Just a question. Cannot find any info on the website. The presentation gives the impression that the fan is always on, as the presenter didn't say anything like it will be silent most of the times etc, but instead said you cannot hear it most of the times.
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Mac Studio: is the fan always on like the Mini
- Thread starter warmbear
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That’s why they put some speakers in the display, so you cannot hear the fans with some music playing!
Here's Apple's statement on idle noise levels: Mac Studio (2022) - Acoustic Performance
That seems to imply always on fans. As points of comparison the number for the M1 Mac Mini is 5 dB and for the very quiet iMac Pro with always on fans it was 13 dB.
That seems to imply always on fans. As points of comparison the number for the M1 Mac Mini is 5 dB and for the very quiet iMac Pro with always on fans it was 13 dB.
Thank you for the link. This is very unfortunate IMHO. Apple could have made it silent most of the times just like the M1 Pro/Max MBPs with some heat pipes or vapor chambers. I guess they think most of the users will be in an office where ambient noise will be higher.
The iMac Pro is pretty quiet for me (the fans almost never spin up). I would expect this machine (especially with Apple Silicon) to be even quieter...
Based on Apple’s data it should be noisier when placed at same distance. But with the Mac Studio you could place it further away, which probably helps.
Is it right that the left column (15 db) in that link is the level of the Mac Studio's fans? I'm asking because the table is a bit crowded with engineering terminology.
Looking at another table that compares db to everyday sounds 15 db seems to be fine. The question is, will the fans stay as silent under long-term heavy load.
15dB is close to the 13dB of the 2017 Intel iMac Pro and most everyone who owned one said it was "effectively silent" and that they were great machines for audio work because fan noise was so low.
As such, I expect a Mac Studio to be "effectively silent", as well.
As such, I expect a Mac Studio to be "effectively silent", as well.
Google search says 15DB is half way between a leaf falling and leaves rustling so should be able to hear it from a few feet away if there’s no other sounds around you but only just. What’s equally important is what kind of sound it is, some fans are more annoying than others, and that 15DB is obviously when idle, not under load which they don’t mention which is concerning.
Honestly though I’m surprised by the amount of cooling in this thing, it’s half of the enclosure. I thought Apple chips were so much more efficient that they didn’t need so much. Hopefully it’s just overkill so it will stay quieter, we shall see.
Honestly though I’m surprised by the amount of cooling in this thing, it’s half of the enclosure. I thought Apple chips were so much more efficient that they didn’t need so much. Hopefully it’s just overkill so it will stay quieter, we shall see.
The iMac Pro was effectively silent when it was new. Or at least it was in all but the very quietest environments. Mine has gotten noisier over the last 4+ years. It's now situationally silent. I've heard the same from other long-term owners.
Given that shift I'm concerned about starting this process again with a machine that's a bit louder to start. A 2 dB difference is, I'm told, on the edge of perception, but it's not in the direction I'd hoped. Then there's the sound character issue that WhiteHawk mentions. I'm going to wait for reactions from users and reviewers this time.
I didn't see this thread before I posted mine about the sound: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...-going-to-be-one-of-the-loudest-macs.2337251/
In reality the sound pressure at operator position is a non-standardised reading from wherever Apple defines the computer would sit - I would take the 15dB reading with a grain of salt and use the sound power level x 10. So 25dB.
I have an iMac Pro and it is significantly quieter than the Mac Pro. Even though in theory the iMac Pro was 13dB (at operator position) vs 11dB Mac Pro
That's exactly the worry about an always-on fan: it will get more dusty and noisier by day. A proper solution would keep the fan off most of the time, reducing dust and also wear and tear for the fan.
I also hope that this can be corrected with a future firmware update. I had also expected that the Mac Studio M1 Ultra would be silent must of the time (such as the M1 iMac or the M1 Pro Macbook) and was a bit disappointed when putting the Mac Studio into use (for me the only, albeit a quite significant, let down so far).
How noisy is it? Mine (base model) is nearly silent. I know the fan is a prominent complaint re: Studio. Maybe I'm just going deaf!
A “good” Studio is just audible in a quiet room - definitely not completely silent but very unobtrusive with no “tonal” whine or buzz - and seems to stay that way under load. The sort of thing you only notice when you switch it off. C.f. my previous iMac which was silent when idle but much, much louder under load.
I’m not trying to gaslight people who have whine-y Studios - unless they’re expecting it to be dead silent - but that sounds like a QA issue affecting some units (or maybe batches) and all I can suggest is bugging Apple until they provide a quiet one.
I have a Mac Studio M1 Max purchased in August and it is extremely quiet. If there is NO noise in the room and I get within 2 feet of it i can ever so slightly hear it. I’ve never heard it ramp up nor seen the RPMs increase from 13xx. I consider the machine ”silent,” for all (my) intents and purposes. I really love this new setup.
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When I first got mine, I had it sitting on my desk. If there was no other noise in the room, and I focussed, I could just here the woosh of the air out the back, but that was all. I've since moved it to a mount under the desk, so it is completely silent to me now. I've had it for almost five months.