New DDR PowerMac Owners - Sound Off!!!

capt. obviouscapt. obvious
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Okay, you guys, some of you have had your new silicon/steel lovers for 2 weeks now. Your almost-total absence from these fora not only makes for some dull reading, but makes it painfully obvious to the rest of us that you're having WAY too much fun!



So take a break & fill us in! I'm sure you guys have been putting these new PMs through the wringer - and I KNOW that if there were significant shortcomings w/ these babies, we'd have heard all about it.



That means there's good stuff in store and WE WANNA KNOW!!!



Please?
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 32
    kiu77kiu77 Posts: 68member
    Nearly all OK for me but:

    No eject button for optical drive

    No reset button etc. at all

    And

    now

    it comes:

    Way to noisy. Very hard to stand.

    I replaced the fans and now its good for me.

    But shame on Apple for this...



    Overall a good machine
  • Reply 2 of 32
    sizzle chestsizzle chest Posts: 1,133member
    I love my new dual 1ghz, and I can't believe how much more fluid it is to work with (in OSX I mean) but sitting next to it is like sitting next to a space heater -- loud and hot! But actually, not THAT much louder than the last few generations of Powermacs. The sound has a different tone, which I wasn't used to at first, so it seemed louder. I think that's what people are reacting to -- they notice it more than their old machine because it's a different sound they're not accustomed to.
  • Reply 3 of 32
    mack damonmack damon Posts: 65member
    My Dual 867 ROARS. It is so damn loud, it is embarassing. Now I know why I see those noise cancelling headsets at the Apple store. They should throw in a pair with each purchase. LOL. I love that it's fast. I love X.2, I love my dual 17's I HATE ALL THE RACKET. When I leave the room, it's like being cured of tinnitus. Be warned; if we're competing against the P4, then the G4 whoops it's ass at volume.





  • Reply 4 of 32
    sizzle chestsizzle chest Posts: 1,133member
    You can make a big difference in how loud the Powermac sounds (any computer, really) by where you put it. If it sits on carpet, it's quieter than tile or hardwood floors. If it's right next to hard, reflecting surfaces, it'll be louder.



    I have mine on a carpeted floor, underneath a desk, and it's not bad. When I first set it up, it was on top of the desk and it was really, annoyingly loud.
  • Reply 5 of 32
    mack damonmack damon Posts: 65member
    Everybody keeps saying "I know, it's loud, just put it on the floor." Ok, so apple designs a tower that's easy to get in to, beautiful to look at, and has more bays for me to get my hands on.......AND I PUT IT UNDER MY DESK??? Maybe my performa 6400, or my 9600/350. NOT MY BRAND NEW G4!!!! There's no defending Apple here; they screwed up. If I do the mod that sprung up overnight on the net, I void my warranty. Simple as that. Remember that batch of sawtooth motherboards that was bad? If that happens to me, and I've made the PS mod, you think Apple will turn a blind eye and still offer me warranty support? Yeah, right, oh, and there really is a G5..it's on Steve's desk. My computer looks great. It's fast as hell. It's louder than a Fender Twin (alright, alright, it's not QUITE that loud). I wish they had done their homework. I only pray that they offer a authorized service center swap in the near future. If similar fans that were 17 dB quieter were available, why the hell didn't they use 'em?



  • Reply 6 of 32
    rashumonrashumon Posts: 453member
    [quote]Originally posted by Mack Damon:

    <strong>Everybody keeps saying "I know, it's loud, just put it on the floor." Ok, so apple designs a tower that's easy to get in to, beautiful to look at, and has more bays for me to get my hands on.......AND I PUT IT UNDER MY DESK??? Maybe my performa 6400, or my 9600/350. NOT MY BRAND NEW G4!!!! There's no defending Apple here; they screwed up. If I do the mod that sprung up overnight on the net, I void my warranty. Simple as that. Remember that batch of sawtooth motherboards that was bad? If that happens to me, and I've made the PS mod, you think Apple will turn a blind eye and still offer me warranty support? Yeah, right, oh, and there really is a G5..it's on Steve's desk. My computer looks great. It's fast as hell. It's louder than a Fender Twin (alright, alright, it's not QUITE that loud). I wish they had done their homework. I only pray that they offer a authorized service center swap in the near future. If similar fans that were 17 dB quieter were available, why the hell didn't they use 'em?



    </strong><hr></blockquote>



    Does that mod apply to older OS PMs ?
  • Reply 7 of 32
    g-newsg-news Posts: 1,107member
    Probably to avoid another Performa 6200 dilemma, where the PSU burnt out because of lack of cooling?

    Would you prefer a burnt PSU instead?

    Why are you such a whiny bitch? Have you ever heard a Lian Li with 4 case fans, a CPU fan, a GPU fan and a PSU fan or two?

    Have you ever been to a LAN-Party (with more than 50 people) and walked around a bit, with open ears, so to say?



    You have NOT THE FAINTEST clue of how loud a computer can be, believe me.



    If you think your new PowerMac is too loud, return it and buy an iBook. It's 100% silent.



    G-News
  • Reply 8 of 32
    b8rtm8nnb8rtm8nn Posts: 55member
    I just got mine, but I don't even notice the noise, probably because I have a loud office to work in.



    Here is what I don't get, why pre-install iDVD if I didn't get a Superdrive? And they accidently shipped two combo drives when I only ordered one. Does this happen frequently?
  • Reply 9 of 32
    brianmacosbrianmacos Posts: 548member
    The new G4 is no louder than and Wintel machine out my friends Athlon System is so loud you have to turn up the TV just to hear it now that is really bad. In the next PowerMacs we will see liquid cooling so we don't have any noise at all. :cool:
  • Reply 10 of 32
    applenutapplenut Posts: 5,768member
    [quote]Originally posted by G-News:

    <strong>Probably to avoid another Performa 6200 dilemma, where the PSU burnt out because of lack of cooling?

    Would you prefer a burnt PSU instead?

    Why are you such a whiny bitch? Have you ever heard a Lian Li with 4 case fans, a CPU fan, a GPU fan and a PSU fan or two?

    Have you ever been to a LAN-Party (with more than 50 people) and walked around a bit, with open ears, so to say?



    You have NOT THE FAINTEST clue of how loud a computer can be, believe me.



    If you think your new PowerMac is too loud, return it and buy an iBook. It's 100% silent.



    G-News</strong><hr></blockquote>





    Apple does't use the best fans, they traditionally use pretty cheap loud ones.



    They could have done a better job with the noise level
  • Reply 11 of 32
    programmerprogrammer Posts: 3,458member
    Hasn't anybody else noticed that these things have variable speed temperature sensitive fans? Half the people say "its not that loud", and half the people say "its like a blow drier". Guess what? I've heard my machine both ways. What was the difference? When it was loud it was a really hot day and the room was hot and stuffy. If this machine doesn't get good, cool airflow then it gets louder. If you fill it full of all sorts of heat-producing add-ons, it will get louder.



    Most of the time mine purrs with a perfectly acceptable kind of white noise and it is definitely less objectionable than the AMD machines I also have... and the AMD machines are always that loud. That one time my new Mac's fans really wound up it was like a hair dryer. If your machine is always like that you've either put it somewhere that it can't get good flow, the ambient temperature is too high, or there is a problem with the sensor/fans.



    I would be very leery about replacing the fans in these machines. The new fans could easily underperform or respond incorrectly to the machine's control signals, and that would lead to your machine slow-cooking and suffering a premature failure.



    Putting it on the desk is just going to make any noise worse... most desks are hard surface which reflect sound quite well, not to mention resonating due to vibration. Sure its a cool looking machine, but is it really worth filling your desk with its bulk? If you want to look at it under your desk, just roll your chair back a little.



    [ 09-05-2002: Message edited by: Programmer ]</p>
  • Reply 12 of 32
    xaqtlyxaqtly Posts: 450member
    EXACTLY, Programmer. I've experienced both as well, and most of the time my dual 1 GHz is perfectly acceptable... well under "annoying". but I have heard it get loud when the room starts getting hot. But like right now for example - we have a fairly new quiet ceiling fan running right now, and it's far louder than the Mac is. 95% of the time I don't hear the Mac at all.



    But aside from all that I love this Mac... so fast, so smooth, so non-crashy, so capable of doing everything I want to do. I've done a little video editing, a bit of Photoshop work, lots of screwing around. Warcraft 3, Unreal Tournament. I ran timedemo 1 and 2 in Quake 3 Arena and got a bit over 60 fps in both... IN CLASSIC MODE, haha. I don't have the full version of Quake so I don't have an OS X native version to test.



    Nothing but good things to say about the new Mac so far. I look forward to a satisfying couple of years at least with it.
  • Reply 13 of 32
    uberinstalleruberinstaller Posts: 55member
    OK, after having this thing running for a couple of days, here are my ideas on my Dual 1GHz PM G4.



    First of all, the thing is BEAUTIFUL. The inside of the case is the BEST layout I have ever seen in ANY desktop computer. The hard drive upgrades were easier than I thought possible, with the inclusion of the handy little snap-out drive carriers. Apple even put some extra screws there for me. Excellent design, and EASIER access than the original El Cap case. Good Jobs, Apple!



    As for the noise- yes, I now have a lawn-mower on my desk. I somehow wonder if all of the dips and turns and such inside this case are adding to the noise. The fans are LOUD- I was used to hearing my hard drive read with my B&W, this thing is ready for takeoff. I am not ABOUT to start jacking with the fan setup, because I know that Apple designs things like they NEED to be designed.



    To second many others, the sucker is heavy as well. I really am not complaining about this, because this is not a portable... but the beast is truly the 800 pound gorilla that can sit anywhere it wants on my desk. The heat sink is truly impressive. (it gets great shortwave and FM)

    I think the case gets it gray color from uranium.



    Fast. Fast FAST FAST! This guy MOVES. :eek:



    Also, the 22" Cinema is just amazing on this thing. Great rendering. Almost makes me cry. Mouth is still sore from smiling so much.



    Also, the included DVI-to-VGA adapter is a BIG plus. GREAT for those of us that want to be ready to go out of the box. I am used to getting boxes of manuals and wires and useless stuff from Apple- this thing was self-contained and had exactly what I needed. I DO miss the OS9 CD, though.



    Apple called this one - on the phone - the "Power Mac G4 with Mirrored Drive Doors" - someone needs to tell them that this is the CaddiMac, the Gulfstream, or something else. Rather bourgoise of Steve, don't you think?



    As a side note, the free 512 RAM I got from a major mail order retailer WAS NOT COMPATIBLE and did not allow the Mac to boot properly. I am calling them this morning and ask them to send me a chip from a major and reliable RAM maker. I will keep you'all posted.



    Thats my story, and it is subject to change as I use the beast.



    UberOut
  • Reply 14 of 32
    uberinstalleruberinstaller Posts: 55member
    RAM Replacement



    OK, I just got off the phone with MacZone- I am very impressed- they are going to send me a replacement 512 chip overnight for Saturday delivery. Apparently some of the lower-priced RAM is not compatible with the new duallies. Anyone else heard of this? I personally prefer Critical, Kingston, or some other major company. Not bad at all for FREE, though. Excellent service from these folks.



    Ubbhear
  • Reply 15 of 32
    progmacprogmac Posts: 1,850member
    I need to send a picture of my work desk. I have three local-built Athlon systems with average loudness PC fans on one desk and then on a table a few inches away from the desk (about 2 feet from my ears) is the File Server--Redundant power supplies, two processors. Imagine all of that racket!



    I love going home to my very quiet iMac DV
  • Reply 16 of 32
    bryan furybryan fury Posts: 169member
    ..well, i do suffer from tinnitus and its not much fun , so adding a noisy mac into the equation sucks.



    i think ill go imac 17".



    is that quiet?
  • Reply 17 of 32
    patmcfar8patmcfar8 Posts: 84member
    UberInstaller, it sounds like I got a simliar set up. Dual 1ghz with a 22" Cinema Display. Freakin' sweet! I love it. The noise hasn't bothered me at all. I'm in an airconditioned office and it's on the floor so maybe that's why.



    I do have a question though: Everytime my machine starts, I get this error messege:



    Error: File "symfs.kext" has problems that may reduce the security of your computer.



    Then it gives me 3 options: Fix and Use, Use or Don't Use. I've tried all 3 and the messege still comes up when the machine starts. It doesn't seem to actually effect anything, but it is annoying and shouldn't be happening anyway.



    I've tried reinstalling in place, but that had no effect. Anybody have any ideas? Thank you.
  • Reply 18 of 32
    the inevitablethe inevitable Posts: 62member
    patmcfar8: choose "fix and use." This is a known issue with Norton Utilities (or was it Antivirus... oh well, its some issue for one of the Norton products...) and it has to do with the file permissions of that one paticular file. Basically, 10.2 wants all of the file permissions for certain system files to be one way and its asking if you want to change the permissions of that file to that standard way (&lt;--good thing).



    After you choose "Fix and Use," that message should stop coming-up, IIRC.
  • Reply 19 of 32
    atrosatros Posts: 5member
    I got a new dual 867. I was wondering why people

    were complaining about the noise until my wife did

    some cooking and turned off the AC. Then the fan

    started going into high gear, and yes, it's fearsomely

    noisy.



    As a side comment, this has got to be the densest

    desktop Mac I've ever used. It's 42 lbs., and that

    case is mighty short. Lift from the legs, people!

    Yikies! I like to call it Mac:TLE. (Macintosh: The

    Lead Edition.)



    On the up side, it's everything I ever wanted, as far

    as actual use. I'm going to modify my desk for better

    airflow in the tower bay, and put in some sound

    baffles, and I should be fine.



    Atros
  • Reply 20 of 32
    dennis the phantom menacedennis the phantom menace Posts: 64member
    I just got my dual gig and I really don't know why you guys complain about the fan noise. Of course you can hear the fans, but the noise they make is nothing compared to the x86 machines. My dualie is next to my P4 system (I know, I know...) and the P4 is easily 2-3x louder.

    So the next time you piss and moan about the fan noise, just be thankfully it isn't a PC.
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