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Level 1

11 points

Small buzzing sound coming from back of Mac Pro - Is this normal?

Hi there,

I've noticed there's a buzzing sound coming from my brand new 2010 Mac Pro if I listen closely from the back. It sounds like an electrical buzz and even though it's only audible from the back of the machine, I'm a little concerned this might get worse and worse over time. I don't remember hearing the same buzzing on my 2005 Power Mac G5. I'm not 100%, but it might be coming from the power supply. Has anyone else experienced this? It's only audible when you listen closely from the back.

If someone could go behind their Mac Pro and listen for a buzzing sound that would be great so I will know whether it's normal or not. Don't get me wrong. The buzzing sound is not annoying in any way as I cannot hear it from where I sit. I'm just concerned that it might lead to something worse or even damage my Mac Pro over time.

Thanks for reading and I hope to hear from somebody soon.

Regards,

Daniel

Mac Pro 3.2GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon "Nehalem" (Mid 2010), Mac OS X (10.6.4), 12GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM

Posted on Sep 27, 2010 10:11 PM

61 replies

Oct 6, 2010 5:57 AM in response to Community User

I'd ask for a replacement of the PSU or a whole new machine if I were u. Just to be on the safe side for the future in case this matter gets worse and potentially hazardous.

Message was edited by: progressia

Oct 6, 2010 6:13 AM in response to Community User

Adding to my previous comment, I took a 2 inch by 2 inch piece of paper towel, folded it in half, and folded it in half again so I had a 1/2 inch by 2 inch piece of 'four ply' paper towel. I placed this between the front of the processor tray and the side panel so it is sandwiched between the two flat metal surfaces along the bottom of the side panel.

No more vibration noise. Just fans.

Oct 6, 2010 6:17 AM in response to Community User

Aha, i see where your confusion is coming from. You think that we are hearing buzzing because of metal parts of the chassis vibrating. But what we're facing is an 'electrical' buzz noise coming directly from the power jack/hole behind the PSU where the power cord is connected.

But if you are facing vibration noise, then you don't have a PSU problem like we do. Well, good that your problem is just minor and nothing major/hazardous.

Message was edited by: progressia

Oct 6, 2010 6:24 AM in response to progressia

Sorry for the confusion. Tom Nelson1, commenting above, solved my problem. Good luck with the psu problem.

Oct 6, 2010 7:22 AM in response to progressia

I just checked the back of 4 ⚠ Mac Pros (2006 model) at my uni and their PSUs were all buzzing, just not as badly as mine (it was not audible through the front, only through the back of the case)

Is the buzzing a normal thing for Mac Pros?

IlMolto Author

Level 1

11 points

Oct 6, 2010 8:26 AM in response to chrisuk123

I'm beginning to think it is...

Oct 6, 2010 8:36 AM in response to chrisuk123

Well when i asked the tech repairman from Amsys Apple Repair center, he said it sounded a bit strange so he went on and bought me a new one from Apple. So my assumption after his claim, is that no it isn't normal...

Oct 6, 2010 10:05 AM in response to progressia

Hi, just went by the Regent Street apple store and listened to the back of their Mac Pro, it was buzzing, too..

Oct 6, 2010 10:26 AM in response to chrisuk123

Maybe they're defected too? I don't know, I simply thought it wasn't normal, so did the engineer. =S

Oct 6, 2010 1:26 PM in response to progressia

Do tell us how your new PSU turns out and how your Mac Pro was handled please 🙂 when do you think you'll get it back?

Oct 6, 2010 3:52 PM in response to chrisuk123

Of course, i intend to tell u all what happens after i get my machine back, no worries. The engineer says either Friday or Monday of next week I'll get my machine back.

IlMolto Author

Level 1

11 points

Oct 6, 2010 7:16 PM in response to progressia

It definitely is a mystery, isn't it? All I know is that my Power Mac G5 never had any buzzing coming from behind. If you missed my earlier post, I called an Apple repair centre and the guy told me that the buzzing sound could just be the fans in the power supply working a little bit harder than normal. That was just a brief explanation over the phone. I'm yet to take my Mac Pro and get it properly examined. When and if I do, I'll keep you guys posted 🙂

Oct 6, 2010 8:40 PM in response to IlMolto

It definitely does not sound like a fan problem though :/
One thing I noticed was that whenever there's load on the GPU, the PSU buzzing gets worse. Changing the sliders in Lightroom will change the frequency of the buzz and playing Left 4 Dead 2 will make the buzzing go crazy. I guess the 5870 card makes the PSU issue worse because it takes so much power (I mean it even needs 2 extra power cables) ...

Oct 7, 2010 3:49 AM in response to chrisuk123

When comparing the Radeon 5870 with, say, the Nvidia GTX400 series, the 5870 is rather low-powered, i mean that's one of its main attributes; being a powerful but low-power consuming GPU

Oct 8, 2010 3:32 AM in response to progressia

Any news? Did you get it back today? 🙂

Small buzzing sound coming from back of Mac Pro - Is this normal?