MP 7,1 The new Mac Pro is not that quiet?

[AdamSeen]

You’re incorrect, haven’t read the post properly and additionally very condescending - you’re not really acting in good spirit to the time I’ve spent researching and providing this factual information freely to the people in this forum. The only thing that is an assumption is the operator position.

The new Mac Pro converts more energy to sound, which means it makes more noise. The only factor that would make it seem like it’s not the case would be because it’s in a different position.

 

[sirio76]

The only thing that is an assumption is the operator position

That is a very critical information(that you are missing), if you measure noise level from 10 meters away you will have very different reading that if you measure it from the noise source.
Your whole reasoning is based on a data you do not have

 

[AdamSeen]

That is a very critical information(that you are missing), if you measure noise level from 10 meters away you will have very different reading that if you measure it from the noise source.
Your whole reasoning is based on a data you do not have

I’m not sure if you’re being intentionally obtuse. But you’re exactly proving the point I’m making. The operator position reading cannot be used to determine the actual sound output of a device.

If I’m 10,000km away from a rock concert in Antarctica, the noise I will hear from it will effectively be 0dB.

Apple show their readings from an operator position, which isn’t defined in the 9th edition of the ECMA-109 Declared Noise Emission Values of Information Technology and Telecommunications Equipment Standard, it doesn’t give the sound output in a standardised way.

Therefore, the only value you can rely upon is the sound power level, which shows the 7,1 is the loudest of those machines.

Due to correlation you can deduce an estimated sound output of the Mac Pro.

 

[Coyote2006]

It's quiter than the 5,1, that's all what counts for me . Looking forward to see if the 7,1 is quiter that my NAS or not

 

[Parzival]

It's quiter than the 5,1

Yes but that's a low bar.

 

[verstaerker]

I found that Apple offer some sound information tucked away in their support sites tech spec pages. I've collated this info here:

Computer sound readings taken at idle	Sound Power level (bels)	Sound Pressure level Operator Position (dB) [What is heard]
Mac Pro (2019)	2.7	11
Mac Pro (2013)	2.0	14
iMac Pro	2.1	13
iMac 2015/2017	1.95	11.5
iMac 2019	2.4	16
Mac Mini 2018	1.3	5

Before we get into the readings, we need to understand a little more about what's being shown.

Sound power level - is the energy that is converted into sound.
Sound pressure level - is what is felt and heard. This is the most important value for actual perception.

It looks like the Mac Pro (2019) is almost the quietest Mac! However, there's one additional important point. The Sound Pressure reading is taken at "Operator Position".

It isn't clearly defined in the spec as to what it may be. But suggests it is a reading taken from a place where the user would usually use the computer from in relation to where the computer is in your room (e.g. on your desk, under your desk)

Comparing all the values on the chart below we can see the Mac Pro (2019) sound power level doesn't correlate well with every other computer, in which the values are quite closely linked:


View attachment 894953

This would suggest the Mac Pro (2019) is in the different operator position to the rest of the other computers. Every other computer would likely be on the desk. The Mac Pro (2019) would be under the desk.

If we assume the operator position of the Mac Pro is sat on the desk in the same position as an iMac and use the same correlation, we can see that the Mac Pro would be the loudest computer in our lineup at approx 18dB.


View attachment 894954


So is the Mac Pro quiet? It's not that quiet. But under the desk it should be at least as quiet as a 2015/17 iMac.

Does it mean my blower on my returned Mac Pro was too loud as it was louder than my 2015 iMac? The information above may suggest so. But still not sure.

Links to some of the data:

Mac Pro (2019) - Technical Specifications

iMac Pro (2017) - Technical Specifications - Apple Support

support.apple.com

Mac mini (2018) - Technical Specifications

that matches my experience ... my MacPro is the loudest Mac I ever had (in idle)

but on the position I had to choose under the desk I can't hear it at my normal position at the desk. But when I move away from the position (for example a meter back) I can easily hear it.

If I would position it as originally planned with the front pointing towards me I would hear it so clearly , it would be hardly acceptable.

I'm still unsure what to do.

Did anyone who finds their Mac Pro to loud spoke with the Apple Support about it? What did they say?

 

[AdamSeen]

It's quiter than the 5,1, that's all what counts for me . Looking forward to see if the 7,1 is quiter that my NAS or not

It will be a lot quieter than the Mac Pro 2012. It's reported as 3.5 Power level and 25dB sound pressure level. You'll be happy

Mac Pro (Mid 2012) - Technical Specifications - Apple Support

support.apple.com

that matches my experience ... my MacPro is the loudest Mac I ever had (in idle)

but on the position I had to choose under the desk I can't hear it at my normal position at the desk. But when I move away from the position (for example a meter back) I can easily hear it.

If I would position it as originally planned with the front pointing towards me I would hear it so clearly , it would be hardly acceptable.

I'm still unsure what to do.

Did anyone who finds their Mac Pro to loud spoke with the Apple Support about it? What did they say?

I spoke to numerous people in Apple support, none of which could help and one even went to the engineers. They wouldn't give me dB readings, which I eventually found hidden on the Apple website.

It's a tough call - I couldn't live with it so took it back.

The Mac Pro rack, seems very slightly quieter than the Mac Pro tower (2.5 vs 2.7 Bels): (https://support.apple.com/kb/SP810?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US).
If you can put it in another room it would solve it (I know, it's made to be seen).
Or build a hackintosh if you have the patience.

It's a shame, it would be absolute perfect for my use case if they'd made a really quiet blower design as the other fans are imperceptible. It seems like they could have done that if they'd really wanted.

As an aside, the real surprise to me was to see how loud the iMac 2019 has become compared to the previous gen ones. Those big intel chips and AMD GPUs are making it toasty! The enclosure is in need of a redesign.

 

[flygbuss]

Sound pressure level - is what is felt and heard. This is the most important value for actual perception.

Is this dB SPL A- weighted?
If it’s not dBA those numbers don’t tell us much about human perception at all.

Different frequencies (e.g. 50Hz vs. 3kHz) with the same energy will be perceived differently by humans.

 

[verstaerker]

It will be a lot quieter than the Mac Pro 2012. It's reported as 3.5 Power level and 25dB sound pressure level. You'll be happy

Mac Pro (Mid 2012) - Technical Specifications - Apple Support

support.apple.com

I spoke to numerous people in Apple support, none of which could help and one even went to the engineers. They wouldn't give me dB readings, which I eventually found hidden on the Apple website.

It's a tough call - I couldn't live with it so took it back.

The Mac Pro rack, seems very slightly quieter than the Mac Pro tower (2.5 vs 2.7 Bels): (https://support.apple.com/kb/SP810?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US).
If you can put it in another room it would solve it (I know, it's made to be seen).
Or build a hackintosh if you have the patience.

It's a shame, it would be absolute perfect for my use case if they'd made a really quiet blower design as the other fans are imperceptible. It seems like they could have done that if they'd really wanted.

As an aside, the real surprise to me was to see how loud the iMac 2019 has become compared to the previous gen ones. Those big intel chips and AMD GPUs are making it toasty! The enclosure is in need of a redesign.

As stated currently sideways placed under my desk I,m happy with the noise. Its almost impossible to hear .
But no other positioning is acceptable.
I think if I start complaining I will spend weeks on writing emails and having stupid phone-calls.
So maybe I just leave it.

 

[AdamSeen]

Is this dB SPL A- weighted?
If it’s not dBA those numbers don’t tell us much about human perception at all.

Different frequencies (e.g. 50Hz vs. 3kHz) with the same energy will be perceived differently by humans.

They are indeed A-weighted.

As stated currently sideways placed under my desk I,m happy with the noise. Its almost impossible to hear .
But no other positioning is acceptable.
I think if I start complaining I will spend weeks on writing emails and having stupid phone-calls.
So maybe I just leave it.

Sounds like a good solution. I turned mine sideways but unfortunately didn't help.

 

[DPUser]

We live in a noisy world. One of the disadvantages of a really quiet room, like a recording studio, its that sounds that would be masked in a more typical environment can be exceedingly annoying when no other sound is present.

 

[Coyote2006]

My 5,1 is at about 40 dB, standing on my desk next to me (1m). I hope the 7,1 will be quiter (Preparing to Ship ... yessss) it should be at about 27dB ...

 

[Coyote2006]

It will be a lot quieter than the Mac Pro 2012. It's reported as 3.5 Power level and 25dB sound pressure level. You'll be happy

It's extremely quite. I've got to move my NAS in another room now

 

[AdamSeen]

My journey has finally come to an end. After a lot of thought I went and purchased an iMac Pro. The dream of having one computer (no PC & separate Mac) has not been fulfilled.

The iMac Pro is quieter than the Mac Pro, my iMac 2015 and the PC I have. I'm pretty happy with it. My office is super quiet (24dB), so I can still hear it - but it's a nice, gentle, sound.

Hope everyone enjoys their new Mac Pros and see you guys around.

 

[OkiRun]

My journey has finally come to an end. After a lot of thought I went and purchased an iMac Pro. The dream of having one computer (no PC & separate Mac) has not been fulfilled.

The iMac Pro is quieter than the Mac Pro, my iMac 2015 and the PC I have. I'm pretty happy with it. My office is super quiet (24dB), so I can still hear it - but it's a nice, gentle, sound.

Hope everyone enjoys their new Mac Pros and see you guys around.

The iMac Pro is a sweet machine and definitely very quiet on the desk top. You won't have regrets.

 

[qap]

According to Apple is quietest than iMac Pro and iMac

Mac Pro

iMac Pro

iMac i9 (but with HDD not SSD)

 

[OkiRun]

According to Apple is quietest than iMac Pro and iMac

Mac Pro

iMac Pro

iMac i9 (but with HDD not SSD)

I see those numbers. I'm using my 'ear' test. I have the 7.1 and a Late 2015 iMac 5K Retina in my office. The iMac is by far quieter. To be fair though, the 7.1 is being pushed daily with a heavy video editing workload.

 

[s66]

All I can say is that I used to have a "trashcan" MP6,1 on my desk and the least you loaded it, it would kick up its fan and make a lot of noise. When I turned on the trashcan in target disk mode to make a last copy of the files on it in my home directory -just in case- before I wiped it: it struck me how loud it was compared to the MP7,1.

The MP7,1: I've yet to hear its fans at all. Yes, it sits under the desk (I've waited an extra month to get it due to the wheels) - so that was always my intention. It's simply too big to sit on my desk.
Even trying to get close to its back: can't hear a fan at all, yes you can feel the warm air flow out of the machine, so it's on.
Is it more silent that the HVAC system in our place: yes, a lot.
Is it more silent than the (silent) fridge, dish washer, etc in our kitchen: yes: a lot.
Is it more silent than a mac mini that's hooked up to our TV: never hear either of them unless I put load on that mac mini. So: in idle: hard to tell ; under load: yes it's more silent than an older mac mini

If Apple measured 11dBA: might well be true, as I can't hear it at all, something I'd expect from such a low number.
I know there are people who artificially turn up the fan speed on the MP7,1. Of course it'll make more noise if you do that, but that's actually the wonderful thing about the MP7,1: it doesn't turn up the fans all by itself, not even if you load it, not even if you have power hungry GPUs in it. And that's something other mac's can't do: they will have their fans turn higher whenever you load them. The MP7,1 just stays silent, even under load and that's what so nice about it.

Way back I used to have extremely silent PCs, with sound deadening in the cases, with extremely silent fans, with underclocked items to get them to cool passively: the MP7,1 is in all honesty -much- more silent than those.

 

[Adult80HD]

I see those numbers. I'm using my 'ear' test. I have the 7.1 and a Late 2015 iMac 5K Retina in my office. The iMac is by far quieter. To be fair though, the 7.1 is being pushed daily with a heavy video editing workload.

Yeah but when you push that iMac and the fans spin up it gets really loud; I'm sure you'd really hear it if you pushed it as hard as the MP. We had an iMac being used for some CAD rendering work and I could hear it down the hall when it was working hard. The MP 7,1 is a very quiet blowing sound that is almost indistinguishable from the HVAC system blowing, unless I move really close. What's weird is that I have to look now to know it's working hard--unlike the iMac or the MBP 16", when my 7,1 is really crunching the noise level never changes.

 

[OkiRun]

T

Yeah but when you push that iMac and the fans spin up it gets really loud; I'm sure you'd really hear it if you pushed it as hard as the MP. We had an iMac being used for some CAD rendering work and I could hear it down the hall when it was working hard. The MP 7,1 is a very quiet blowing sound that is almost indistinguishable from the HVAC system blowing, unless I move really close. What's weird is that I have to look now to know it's working hard--unlike the iMac or the MBP 16", when my 7,1 is really crunching the noise level never changes.

The ambient noise in the office is too loud to 'notice' the 7.1 fan which is under a desk; I occassionaly hear it grunting like a pig under a heavy workload more than I hear a fan. I'm speaking about having the iMac in front of my face. If I put the 7.1 directly in my face, it would definitely 'sound' louder than the iMac it replaced; but hearing is both science and temperament.

 

[AdamSeen]

According to Apple is quietest than iMac Pro and iMac

Mac Pro

iMac Pro

iMac i9 (but with HDD not SSD)

The iMac Pro is quieter, but it's easy to look at the numbers and draw the wrong conclusions (I did, to start off with)

See these posts for a more in-depth explanation:

• #123
• #128

Or have a look at the spec (PDF) https://www.ecma-international.org/publications/files/ECMA-ST/ECMA-109.pdf

In brief, the variable is the "operator position".

Additionally with my rigorous anecdotal evidence with a huge sample size of 1: After owning both, the iMac Pro is quieter than the Mac Pro.

However, even though the iMac Pro is quieter, if you have the right desk setup, the Mac Pro may sound quieter from your "operator position" if you put it under a desk with the right kind of walls and good sound obstruction.

I hope that makes everything clear.

 

[Adult80HD]

The iMac Pro is quieter, but it's easy to look at the numbers and draw the wrong conclusions (I did, to start off with)

See these posts for a more in-depth explanation:

• #123
• #128

Or have a look at the spec (PDF) https://www.ecma-international.org/publications/files/ECMA-ST/ECMA-109.pdf

In brief, the variable is the "operator position".

Additionally with my rigorous anecdotal evidence with a huge sample size of 1: After owning both, the iMac Pro is quieter than the Mac Pro.

However, even though the iMac Pro is quieter, if you have the right desk setup, the Mac Pro may sound quieter from your "operator position" if you put it under a desk with the right kind of walls and good sound obstruction.

I hope that makes everything clear.

Another variable to consider is the frequency of the noise; it just could be that you're more sensitive to the frequency produced by the MP than the iMac Pro. Nothing wrong with that, it just is what it is.

 

[astrorider]

The iMac Pro is quieter, but it's easy to look at the numbers and draw the wrong conclusions (I did, to start off with)

See these posts for a more in-depth explanation:

• #123
• #128

Or have a look at the spec (PDF) https://www.ecma-international.org/publications/files/ECMA-ST/ECMA-109.pdf

In brief, the variable is the "operator position".

Additionally with my rigorous anecdotal evidence with a huge sample size of 1: After owning both, the iMac Pro is quieter than the Mac Pro.

However, even though the iMac Pro is quieter, if you have the right desk setup, the Mac Pro may sound quieter from your "operator position" if you put it under a desk with the right kind of walls and good sound obstruction.

I hope that makes everything clear.

In addition to operator position, another variable is what the machine is doing and what impact that has on the machine's fans. Apple says their testing is performed with "Wireless web test browses 25 popular websites". If that test causes the fan speed to increase on some machines it also impacts the test and the observed sound level.

Anecdotally, I've seen a single process running at around 100% in Activity Monitor for a short time (e.g. Dropbox) audibly ramp up the fans on iMacs and Macbook Pros, and the difference in sound was very noticeable. The same process running on a Mac Pro causes no audible change in the fan speed. Actually, there's no significant audible change when my Mac Pro runs at 1600% CPU for several days straight. In short, which Mac is quietest for you depends on your workload too.

 

[AdamSeen]

In addition to operator position, another variable is what the machine is doing and what impact that has on the machine's fans. Apple says their testing is performed with "Wireless web test browses 25 popular websites". If that test causes the fan speed to increase on some machines it also impacts the test and the observed sound level.

Anecdotally, I've seen a single process running at around 100% in Activity Monitor for a short time (e.g. Dropbox) audibly ramp up the fans on iMacs and Macbook Pros, and the difference in sound was very noticeable. The same process running on a Mac Pro causes no audible change in the fan speed. Actually, there's no significant audible change when my Mac Pro runs at 1600% CPU for several days straight. In short, which Mac is quietest for you depends on your workload too.

I agree - I've always maintained the Mac Pro is the quietest Mac at load, but not at idle. The iMac Pro is up there, too.

 

[DPUser]

"SPL at Operator Position" sure gives Apple some wiggle room. By that measurement, my 5,1 is waaaay quieter... 'cause it sits in another space, not in the control room. : )