Well there is a difference. I measured 35 db fan noise from an SP3 and 75db from a MBA with a decibel meter.
Who has an SP3 and S3 and considers it acceptable to have both?
- Thread starter hughlle
- Start date
Wow. That is insanely loud. I've never owned a MacBook so cannot comment, but last night I was streaming a show via chrome because of IE popups, and the SP3, on the other side of the living room was so loud as to be a big distraction from the audio. The only computer I've owned that was louder than the surface pro 3 were shuttles with the bios set to run all fans at max speed.
Agree, they are very different in level of noise. The MBA is at least twice as loud in my experience. On my SP3 I barely hear it and usually only if I cup my hand around the right side near the speaker. On the MBA it will be on my lap or table and clearly audible. But, it usually doesn't kick on unless I have a few apps open along with VirtualBox on the MBA
On the SP3 I've only really heard it during Windows Updates.Panos has truthiness issues, no doubt. And for us i7 owners, it ain't just 5% of the time...
InspectHerGadget
Active Member
I think most people would regard the fan noise on the SP3 as quiet, very quiet. There has always been a minority of users though who have thought it very loud. In most situations the fan shouldn't even come on. I can't recall hearing the fan in months on mine or if it came on I didn't even notice.
I typically have calendar, Outlook, Word, People, IE, and MYOB, along with OneDrive open.
I have heard though that Google Chrome is not as low on resource usage as IE but I'd still be surprised if it would make much difference.
Interestingly just as I said I hadn't heard the fan in months, it cut in, I wasn't sure what it was and had to have my ear closer to the Surface to hear it. It looks like IE taking up 33% of the CPU, God knows why but that's Windows for you.
I don't know maybe the fan does cut in more than I thought but it is that quiet I don't notice it.
I typically have calendar, Outlook, Word, People, IE, and MYOB, along with OneDrive open.
I have heard though that Google Chrome is not as low on resource usage as IE but I'd still be surprised if it would make much difference.
Interestingly just as I said I hadn't heard the fan in months, it cut in, I wasn't sure what it was and had to have my ear closer to the Surface to hear it. It looks like IE taking up 33% of the CPU, God knows why but that's Windows for you.
I don't know maybe the fan does cut in more than I thought but it is that quiet I don't notice it.
Don't get me wrong. The fan is typically fairly quiet when it does run, but when it really runs, it is anything but quiet, and I've bad enough hearing as it is. It's loud enough to be a distraction while watching a film with the device on the other side of the room.
InspectHerGadget
Active Member
You should compare it with another surface SP. It may need repair. I suppose running a game should do it. You could take it into a store where they sell them and just see what they think.
Some people seem to be sensitive to certain frequencies more than others. 35db is rated as a quiet library on most standard noise level charts. I had an ear infection after which I became unusually sensitive to low frequency 60hz motor hum noises, nearly drove me crazy at first.
Quite possible. I know my ears are a bit screwy. If I am on a call using a mobile phone, I get a horrible cracking/popping/scratching in the other ear.
