Mac Studio M4 Max making small “clicking” sounds during After Effects preview/render

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Mac Studio M4 Max making small “clicking” sounds during After Effects preview/render

I have a Mac Studio M4 Max with 64 GB of RAM, and I’ve noticed that when using After Effects, during high-quality previews or while rendering, the machine produces small “clicking” sounds.

I took it to the Apple Store (Genius Bar), but the technicians couldn’t find any hardware issues. They even reached out to Apple’s engineering team to check if there’s any known case or solution for this.

Has anyone here experienced the same behavior with the Mac Studio or other models, especially when running demanding apps like After Effects?

Posted on Sep 8, 2025 11:58 AM

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Answer 1

Sep 8, 2025 03:21 PM in response to Vbaumstark

is this your sound?

(turn up the Volume)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KS-BHI667po

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Answer 2

Sep 8, 2025 04:37 PM in response to Vbaumstark

The only other moving parts an a Mac Studio is at the fans, and they should either be silent, or if something is stuck in the path of a fan, should make a steady ticking sound.

My money is still on the SSD drive writes. That you tube video was made a while ago, and the Mac uses a more modern SSD that might make a somewhat different sound when writing.

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Answer 3

Vbaumstark Author

Level 1

8 points

Sep 8, 2025 04:10 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Thanks for taking the time to respond.

It’s not that kind of sound; they are clicks, similar to small ‘ticks’. During rendering, they occur at certain moments, not continuously, but in small intervals.

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