M4 Mini Fan Noise (NOT M4 Pro Mini)

Using M4 Mac mini 32GB RAM, 256GB SSD for music production.

Connection: 1 audio interface, 1 usb hub with keyboards and mouse connected, 1 external NVMe drive.

These are my test result:

Idle:

~10 watts DC in (power that passes into the motherboard)

-> 1000rpm fan speed. Virtually silent.

Steinberg Cubase heavy load:

~34 watts DC in

-> 1000rpm fan speed. Virtually silent.

ffmpeg x265 video conversion (maxed out the cpu):

~48 watts DC in.

-> 2100rpm fan speed.

Measured ~35dB(A)SPL fan noise from normal sitting position. Really quiet.

3DMark benchmark tool max out the GPU (with/without RT):

~38 watts DC in

-> 1000rpm fan speed (10 minutes test).

Deliberately maxing out the entire CPU and GPU:

~60 Watts at first, then dropped to ~56 Watts and kept.

-> ~2970rpm fan speed.

Measured ~40dB(A)SPL fan noise from normal sitting position. A little bit of loud for me but still much quieter than most gaming laptops.

Problem: Ultra high pitched ringing noise is monitored with my model. It is around 12kHz.

-Fan noise and ringing FFT graph - about 2000rpm.

It gets louder with higher fan speed, and when the rpm passes 1700 it becomes really audible to my ears.

When it pushes the fan towards 3000rpm the ringing becomes much noisier and contains more in-harmonically related frequencies:

I found it not associated with SoC load. It's only related to fan speed.

Somehow made me frustrated and I will reach to Apple to confirm whether it is a defect.

I have not got an M4 but I have read countless reviews and everyone comments on how the basic M4 mini is completely silent even during fairly intensive work.

Of course you will always get the odd one that isn't.

Your measurements are very interesting. I had the same experience, a vague, very high pitched noise from the mac mini m4. I was very difficult to pin down without measurements. Even took it to the shop, but they couldn't hear it.

At least I know I didn't imagine it...

So this will probably have to do with the quality of the fan. If you get any feedback from Apple, I'd love to hear it too.

I had a Mac Mini M4 and then als M4 Pro. Both had the high pitched fan noise, which had nothing to do with SOC utilization. It is the fan itself. I didn´t like it and send both back. These units were ordered closely after the release. Maybe they updated something about it. I tend to try again, but hate sending stuff back. How is your feedback from Apple so far?

Mileage varies depending on hardware & software configuration, room environment, desk material, outside noise and hearing loss if any. Best to buy and find out for yourself what your mileage really is. That’s what the 14 day no-questions-return-refund is for, use it!

"I have read that the M4 Pro Mini gets noisy under heavy loads..."

Those are usually claims by anonymous users of unknown of competency and experience. You can find anything on the internet if you look hard and long enough. Just saying. Apple Silicon products have become famous for their quiet operation. Quiet operation has been a cornerstone for Apple. Steve Jobs didn’t even want to put fans in some Macs but had to. Apple engineers spend countless hours trying to design hardware with really good heat dissipation characteristics to keep the need for a fan down as far as possible.

tweswend wrote:

Using M4 Mac mini 32GB RAM, 256GB SSD for music production.

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I found it not associated with SoC load. It's only related to fan speed.

Somehow made me frustrated and I will reach to Apple to confirm whether it is a defect.

In fact, the M4 Mac Mini is just under three months old, so if you believe your Mac Mini is faulty, why not take it to an Apple service centre? After all, it comes with a one-year warranty.

It is so silent that you forget there's a computer around. 👌