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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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I can definitely identify two different sounds coming from my Studio (not counting the air coming from the fans): a higher tone that is resonating from the fans and coil whine I suspect coming from the power supply. The first noise is synchronous to the spinning fans, but the second noise is present even when the fans are off (sleep).
The chirping coil whine is not alway there, but is far more annoying to my ears than the sound from the fans. It seems that the chirping gets less when the machine is on longer. My spec: Max (base, 1TB), made in China, EU voltage.
I'm definitely considering returning my Studio and maybe buying a Mini M1. Does the Mini also suffer from coil whine?
The chirping coil whine is not alway there, but is far more annoying to my ears than the sound from the fans. It seems that the chirping gets less when the machine is on longer. My spec: Max (base, 1TB), made in China, EU voltage.
I'm definitely considering returning my Studio and maybe buying a Mini M1. Does the Mini also suffer from coil whine?
M1 Mac mini has always been dead silent to me. No coil whine, no audible fan. Even when exporting files or mining bitcoin, I could not tell whether it was switched on or not.
I guess my hearing has deteriorated to the point that my Mac Studio is completely silent so far. My old Mac Pro 5,1 would make a substantial noise while waking up, particularly the hard drives spinning up. The Studio is dead quiet; although I can feel air faintly exiting the cooling holes in the back there is no accompanying noise.
I had a Powerbook G4 Titanium, that was my first Mac with coil whine. That was around 2002.
Apple didn't learn anything about how to avoid coil whine in the past 20 years? How pathetic, if true.
? I heard it through the coil whine. Not much longer you be won't mine ?
Apple didn't learn anything about how to avoid coil whine in the past 20 years? How pathetic, if true.
? I heard it through the coil whine. Not much longer you be won't mine ?
I ended up calling support, and they directed me to a nearby store. They took it, and they're going to test it in the morning. The genius said that it came up suggested for capture (meaning I'd get shipped a replacement), and they didn't do that (yet) in order to test it and give me a sense of my options. Everyone I talked to was nice, helpful, and thoughtful about my personal constraints (i.e. my base MBP14 is going to have a hard time covering my workload for any real period of time).
It seems like loaners are not a generally available option, though they implied that it could be possible in a capture scenario (perhaps requiring some kind of approval).
One thing to note for those in the 14-day period: it takes them a day or so to turn it around, so look into that option 2-3 days before you run out of time.
It seems like loaners are not a generally available option, though they implied that it could be possible in a capture scenario (perhaps requiring some kind of approval).
One thing to note for those in the 14-day period: it takes them a day or so to turn it around, so look into that option 2-3 days before you run out of time.
Don't know what to say.
Forcing 1550 RPM made the whine noise disappear.
Have no idea why at 1300 RPM it has the horrible whine sound, but it hasn't at 1550 RPM.
I'm still testing the computer and it finally is a normal use experience.
Forcing 1550 RPM made the whine noise disappear.
Have no idea why at 1300 RPM it has the horrible whine sound, but it hasn't at 1550 RPM.
I'm still testing the computer and it finally is a normal use experience.
I got a Mac Studio and the noise has been bothering me too. This might be kind of crazy but after listening to it up close to hear where the noise was coming from, I covered up the left & right edges of the vent on the back with tape and I don't hear the whine anymore lol. It's fine now, but does anyone think the restricted airflow on the sides might kill it?
Don't get me wrong, I agree and as a loyal customer I'm severly disappointed with Appple.
I'm just stating what I feel might be useful info, especially given how every day that passes makes the delivery date for a potential replacement slip away...
Now I'd get a similar unit as mine around the 20th of July.
I'll be calling the support line today and see if, via my apple care, I'll be able to ask for a replacement and keep this unit while I wait, as some users managed to do in this thread.
If that won't be possible, I think I'll keep this machine, as I have an insane amount of work lined up for these months and everyhing else works, not to mention (given the production troubles this machine is having) I could end up getting a worse unit...
In normal circumstances I'd have sent this unit back immediately, and preordered an other one, however with all these troubles with chip shortages and lockdowns in China, the situation is tragic and the wait for a replacement is approaching the 4 months mark quite fast...
This is Italian for "delivery on the 20th of July":
Perhaps in the US wait times are less, being apple's primary market, but in Europe it's like that (provided rhe lockdowns in China don't get any worse).
I guess we'll have to adapt...
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It might be a bit crazy, but you are not the only one...
I ran a 30min Cinebench Test - 100% CPU load (Mac Studio Ultra) and the fans stayed at 1330rpm the whole time.
Mine is supposed to be delivered Tuesday. Looks like I may be sending it back. Do not want to live with excessive noise!!!
At least give it a chance as it seems a good portion of them are quiet.
Oh I will!! Since I posted this I read a lot more on other threads stating no issues. I was kind of caught off guard because my first delivery date was in June. Now I've been notified that it's being delivered tomorrow!!!
I have a daily routine:
Each morning I awake my Mac Studio Max from sleep. One click of the mouse. Thank you Apple Watch.
I don't think about my computer while I check email and hit my usual websites.
I proceed to this thread.
I close my eyes and listen intently.
I put the mac to sleep.
I close my eyes and listen intently.
I reawaken the mac and get on with my life.
The audible difference? None.
Each morning I awake my Mac Studio Max from sleep. One click of the mouse. Thank you Apple Watch.
I don't think about my computer while I check email and hit my usual websites.
I proceed to this thread.
I close my eyes and listen intently.
I put the mac to sleep.
I close my eyes and listen intently.
I reawaken the mac and get on with my life.
The audible difference? None.
I've never seen the fans move above 1350 or so, even under load tests where the internal components get 30+ degrees warmer. It's like they forgot to implement adaptive fan control.
I hear low decibel whirring that is slightly unpleasant, but not really grating, if I focus on it and there is no ambient noise to drown it out. I do not have the really bad tones and chirps some people have. Setting the fans to 1100 rpm reduces the fan noise noticeably and seems like it should be the default setting.
I hear low decibel whirring that is slightly unpleasant, but not really grating, if I focus on it and there is no ambient noise to drown it out. I do not have the really bad tones and chirps some people have. Setting the fans to 1100 rpm reduces the fan noise noticeably and seems like it should be the default setting.
I managed to get the average CPU temperature to 65°C for an hour and the fans still stayed at 1300 rpm. So the thermal envelope seems to be huge here. ?
The only time I got the fans spinning up was when I played StarCraft II for a while.
Yep! ?
Absolutely. Send it back before you even listen to it. Just because it's an incredible computer is no reason to doubt all the excessive noise complainers. My Studio's fan noise is so low and only heard in a completely silent room that it's not a problem in any way. It's certainly much more quiet than my 27" iMac.
The interesting thing about human nature is that now that you have this anticipated "noise" in your mind, you will never shake it. The fan will bother you no matter what. Just refuse the package and it will be sent back to Apple.
To be fair, people aren't complaining so much about fan noise. The majority of complaints is about the coil whine that numerous units have. Which is way more annoying and noticeable than fans.
Those are capacitors and they don't make noise, if they go bad they pop and you will see and smell some smoke. Coils are in the transformer the black and gold component under the yellow arrow and copper rings on the other side of the board.
Just watched Linux Tech Tips taking 2 Studios apart.
The power supply PCB's come from 2 different suppliers and are different design. Could it be one design/manufacturer produces sound/coil whine and the other is silent?
I am following this thread with great interest - I do not own the Mac Studio, nor have I ordered one. I am just a prospect buyer to replace a Mac mini if/when needed. My observations are that the Mac Studio cooling architecture and fan profile has not been engineered properly, there is a lot to be desired. Of corse it is a small enclosure, but there is so much more that can be done within those small boundaries:
1. There is no need for such a cool and power efficient chip to be cooled all the time at this high 1300 RPM.
2. Even when used at 100% the fans stay the same RPM and the chip is at 65°C or lower.
3. If the power supply needs cooling (which I doubt at the minimal power consumption of the chip and its efficiency) - then why is the power supply at the bottom and not at the top of the enclosure so that its hot air is exhausted immediately not to affect other system components? Why not have a separate air tunnel for the power supply alone, like dedicate one of the fans to it?
4. Two small turbine fans will make more noise than one large turbine fan with proper air channels at lower RPM. Why two fans were needed?
5. The perforation holes of the chassis may be too small. I can see why this may be intentional at the bottom to collect dust particles (acting as a filter), but at the rear, those are clearly too small and may create unnecessary pressure in the enclosure. Has anyone counted the perforated wholes on the bottom and at the rear to see if they are equal number (for equal in-out air flow without causing pressure)? The Mac mini has just one large exhaust hole in the back for air to come out.
6. Even the geometry of the perforation holes can create noise, they are just round with sharp edges. Usually to minimize noise, honey-cone perforation is used to avoid and break turbulence etc. Like in the Mac Pro that whole "cheese-grater" thing.
7. From the tear down-videos, I did not really see any guided air-channeling for cooling. The power supply and the "logic board" are just layered on top of each other, and there are no separate guides to channel the air for individual cooling. The chip is cooled by heat pipes and heat sink, but the air sucked through it is already heated by the power supply.
1. There is no need for such a cool and power efficient chip to be cooled all the time at this high 1300 RPM.
2. Even when used at 100% the fans stay the same RPM and the chip is at 65°C or lower.
3. If the power supply needs cooling (which I doubt at the minimal power consumption of the chip and its efficiency) - then why is the power supply at the bottom and not at the top of the enclosure so that its hot air is exhausted immediately not to affect other system components? Why not have a separate air tunnel for the power supply alone, like dedicate one of the fans to it?
4. Two small turbine fans will make more noise than one large turbine fan with proper air channels at lower RPM. Why two fans were needed?
5. The perforation holes of the chassis may be too small. I can see why this may be intentional at the bottom to collect dust particles (acting as a filter), but at the rear, those are clearly too small and may create unnecessary pressure in the enclosure. Has anyone counted the perforated wholes on the bottom and at the rear to see if they are equal number (for equal in-out air flow without causing pressure)? The Mac mini has just one large exhaust hole in the back for air to come out.
6. Even the geometry of the perforation holes can create noise, they are just round with sharp edges. Usually to minimize noise, honey-cone perforation is used to avoid and break turbulence etc. Like in the Mac Pro that whole "cheese-grater" thing.
7. From the tear down-videos, I did not really see any guided air-channeling for cooling. The power supply and the "logic board" are just layered on top of each other, and there are no separate guides to channel the air for individual cooling. The chip is cooled by heat pipes and heat sink, but the air sucked through it is already heated by the power supply.
The fan in my Max Studio has gotten worse since purchase (launch day unit). It has a noticeable PWM-like whine to it now that was not there before when new. Guessing macOS update 12.3.1 changed something with the fans, as my Studio came with 12.3 from the factory.
I can still hear it even when setting it to 1100 RPM.
Edit: 1204 RPM seems to have 'solved' it for me..
I can still hear it even when setting it to 1100 RPM.
Edit: 1204 RPM seems to have 'solved' it for me..
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