How quiet are Macs? (iMac and iBook)

[MKH9130]

Hi,

Every time I think about changing computers, I am always very tempted by Apple. However, despite a lot of research into them I'm always put off as I've grown up with Microsoft since the days of DOS, and every Windows version in between. Whilst I hate it to bits, I am very familiar with the Windows OS and don't like feeling out of my depth with a new OS (Although I have used an iMac for a bit and loved it - I just dislike the 'helpless' feeling when there is something simple I'm trying to do and can't figure it out, but I'd have known how to do it in Windows).

Anyway, I'm thinking about changing my laptop and my girlfriends desktop. I was going to buy a low-end Dell notebook for about £350 and rebuild my girlfriends desktop with lots of 'silent' parts.

However, as per usual, I'm being tempted by Apple. I think if I went Apple I'd get a 20" iMac and a Macbook White 2.0Ghz. I can get a good HE discount which is nice.

But my (first, and probably one of several) question is - how quiet do they run? I like near silent operation as I cannot stand the constant hum or drone of fans. The only time I have used an iMac is in an office environment and its very hard to judge how quiet they are when you have lots of people walking around and another 50 PC's in the vicinity!

[kiwisr]

IMO they are some of the quietest machines around.

[crmcatee]

got an Imac and Macbook on my desk at the moment and the noisiest thing is the works Dell Laptop about 8 feet away..

Does that help ?

[CommanderJameson]

I've got an iMac and it's very quiet - certainly quieter than the Mac Mini and Dell Dimension it's replaced.

ETA: Mine's an intel and yes, v. quiet.

Edited by CommanderJameson on Thursday 26th April 17:10

[PJR]

My G5 iMac can be slightly whiney when its got some actual work to do. But still, i'd not say its bad. But its over 2 years old now. The newer intel iMacs are supposed to be much quieter.
MacBooks are generally very quiet too. The fan will come on now and again, but again, its not loud/iiritating by any means.

P,

[PJ S]

My Intel 2.0 with 2GB is so quiet, if you hadn't a display showing, you'd think it was turned off.
The noisiest thing is the HDD when it used to page in/out with only 512MB RAM.
Now, it only ever makes a noise when I dump the cache after browsing.

[porkbrain]

PJ S said:

My Intel 2.0 with 2GB is so quiet, if you hadn't a display showing, you'd think it was turned off.

Totally agree with that, I have the same spec Macbook, in 3 months the fan has only started 3 times. Each time I've wondered where the noise was coming from as it is very quiet.

The only thing that does make a racket is the 'Superdrive' when a disk is inserted - that sounds like a kid's toy that you hide under the sofa as soon as you can get away with it

[sadako]

I've never actually heard the imac we have here make noise other than from the speakers.

[cjs]

My Macbook is so quite I sometimes wonder if its actually on, it has no HD noise and the fan never comes on....very good!

[maddog-uk]

Never heard the macbook pro apart from when you use the DVD

[neilesh86]

I've got an iBook G4 which is a couple of years old and is near silent, it's great!

I've only recently switched to a mac, and had the same thoughts you did in terms of "I'd know how to fix this on a Windows PC". However, I really love the mac, to the point I'm considering replacing my desktop PC with an iMac. The interface is really straightforward, and I've never really got stuck!

[aspender]

At the risk of repeating all the above, my 24" iMac and out G4 iBook are silent.