Mac studio v1 fan noise - it's going to be one of the loudest Macs at idle.

[Sharky II]

Right, but most of the YouTubers that I follow (English speaking) are in the USA. So they should theoretically have the same manufacturer. Who knows...

 

[badlydrawnboy]

I guess I'll keep my iMac Pro 2017 for a while longer. I was planning to upgrade to an M1 desktop, since I have the 14" Macbook Pro M1 Pro, and it's actually snappier and faster for many tasks than the iMac Pro. But I am extremely noise sensitive and I really need a machine that is mostly silent, especially when it's not under load. I do a lot of podcast and video recording right at my desk, so that's another reason I need quiet.

The Mac Mini isn't powerful enough. The 24" iMac doesn't have a large enough screen. So what are my options if I want an M1 machine for my desktop? Buy a maxed-out M1 Max Macbook Pro and just use it as a desktop? Or maybe I just wait for the next iteration of the Mac Studio, or a firmware update, or some other solution that makes it quieter?

 

[Chevron]

I guess I'll keep my iMac Pro 2017 for a while longer. I was planning to upgrade to an M1 desktop, since I have the 14" Macbook Pro M1 Pro, and it's actually snappier and faster for many tasks than the iMac Pro. But I am extremely noise sensitive and I really need a machine that is mostly silent, especially when it's not under load. I do a lot of podcast and video recording right at my desk, so that's another reason I need quiet.

The Mac Mini isn't powerful enough. The 24" iMac doesn't have a large enough screen. So what are my options if I want an M1 machine for my desktop? Buy a maxed-out M1 Max Macbook Pro and just use it as a desktop? Or maybe I just wait for the next iteration of the Mac Studio, or a firmware update, or some other solution that makes it quieter?

Maybe try a Mac Studio, you can always return if the noise is too much....

 

[macca24]

Maybe try a Mac Studio, you can always return if the noise is too much....

Yeah, all these guys going on hearsay and giving up on it without even trying is mad. I have the studio max base model and am well happy with it and honestly can’t hear the fans.

 

[4sallypat]

Yeah, all these guys going on hearsay and giving up on it without even trying is mad. I have the studio max base model and am well happy with it and honestly can’t hear the fans.

Same here - no fan noise at all on my base Max.
Just as quiet as my M1 Mini !

My brother is a musician and I can understand any extraneous noise is a concern while in a recording studio.

All this hype about fan noise is making me laugh - are we all suddenly working music recording studios ?

I'd hate to have an Intel Mac that has the fans spinning up all the time and heating up the place - so nice to have Apple's new silicon!

 

[ninecows]

Same here - no fan noise at all on my base Max.
Just as quiet as my M1 Mini !

My brother is a musician and I can understand any extraneous noise is a concern while in a recording studio.

All this hype about fan noise is making me laugh - are we all suddenly working music recording studios ?

I'd hate to have an Intel Mac that has the fans spinning up all the time and heating up the place - so nice to have Apple's new silicon!

Well… to be fair they did choose to call it “studio”.

Anyway I agree. For normal people within graphic/movies or software development this is a non-issue unless they have very sensitive hearing.

However: For anything that involves recording close to the computer it can be an issue. Like overdubs on your YouTube videos or music production where you’re sitting right next to the computer.

 

[ARBORIOSTUDIO]

Question for the people who are bothered by the fan. Do you think it's the airflow that causes the noise? Or could it be the fan motor? If it's the fan motor, might it be resonance/vibrations through the surface it's placed on? Have you tried moving it or placing it on a different surface (perhaps on some soft books or magazines)?

It gets quieter when held in the air so an under desk mount that doesn't block the fans would be ideal. but the question remains, why are the fans on at idle all of the time?

I guess I'll keep my iMac Pro 2017 for a while longer. I was planning to upgrade to an M1 desktop, since I have the 14" Macbook Pro M1 Pro, and it's actually snappier and faster for many tasks than the iMac Pro. But I am extremely noise sensitive and I really need a machine that is mostly silent, especially when it's not under load. I do a lot of podcast and video recording right at my desk, so that's another reason I need quiet.

The Mac Mini isn't powerful enough. The 24" iMac doesn't have a large enough screen. So what are my options if I want an M1 machine for my desktop? Buy a maxed-out M1 Max Macbook Pro and just use it as a desktop? Or maybe I just wait for the next iteration of the Mac Studio, or a firmware update, or some other solution that makes it quieter?

I had a 16 inch M1 Max 32 core that I returned and now I wish I kept it.

 

[badlydrawnboy]

It gets quieter when held in the air so an under desk mount that doesn't block the fans would be ideal. but the question remains, why are the fans on at idle all of the time?

I had a 16 inch M1 Max 32 core that I returned and now I wish I kept it.

The problem with this option is it's a lot more expensive. >$3k for the Max 32 core, which doesn't make much sense if it not using the screen/portability.

 

[AdamSeen]

I guess I'll keep my iMac Pro 2017 for a while longer. I was planning to upgrade to an M1 desktop, since I have the 14" Macbook Pro M1 Pro, and it's actually snappier and faster for many tasks than the iMac Pro. But I am extremely noise sensitive and I really need a machine that is mostly silent, especially when it's not under load. I do a lot of podcast and video recording right at my desk, so that's another reason I need quiet.

The Mac Mini isn't powerful enough. The 24" iMac doesn't have a large enough screen. So what are my options if I want an M1 machine for my desktop? Buy a maxed-out M1 Max Macbook Pro and just use it as a desktop? Or maybe I just wait for the next iteration of the Mac Studio, or a firmware update, or some other solution that makes it quieter?

As the OP - you know my views on extra fan noise. But I would encourage you to check with the NOISH/Decibel X app on your iPhone to see the noise level of your room. If it's around 30/35db you will consider it silent.

Additionally, with recording, there are plugins such as c-suite C-Vox for UAD setups (https://www.uaudio.com/uad-plugins/special-processing/c-vox-noise-reduction.html) and post-processing software such as Izotope that would remove any low ambient noise.

I think I will also be sticking with the iMac Pro, too. But will see when the studio arrives in a couple of weeks.

 

[Martyimac]

As the OP - you know my views on extra fan noise. But I would encourage you to check with the NOISH/Decibel X app on your iPhone to see the noise level of your room. If it's around 30/35db you will consider it silent.

Additionally, with recording, there are plugins such as c-suite C-Vox for UAD setups (https://www.uaudio.com/uad-plugins/special-processing/c-vox-noise-reduction.html) and post-processing software such as Izotope that would remove any low ambient noise.

I think I will also be sticking with the iMac Pro, too. But will see when the studio arrives in a couple of weeks.

So, my office reads about 38 db with the meter 2' from the Mac Studio and Studio display. To me this is dead silent.

Edit: Tried the NIOSH app and it's even quieter. 33 db at 2', and 35 db with the iphone resting directly on the Mac Studio.

 

[eelpout]

It gets quieter when held in the air so an under desk mount that doesn't block the fans would be ideal. but the question remains, why are the fans on at idle all of the time?

370 watt power supply needs some cooling, even when the SoC isn't doing much.

 

[atonaldenim]

I think the author of today's AppleInsider review must have been reading this thread

As it pertains to the acoustics of the device, we had a baseline of 36 dBa of ambient noise measured with a Kanomax model 4431 audiometer, with the test gear on the desk at hand-height, about at a distance of about three feet. The M1 Max Mac Studio hit 37 dBa at idle, and 41 dBa under load.

The M1 Ultra Mac Studio while idle hit 39 dBa idle, and 42 dBa under load.

Strictly from a noise standpoint, in the same 36 dBa room and at about the same distance, the 2018 Intel i9 MacBook Pro at idle was about 40 dBa, and under heavy load was about 45 dBa. The 16-inch Intel-based MacBook Pro hit a maximum of 44 dBa.

And, perhaps a more direct comparison is the M1 Mac mini. While idle, the M1 Mac mini is indistinguishable from ambient when idle, and 40 dBA under load. The Mac mini is much quieter, but that makes sense, given that has either half, or one-quarter the CPU area and heat as its taller cousin.

From a noise perspective, this puts the Mac Studio solidly in between lower-end Apple Silicon hardware, and Intel gear.

This all said, Fans in Apple equipment have a tone and a character that has been about the same for the last decade — until now, at least. The fan in the M1 Ultra Mac Studio isn't quite the same, and it may take a very brief period of adjustment, if its replacing a desktop or laptop of relatively recent purchase.

Like the different new Mac smell, the change isn't irritating — it's just different.

 

[AdamSeen]

370 watt power supply needs some cooling, even when the SoC isn't doing much.

The power supply is about 93% efficient and the Studio uses around 11 watts at idle. The PSU is generating about 1 watt of thermal energy at that load - So I would suspect the very lightest of airflow would be sufficient if any if even needed at all. Even at full load, it looks to be around 20-30 watts of heat from the PSU.

 

[FrostyMMB]

Anyone hoping for a firmware update that changes the Mac Studio's idle fan speed should submit feedback to Apple directly here: Feedback - Mac Studio - Apple

 

[a.y.n]

Just got a beta release of iStat Menus, the fans seem to spin at around 1300 rpm, hard to get them spin faster even when stressing the cores with compilations and many other things running.

 

[crwth]

If I open a few browsers and have over 100 tabs open all day, will the fans become audible?

Will I have less noise with the 14in m1 pro or max?

 

[4sallypat]

If I open a few browsers and have over 100 tabs open all day, will the fans become audible?

Will I have less noise with the 14in m1 pro or max?

I have 3 browsers with 25+ tabs open and there is no fan noise at all on my Studio Max base.

Same with my traded in M1 Mini base - fan never kicked on.

Will be starting use of FCP and see if that kicks on the fans.

 

[streetsandtheatres]

As the OP - you know my views on extra fan noise. But I would encourage you to check with the NOISH/Decibel X app on your iPhone to see the noise level of your room. If it's around 30/35db you will consider it silent.

Additionally, with recording, there are plugins such as c-suite C-Vox for UAD setups (https://www.uaudio.com/uad-plugins/special-processing/c-vox-noise-reduction.html) and post-processing software such as Izotope that would remove any low ambient noise.

I think I will also be sticking with the iMac Pro, too. But will see when the studio arrives in a couple of weeks.

I'm not sure how reliable the NOISH app is for low levels. My office reads 30db during the day or the night, and it's noticeably quieter at night, so perhaps there's a minimum level that an iphone can register. At 30db I can easily hear my iMac fan, and it's a relief when it shuts off (even though the app still reads 30db).

 

[rraven]

I'm not sure how reliable the NOISH app is for low levels. My office reads 30db during the day or the night, and it's noticeably quieter at night, so perhaps there's a minimum level that an iphone can register. At 30db I can easily hear my iMac fan, and it's a relief when it shuts off (even though the app still reads 30db).

Odd. On my phone (13 Pro) the NIOSH app goes down to around 27 at night in my office. It does jump up half a dB or so when my iMac Pro is running, even when I can't hear it myself. The accuracy study that I saw abstracted (The Accuracy of iPhone Applications to Monitor Environmental Noise Levels) rated the NIOSH app as the best across a wide spectrum of noise levels. Perhaps some issues at low noise levels are buried there (I didn't have access to the original paper) or it may depend on the phone.

 

[Jrshelby]

Same here - no fan noise at all on my base Max.
Just as quiet as my M1 Mini !

My brother is a musician and I can understand any extraneous noise is a concern while in a recording studio.

All this hype about fan noise is making me laugh - are we all suddenly working music recording studios ?

I'd hate to have an Intel Mac that has the fans spinning up all the time and heating up the place - so nice to have Apple's new silicon!

I’ve had 4 calls to Apple on my bsse max. both the Apple store and telephone support thought I should exchange. I bought another for in store pick up tomorro. My fans are annoying loud at around 1300 rpm. My example is not quiet. Music at half level barely drowns out the noise. I do wonder if the the studio display or thunderbolt is causing it as I noticed with TG Pro that the port the display is running off of gets 12 degrees Celsius warmer. Just curios the groups not hearing it are running HDMI and not the studio display.

 

[novagamer]

I think the author of today's AppleInsider review must have been reading this thread

I question their testing methodology... there's zero chance a 16" Intel MBP tops out at 46 decibels under load.

Source: I own one, unfortunately. Just loading a single intense VI and playing in realtime will make my fans spin to 3,000rpm+, and I even added thermal pads and tried watercooling it to shut it up without much success. There's no way they were loading all cores and taxing the video at all. I use an eGPU so it's not even the wattage thing that people complain about, there's no contest - the machine is unacceptably loud for audio work even if it's across the room.

I was / am very close to buying those $400 corning optical thunderbolt cables and throwing the damn thing in my basement under the floor because the speed really is not a huge issue, but i need more than 4TB storage and am just tired of the headache that machine has been.

I am very confident the Mac Studio in either configuration will be considerably quieter. I have an Ultra/64/8TB/128gb on order for delivery in about a month and if most of my software runs on it I'll never look back. If not... it's going to be a frustrating situation for me since I really want to just get back to recording and not futzing with things constantly to make them tolerable.

 

[smoghat]

I own a Mac Studio as well as the M1 Macbook Pro 14”. I am sensitive to noise and found life with an M1 Macbook Pro to be utterly transformative compared to the noisy 16” Intel MacBook Pro I owned before. I dont know why the OP made this thread but as one of the very few owners of a Mac Studio, mine has been utterly silent in a week of moderate use. No gaming (its a Mac, I use my PS5 for games), but quite a bit of Lightroom, dozens of tabs, multiple open apps. Dead silence.

 

[Random_Matt]

I question their testing methodology... there's zero chance a 16" Intel MBP tops out at 46 decibels under load.

Source: I own one, unfortunately. Just loading a single intense VI and playing in realtime will make my fans spin to 3,000rpm+, and I even added thermal pads and tried watercooling it to shut it up without much success. There's no way they were loading all cores and taxing the video at all. I use an eGPU so it's not even the wattage thing that people complain about, there's no contest - the machine is unacceptably loud for audio work even if it's across the room.

I was / am very close to buying those $400 corning optical thunderbolt cables and throwing the damn thing in my basement under the floor because the speed really is not a huge issue, but i need more than 4TB storage and am just tired of the headache that machine has been.

I am very confident the Mac Studio in either configuration will be considerably quieter. I have an Ultra/64/8TB/128gb on order for delivery in about a month and if most of my software runs on it I'll never look back. If not... it's going to be a frustrating situation for me since I really want to just get back to recording and not futzing with things constantly to make them tolerable.

Don't know man, 46 decibels is fricking loud. I had the 5300m version and it was loud, didn't think it was that loud though, to be honest.

I now see the difference reported between the two, seem too close.

 

[4sallypat]

I question their testing methodology... there's zero chance a 16" Intel MBP tops out at 46 decibels under load.

Source: I own one, unfortunately. Just loading a single intense VI and playing in realtime will make my fans spin to 3,000rpm+, and I even added thermal pads and tried watercooling it to shut it up without much success. There's no way they were loading all cores and taxing the video at all. I use an eGPU so it's not even the wattage thing that people complain about, there's no contest - the machine is unacceptably loud for audio work even if it's across the room.

I was / am very close to buying those $400 corning optical thunderbolt cables and throwing the damn thing in my basement under the floor because the speed really is not a huge issue, but i need more than 4TB storage and am just tired of the headache that machine has been.

I am very confident the Mac Studio in either configuration will be considerably quieter. I have an Ultra/64/8TB/128gb on order for delivery in about a month and if most of my software runs on it I'll never look back. If not... it's going to be a frustrating situation for me since I really want to just get back to recording and not futzing with things constantly to make them tolerable.

My 2019 Intel 16" MBP sounds like a jet engine when the fans spin up - very frequently.

That would drive me crazy if that happened to the Mac Studio.

So glad to move away from Intel to Apple Silicon.!

 

[rraven]

I'm not sure how reliable the NOISH app is for low levels. My office reads 30db during the day or the night, and it's noticeably quieter at night, so perhaps there's a minimum level that an iphone can register. At 30db I can easily hear my iMac fan, and it's a relief when it shuts off (even though the app still reads 30db).

I also tried Decibel X in the same setting as the NIOSH app. Decibel X is reading 3 to 4 dB lower than the NIOSH app in my office. For example, 23.5 vs 27 dB. I don't know which one is "correct" but I can say that both are responding to changes that are at the threshold of my hearing, both have a lower minimum on my 13 Pro than what you're seeing, and both suggest that the fans on the Mac Studio will be clearly audible to me at idle. Sigh...

I have an old IsoBox that I could use to dampen the fan noise if I go the Studio route anyway, but it dates from the days when computers were real screamers and would need re-engineering now to deal with its own fan noise. Plus I'd have to start dealing with extended cables and limited access again. Blah. I'd really hoped that AS would let me avoid that.