What is it that makes the Macbook Air fan so quiet?

hey, just got my second macbook air and i've been comparing it with some friend's ultrabooks and i realised something - even though the fan is constantly on, it's almost completely silent unless you hold it up to your ear.

the only thing you can hear is the whoosh of the air, not the actual fan moving.

i'm just wondering - why is this? I'm sure it's partly the component itself, but are the exhaust ports designed to minimize noise, is the fan really well lubricated? I've always been curious

thanks,

jonny

 

Actually, the fan/cooler speed programming of macbook (pro/air) are designed so that the fans only speed up when either of the cpu or gpu gets over 80c. This is why the fans stay at 2000rpm constant compared to ultrabooks that has a trippoint of maybe 70 to speed up the fan.

The exhaust and the bottom design doesn't actually prevent noise, because it's blocking the cool air intake (no vents) and the exhaust vent design is small, so there is a probability of whistling is too much air is forced trough it.


The fan of macs are made by delta fan company, which produces ans that can push A LOT of air and very loud, unless you're doing something which utilizes 100% of the cpu/gpu the fan won't speed up to 6200rpm/go loud.


If you're feeling uncomfortable about the silent fan, download SMC fan control and try raising the fan speed and listen to it, there's nothing wrong with having a silent laptop

Hope this answers your question

 

No way, I love how quiet it is, and when I skype it sounds like a jumbo's taking off so I know it's doing its job

What I mean is, there's such a big difference between an MBA fan going at 2000 rpm and, say, the Asus ux31 fan of my friend's computer going at 2000 rpm, and i was just curious why

So I'm guessing the delta fan company makes very silent components?

 

Lol you'll be surprised how loud delta case fans can be

If it's quieter than the UX31 it's probably because of different fan/heatsink design and the lack of vent gaps for sound to radiate out (also aluminum damps sounds better than plastic)


Anyway, enjoy the macbook air!

 

Thanks man, I gave you an internet for your troubles

 

actually the ux31 is also made of aluminum...

Basically the difference should be the fan design, since the heatsink is quite the same

 

I know there are two fans in MBPs (same in MBAs?) so you might get lower rpms because two fans instead of one are spinning.

MacBooks can get loud when like your spotlight is being indexed, but yeah it isn't as loud as an M14x for example. That thing just perks up like a table fan, though I have seen that if I lift up the laptop, the ventilation through the bottom fans slows down the fan.

 

there is only one fan in the mbp 13 and 15, and the airs

 

My computer disagrees with you

 

sorry! looked at the 2009 mbp 15

 

Not doubting just asking. Care to tell me where the 2nd fan is in this picture?

 

Umm I have used the 2007 15 inch model (my first Mac laptop) and that had two fans as well.

 

different casing. fact is that the 2009 mbp 15 doesnt pack a dual fan setup, and as I said I looked at the wrong model.

Check ifixit

 

didn't know about that :/

2009. MBP 15"






Comparison 11/13/UX31 fan/heatsink


11" Core 2 Duo (i5 cpu contact plate is a bit bigger)






13" i5/7





UX31

 

and how I didnt see that yesterday?
hummmm....