Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

An app for M1 Macs that plays the sound of a fan as CPU usage goes up

fanfan.rambo.codes

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

391–400 of 454 posts

Re: An app for M1 Macs that plays the sound of a fan as CPU usage goes up

#391

Post by boondaburrah »

kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #250
kelnos wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> CRTs are potentially worse. It takes the electron beam 16 ms to paint the screen. Back when I had CRTs, 60Hz displays were the older, less-common, cheapo option. I'm having a hard time remembering a CRT display that wasn't at least 75Hz (I believe this was the VESA standard for the minimum to be flicker-free), but most of the monitors I used had refresh rates in the 80-90Hz range. I remember a beautiful higher-end…

Before multi-sync CRTs and SVGA, 60Hz was not the "cheapo" option.

I don't think you can get a display slower than a TV, and they do in fact update at ~60Hz (or 50Hz, depending on region). Of course you're probably only getting VGA, 240p, or less in terms of pixels.

Re: An app for M1 Macs that plays the sound of a fan as CPU usage goes up

#392

Post by ksec »

RandomWorker wrote: post #45
jmkni wrote: post #25

Pre M1, I've always preferred a PC. When I'm using a laptop, especially doing real work, they heat up, the fans go crazy, the laptop is hot to the touch and everything slows down. It almost makes you anxious. You're wondering if it's about to crash or go on fire. I've always kept a Desktop PC on the go for this reason, a well cooled desktop just doesn't have these issues. With a laptop, I always feel like I'm comprom…

Same here, it’s like a freaky experience. I run mostly from the browser but have a couple of things going at the same time. One thing I noticed is the blazing fast typing on the Mac. There is an ever so small lag on windows in perceptible when using it. But, when you type on the Mac you notice it, and the brain just feels good using it. I have no idea if this is a real thing, but it’s similar with scrolling, you touc…

You have what I called Latency Sensitive or Jank Sensitivity. The most important thing in these environment is actually not how fast they are ( or how low the latency are ), but the latency being "consistent". With Windows and Android there are micro Jank everywhere. I know because while most people dont notice, I felt a small pin push like pain on the right back of my head every time it happens.

Re: An app for M1 Macs that plays the sound of a fan as CPU usage goes up

#393

Post by deergomoo »

dreamcompiler wrote: post #155
grishka wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hm. I've always thought it was more of a result of our current display technology? Digital displays buffer an entire frame before they display it. Sometimes several frames. And the refresh rate is usually 60 Hz so each buffered frame adds a delay of 16 ms. CRTs on the other hand have basically zero latency because the signal coming in directly controls the intensity of the beam as it draws the picture. Anyway, is it…

CRTs are potentially worse. It takes the electron beam 16 ms to paint the screen. If the electron beam is halfway down the screen and you change a pixel right above where the beam just painted, you'll have to wait 16 ms before you see anything change. All CRT displays attached to computers in the last 40 years were driven from memory buffers just like LCDs, and those buffers were typically only allowed to change whil…

> CRTs are potentially worse. It takes the electron beam 16 ms to paint the screen. If the electron beam is halfway down the screen and you change a pixel right above where the beam just painted, you'll have to wait 16 ms before you see anything change.

This is exactly the same as LCDs though, no? LCDs are also drawing an entire frame at a time, they're not "random access" for lack of a better term. There's just typically no image processing going on with a CRT* though, so there's no inherent latency beyond the speed of the electron gun and the speed of light.

*I'm aware there were some later "digital" CRT models that did analog->digital conversion, followed by some digital signal processing on the image, then digital->analog conversion to drive the gun.

Re: An app for M1 Macs that plays the sound of a fan as CPU usage goes up

#394

Post by grishka »

DonHopkins wrote: post #387
sooheon wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So why does linux ux feel slower?

X-Windows: …A mistake carried out to perfection. X-Windows: …Dissatisfaction guaranteed. X-Windows: …Don’t get frustrated without it. X-Windows: …Even your dog won’t like it. X-Windows: …Flaky and built to stay that way. X-Windows: …Complex non-solutions to simple non-problems. X-Windows: …Flawed beyond belief. X-Windows: …Form follows malfunction. X-Windows: …Garbage at your fingertips. X-Windows: …Ignorance is our…

> like Sun’s Open Look clock tool, which gobbles up 1.4 megabytes of real memory!

It's funny to read this in an era when smartphones come with 6 GB of RAM to compensate for developers' laziness and unprofessionalism.

Re: An app for M1 Macs that plays the sound of a fan as CPU usage goes up

#395

Post by deergomoo »

drevil-v2 wrote: post #366
quenix wrote: post #345

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FYI, the one M1 MacBook which throttles under heavy load is the MacBook Air, which is actually a 1k laptop ($999). The MacBook Pro has fans and basically never throttles as I understand from others.

Absolutely untrue. My M1 Air does not skip a beat at all even under sustained load. Barely gets warm.

An MS Teams video call with 4+ people will get my M1 Air very toasty (because Teams is shit).

However, it's not as hot as my old 16" MBP got (which would get too hot to have on your lap), it doesn't noticeably get slower, and it's of course totally silent.

Re: An app for M1 Macs that plays the sound of a fan as CPU usage goes up

#396

Post by CTOSian »

DonHopkins wrote: post #387
sooheon wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So why does linux ux feel slower?

X-Windows: …A mistake carried out to perfection. X-Windows: …Dissatisfaction guaranteed. X-Windows: …Don’t get frustrated without it. X-Windows: …Even your dog won’t like it. X-Windows: …Flaky and built to stay that way. X-Windows: …Complex non-solutions to simple non-problems. X-Windows: …Flawed beyond belief. X-Windows: …Form follows malfunction. X-Windows: …Garbage at your fingertips. X-Windows: …Ignorance is our…

move on its 2021....

Re: An app for M1 Macs that plays the sound of a fan as CPU usage goes up

#397

Post by ksec »

tbrock wrote: post #241
jmkni wrote: post #25

Pre M1, I've always preferred a PC. When I'm using a laptop, especially doing real work, they heat up, the fans go crazy, the laptop is hot to the touch and everything slows down. It almost makes you anxious. You're wondering if it's about to crash or go on fire. I've always kept a Desktop PC on the go for this reason, a well cooled desktop just doesn't have these issues. With a laptop, I always feel like I'm comprom…

I dont understand why they sell the pro. The touchbar is rubbish and the air has 99% the same performance. Yeah the pro can go faster for longer without throttle but its heavier and doesnt have those physical f-keys. Its more expensive too… not sure why anyone would buy it over the air. Two more usb-c but you can only hook in one external monitor! Also 200 more nits on screen but… is it really that important? I cant…

>he touchbar is rubbish and the air has 99% the same performance.

It only have 99% of the performance under specific loads. The Air is ~12W TDP, the MBP is a ~20W TDP. That is quite a bit of difference ( 70% ) when you absolutely pushes it to the limit in both CPU and GPU.

That is why half of the not "throttle" comment in this thread dont make much sense as they only consider the CPU usage pattern.

Re: An app for M1 Macs that plays the sound of a fan as CPU usage goes up

#398

Post by deergomoo »

tbrock wrote: post #241
jmkni wrote: post #25

Pre M1, I've always preferred a PC. When I'm using a laptop, especially doing real work, they heat up, the fans go crazy, the laptop is hot to the touch and everything slows down. It almost makes you anxious. You're wondering if it's about to crash or go on fire. I've always kept a Desktop PC on the go for this reason, a well cooled desktop just doesn't have these issues. With a laptop, I always feel like I'm comprom…

I dont understand why they sell the pro. The touchbar is rubbish and the air has 99% the same performance. Yeah the pro can go faster for longer without throttle but its heavier and doesnt have those physical f-keys. Its more expensive too… not sure why anyone would buy it over the air. Two more usb-c but you can only hook in one external monitor! Also 200 more nits on screen but… is it really that important? I cant…

> Two more usb-c but you can only hook in one external monitor!

Actually you still only get two USB-C ports on the M1 MacBook Pro. The four-port model is still Intel.

That lower-spec Pro has never made much sense. The last time an entry level MacBook Pro made sense was 2015, where you got a noticeably higher TDP chip (28W vs 15W in the Air iirc—could be mistaken), more IO (two Thunderbolt 2 ports vs the Air's 1, and a full-size HDMI port), and of course an IPS retina screen.

I think the low-end Pro came to existence because they intended it to replace the Air, but the tiny 12" MacBook had already claimed the unadorned "MacBook" name, which would have made a lot more sense.

But then they ended up refreshing the Air as people just never stopped buying the old one, despite its ageing internals and garbage 2010-era screen (possibly because it was the only computer Apple were selling at the time with a keyboard that worked).

I have no idea while it still exists though. It's filling a niche that isn't there. I think the intent is for it to be basically an "upmarket" alternative to the Air, but they only thing they have to offer right now is a Touch Bar. Which for most people, including myself, is more of a reason not to buy it.

Re: An app for M1 Macs that plays the sound of a fan as CPU usage goes up

#399

Post by Joeri »

ksec wrote: post #397
tbrock wrote: post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dont understand why they sell the pro. The touchbar is rubbish and the air has 99% the same performance. Yeah the pro can go faster for longer without throttle but its heavier and doesnt have those physical f-keys. Its more expensive too… not sure why anyone would buy it over the air. Two more usb-c but you can only hook in one external monitor! Also 200 more nits on screen but… is it really that important? I cant…

>he touchbar is rubbish and the air has 99% the same performance. It only have 99% of the performance under specific loads. The Air is ~12W TDP, the MBP is a ~20W TDP. That is quite a bit of difference ( 70% ) when you absolutely pushes it to the limit in both CPU and GPU. That is why half of the not "throttle" comment in this thread dont make much sense as they only consider the CPU usage pattern.

The point is that there are very few real world workloads that get it to throttle, and even more rarely will it throttle enough to matter. 99% of use cases are not affected.

Re: An app for M1 Macs that plays the sound of a fan as CPU usage goes up

#400

Post by pornel »

fomine3 wrote: post #262
halotrope wrote: post #5

It makes me a bit sad that for ten years I took it for granted that Moore’s law is dead and notebooks are constantly overheating incapable computers just to learn that the whole issue was Intel messing up their process nodes.

MacBook series' thermal design is considered bad compared to other laptops for a long time. It accidentally helped a bit people think M1 is great and Intel is bad (though it's mostly true). (I believe it's not intended.)

Apple put M1 in the exact same bad enclosures they were using before, so the Apples-to-Apples comparison is still valid :)
Post reply on HN