# G5 fan noise



## Chris Belwinds (Oct 3, 2003)

My new G5 1.6 Ghz (Combo) is way too loud as far as I am concerned. Even my wife's standard PC is quieter. 

Have any of you had similar experiences? What can I do to locate the noise and to solve the problem?


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## ex2bot (Oct 3, 2003)

As I understand it, one of the first things to check is, make sure the plastic panel inside is seated properly. That is, the plastic "door" that is just inside when you open it up. Without the door in place, the fans all speed up. 

Of course, I don't have a G5. That's just what I've read.

Good luck.

Doug


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## HECTORdaBIZATCH (Oct 4, 2003)

I have heard that the G5's are insanely quiet; this is just speculation but I would speculate that something's wrong if you're getting a lot of noise.


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## brianleahy (Oct 4, 2003)

I have a quicksilver G4 -- I can't  imagine the G5 being any louder...


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## cfleck (Oct 4, 2003)

i've got a dual g5 and i have no noise problems what-so-ever.  its much quiter than my old g3 imac was.


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## UNIX X11 (Oct 4, 2003)

Well if your room get hot then the G5 basicly takes off P jk...)
there was a story on the net somewhere... some chick had an AC on all the time and it broke down. the fans in her G5 kicked in.
And 9 fans should sound loud


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## mr. k (Oct 4, 2003)

Somewhere in the System prefrences is a CPU panel, make sure your G5 is set to throttle the CPU's according to how hard your using them, if they are always on 100% the fan's will have to work a lot harder then if they are throttling.


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## Trip (Oct 4, 2003)

I went to a local CompUSA last week and messed with a dual G5. The thing I was most suprised about was the noise...THERE WAS NONE! It was quieter than my G3 iBook! The G5 is perfect for a home office in my opinion! I don't know why anybody would be complaining about the noise (that doesn't exist).

Whatever.


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## hulkaros (Oct 5, 2003)

And hopefully you aren't using your G5 in Target Mode (aka FireWire Mode) 

Keep in mind to use and download always the latest OS X updates as well as any future Firmware releases...

And I hope that you followed dktrickey's excellent advice and of course what others already posted here!


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## bookem (Oct 10, 2003)

Can't hear any noise from my 1.6.  Not much louder, if at all than my Cube.


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## Zammy-Sam (Oct 10, 2003)

Maybe you got a snake in there?    

Sorry for this. Maybe there is really something stucked in one of those 9 (was it 9?) fans. I would visit the next apple-store and ask...


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## Zammy-Sam (Oct 10, 2003)

Oops! Just realized you are from germany too. Well, visiting the next apple store might be a lil prob... Where did you buy it?


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## hulkaros (Oct 10, 2003)

Yikes!


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## Arden (Oct 10, 2003)

Sam, is that computer upside-down??

Chris, the plastic panel that you will find just behind the aluminum panel redirects air flow to keep the minimum amount of flow the fans provide moving in an efficient manner.  It is imperative that you have this panel installed, or your computer will sound louder than a PC installing Windows XP while simultaneously processing a Gaussian Blur filter on a 500 MB file in Photoshop.


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## Chris Belwinds (Oct 15, 2003)

Well, I have bought it from Cancom Germany, if that means anything to some of you. The Cancom mechanic has already been here and said that this noise was average. At least I don't think it is. I guess I will have to compare it to other people's G5 (if I find some) or visit another Mac retailer soon.


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## Arden (Oct 15, 2003)

Hulk posted a review of the dual 2 Ghz G5 that, among other things, talked about the fan noise in normal operational mode and "vacuum mode."  When you boot into single user mode, for example, or something else that doesn't load the power control system, the system automatically reverts to its safe mode, which is to run all 8 or 9 fans at full blast.  Put a piece of paper flat against the front of the machine and see if it sticks, even if for just a moment.  If it does, and you're booted into OS X like normal, then there's a miscommunication in your power management system.  Call or email Apple about it.


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## pds (Oct 15, 2003)

I saw a G5 1.6 in Cairo yesterday. I thought of your post so I asked the dealer about it. The thing was running whisper quiet, I mean you had to put your ear to the case to hear it (even though we could see the fans running).  

We took out the plastic baffle and all the fans took off full bore, like it wanted to fly. It was loud. We put back the side panel without the the baffle, too loud, but with the baffle back in place it went back to whisper quiet.

I would say that if you have noise issues that you should ignore the technician and  go straight to Apple.


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## nervus (Oct 15, 2003)

You should only notice sound when the system awakes !!!

Greetings
nervus


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## hulkaros (Oct 16, 2003)

I received my Dual G5/2GHz and is one of the most silent computers I've ever used... ESPECIALLY with Dual CPUs 

Currently I'm testing it BIG time and I will soon post a review somewhere... For now, let me just say this:
I can hear the hard disk now and then but NOT the fans NO MATTER WHAT other than a few seconds now and then even when pressing the Power button!!! 

Review will come, soon...


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## Zammy-Sam (Oct 16, 2003)

hate you, hulk!


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## bookem (Oct 16, 2003)

Actually, just unpacked 2 more 1.6's, and they are definately louder than my own.  However, they still seem to perform as well.  Hmm.


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## cfleck (Oct 16, 2003)

for the record, i've been running some pretty intensive experiements on my dual 2 (the kind that run for a couple of days) and the fans haven't kicked up yet.  

the only time my fans have gone nuts was when i was playing with the hardware test.  when those fans get going it sounds like a jet engine!


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## Arden (Oct 17, 2003)

I put my ear to a 1.8 at CompUSA today, and I could barely hear anything coming out of the grill.  Well, I could hear it, but when I moved more than a couple inches away, the sound vanished.

If you boot into single-user mode, you will turn the fans on full blast.  I suggest you do this if it starts to get really hot where you're sitting, and then position the back of the computer to face you.


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## applewhore (Oct 25, 2003)

cf25 said:
			
		

> for the record, i've been running some pretty intensive experiements on my dual 2 (the kind that run for a couple of days)



Bloody Hell, cf25 - No wonder you say you're "tired"!!!


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## Chris Belwinds (Oct 27, 2003)

arden said:
			
		

> I put my ear to a 1.8 at CompUSA today, and I could barely hear anything coming out of the grill.  Well, I could hear it, but when I moved more than a couple inches away, the sound vanished.
> 
> If you boot into single-user mode, you will turn the fans on full blast.  I suggest you do this if it starts to get really hot where you're sitting, and then position the back of the computer to face you.



Update: Today my power supply unit including the two fans have been replaced and since then my office "rests in peace". Amazing how silent a G5 can be. Wow. 

So, my advice to all G5 users: check if your Mac makes funny noises and have the power supply unit replaced if necessary. It really makes a difference.


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## pds (Oct 27, 2003)

I'm really glad to hear that. The one I heard was so quiet, I was wondering why you had problems. Good to know what the solution is. 

Now, where did I put that mattress with the $2000 in it?


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## applewhore (Oct 27, 2003)

Chris Belwinds said:
			
		

> Update: Today my power supply unit including the two fans have been replaced and since then my office "rests in peace". Amazing how silent a G5 can be. Wow.
> 
> So, my advice to all G5 users: check if your Mac makes funny noises and have the power supply unit replaced if necessary. It really makes a difference.



Good news!  Enjoy!


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## Arden (Oct 27, 2003)

PDS:  It's under my sheets and blankets, would you like it back?


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## ProphetSix (Oct 31, 2003)

Damn! Thank God! I thought I was the only one. I too have a G5 1.6, and I swear that thing is louder then my P.O.S. PC with 3 fans. I'll definately call Apple about this one.

Thanks for the info Chris!


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## ProphetSix (Nov 10, 2003)

FYI: I just got my G5 back from hardware service. They replaced all 4 fans, reloaded 10.3, and tried to recalibrate the thermal management system. No good. They finally broke down and swapped out the motherboard. Wow! What a difference! Can't hear it at all.

So, power supply may not be the only thing wrong. If you can hear your G5 from more then 3' away, call it in. I'm glad I did.


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## Campmobile (Nov 13, 2003)

I too had, er, have, a noisy dual 2 G5. Hardware test gave a message that there was a fan problem: yeah, the problem was that they were running and I had not even yet run a single program!

I opened the machine, reseated everything that could be without tools; checked that the fans were not loose; closed everything up and that was that. Then the other noise became apparent.

The BTO Radeon 9800 card has a fan noise that is unbearable, emitting a rather annoying hum. (I know it is that fan because I stopped it -- very briefly! -- with my finger.) I've read on a Apple forum about someone with the same problem and when Apple reluctantly replaced the card the noise was the same. The amount of noise is not the problem now; it is the frequency (i.e. pitch) that will drive me mad. Mad I tell you, MAD! Bwahahaha...


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## akhindaria (Nov 15, 2003)

Make sure that your G5 is "thermally calibrated". G5's are well built to be whisper quite. Thus they have several thermal zones and fans come on when they need to cool a particular zone. 

So there is no reason the fans should be on.

Second, as many have suggested make sure that the pastic panel is propoerly seated, if it is not the G5 will have a red LED on and all the fans will be ful speed.

For Thermal calibration, get a utility available on apple's web site. Thermal Diagnostic utility. You will have to spend about 25 minutes thermally calibrating the unit.

Hope thsi helps.

Regards,

Adi





			
				Chris Belwinds said:
			
		

> My new G5 1.6 Ghz (Combo) is way too loud as far as I am concerned. Even my wife's standard PC is quieter.
> 
> Have any of you had similar experiences? What can I do to locate the noise and to solve the problem?


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