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ThaShef · Jul 30, 2004, 08:48 AM

Hey Guys,
I just upgraded from a 15" 1.25Ghz to 1.5Ghz. And the new powerbook is so much louder than the old one. I called AppleCare as soon as I got the powerbook, and the guy told me that the Fan on the 1.5GHz is on more times than the other one.

Is this normal or should I take it to the Apple Store and complain about it.

kafoochy · Jul 30, 2004, 11:28 AM

Originally posted by ThaShef:
Hey Guys,
I just upgraded from a 15" 1.25Ghz to 1.5Ghz. And the new powerbook is so much louder than the old one. I called AppleCare as soon as I got the powerbook, and the guy told me that the Fan on the 1.5GHz is on more times than the other one.

Is this normal or should I take it to the Apple Store and complain about it.

Do you live by an Apple Store, can you take it in to compare the sound of the fans? I had a 1.25Ghz 15" which was replaced via Apple with a 1.5Ghz 15". The fan(s) on my 1.5Ghz are much quieter than my 1.25Ghz to the point where I can barely hear them with even a small amount of background noise. The logic board was replaced on my 1.25Ghz and I'm assuming the fans were replaced with it, so I don't think this I had a fluke. There were a lot of small undocumented changes to the 1.5Ghz model and I believe quieter fans was one of them. Even if it is stronger, it isn't louder and you should have it looked at or replaced.

PeterKG · Jul 30, 2004, 12:42 PM

Apple replaced my 1.25GHz with a new 1.5GHz. The only difference between them is that the HD makes more noise while writing, but it is quiet cool and much improved over my problem plagued 1.25GHz. It's like night and day. So make sure it's not just the HD that is making a sound you never noticed on your previous PB.

Keiretsu · Jul 30, 2004, 01:01 PM

Originally posted by ThaShef:
Hey Guys,
I just upgraded from a 15" 1.25Ghz to 1.5Ghz. And the new powerbook is so much louder than the old one. I called AppleCare as soon as I got the powerbook, and the guy told me that the Fan on the 1.5GHz is on more times than the other one.

Is this normal or should I take it to the Apple Store and complain about it.

At least the 5400 rpm disk in the 1.5GHz PowerBooks makes much more noise, but it's much faster too ;-) (has a 16MB cache!)

kafoochy · Jul 30, 2004, 02:51 PM

Originally posted by PeterKG:
Apple replaced my 1.25GHz with a new 1.5GHz. The only difference between them is that the HD makes more noise while writing, but it is quiet cool and much improved over my problem plagued 1.25GHz. It's like night and day. So make sure it's not just the HD that is making a sound you never noticed on your previous PB.

My previous 4200rpm 80GB Hitachi drive was near silent. My new Fujitsu 4200rpm 80gb in the 1.5Ghz is a little louder but you can only notice the difference in a quiet library. However even if you do have the 5400rpm drive it shouldn't be louder enough to say there is "much more noise". Just while we're on the subject, are you sure it is the fan? Is it the sound emanating from the back left (or right) of the computer?

ThaShef · Jul 30, 2004, 03:05 PM

Originally posted by kafoochy:
Do you live by an Apple Store, can you take it in to compare the sound of the fans? I had a 1.25Ghz 15" which was replaced via Apple with a 1.5Ghz 15". The fan(s) on my 1.5Ghz are much quieter than my 1.25Ghz to the point where I can barely hear them with even a small amount of background noise. The logic board was replaced on my 1.25Ghz and I'm assuming the fans were replaced with it, so I don't think this I had a fluke. There were a lot of small undocumented changes to the 1.5Ghz model and I believe quieter fans was one of them. Even if it is stronger, it isn't louder and you should have it looked at or replaced.

Apple Store at Streets of Southpoint is like 2 minutes from my house. So I'll have to compare their floor model to mine, because Apple replaced my powerbook just like yours and 1.25Ghz was so much quieter, I could hardly hear it even when there was no background noise. But the 1.5Ghz model I can hear it even there is some background noise. I don't think the fans are on, because when I burn DVD using iDVD, I can hear the fans and its not same noise. So I don't really know what it is.

ThaShef · Jul 30, 2004, 03:08 PM

Originally posted by Keiretsu:
At least the 5400 rpm disk in the 1.5GHz PowerBooks makes much more noise, but it's much faster too ;-) (has a 16MB cache!)

True the new toshiba drives in the 1.5Ghz model make a lot more noise, but this noise even comes when I am not using the powerbook (its not sleeping).

But you are right, the new drive are so much faster than the old ones. I guess the performance compensates for the noise

ThaShef · Jul 30, 2004, 03:16 PM

Originally posted by kafoochy:
My previous 4200rpm 80GB Hitachi drive was near silent. My new Fujitsu 4200rpm 80gb in the 1.5Ghz is a little louder but you can only notice the difference in a quiet library. However even if you do have the 5400rpm drive it shouldn't be louder enough to say there is "much more noise". Just while we're on the subject, are you sure it is the fan? Is it the sound emanating from the back left (or right) of the computer?

It seem like the sound is coming from the right...

And for sure its not the hard drive noise, and I don't think its the noise from Fan, because its a continuous noise.. And I have heard the noise from the fan while burning a dvd from iDVD...
So its something different

azdude · Jul 30, 2004, 04:03 PM

Originally posted by ThaShef:
It seem like the sound is coming from the right...

And for sure its not the hard drive noise, and I don't think its the noise from Fan, because its a continuous noise.. And I have heard the noise from the fan while burning a dvd from iDVD...
So its something different

This has been discussed ad nauseum over at Apple Discussions.

Bottom Line?

Nobody really knows exactly what hardware it is, but it is allegedly harmless.

We know:
-It's not the fan.
-It's not the hard drive.
-It can be disabled by setting the processor setting to Reduced (or unplugging AC if you're using the default Energy Saver settings)
-Everyone appears to have it.

It bugged me in the beginning, but nothing I can do can get rid of it... so I shrug my shoulders and fuggedaboudid.

tavilach · Jul 30, 2004, 05:34 PM

Uh oh! Now I'm scared!

Will my new PowerBook deafen me?

Should I not have gotten a 1.5 GHz?

Should I got have gotten 5400 rpm?

Tell me quick if I need to cancel my order or something! Ahh!

azdude · Jul 30, 2004, 05:41 PM

Originally posted by tavilach:
Uh oh! Now I'm scared!

Will my new PowerBook deafen me?

Should I not have gotten a 1.5 GHz?

Should I got have gotten 5400 rpm?

Tell me quick if I need to cancel my order or something! Ahh!

You know... I expected this. Some part of me just thought "I'm gonna freak out tavilach if I post this!"

Well,...

No, No, No.

You're fine. I can only hear it in the absolute quietest settings --- I'd describe it as a "very faint sizzle"

It's a great machine, for the 500th time. I love it, and wouldn't ever consider something this mundane to be a reason to cancel an order, return it, or even call AppleCare. It's really quite insignificant.

Do yourself a favor... stay out of the forums while you wait. They did you great good when trying to make a decision, but otherwise, forums are a haven for whiners and people experiencing problems. They're not a good place for possible buyer's remorse patients. You'll love it... believe me.

Synotic · Jul 30, 2004, 05:45 PM

Originally posted by azdude:
You know... I expected this. Some part of me just thought "I'm gonna freak out tavilach if I post this!"

tavilach · Jul 30, 2004, 05:54 PM

Originally posted by azdude:
You know... I expected this. Some part of me just thought "I'm gonna freak out tavilach if I post this!"

Well,...

No, No, No.

You're fine. I can only hear it in the absolute quietest settings --- I'd describe it as a "very faint sizzle"

It's a great machine, for the 500th time. I love it, and wouldn't ever consider something this mundane to be a reason to cancel an order, return it, or even call AppleCare. It's really quite insignificant.

Do yourself a favor... stay out of the forums while you wait. They did you great good when trying to make a decision, but otherwise, forums are a haven for whiners and people experiencing problems. They're not a good place for possible buyer's remorse patients. You'll love it... believe me.

Would you call it a problem with the PowerBook, or just extra loudness resulting from more power? Do you think it'd be fixed in the next revision or what not?

Ahh!

*Stops worrying*

azdude · Jul 30, 2004, 06:02 PM

Originally posted by tavilach:
*Stops worrying*

Good. Read my last paragraph a couple more times and go on a bike ride.

FYI -- Wording is pointless, but I think I've made it clear that I wouldn't label this a "problem," as it is so insignificant and harmless.... and how the heck would anyone know whether or not it'd be fixed next time around?

tavilach · Jul 30, 2004, 06:07 PM

Originally posted by azdude:
Good. Read my last paragraph a couple more times and go on a bike ride.

FYI -- Wording is pointless, but I think I've made it clear that I wouldn't label this a "problem," as it is so insignificant and harmless.... and how the heck would anyone know whether or not it'd be fixed next time around?

Well, I was just wondering if it's a "problem" at all, or just the result of having a faster HD. If it's not a problem, it wouldn't be fixed. If it's a problem, like those white spots, then it'd probably be fixed.

Now I'm starting to worry about dead pixels

.

*Deep breath*

I'll just let it come...and pray...

azdude · Jul 30, 2004, 06:10 PM

Originally posted by tavilach:
Well, I was just wondering if it's a "problem" at all, or just the result of having a faster HD. If it's not a problem, it wouldn't be fixed. If it's a problem, like those white spots, then it'd probably be fixed.

Now I'm starting to worry about dead pixels .

*Deep breath*

I'll just let it come...and pray...

Well then no... it's not regarded as a problem, and especially not of the caliber of dead pixels or white spots.

Also, this noise is not related to the hard drive at all-- I have the 4200rpm model.

tavilach · Jul 30, 2004, 06:11 PM

Originally posted by azdude:
Well then no... it's not regarded as a problem, and especially not of the caliber of dead pixels or white spots.

Also, this noise is not related to the hard drive at all-- I have the 4200rpm model.

Ah

.

ThaShef · Jul 30, 2004, 07:22 PM

Originally posted by tavilach:
Well, I was just wondering if it's a "problem" at all, or just the result of having a faster HD. If it's not a problem, it wouldn't be fixed. If it's a problem, like those white spots, then it'd probably be fixed.

Now I'm starting to worry about dead pixels .

*Deep breath*

I'll just let it come...and pray...

Hey tavilach...
Dont worry about the noise....PowerBook is one of the best laptop I have used ..You'll be happy you got one of them...

Have fun

cloudaj · Jul 30, 2004, 07:54 PM

I just ordered the same machine on thursday, no worries about the sound though. I'm used to the sound of my two brothers screaming at each other so little fan noises tend not to bother me too much