Does the M3 Max/Pro spin up the fan more than the M1 Max?

[Jimmyjames]

That’s it really. I’m curious if anyone here has owned both and can say if the fans tend to ramp up earlier or not? I’ve seen a report that the M3 Pro is louder than the M1 Max, but it may just be their experience.

 

[dada_dave]

I haven’t owned an M1 machine but I’d be a touch surprised if an M3 Pro ran hotter than an M1 Max but maybe a full pro vs cut down Max? Also what kind of workload? CPU? GPU? Also what size of machine?

Notebookcheck tests indicate the M3 Pro should generally run quieter with less power in the 16”:

Apple MacBook Pro 16 2021 M1 Max Laptop Review: Full Performance without Throttling

Notebookcheck reviews the brand-new Apple MacBook Pro 16 with the M1 Max SoC, 32 GPU cores, 64 GB RAM and 16.2-inch Mini-LED screen and 120 Hz.

www.notebookcheck.net

Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023 M3 Pro review - Efficiency before performance

NotebookCheck tests the new MacBook Pro 16 with the M3 Pro SoC in the basic version with 18 GB of RAM and a 512 GB SSD.

www.notebookcheck.net

 

[Jimmyjames]

I haven’t owned an M1 machine but I’d be a touch surprised if an M3 Pro ran hotter than an M1 Max but maybe a full pro vs cut down Max? Also what kind of workload? CPU? GPU? Also what size of machine?

Notebookcheck tests indicate the M3 Pro should generally run quieter with less power in the 16”:

Apple MacBook Pro 16 2021 M1 Max Laptop Review: Full Performance without Throttling

Notebookcheck reviews the brand-new Apple MacBook Pro 16 with the M1 Max SoC, 32 GPU cores, 64 GB RAM and 16.2-inch Mini-LED screen and 120 Hz.

www.notebookcheck.net

Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023 M3 Pro review - Efficiency before performance

NotebookCheck tests the new MacBook Pro 16 with the M3 Pro SoC in the basic version with 18 GB of RAM and a 512 GB SSD.

www.notebookcheck.net

Yeah I was surprised by the claim the M3 Pro ran hotter. The person is a graphics dev. Games mainly. Thanks for the info.

 

[exoticspice1]

The M3 Max should be louder in the same chassis as it has four more P cores but the M3 Pro should fine as peas in the 16" case.

 

[Andropov]

That’s it really. I’m curious if anyone here has owned both and can say if the fans tend to ramp up earlier or not? I’ve seen a report that the M3 Pro is louder than the M1 Max, but it may just be their experience.

Yes. I have both a M1 Pro 16" MacBook Pro and a M3 Max 16" MacBook Pro that I use regularly. The M1 is always silent, I've only heard the fans a couple times in the past few years. The M3 Max is also silent almost all the time, *except* when compiling a project that takes more than a few minutes to complete. It's much faster than the M1 at it, but the fans do spin up audibly during long compilations. Unlike Intel MacBooks though, as soon as the process ends the fans drop to inaudible levels again, almost instantly. And it's not loud enough to be annoying or anything, it's just that you can hear them (while previously you couldn't). The 2019 MacBook Pro (the Intel i9 one) was much, much louder, and for extended periods of time.

 

[Yoused]

Here is a slightly different data point: I was just using a M1 MBA 8/256, not doing anything stressing, and just across the room, the other person was running YT videos on a 15" M3 MBA 16/512. At some point, I observed the M1 was cup-of-coffee hot on the bottom, after about 2 hours moderate use. I checked the M3 and could feel zero heat.

 

[Jimmyjames]

Here is a slightly different data point: I was just using a M1 MBA 8/256, not doing anything stressing, and just across the room, the other person was running YT videos on a 15" M3 MBA 16/512. At some point, I observed the M1 was cup-of-coffee hot on the bottom, after about 2 hours moderate use. I checked the M3 and could feel zero heat.

That’s interesting. Obviously not applicable to the Air, but perhaps Apple is more aggressive with the fan on the M3?

Also, iirc in another thread, you mentioned reed cooling. I couldn’t find any information on that.

 

[Yoused]

in another thread, you mentioned reed cooling. I couldn’t find any information on that.

I guess I should have included "piezoelectric" to make your seaching easier. The "fan" is just an elongated stiff strip that is made to oscillate by A/C current. They use a lot less power and can be made very small, such that various reeds could be strategically positioned across the package and only have to cool the hot spots.

 

[dada_dave]

I guess I should have included "piezoelectric" to make your seaching easier. The "fan" is just an elongated stiff strip that is made to oscillate by A/C current. They use a lot less power and can be made very small, such that various reeds could be strategically positioned across the package and only have to cool the hot spots.

Aye as we were discussing here:

Piezoelectric cooling

I have to admit it does seem pretty good - especially for thin and light devices. Not only does it take up less space than a comparable fan but it has some really nice ancillary benefits like high static pressure and dust resistance. Some really interesting possibilities.

techboards.net

While your source said it should be more energy efficient than a fan at least this first commercial version seems less efficient. However I’m not 100% certain how much energy a fan takes to cool 5W so I might be wrong.

=============

Also this seems relevant from @theorist9:

Given that the Pro/Max MBP's are getting progressively higher TDP's with each generation (and attendantly noisier, according to user reports, particularly the Max*), I think making them thinner would be going in the wrong direction.

*See: