Lets wait and see the reviews/ Videos etc , if it IS noisy I'll probably just get an M1 mini instead
Bet the M1 Ultra is much louder than the M1 Max. Twice the silicon, no architectural differences. Unless Apple dramatically downclocks and undervolts the Ultra, it’ll make more heat than the Max. One more reason to opt for Max if you don’t explicitly need the Ultra’s extra cores or front side TB4 ports.
If Apple does reduce clocks to stay inside a power envelope, the Max will probably outperform the Ultra in lightly threaded tasks.
For me this will be a deal breaker as I run a recording studio. Even when just monitoring the mix fan noise is a constant distraction. And for big mixes the machine will get hot for long periods of time. When recording instruments in the control room every db makes a difference and anyone that says just move away from the computer - that’s easy if there’s an assistant operating the computer, but if working solo you literally have to have the mouse, monitor and keyboard right next to you at all times. Building an iso cabinet is an option, but if this machine is noisy I’m ruling it out and going for the 14” 8-core MBP
the reality is different...its clearly more silent in idle and under load than a lot of imacsThe new Mac Studio comes with a lot of power, but with it also comes a bit more noise.
It’s 25dB at idle which is as loud as the Mac Pro (rack mount). As it will tend to sit closer to the user than a Mac Pro would, which means it will be perceived to be louder as well.
View attachment 1970575
(More here: https://quietmac.netlify.app)
Because it employs smaller blower fans, they emit a more unpleasant noise vs larger fans. For example, with the Mac Pro, the large fans are quiet and smooth whereas the blower fan to cool the memory is louder and higher pitched.
Until there are real samples in the wild, it remains to be seen if it is unpleasant or not.
I hoped with moving from inefficient Intels to the super efficient Apple Silicon fan noise would be lower in the high-end desktop range, but It seems the design philosophy is to use a higher than needed fan speed, but less variability.
This equates to fans running faster than required so that when tasks that spike GPU and CPU usage it will tend to stay quieter rather than creating the more obvious noise of variable fan speeds.
Mine is arriving in April, so won’t be able to test before then.
But if you're looking for something super quiet, the Mac Studio won't beat the currently unbeaten (and unavailable) iMac Pro for top end desktops.
However, you will only notice this if you have a quiet office. People sharing offices or those with noise floors above 30/35dB, will not notice it at all. Also if you're not sensitive to low fan noise, it's not anything to particularly to worry about.
Speaking of chugging, I should mention that the Mac Studio has a fan—about half of its volume is taken up with a cooling system—and that fan seems to run constantly. It’s very quiet, throwing out low-level white noise that I couldn’t hear unless I sat in my office when it was completely quiet. But the sound is very much there, in a way my iMac Pro fan never was, and if you’re ultra-sensitive to fan noise in quiet environments, you will notice it. The good news is, not only is it quiet, the noise also seems fairly consistent. I threw graphics- and CPU-intensive tasks at the Mac Studio, and I couldn’t get the fan to sound any louder, at least to my ears.
Does he mention if he's talking about the Max or the Ultra? I wonder if the sound levels will be the same on each model.I'll take the liberty of quoting Jason Snells article directly in full as regards noise:
MaxDoes he mention if he's talking about the Max or the Ultra? I wonder if the sound levels will be the same on each model.
Thank you, that’s a really good analysis and in line with what I assumed it would be according to Apples figures.I'll take the liberty of quoting Jason Snells article directly in full as regards noise:
It gives a fair idea of how Apple approached the noise properties of the Studio. A very low level noise from an always on fan, that on the plus side tend to stay constant and not call attention to itself by ramping up and down. I'm a bit divided on that choice, (I appreciate the semi-passive approach), but we'll see how it works out. It will depend a lot on the absolute level of that noise floor. He does say that it is very low. We'll see.
I'll take the liberty of quoting Jason Snells article directly in full as regards noise:
It gives a fair idea of how Apple approached the noise properties of the Studio. A very low level noise from an always on fan, that on the plus side tend to stay constant and not call attention to itself by ramping up and down. I'm a bit divided on that choice, (I appreciate the semi-passive approach), but we'll see how it works out. It will depend a lot on the absolute level of that noise floor. He does say that it is very low. We'll see.