I'm not dealing with ordinary noise, but a shrill and disturbing whistling.
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Mac studio v1 fan noise - it's going to be one of the loudest Macs at idle.
- Thread starter AdamSeen
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Then replace it, some fans might be louder than the other ones, whistling is certainly not normal.
I'm not dealing with ordinary noise, but a shrill and disturbing whistling.I’m not sure at all why anyone is so surprised. M1 Max is roughly an equivalent of i7 (and Ultra of i9/Xeon), all that in lunchbox sized enclosure. Do you guys not understand that this amount of computing power needs active cooling? Same like it was with Mac Pro 2013, the fans are always on to avoid ramping up and down all the time with heavy/light workloads.
The closest equivalent in PC world is Corsair One series, which is water cooled and still more noisy than the Studio.
In other words, buy Mac mini for web browsing and office work, it will be silent.
The Studio is a workstation for heavy workloads and it is whisper-quiet as Apple promised, they didn’t say “SILENT” - no one misled you, there is no “noisegate” - you either don’t understand how computers work or your noise expectations were pulled out of… thin air, let’s say
I’ve listened to your audio recording and I would replace the Studio with Apple if I were you.
Apple sells the exact same M1 Max in a MacBook Pro that has an enclosure that is smaller than the Mac Studio. In that smaller enclosure Apple also fits a large battery, great speakers and a keyboard and trackpad. There the M1 Max computer is completely silent in idle because the fans are not even running. The M1 Max is running about 10°C hotter but that is still very cool with around 45°C.
In the Mac Studio there is a humongous heat pipe with two large fans. The M1 Mac runs at 32° degrees in idle and yet Apple spins its fans at 1300 rpm all the time.
I think it is ok to think about why Apple thinks the M1 Max has to run 10°C cooler in the Studio or why there the fans should run all the time.
It's not that it makes a sound, it's the frequency, it's higher pitched than a normal computer fan. It'll be okay for me, but I do understand how it could annoy some. My Intel Workstation is quieter at idle and the fans make a lower pitched noise when it's not at idle, and quite a bit louder.I’m not sure at all why anyone is so surprised. M1 Max is roughly an equivalent of i7 (and Ultra of i9/Xeon), all that in lunchbox sized enclosure. Do you guys not understand that this amount of computing power needs active cooling? Same like it was with Mac Pro 2013, the fans are always on to avoid ramping up and down all the time with heavy/light workloads.
The closest equivalent in PC world is Corsair One series, which is water cooled and still more noisy than the Studio.
In other words, buy Mac mini for web browsing and office work, it will be silent.
The Studio is a workstation for heavy workloads and it is whisper-quiet as Apple promised, they didn’t say “SILENT” - no one misled you, there is no “noisegate” - you either don’t understand how computers work or your noise expectations were pulled out of… thin air, let’s say
Have Apple made any statements or replied to anyone who have complained to them about these whining noises? With all the early returns of units it must have stirred them up a bit.
MacBook Pro, although many people use it as a desktop (constantly plugged into mains), is a laptop. I guess the assumption from Apple is that it will occasionally work really hard (the fans will ramp up) but most of the time (especially on battery), it will have medium to light processor utilisation.
The Studio (as the name implies) is (mainly) for heavy graphics/video/audio prosumer work, therefore fans are on all the time and do not ramp up too much, no matter the load. The same situation was with 2013 Mac Pro. Setting the fans profile like Apple did with the Studio, allows for several hours of processor intensive work, without having to deal with too much noise. The side effect is that at idle, the machine is not silent, unlike M1 mini or MacBook Pro.
I’m not sure at all why anyone is so surprised. M1 Max is roughly an equivalent of i7 (and Ultra of i9/Xeon), all that in lunchbox sized enclosure. Do you guys not understand that this amount of computing power needs active cooling? Same like it was with Mac Pro 2013, the fans are always on to avoid ramping up and down all the time with heavy/light workloads.
The closest equivalent in PC world is Corsair One series, which is water cooled and still more noisy than the Studio.
In other words, buy Mac mini for web browsing and office work, it will be silent.
The Studio is a workstation for heavy workloads and it is whisper-quiet as Apple promised, they didn’t say “SILENT” - no one misled you, there is no “noisegate” - you either don’t understand how computers work or your noise expectations were pulled out of… thin air, let’s say
Yet they managed to put one in the new MBPs, one of which with a 14” screen, and make them silent at idle.
Either on the Studio they have been unnecessarily cautious, or they are not cooling the processor at idle but perhaps the constant air flow is required to cool the power supply.
If the latter is true, perhaps it would have been wiser to keep it outside the box.
Please read my answer above (post #433).
Let’s say I’m making a track in Logic. I mainly use virtual instruments and the session is 4-5 hours. Processor utilisation is around 60-80%. I’d rather have barely audible fans making constant small level of noise all the time during this process than fans ramping up and down, according to load at any given time.
New finding. If I cover the left side of the vents, the sound sometimes stops or changes frequency slightly when uncovered. Or, on the contrary, it starts to whistle. This looks more like a faulty fan. If I cover it frequently, the noise is significantly quieter.
Maybe you're right, but the main difference between macbook pro and mac studio is that the power supply is outside of the macbook pro.
So I also agree with someone that previously said that the M1 max is also in the macbook pro 14/16 and no noise at all at idle.
From my point of view, I really don't understand why Apple choose this fan profile for the mac studio as it seems to be very annoying for everyone using it for simple/under-load tasks. And this is my first problem for buying a mac studio.
In addition, according all previous posts, I think we can clearly say that there are some mac studio that **have** fan noise problems.
Do you finally get yours ? I remember you should buy an ultra some posts ago.
I’m not sure at all why anyone is so surprised. M1 Max is roughly an equivalent of i7 (and Ultra of i9/Xeon), all that in lunchbox sized enclosure. Do you guys not understand that this amount of computing power needs active cooling? Same like it was with Mac Pro 2013, the fans are always on to avoid ramping up and down all the time with heavy/light workloads.
The closest equivalent in PC world is Corsair One series, which is water cooled and still more noisy than the Studio.
In other words, buy Mac mini for web browsing and office work, it will be silent.
The Studio is a workstation for heavy workloads and it is whisper-quiet as Apple promised, they didn’t say “SILENT” - no one misled you, there is no “noisegate” - you either don’t understand how computers work or your noise expectations were pulled out of… thin air, let’s say
As I've stated in the thread title and the very beginning of the thread - it's going to be the loudest computers at idle in recent history. I think much of the objection in this thread has been from people in louder environments (e.g. going to Apple stores and testing them out, or working in rooms with higher ambient volumes), then declaring that they are silent - like that is the case.
The Mac Studio is not silent - whether that bothers people or not depends on 1.) higher background ambient noise 2.) whether they care or not. There may be a "whistle gate" that has been discovered, but a "noise gate" - no one is saying that - it is as specified.
Nope, I’m waiting for AS Mac Pro and then I will make the decision based on how powerful it will be, versus the price in comparison to Studio Ultra 48/128GB/4TB.
I am on 2018 mini now, which is crazy loud and hot under load, so yes, I don’t mind the Studio fan noise at all. I was on 2013 Mac Pro (I loved it) and it was similar to the Studio.
AS Mac Pro will be at least as loud as the Studio is, of that I am certain.
I think the way I look at it, the Studio is amazingly quiet as a WORKSTATION, the way you guys look at it, it is too loud as a HOME DESKTOP computer.
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I totally agree and understand
It's a shame for prosumers (how many there ?
) like me that want/need a powerfull desktop computer and SILENT (as some Imac pro or 27'' in the past.My I7 Imac is completely silent at idle for exemple)I think i don't need a workstation like the mac studio. I only need at least 32Go because I sometimes have to open a lot of apps (programming), and Apple has no computer between the mac mini 16Go and the mac studio max.
What disappointing me, is that I don't believe there will be a mac mini with 32Go...
Ill say this again, my max was annoying just like the audio clip above and I was able to swap out for one from Malaysia and is now silent. Not putting ripples in the water here, just a matter of fact. The fan always on is not the issue snd I truly appreciate the fact the never get past the high 1300 rpm mark. Some exhibit a high pitched noise and some do not. That’s about the core of the issue.I’m not sure at all why anyone is so surprised. M1 Max is roughly an equivalent of i7 (and Ultra of i9/Xeon), all that in lunchbox sized enclosure. Do you guys not understand that this amount of computing power needs active cooling? Same like it was with Mac Pro 2013, the fans are always on to avoid ramping up and down all the time with heavy/light workloads.
The closest equivalent in PC world is Corsair One series, which is water cooled and still more noisy than the Studio.
In other words, buy Mac mini for web browsing and office work, it will be silent.
The Studio is a workstation for heavy workloads and it is whisper-quiet as Apple promised, they didn’t say “SILENT” - no one misled you, there is no “noisegate” - you either don’t understand how computers work or your noise expectations were pulled out of… thin air, let’s say
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Sorry i don't get it. You said your new mac studio is "NOW" (and not "not") silent ?
He had a noisy (high pitched whine) Mac Studio, like the one in the audio above. He exchanged it for one which is now quiet.
So, this sound is not 'normal', or at least not apparent on all machines. Don't put up with it.
So, this sound is not 'normal', or at least not apparent on all machines. Don't put up with it.
I agree with your assessment. And as stated, I do have a 2009 Mac Pro at my desk as well. And I have been listening to those fans for a very long time now. And I am use to fan noise.I’m not sure at all why anyone is so surprised. M1 Max is roughly an equivalent of i7 (and Ultra of i9/Xeon), all that in lunchbox sized enclosure. Do you guys not understand that this amount of computing power needs active cooling? Same like it was with Mac Pro 2013, the fans are always on to avoid ramping up and down all the time with heavy/light workloads.
The closest equivalent in PC world is Corsair One series, which is water cooled and still more noisy than the Studio.
In other words, buy Mac mini for web browsing and office work, it will be silent.
The Studio is a workstation for heavy workloads and it is whisper-quiet as Apple promised, they didn’t say “SILENT” - no one misled you, there is no “noisegate” - you either don’t understand how computers work or your noise expectations were pulled out of… thin air, let’s say
As to the "SILENT". I have watched many reviews and everyone attests to "QUIET" and even "SILENT" when referencing the Mac Studio. So yes, based on those accounts, I did expect the Mac Studio to be quieter than my 2009 Mac Pro.
That being said, the noise that I am referring to is a high pitched whistling noise coming at 2599Hz when the fans are at idle speeds (~1360 RPM). Very annoying. Not a 'normal' fan noise that I have experienced on many different computers I have owned over the years. If this was not a brand new $4K machine (and a unit that was a little easier to repair and find parts for), I would have cracked open the unit and replaced the fans myself. No big deal.
Reading through the posts on this and other threads, it appears to be hit or miss if you get a unit that experiences this specific noise. Not normal fan noises, the high pitched annoying noise I am hearing. Normal fan noise I can deal with honestly. Which is why I posted an example sound byte from YouTube that I found (which matched the sound I am hearing) to see if that was the same annoying noise that a few others on this thread have experienced as well.
Return the unit. That is the tough part. If what I am experiencing is 'normal' and 'common' to all Mac Studio owners, then I will just have to get use to it. If not, then returning it is a question of utilizing AppleCare or the 14 day return policy. Either way getting a replacement looks like a long lead time (a month or more). And if the replacement unit is exactly the same as the one I've got now, I just wasted my time.
So I do appreciate everyones honest posts on this subject.
Sample whistling video.
Apple Mac Studio fan whistling & noise
Apple Mac Studio fan whistling & noise
This is exactly what mine sounds like. (M1 Max)
For sure that’s how my first one was. I have theory’s like the Mac studio fans need to be perfectly level on some units. And if not seated properl, they become out of balance. But as with everything I’m probably completely wrong. I still do have the silicone canning ring under mine so it does not slide when I plug things in. But I swear my new one is completely silent and not as much air flow period.
Where was the old noisy and the new one made?