Please rank the fan loudness of Macs

[SchmoBurger]

The Powerbook G3/400 (Lombard), gets some pretty hectic fan noise, especially when you're playing a DVD with VLC...

 

[wdlove]

I think that the Power Mac G4 ranks up there for noise. In my case, I've gotten us to the noise. Just doesn't bother me at all.

 

[shadowmoses]

Before i installed a Fan-Mate on my eMac it sounded like a freight train you could hear it from the lower floor in my house....

With the Fan put down to its slowest speed using the Fan-Mate it is now fairly quiet especially compared to what it used to be but is nowhere near silent.......

SHadOW

 

[zen.state]

I can only speak for 2 macs as thats all I own..

I have a G4 500 powermac and a 1.25 mac mini. the tower is MUCH louder than the mini and the tower isn't even that loud.

 

[JonMaker]

Before i installed a Fan-Mate on my eMac it sounded like a freight train you could hear it from the lower floor in my house....

With the Fan put down to its slowest speed using the Fan-Mate it is now fairly quiet especially compared to what it used to be but is nowhere near silent.......

SHadOW

I've used a lab full of eMacs (about 30). The noise is deafening , and the room is always ten degrees hotter than the rest of the building, even with the AC cranked.

IIRC, the fans in the eMacs are not variable speed.

 

[shadowmoses]

I've used a lab full of eMacs (about 30). The noise is deafening , and the room is always ten degrees hotter than the rest of the building, even with the AC cranked.

IIRC, the fans in the eMacs are not variable speed.

They are not out of the box but if you crack the little baby open and install a variable fan speed controller they can be put down so that they become fairly quiet...

ShadOW

 

[highres]

the old G4 PM's had that "high pitch whine" compared to the "whisper soft" roar of the G5 PM's, I think the G4 PM's are the loudest and the Mini's are the quietest...

 

[aussie_geek]

I can most definitely say my G4 tower Mirrored Drive Door (aka the Wind tunnel) is the loudest Mac I have ever heard. My brother uses it - I don't know how...

The PowerMac G5 is next - the fan's aren't all that loud, it's the small beeps / chirps that are the loudest actually. I have gotten used to them - they are not all that loud.

The PowerBook is silent until the fan's kick in.

The Mini is the quietest Mac I own.


aussie_geek

 

[OryHara]

im sitting 1' 8" away from my g4 1.25 PM and i can hear it at all

 

[Zygon Gambit]

Anyone fancy updating this list for the new Macs...

I like to be able to listen to quiet music in the same room as my Mac, and wondered what all the new Intel ones were like in terms of noise.

 

[tarjan]

Girlfriends dual g4 PM. Holy crap is it loud. First time she turned it on I thought something was broken.

My guess is 70db at 1 ft. If I really cared, I would power it up and bring the db meter, but it isn't really that critical so I won't

(I will for the merom based mbp, if I decide to get one, when they decide to make one with a decent video card.)