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Surface Pro Noise level

L

limitedaccess

Supreme [H]ardness
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Referring to the first gen Surface Pro here.

I know some of you have used this device, can you comment on the actual noise level?

I seem to find mixed opinions on this. The problem is I'm wondering whether or it is due to the comparison point. For instance if you use the reference point of other tablets the problem is they are typically using much lower TDP and much lower performing SoC which can operate without fans and are essentially silent. However I'm not really sure if this comparison point is necessarily valid as the Surface Pro obviously packs much higher performing laptop/ultrabook hardware which in turn requires active cooling. Also in my case I'm looking at the Surface Pro as a notebook alternative as opposed to a tablet alternative.

The only source that I can find with a more objective measurement is the review done at Notebookcheck - http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Microsoft-Surface-Pro-Tablet.90881.0.html

However the actual measured noise to me does not seem out of line in comparison to actual notebooks (ultrabooks) and hybrids/convertibles measured from the same website.

I'm wondering about load (Gaming), productivity (Photoshop), multitask/heavy browsing (multiple tabs, background apps, flash), and videos (1080p h264, possibly 10 bit).
 
To answer my own question.

Noise levels seem comparable to other ultrabook/ultrathin laptops sporting the same hardware. Also in terms of the points where the fans ramp up. The only disadvantage may be the pitch, especially at peak load, due to being higher speed and smaller fans.

Surface 2 Pro noise level should be even better and would likely be better than comparable ultrabooks/ultrathins with similar hardware.

Device went back however due to a dead pixel. Wanted to keep it otherwise.

As a side bar of the last 9 devices I've received in the last few months with a LCD display (4 laptops, 3 smartphones, Surface Pro), 4 have had dead pixels. 2 have had extremely bad back light bleed. :rolleyes: Prior to that I'd only ever gotten a defective screen once with dead pixels.
 
My Surface Pro 2 seemed to be pretty loud whenever I drove it with lossless Blu-ray rips. I don't have anything to compare it to, though.

Display purity is the biggest problem in the electronics industry today, but nobody seems to care so nothing is done about it. OLED absolutely has to succeed because it does away with most of these problems.
 
Just for reference the last two laptops I have had access two for an extended period and was able to test them out was the Lenovo Y410p and the Acer v7 482pg. The main distinction was just the pitch on the fans. The y410p had the largest fan essentially (lowest high pitch whine) while the Surface Pro uses the smallest ones (higher pitch with more whine).

I think the other consideration is you tend to hold tablet devices close.

I haven't tried the Surface 2 Pro though. I'm thinking about getting it despite the much higher cost (the Surface Pro I bought cost $600) but at the very least I'd need to get that 10% student discount :p I'm in a bit of a quandary as I find the Surface 2 Pro still not quite there yet which is why I'm reluctant to spend that high cost. Broadwell GPU improvements and hopefully moving to 8gb without ridiculous upselling markup on the Surface 3 Pro would likely seal the deal for me. At $600 I can just pass it on to a family member or resell it with less relative depreciation when the 3 comes out but a $900 device (Surface 2 Pro with the student discount) is a tad more pricier in that regard.

Shoud've just bought this 15.6inch 1080p Haswell Acer as a 1 year "throwaway" laptop on sale for $500, argh...
 
I don't think I've ever heard my Pro 1, unless I put my ear right up to it. Then again I'm not running ten instances of Prime95 either...
 
The fans on my SP2 are not loud IMO. When I'm running a desktop driven game, they will kick in and I can barely hear them in a silent room from about ~1.5ft away (ear<->hand) distance. The fan is generally silent, however, when doing basic browsing, etc. Any ambient noise drowns it out quickly.

I didn't even realize it had a fan until my wife was playing it next to me one night in a silent room. The noise dissipates to the right of the device which is probably why I tend not to hear it when using it.
 
My SP (1) is barely audible in normal rooms when the fan kicks up, but that is not very often and it's silent otherwise.
 
Mine makes a little bit of noise when playing Civ V (which is does quite well I might add) but is silent otherwise.
 
I ran Minecraft on my SP1 and was confused as to the slight whoosh sound I was hearing. I tried to find the source and lo, it was my Surface Pro. It only ever engages the fans audibly when doing something intensive. Even when it is running with full fans(very rare), it isn't loud. Hell, I had to search for the source of the noise. Most people would never even notice it. Some anal retentive people would probably call it about the volume of a leaf blower. Those people are silly.
 
My Surface Pro is pretty quiet, I have barely ever heard it. The only times I do hear it is when I try playing a game like Civ5 or something on it where the graphics are far more demanding. Using it for general use, browsing, word processing, streaming, it seems to be pretty quiet.
 
quadnad said:
I don't think I've ever heard my Pro 1, unless I put my ear right up to it. Then again I'm not running ten instances of Prime95 either...
Click to expand...

me either, glad im not the only one thinking :do they make noise?" lol. Ive played some games and a lot of work programs and haven't heard it once so I'd call it quiet enough :p
 
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