Decibel ratings for computers?

tkntkn
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Does anyone know where I could find decibel ratings for computers. I am considering adding a Mac to my home theater and actually an Xserve would be ideal for many reasons, but I am afraid it would be far too loud and a PowerMac might be better. I just wanted to see if anywhere has actual indications of the amount of noise made at different fan speeds...

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 4
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TKN


    Does anyone know where I could find decibel ratings for computers. I am considering adding a Mac to my home theater and actually an Xserve would be ideal for many reasons, but I am afraid it would be far too loud and a PowerMac might be better. I just wanted to see if anywhere has actual indications of the amount of noise made at different fan speeds...



    I've never seen published figures. Xserve is not intended for anything like that, more like a server room where loud stuff is tolerated. I think a low-end to mid-range PowerMac might do OK. The high end model of any PowerMac G5 version won't do well because they can get pretty loud under load. I had a liquid cooled dual G5 whose fans cycled a lot, with an annoying whine at 20% load. The original dual 2.0 I downgraded to isn't so bad but not something I'd use in a home theater because of the noise.
  • Reply 2 of 4
    keotkeot Posts: 116member
    Silent PC Review gives dBA ratings for the machines they review, although they have only reviewed a single Apple machine.



    I would get something that is designed for use in a home theatre. An Xserve isn't designed for a quiet home environment, although it'll probably be fine in one.
  • Reply 3 of 4
    chychchych Posts: 860member
    I was under the impression that Xserves were crazy loud, and Mac Pros were pretty quiet.
  • Reply 4 of 4
    dfilerdfiler Posts: 3,420member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by chych


    I was under the impression that Xserves were crazy loud, and Mac Pros were pretty quiet.



    This is correct. Xserves are loud and Mac Pros are (relatively) quite.



    Pretty much all rackmount servers are loud as hell. Many server rooms are impossible to have conversations in. Not just difficult, literally impossible. Some people even wear earplugs when doing work in data centers.
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