Hard drive noise is mostly a thing of the past, so they're all dead quiet until the fan kicks in, then it gets dicey. My Dell D600, 3 or 4 years old now, runs the fan most of the time, is pretty loud even when the fan is still running on the low setting, and really loud when it switches to high. My iBook G4 is very quiet on low and still tolerable on high, but the fan rarely comes on even low and I've heard it maybe once switch to high. My wife's MacBook Pro runs the fan pretty frequently, but it's whisper quiet on low, and we haven't yet heard it kick to high.
I've owned many laptops and used/serviced many more (I'm an IT professional) and overall, I'd say PC laptops are generally louder than Mac laptops if the fan is running. If your father is ONLY using it for audio, the learning curve should be about the same unless he already has a favorite music program. iTunes, for example, is almost identical on both platforms.
All that said, it will also depend what he's doing. If he's only playing back files, then any laptop will run pretty cool because playback isn't very CPU intensive. If he's going to be ripping CDs it will generate more heat, from a little if he's suing straight AIFF files, to a lot if he's using high compression MP3s or AACs, which are very CPU intensive. Ventilation will play a role too - good air circulation will keep the fan from coming on so soon.
I'd suggest that you pick something that can be returned and then run the heck out of it to make the fan come on and judge for yourself. I've never held a dB meter up to any of my laptops, so I have no objective measure of the noise. What's tolerable for me may be way too loud for your father. Good luck with your search.
David
I've owned many laptops and used/serviced many more (I'm an IT professional) and overall, I'd say PC laptops are generally louder than Mac laptops if the fan is running. If your father is ONLY using it for audio, the learning curve should be about the same unless he already has a favorite music program. iTunes, for example, is almost identical on both platforms.
All that said, it will also depend what he's doing. If he's only playing back files, then any laptop will run pretty cool because playback isn't very CPU intensive. If he's going to be ripping CDs it will generate more heat, from a little if he's suing straight AIFF files, to a lot if he's using high compression MP3s or AACs, which are very CPU intensive. Ventilation will play a role too - good air circulation will keep the fan from coming on so soon.
I'd suggest that you pick something that can be returned and then run the heck out of it to make the fan come on and judge for yourself. I've never held a dB meter up to any of my laptops, so I have no objective measure of the noise. What's tolerable for me may be way too loud for your father. Good luck with your search.
David