[dissident]

I've read quite a lot about the noise on the new G4. But no one tries to aproach this objectivly. People just say that they are too noisy, not as quiet as they "should" be", less noisy than the original MDD. I can't relate to any of these observations.

Now, I have an old Beige G3 revision A with a 400 MHz G3 card. Is there anyone who can compare the noise level on my machine with that of the new 1 GHz G4 MDD? I mean, are the differences like night and day?
thanks!

-Robin

[russellb]

have one of the new G4 MDD 1Ghz machines sitting under my desk :-) and it is very very quite, you can't even tell it is running

seems as the fan over the heatsink is so huge that it prob only needs to run at very low rpm and then theres the second fan in the side door.

[Rodster]

I too don't understand all the fuss over the G4 Powermacs being noisy. I've been to several Mac shops in Oregon and I can barely hear the fans in the machines. They are very quiet.

I heard one power up from a cold start and for a few seconds it was loud. After the initial load sequence it was very quiet. I'm new to Macs so maybe this was a problem with older models.

[D'Espice]

You can't tell the real noise level from hearing it in the store. It's very loud in such an Apple store or computer store or whatever, what you need to hear is the Mac in a very silent environment like your room.

Compared to a beige G3 it's fscking loud, not any better than the old MDDs I've heard. No wonder it's not different, after all Apple didn't change anything concerning the noise level or ventilation at all, it's still the very same system they've used in the old MDDs.

[mac freak]

I think many people underestimate the noise involved with the simlutaneous operation and cooling of two processors...
I doubt my DP450 is much quieter than the first-gen MDD's, but people didn't complain then because we all expected loudness to be associated with dual processors.

[dissident]

Originally posted by mac freak:
I think many people underestimate the noise involved with the simlutaneous operation and cooling of two processors...

I'm not talking about the dual processor model! I'm talking about the entry level 1 GHz SINGLE PROCESSOR MDD!

[derekn]

I went from a Rev. C Beige G3 (with a G4 upgrade) to the dual 867 and it's been fine for me. When I first started it up I was a bit worried but once I used it, the noise level was about the same as the Beige I think. Read some threads about how loud they are and it'll be annoying.

[booboo]

Originally posted by derekn:
I went from a Rev. C Beige G3 (with a G4 upgrade) to the dual 867 and it's been fine for me. When I first started it up I was a bit worried but once I used it, the noise level was about the same as the Beige I think. Read some threads about how loud they are and it'll be annoying.

You must be deaf!

There's a whole website dedicated to the G4 MDD noise problem My Beige G3 is barely audible. My G4 MDD went back after 2 hours. I found the noise invasive, and the whole experience of unpacking the beautiful box, connect it all together and then have it whine with a prominent frequency just slightly flat of C was dispiriting, to say the least.

In my living room I have a 8600/G3/400, a beige G3 server 333MHz, an Athlon 17O0 PC and a Starmax clone. The MDD was easily twice as loud as all these machines put together, I kid you not. THAT is louder than it should be.

I really wanted to be able to cope with its noise, but I couldn't. I love Apple products, and this was the first time I sent one back. I tell a lie, I bought a 6100/66 and the SIMM sockets were soldered in backwards!

I'm now looking for an older, slower, but quieter machine to tide me over until the next revision. I know the new range are supposed to be quieter, but I would make sure you get one from somewhere with a good returns policy, just in case.

The G3 (Beige and B&W) was near silent. The G4 Sawtooth no problem at all. The G4 733 Digital Audio was loud, and introduced an unpleasant but nevertherless constant whine. The Quicksilvers were no improvement, and maybe worse.

The MDD's most noticeable feature was the most annoying, constantly changing whine from the PSU, a wierd beating effect as the dual PSU fans relative rpm's converge and diverge, plus the Mac equivalent of the sound of an automatic transmission as other fans came on or off, increased or decreased their rpm's.

In my opinion, if a fan is required to change its status more than once an hour, I'd prefer it to be on all the time. It's the constant state of flux that makes the MDD unbearable - though the PSU whine would still be unbearable even if it were constant.

mac freak, II will tell you tomorrow if a DP 533 is quiter than an MDD. I suspect a DP 533 will be the same as my old 733, in which case it will be a quarter to a third as loud (subjectively) to an idling MDD.

[keywest]

I just purchased a Power Mac G4 dual 867, (version = 2.1) and was quite apprehensive about the noise issue. I had visited the G4noise website and listened to the sound files, all the while worrying about having this machine in my home office.

I have the machine sitting on my desk about 24 inches from me, in my home, and the noise is no problem. I am really surprised after all I had read. I have been working on laptops for the last two years and am used to no noise at all, so if I can stand this, it is pretty quiet. By the way, for what it's worth, my dual867 is a refurb from Apple. Maybe they did some fan mods to quiet it up.

[derekn]

Originally posted by booboo:
You must be deaf!

There's a whole website dedicated to the G4 MDD noise problem

Not deaf and I know there's a site dedicated to the noise. There's noise but it's by no means "loud", at least not for me.