I now have an M2 Ultra and did have a M2 max. Both completely silent.
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Poll: Mac Studio M2 whine noise?
- Thread starter Think77
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I have exchanged one more unit ... now the third one ... still have the same intermittent electronic whine sound. I am gonna just take the full refund. can't live with the sound like a mosquito flying around my ears. I love to own a Mac Studio to do some works but to have to listen that whine everyday in a longterm, that will be a terrible purchase.
Got my M2 Ultra Mac Studio for 4 days. Same whine as the M1 back then...
Really annoying listening to it "whistling" like a songbird when the fan speed changes... My brain might be able to make a consistent whine disappear, but not when it "sings" ...
after 3 Macs it is safe to say:
its you.
so that means its probably your electrical outlet or power strip that is introducing irregular current to your Mac.
Simply brilliant!
I switched my AC power plug from a fully loaded power strip to a direct connection to a wall outlet and guess what?
The 2,600 Hz whine in my Mac M1 Max is GONE!
Thank you.
yes it is quite common fix for coil whine. for GPUs the next step would be to frame limit or to refresh sync. typically coil whine happens when the computer/gpu is requesting more power. if frame limit or refresh sync doesnt work you can also try undervolting.
but at that point most people will upgrade the power supply and the issue should be gone.
so its possible because the m-series chips are so low power that apple's power supply is a little under specced.
generally its good practice to not overload 1 power strip. when you're straight into the wall you can run some risk of power surge damage. its unlikely and would be even less if you have a house/apt with one of the newly specced gfci outlet
So, is the coil whine a result of other devices on a power strip lowering the voltage supplied to the Studio power supply, or is it also a possibility that the other strip devices are interacting with the AC voltage and degrading its waveform?
I have an M1 Max Studio and had it plugged into an APC Backup UPS which itself was plugged into an APC wall mount surge protector (had it already in wall so just used it). I noticed my whine went away with Mac Fans Control but recently came back worse than ever, regardless of whatever I set the Mac Fan speed to. I removed the APC wall mount from the equation and the whine is basically gone, I can hear it very very faintly, but not enough to bother me. I would suggest people try different combinations of power as I think that is what is causing it, not the actual fan....just my 2 cents
I wonder if that’s why the power cable supplied is that long so it needs to be plugged directly into a wall socket 🤔
Update after 3 months usage: It whined once for approx 5min, but apart from that no issues whatsoever.
I did the same and am pretty happy with that decision. I wish I could have got it with 64G of RAM. VM's suck up RAM.
There's no way I could take a Studio like my M1 Max again.
I’ve been on the fence about snagging a max studio from the refurb store after reading about all the issues with noise (whine?) it’s for recording so that would be bad. I had wondered if units from the refurb store would be more likely to be returned units because of the whine.
These reports though of addressing the power it’s plugged into is interesting.
These reports though of addressing the power it’s plugged into is interesting.
The fact that so many who get a unit that whines then get another that does so is very telling IMO. Given that it seems that the number that actually do show any whine is so low, I have to think that the odds of actually get two--or even more in some cases--that both show it is statistically improbable and it really points to an issue that the user has. Since it seems like coil whine is the true cause then looking at the electrical supply and/or the total power draw from those users is most likely to be a fruitful path to pursue--and based on the anecdotes in multiple cases above that has also solved the problem.
I'll add my anecdote to this pile as well. I have four Studios. One of them had a coil whine. It only showed up when I moved it from my office to home. At first I thought it was because the home office is quieter, but a few weeks after taking it home I got a new high-end UPS system and the problem is now gone.
I'll add my anecdote to this pile as well. I have four Studios. One of them had a coil whine. It only showed up when I moved it from my office to home. At first I thought it was because the home office is quieter, but a few weeks after taking it home I got a new high-end UPS system and the problem is now gone.
I just think it is not acceptable that such a machine whines... even if it is just in your home and not in your office. I hoped they would not whine no matter if the electricity in the house is old, or if you have an UPS or not... just like all the iMacs I owned before the Studio. I tried mine in three different houses, one of them very new, same behaviour. I guess some are lucky and have a "calm" electricity... and most I would say can't really hear it. I hear it clearly, sadly, even doctor's said my hearing is unusually sensitive and good (I did not go to the doctor because of my Studio LOL!), but my father can't hear jack ****.
I hope there will be a Studio revision in the next years, which won't whine, no matter where I plug it in, because I move a lot, just as I did with my iMacs, which none of them ever whined, no matter where I plugged it in :-/
In an ideal world, sure. But coil whine can be issue with plenty of electronics. It's just that most computers are loud enough you'll never hear it. You are wrong about it being that most can't hear it though. Data shows that it's just not that common of a problem. Even my own experience shows that not only is not common--only one of the four I have had any coil whine--it's also condition-dependent.
The whole thing just seems like a tempest in a teapot to me. The online noise a tiny fraction of people make about the noise they hear is way out of proportion to the reality of the situation. I get that if you have the problem its frustrating, and I'm sure Apple would like to resolve it for that fraction of users, but if it were just a simple matter it would taken care of already.
On the bright side you can get a Mac mini if you really want a headless Mac; yes, you can't get the Max or Ultra chips, but it's not like there's no options. If you need a Max you can also just get a MacBook Pro, which has the same performance as a Studio Max.
Not that it makes any practical difference to those that have it (mine purchased Day 1 of the Studio introduction, does not), but from the recordings I've heard and the spectral plots I've seen during the last 18 months, I'm guessing it's the piezoelectric effect of a MLCC cap(s) rather than a vibrating coil. That's an occasional problem I've had to deal with while designing products.
Well I took a gamble on a refurb M2max 64gig 1tb I get it Monday so I’ll see first hand.
Hello everyone, just want to add real-life report to the record we're keeping here.
Back in April, I had to return base m1 max studio just one day after purchase for unbearable whine - it was so loud that I could hear it across the room and nothing but disabling the fan completely would help (which wasn't good long term solution, as I put the machine under quite bit of load).
I've been watching this forum for reports on m2 machines as well as probably all the videos on YouTube that mention noise (lack of it or complaints) - I can hear the whine in most of them, so wasn't too hopeful.
As I really need more powerful machine than my m1pro MBP, I took a chance on m2 ultra studio this week (stock config with 64gb ram & 1tb ssd), unpacked & installed it yesterday -
the good news - for most of the day I couldn't hear the whine at all, nor the fans - was super happy about the decision, as the machine is screaming fast
the less good news (but not bad) - in the night when everything in my workspace goes super quiet, faint whine got audible, but nowhere near the levels/annoyance of the m1 machine, I'd say it's 30% of the intensity, maybe even less.
It's the fan again - disabling it completely removes the whine - I can live with the level it's producing at 1000rpm, so I'm keeping the machine
Thanks everyone for posting here, it was invaluable resource for making decision
Back in April, I had to return base m1 max studio just one day after purchase for unbearable whine - it was so loud that I could hear it across the room and nothing but disabling the fan completely would help (which wasn't good long term solution, as I put the machine under quite bit of load).
I've been watching this forum for reports on m2 machines as well as probably all the videos on YouTube that mention noise (lack of it or complaints) - I can hear the whine in most of them, so wasn't too hopeful.
As I really need more powerful machine than my m1pro MBP, I took a chance on m2 ultra studio this week (stock config with 64gb ram & 1tb ssd), unpacked & installed it yesterday -
the good news - for most of the day I couldn't hear the whine at all, nor the fans - was super happy about the decision, as the machine is screaming fast
the less good news (but not bad) - in the night when everything in my workspace goes super quiet, faint whine got audible, but nowhere near the levels/annoyance of the m1 machine, I'd say it's 30% of the intensity, maybe even less.
It's the fan again - disabling it completely removes the whine - I can live with the level it's producing at 1000rpm, so I'm keeping the machine
Thanks everyone for posting here, it was invaluable resource for making decision
Just to add another data point: had a maxed out M2 Ultra for about a month now and cannot hear any whine or the fans. It's' positioned to the side of my monitor. Great machine, happy with the purchase.
Well if you say so I guess I am wrong. Just from personal first hand experience, some people just can not hear it. But as you said, I'm wrong. The presumption has already been mentioned: It is the electronics. May it be the power in the building be at fault, some components, PSU, the piezoelectric effect of a MLCC caps... it exists, not everywhere, and not to everyone. But I am still sure, some can't hear it even if they have it. Sure, the Mac Mini exists but only goes to 32GB and a Pro, the MacBook exists but costs double here for the same power.
I'm just baffled I never had this problem with any of the many iMacs I had in this very quiet work environment of mine.