2019 Mac Pro in control room

[AE]

replacing a 2009 MP with a new tower, and wondering whether it will be sufficiently quiet to locate in my control room without any isolation. the current MP is in a machine room, but in recent years the machine room has gotten crowded to the point that maintenance requires advanced gymnastic maneuvers. it would be sweet to move the MP to the control room, but not at the expense of a noticeably elevated noise floor.

the new configuration will probably be:

2019 MP, 16-core, ~150 GB RAM, Radeon Pro W5700X, 1 TB SSD, HDX 1, and two m.2 expansion cards that will presumably utilize fans. (suggestions for quiet m.2 cards definitely appreciated!)

without factoring in the unknown impact of m.2 expansion, has anyone run a somewhat similar new MP configuration in their control room without noise issues?

[Marsdy]

Originally Posted by AE

replacing a 2009 MP with a new tower, and wondering whether it will be sufficiently quiet to locate in my control room without any isolation. the current MP is in a machine room, but in recent years the machine room has gotten crowded to the point that maintenance requires advanced gymnastic maneuvers. it would be sweet to move the MP to the control room, but not at the expense of a noticeably elevated noise floor.

the new configuration will probably be:

2019 MP, 16-core, ~150 GB RAM, Radeon Pro W5700X, 1 TB SSD, HDX 1, and two m.2 expansion cards that will presumably utilize fans. (suggestions for quiet m.2 cards definitely appreciated!)

without factoring in the unknown impact of m.2 expansion, has anyone run a somewhat similar new MP configuration in their control room without noise issues?

I can only hear the HDX card in my 2019 MP. I also have a Sonnet m.2 host PCIe card but the fan on it is effectively silent unless you stick your head right by the computer. The OWC Accelsior card doesn’t have a fan but it’s not as fast as the Sonnet.

If you only need two m.2 cards and have two free slots then a couple of single x4 adapter cards would work fine and allow maximum speed out each individual m.2 stick.

This works great.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

There are other single drive adapter cards that work but need a heatsink added to the m.2 drive.

[AE]

Originally Posted by Marsdy

I can only hear the HDX card in my 2019 MP.

thanks. short of measuring it's hard to quantify the noise level from the card, but how would you describe it? perhaps the bottom line is to what extent you're aware of it?

[Marsdy]

Originally Posted by AE

thanks. short of measuring it's hard to quantify the noise level from the card, but how would you describe it? perhaps the bottom line is to what extent you're aware of it?

I would say if you’re sensitive to noise floor in your recordings, record/mix very dynamic/acoustic music or ever monitor at low levels then yes, the HDX card might be troubling. It’s no louder in the nMP than older Macs though perhaps more noticeable because there’s no other noise from the nMP. The fan on my HDX1 kicks in when the card’s DSP is about half full. When it does kick in it’s annoying and makes me think I need to do something about it. Half an hour later my brain is kind of filtering the noise out. In short, it’s workable but not ideal.

I’ve recorded close mic’d vocalists in the same room and it hasn’t been picked up but quiet acoustic guitar, then yes you can hear it.

For reference, the HDX1 fan in a nMP is noticeably louder and more annoyingly higher pitched than my HD I/O 16x16 in the same room.

It is kind of frustrating that the new MP is so quiet, even with the Sonnet m.2 host card except for the HDX card.

[JFreak]

Originally Posted by Marsdy

For reference, the HDX1 fan in a nMP is noticeably louder and more annoyingly higher pitched than my HD I/O 16x16 in the same room.

That fan can be removed, but obviously voids warranty

[AE]

Originally Posted by Marsdy

I would say if you’re sensitive to noise floor in your recordings, record/mix very dynamic/acoustic music or ever monitor at low levels then yes, the HDX card might be troubling. It’s no louder in the nMP than older Macs though perhaps more noticeable because there’s no other noise from the nMP. The fan on my HDX1 kicks in when the card’s DSP is about half full. When it does kick in it’s annoying and makes me think I need to do something about it. Half an hour later my brain is kind of filtering the noise out. In short, it’s workable but not ideal.

I’ve recorded close mic’d vocalists in the same room and it hasn’t been picked up but quiet acoustic guitar, then yes you can hear it.

For reference, the HDX1 fan in a nMP is noticeably louder and more annoyingly higher pitched than my HD I/O 16x16 in the same room.

It is kind of frustrating that the new MP is so quiet, even with the Sonnet m.2 host card except for the HDX card.

thanks. yes, that's disappointing.

[AE]

Originally Posted by JFreak

That fan can be removed, but obviously voids warranty

interesting. given how effective cooling is in the new MP, i'd definitely consider it. (warranty long past.) do you know anyone who's done this?

[rmccam]

Originally Posted by AE

interesting. given how effective cooling is in the new MP, i'd definitely consider it. (warranty long past.) do you know anyone who's done this?

I'd love to know this too. My new 2019 Mac Pro is silent, sitting next to me under my console desk, and the only thing that's annoying is the HDX car firing up every now and again.

I'd love to hear from anyone who's removed the fan and had it working for awhile.

[Marsdy]

The new Mac Pro is SO quiet HDX fan noise is getting to me. I really don’t like the idea of disabling the HDX fan.

So... I’ve installed Macs Fan Control
https://crystalidea.com/macs-fan-control
This allows you to take manual control of all the fans in your Mac and it supports the new Mac Pro. It’s free.

I’ve sped up one of the three main fans, (the one nearest the HDX card) from the default Auto setting to 1000RPM. The increase in noise is minimal. When set to Auto, (presumably under control of Mac OS,) those three fans all run at around for 500RPM and have never gone above that here.

The HDX fan is now coming on far less often. In my default PT template, the fan usually comes on after a few minutes. Today it hasn’t come on at all and it’s been a warm day here. Early days but this looks worth perusing.

The very slight increase in noise from the Mac Pro’s very quiet fan is infinitely preferably to the high pitched noise of the HDX fan.

[AE]

Originally Posted by Marsdy

The new Mac Pro is SO quiet HDX fan noise is getting to me. I really don’t like the idea of disabling the HDX fan.

So... I’ve installed Macs Fan Control
https://crystalidea.com/macs-fan-control
This allows you to take manual control of all the fans in your Mac and it supports the new Mac Pro. It’s free.

I’ve sped up one of the three main fans, (the one nearest the HDX card) from the default Auto setting to 1000RPM. The increase in noise is minimal. When set to Auto, (presumably under control of Mac OS,) those three fans all run at around for 500RPM and have never gone above that here.

The HDX fan is now coming on far less often. In my default PT template, the fan usually comes on after a few minutes. Today it hasn’t come on at all and it’s been a warm day here. Early days but this looks worth perusing.

The very slight increase in noise from the Mac Pro’s very quiet fan is infinitely preferably to the high pitched noise of the HDX fan.

promising! i hope you don't mind if i check back with you in a month or so to see how things are working out.

now, back to my other dilemma: if (or how) to rethink mac pro purchase plan based on apple silicon transition. but that's another thread...