emac fan noise

Welcome to the Discussions Bryan,

Well, it really depends on what exact model. Any CPU with a fan will make noise as you know, but a few models have had issues with the fan for different reasons (bad lots from manufacture, alignment issues...). You are talking the latest version of the eMac with the CRT, right? If so they do have a little bit of noise as they need to move quite a bit of air (there is low gravity cooling because of the low exhaust port) to cool that hot CRT. I would still have to say that it is much quieter than my 5 year old G4 by far. I have classrooms with 20-26 of these units in each and the noise is distinguishable from the HVAC system duct noise but not more than. If you are looking for a very quite space unit then consider the Mac Mini or iMac. (G5 is quite too)

Hello, Bryan,

What constitutes "loud" is always relative to the hearer, but I do find emacs to be noisy (loud fan whirring). Both my partner and I have emacs in our offices--mine is brand new, his is a few years old. The sound is loud enough to cause a little distraction first thing, but then fades into the background as I habituate to the sound and get engrossed in what I am doing.

It is a lovely machine and one gets alot for the cost, in my opinion--

M.

What some might consider loud, others might consider soothing 😉. Unless you are going to be in a really quite environment, I don't think it is going to be much of a problem. In your bedroom, might be a problem. In the main part of the house where there is more background noise, shouldn't be a problem.

Grant

I have an old fanless iMac in my bedroom, and, until I had it downloading files when I was trying to sleep, I never realized how loud it is. Why? The spinning hard drive noise is a high-pitched whine with occasional access noises that is really quite annoying. By contrast, the fan noise of the eMac really is, well, soothing! The eMac HD never makes any noise (or maybe it's drowned out). The fan noise is a "white noise" that is completely unobjectionable, IMO. Plus a little fan noise can help drown out objectionable background noises, like the TV downstairs.

Remember that if you sleep your computer at night you should do maintenance that is missed (Daily, Weekly and Monthly from 2-5a.m.) with a program like MacJanitor or Cocktail, else you can run into file problems down the road.

Bryan,

I believe the fan is a variable speed one.

If your friend's room was hot (over 70F) the fan will be turning faster and therefore making more noise.

In winter when my room is closer to 60F it just makes a gentle shushing sound but at present it is considerably louder.

Ian.

I got mine in my bedroom, never had problems with sound, and believe me, its very quiet in there. BTW if you put your eMac to sleep at night, you will never hear a thing, and thats for sure.

In my home office I use my eMac and my partner uses a PC system and I have to say that the eMac makes alot more noise than the PC with 4 fans inside it !

Kali.

Yes, I do use macJanitor, on a week basis, like every sunday, and repair permissions. I found this a simple way of "not get in problems".

Yeah mine does get much louder when it is like 80F inside and that thing is in the corner of my desk. I don't think it likes it over there. :))

Can the fan in the eMac be replaced with a standard quieter pc fan or is it a custom fan? I looked at the service manual and it appears to be housed in a special housing.