How loud is the HDX card fan in a 2019 Mac Pro?

[basehead617]

I’m used to my 7,1 Mac Pro being 100% silent - haven’t used an HDX card in a while - does it raise the noise floor of the machine at all?

[protoolsuserman]

It's probably thick with dust underneath and inside.

Compressed air is going to be your best friend here.



l

[basehead617]

Originally Posted by protoolsuserman

It's probably thick with dust underneath and inside.

Compressed air is going to be your best friend here.

Sorry maybe I wasn’t clear - i’m asking if anyone has used an HDX card in a 2019 Mac Pro, and if so, is the fan noise noticeable?

[BScout]

Yes

Also the fans in the 2019 Mac Pro aren't exactly silent either (they get louder over time because the stupid air inlet pattern slowly gets blocked and is harder to clear out)

[basehead617]

Originally Posted by BScout

Yes

Also the fans in the 2019 Mac Pro aren't exactly silent either (they get louder over time because the stupid air inlet pattern slowly gets blocked and is harder to clear out)

I just did a full clear out of mine which yes was quite dusty after 2 years.. now it’s quieter than the ambient noise in the room itself and my speakers with no signal in them.. i have to lean down in front of the fans to hear the machine is on.

Anyway point being i’m unsure about going back to HDX if it means i’m going to hear the fan now that my machine is in the control room. I’m also guessing they’re not using the most quiet fans available on those HDX cards but it seems sketchy to replace them.

[LDS]

I can't comment on HDX in a 2019 Mac Pro, but do have experience with them in various other machines. They are pretty loud. You won't notice them as much using an old 5,1 Mac Pro or intel MacBook Pro due to how loud those machines are under load. They are noticeably loud in my Dell T5820 though. One way or another, you'll hear fan noise with HDX...

If you have the spare space between PCIe cards, I have seen a couple of cards modified with standard 40mm quiet fans. It is just a case of removing the metal shroud off the HDX card, removing the centrifugal fan from the inside, then adding a radial fan to the outside. Obviously it increases the overall width of the HDX card quite considerably.

[Marsdy]

Originally Posted by basehead617

I just did a full clear out of mine which yes was quite dusty after 2 years.. now it’s quieter than the ambient noise in the room itself and my speakers with no signal in them.. i have to lean down in front of the fans to hear the machine is on.

Anyway point being i’m unsure about going back to HDX if it means i’m going to hear the fan now that my machine is in the control room. I’m also guessing they’re not using the most quiet fans available on those HDX cards but it seems sketchy to replace them.

Yes they do collect dust and yes the 7.1 Mac Pros are REALLY quiet when dust free. My HDX card fan was coming on a lot more recently but not since I cleaned out the Mac Pro. The inside grill really does seem to catch a lot dust.

Normally I don’t hear the HDX card in my 7.1 unless it’s a really hot day which isn’t that often here in the UK! No AC here. When it does come on, I use Mac Fan Control to turn the Mac Pro fan nearest the card up a bit, from 500rpm to 900/1000rpm. This obviously makes the HDX card run cooler. It makes the Mac Pro a bit more audible in the room but it’s a lot quieter than the HDX card fan and it’s quite rare I need to do this.

That said, I find the HDX card doesn’t come on as much as it did thanks to Hybrid mode which I think is amazing! Most of my sessions are running natively with just live input/record enabled tracks in DSP mode.

[basehead617]

I appreciate the responses, thanks all..

[Jeff Schmidt]

HDX 1 in a 7,1 Mac Pro was super quiet.

I added a second HDX card for the Atmos upgrade and now the HDX card fan is on CONSTANTLY.

Super irritating.

YMMV

[protoolsuserman]

I'd stick it all in a machine room if I were you.

Will try post some photos of how I made a make do machine room.

It worked very well for me!

l