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ZombiePhysicist

Suspended
May 22, 2014
2,884
2,794
I’m not at home for a few days, but I’m very willing to try a lot of things to get it quieter and understand precisely what’s causing the noise.

It might not be just the fan noise, because it feels like pressure.

I currently have the 580x and the lack of air vents maybe creating a lot more positive air pressure inside the case compared to the full-size MPX modules.

I wonder if opening a few of the blanking plates at the back might help?

I remove my 580x and put a wx9100 in slot 4. So basically the lower portion of the machine is empty. It's super quiet. That said, even when I left the 580x in there as well, it was still quiet. Certainly worth playing around with...
 

TimmyCrook

macrumors member
Jan 9, 2019
69
56
I’m not at home for a few days, but I’m very willing to try a lot of things to get it quieter and understand precisely what’s causing the noise.

It might not be just the fan noise, because it feels like pressure.

I currently have the 580x and the lack of air vents maybe creating a lot more positive air pressure inside the case compared to the full-size MPX modules.

I wonder if opening a few of the blanking plates at the back might help?
Had the 580X on my first 7,1 and it was super quiet. Now I have the Vega, no difference.
 

spacerunner

macrumors newbie
Jan 24, 2020
6
2
super quit here.

Config: Europe (China), 580X, standard config plus 2 spindles (J2i), 96GB RAM, 2 additional NVME SSDs.

Not noticeable at all sitting under the desk, quiet room. Much, much quieter than my old 3,1. All I can hear are the spindle disks at heavy I/O.

It should be noted that there was one exception:

During the first couple hours of operation some fan noise came up occasionally. Never since. Possibly install work? Encryption? Indexing? Who knows.
 

Blair Paulsen

macrumors regular
Jun 22, 2016
211
157
San Diego, CA USA
Thanks in advance to those who take the time to conduct tests and share them. Very curious about the sound levels for the 7,1; idling, modest demand and full bore with a Duo or at least 2 single GPUs. If, in fact, the case/cooling design adds $2K to the MSRP (as some have suggested) then in addition to being rock solid, its gotta run quiet - at least in the content creation space.
Sure, bigger shops will have machine rooms, IT peeps, etc so they don't care - I suspect many of those same facilities live on PC hardware for several reasons. IMHO, there's a big chunk of the MacPro market that wants a workstation they can use locally without feeling like they're in a machine room - starting with it being quiet enough for use in editorial and near set.
 

ZombiePhysicist

Suspended
May 22, 2014
2,884
2,794
Also, something that may be worthwhile for the machines that are loud. Reset the PR/NVRAM settings and the SMC.

A lot of times when you add/remove a bunch of cards and things, some setting may get out of wack and the fans will not set right. Resetting all that might get the fans to reset.
 

Kedbear

macrumors member
Dec 15, 2019
79
55
Also, something that may be worthwhile for the machines that are loud. Reset the PR/NVRAM settings and the SMC.

A lot of times when you add/remove a bunch of cards and things, some setting may get out of wack and the fans will not set right. Resetting all that might get the fans to reset.

I have a 16 core which i’d descfibe as pretty much silent. Much quieter than my 5,1. I’m in a quiet room. I can hear the highpoint 7101a-1 fan on the lowest setting louder than the Mac Pro.
 

Adult80HD

macrumors 6502a
Nov 19, 2019
701
837
Interesting to hear that some hear more than others; my 7,1 sits only 18" from my head and I can't hear it unless I put my head only inches from it.
 

darthaddie

macrumors regular
Sep 20, 2018
182
222
Planet Earth
Whisper quiet for me. 12core/96/Radeon Vega II. I am in the US. I basically sit next to the Mac. Even under full load, can’t hear it. My TB3 drive is louder even with the fan turned off.

Ambient temps are at 72f. If that matters.
 

astrorider

macrumors 6502a
Sep 25, 2008
595
131
It depends on how it's oriented too. Put your ear in front of the new Mac Pro's grates and it's obviously louder than it is with your ear on the side where the sound is muffled since there's no grates. So, if you put the new Mac Pro on a desk facing towards where you sit, it may be louder than a 2013 Mac Pro in that same position. But, turn it so the side with the Apple logo faces you instead, and they seem very similar to me (both quiet). The new Mac Pro maybe seems a little quieter under heavy load for long periods of time, but I was always happy with how quiet the 2013 was as well.
 

ekwipt

macrumors 65816
Jan 14, 2008
1,069
362
Do you have aircon running in the house, cause that can cause air pressure difference that could possibly interfere with the case and the fans running at a certain frequency...just a guess
 

th0masp

macrumors 6502a
Mar 16, 2015
851
517
How is it possible a 2000$ machine will run more quiet than a 6000$ one...

Depends on how quiet Apple's choice of fans really are compared to those of self-appointed specialists like e.g. beQuiet.

I imagine the particular airflow they have in that case design might also make things tricky when aftermarket cards are being used that come with additional fans or feature shapes sticking out in exactly the wrong way.
 

Parzival

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 12, 2013
153
353
Also, something that may be worthwhile for the machines that are loud. Reset the PR/NVRAM settings and the SMC.

A lot of times when you add/remove a bunch of cards and things, some setting may get out of wack and the fans will not set right. Resetting all that might get the fans to reset.

Well, the thing is that mine was "loud" even when no changes had been made yet
 

rxs0

macrumors member
Apr 4, 2019
68
118
With the entry level Mac Pro, I can't hear any sound with the computer on the table. I can only hear low frequency fan noise when my ear is up against the computer.
 

Parzival

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 12, 2013
153
353
With the entry level Mac Pro, I can't hear any sound with the computer on the table. I can only hear low frequency fan noise when my ear is up against the computer.

Thats so weird. My fan RPM's are normal, my room is cool, the fans themselves are in excellent condition (I manually checked to see if they turn properly or make any sound and they seem pretty much perfect.
 

Onelifenofear

macrumors 6502a
Feb 20, 2019
801
1,530
London
Mine is utterly silent in the dead of night at 1.5m away. I have in the same room recording Voice Overs.

Actually worried and wondering what NMVE Caddy to get that doesn't have a tiny fan to kill my zen.

you could use a DB meter app... even double check with an iPhone one. They are relatively accurate. I'd do one now but they are digging the road up outside!
 

Blair Paulsen

macrumors regular
Jun 22, 2016
211
157
San Diego, CA USA
Does the case fit well? There have been anecdotal reports of outer casing not slipping back on without forcing. Perhaps yours has the opposite issue, air slipping through spaces that shouldn't be there?
It's also worth noting that quite a few posters find the 7,1 very quiet - and they can't all be half deaf...
 

AdamSeen

macrumors 6502
Jun 5, 2013
350
423
Mine is utterly silent in the dead of night at 1.5m away. I have in the same room recording Voice Overs.

Actually worried and wondering what NMVE Caddy to get that doesn't have a tiny fan to kill my zen.

you could use a DB meter app... even double check with an iPhone one. They are relatively accurate. I'd do one now but they are digging the road up outside!


It’s so strange that yours is utterly silent, whilst mine and parzivals’s is not. I’ll get dB readings using iPhone in a couple of nights when I’m back home.
 

Onelifenofear

macrumors 6502a
Feb 20, 2019
801
1,530
London
It’s so strange that yours is utterly silent, whilst mine and parzivals’s is not. I’ll get dB readings using iPhone in a couple of nights when I’m back home.

I am 46. I could just be deaf :) My wife claims I am anyway.

So my in showing about 10db at 1m, about 22 at the back right which is the loudest bit.

As I sit here I do notice it... just... However... It's Rendering a 3D Animation that made my 1080ti Hackingtosh sound like a Hairdyer in my ear!

As for the location....my UK one was shipped from Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
I wonder if they have a final BTO component build centre there?
 
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OkiRun

macrumors 65816
Oct 25, 2019
1,005
585
Japan
I don't ever hear the fans.

It does 'grunt' on occasion when loading files and programs.

I wonder acoustically and using physics terminology - where it comes from.
 
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