple Fans? Please help me, as I want to make it quieter again. All the fans produce some low-hum noise when the computer is ON.

Clean the fans from dust.
Dust makes the blades heavier and therefore the fans have to spin up more to make the same performance, and then you hear them more.

 

[Inconsequential]

Yep. 2009 Mac Pro here and it is no louder than it was when new.

Just needs cleaning out regularly!!

 

[kennyman]

Yep. 2009 Mac Pro here and it is no louder than it was when new.

Just needs cleaning out regularly!!

Hello,

I dust-off the fans, did not notice any dust though

Mac is very clean inside, my mac pro is 24H on, I travelled a lot and remote access it. I think it is the wear and tear, need replacement, can I replace it with normal fans or should I but expensive mac fans....which I do not want to do

 

[The-Pro]

Maybe the fans are louder because the computer is hotter? Are there any stuck processes maybe?
Also I hear alot that the GPU fans are the noisiest. And on my 2009 8core and 2010 4 core the 5770's are the loudest. Still unbelievably quiet though.

 

[BigJohno]

I have 5,1 6 core and very quiet. I do notice that after about a month or so the idle temps rise about 10 degrees from 90F to 100-103F. I clean out the machine and it goes back to high 80s 90s. Fans dont spin up though.

 

[kennyman]

I have 5,1 6 core and very quiet. I do notice that after about a month or so the idle temps rise about 10 degrees from 90F to 100-103F. I clean out the machine and it goes back to high 80s 90s. Fans dont spin up though.

Mine also is a 5,1 - I guess it is time I send it to Apple Store for fans replacement. It is not dusty at all, but almost all the fans (except the PSU fans) are noisy. Definitely something is wrong, temp-wise, CPU and GPU are running cool. No issues there, so definitely something to do with the fans.

Apple Genius told me to bring it in, but I do not want to wait for 2-3 weeks for fans replacement and also it will cost way more than getting normal 120mmx 120mm fans

 

[Inconsequential]

Hello,

I dust-off the fans, did not notice any dust though

Mac is very clean inside, my mac pro is 24H on, I travelled a lot and remote access it. I think it is the wear and tear, need replacement, can I replace it with normal fans or should I but expensive mac fans....which I do not want to do

Unless your good with electronics and know what you are doing the answer is mac fans are the way forward.


What GPU do you have? They make the most noise in my experience

 

[DanielCoffey]

The Apple fans are not PWM but use a similar connector. If you fit a PWM fan, the hardware sensor will register a fault and spin the fan to full speed.

Now, in some situations this might not be a bad thing - there are some good PWM fans that move more air more quietly than the Apple fans and can be quieter at full speed than the Apple ones at idle but they will be drawing more current all the time they are running.

Try searching the forum for folks who have successfully got non-Apple fans working in their recent MPs.