Picked up new 24" iMac today

[viking396]

I have to admit, as a PC builder I have recently purchased Mac's (for my business, an '08 Mac Pro and now iMac) I like the build quality and this iMac is fantastic!

I'm installing Vista Business on it tonight as well. I'll post more later.

[viking396]

Ok, did Apple use any fans in these things? This thing get so hot I could warm a coffee mug on it, this is nuts!

I like the machine but this heat is insane, I called Apple and they claim "running warm is normal". Warm? Yeah ok then...

Installing Vista, Aero will get this sucker warmed up I bet, if it runs any hotter I doubt I'm keeping it. I'll bring it upstairs later and let it run over night if it's so hot you can't touch the top then it's going back, no way it goes long term without something taking a crap.

Anybody else seeing not warm but hot temps coming off of their iMac? I have a new 24" 2.8ghz machine with 4gigs of memory.

[akm3]

What does iStat pro say your temperatures are? (Or did you wipe os x and only have windows on it?)

[Hates]

As akm3 said, post some iStatPro temps.

The iMac does run pretty warm. The case is made to extract heat away from the internals, to keep the amount of needed fans low.

[zer0tails]

Congrats on your purchase.

I've used macs for a long time now, and they usually get a little warm.

Especially with the iMac, putting all those components into that slim case, you can expect there'll be heat.

download iStat pro and see what the temps are. If they are not over the chart, and within spec, then you can rest easy. As long as that thing doesn't blow up :)

[queshy]

The iMac should be warm to the touch but by no means uncomfortable. Post some iStat temperatures.

[AlexH]

You think it'll get hot running Aero? Try running handbrake... :p

I would be interested in seeing actual temps though.

[queshy]

You think it'll get hot running Aero? Try running handbrake... :p

I would be interested in seeing actual temps though.

Lights on fire?

[secretpact]

http://www.islayer.com/index.php?op=item&id=7

Link to iStat Pro for OP

[viking396]

Sorry for the delayed response. I loaded iStat Pro but I'm in Vista rght now. I've been gone all day and am heading to bed now, I'll log into Leopard tomorrow and post temps. Thanks for the responses.

Due to rumors even if the heat isn't an issue I may take this back next week before the 14 days are up and hold off buying until either they see a price reduction or new ones are released. :apple:

[motoxpress]

These things run hot because Apple designed them thin and to be as quiet as possible so, they use heatsinks to pull the heat out and distribute it into the chassis. There is really no danger to the computer itself however.

-mx

[viking396]

These things run hot because Apple designed them thin and to be as quiet as possible so, they use heatsinks to pull the heat out and distribute it into the chassis. There is really no danger to the computer itself however.

-mx

Ok, not to be rude, running hot for any electronics hurts long term. Many people keep a computer for only a few years and Apple knows this so isn't worried about long term I'm sure. There is no excuse for a computer to run this hot, if it's a part of the design, I'll do without and take it back.

I have an HP HDX Dragon 20" laptop with the 2.8ghz extreme cpu and loaded to the gills with 2 7200rpm hard drives and maxed out memory and video, it runs mildly warm at full tilt usage with very little fan noise.

The iMac while doing no real work runs very hot, not warm, hot. I'm going to post temps tonight but I would not be shocked to see many sensors at over 120f, I'm not going to assume so I'll post the temps when I'm on the machine tonight.

[themoonisdown09]

These things run hot because Apple designed them thin and to be as quiet as possible so, they use heatsinks to pull the heat out and distribute it into the chassis. There is really no danger to the computer itself however.

-mx

I agree. There are so many people that are concerned with the temperature that it is running at. I hear of people changing the fan speeds and other stuff. I've had mine for almost a year and I've never checked the temperature. I'm constantly doing processor-intensive tasks and yes, it does get warm, but that's how it was designed.

[Aranince]

I'm only using FireFox on my MBP and my CPU is at 55C and my GPU is at 52C. The general rule is, as long as it's under 70C you are fine.

[johto]

Only thing I would be worried about would be the HDD and PSU in the long term.

[dr. shdw]

Maybe your room is warm too?

[Dorfdad]

Ok, not to be rude, running hot for any electronics hurts long term. Many people keep a computer for only a few years and Apple knows this so isn't worried about long term I'm sure. There is no excuse for a computer to run this hot, if it's a part of the design, I'll do without and take it back.

I have an HP HDX Dragon 20" laptop with the 2.8ghz extreme cpu and loaded to the gills with 2 7200rpm hard drives and maxed out memory and video, it runs mildly warm at full tilt usage with very little fan noise.

The iMac while doing no real work runs very hot, not warm, hot. I'm going to post temps tonight but I would not be shocked to see many sensors at over 120f, I'm not going to assume so I'll post the temps when I'm on the machine tonight.

Dude not to be rude at all, but you said your a long time PC builder right? Yes parts are parts but the Apple design and intergration is far better than ANY PC system for one. Ive been using mine for 2 1/2 years straight on 24 hours a day playing advanced games, and running Vista as well (For the record the machine gets warmer with VISTA running, its not Apples fault that VISTA's OS is coded like crap!)

Ive not heard of many people complaining that their Imacs Burnt from heat issues in my time of reading and owning an iMac.

If you feel its a BAD system replace it and try another one, Yes it gets warm, but I will settle for a little WARM monitor (Not that I ever need to touch it!!!) over the loud fans any PC has...

[Sdashiki]

My brand new 3 day old 24" iMac, with the 8800, running CoD4 for a good couple of hours, while torrenting and listening to itunes...

Never goes above 130F, I was amazed (compared to my CD Blackbook which goes above 140F all the time just surfing).

And the metal of the computer body gets warm, but perhaps your definition of "hot" is different than mine.

Still, everyone is waiting for some temp specs... :rolleyes:

[holden15]

I just got a 20" iMac a few weeks ago and I have experienced no problems with it at all. While it's running, it's a little warm, like any computer, but it never gets uncomfortably hot...

[viking396]

Dude not to be rude at all, but you said your a long time PC builder right? Yes parts are parts but the Apple design and intergration is far better than ANY PC system for one.

Ok clearly the iMac design is very nice, I wouldn't have bought one if it wasn't but please don't give me the fanboy line of better than ANY PC system because that line is cheesy and simply isn't true. Your opinion may be that it is, but that doesn't make it fact.


Ive been using mine for 2 1/2 years straight on 24 hours a day playing advanced games, and running Vista as well (For the record the machine gets warmer with VISTA running, its not Apples fault that VISTA's OS is coded like crap!)

There is a reason why it gets hotter when running Vista, being coded like crap isn't it, but it's one that people use out of ignorance. Do you bow to the TV when the PC vs Mac ads play? I've run all of my Vista machines (thats 20 at work and 5 at home) since the betas and have had no issues. All OS's have bugs and Leopard is FAR from the perfection Apple and it's fanboys who drink their koolaid brag it to be. Vista is a victim of press, idiots and poor marketing and is also far from perfect, but it's the best OS they have ever made and SP1 helps in a big way. I think Windows 7 will be even better, I also think Snow Leopard will be something better as well, each has it's pro's and con's and neither is better than the other, but Apple sure loves that you buy it hook line and sinker.

I went out to dinner with friends and one of the guys asked me if I ran Vista. I responded yes, in every work machine and home machine. His response "OmiGod how could you run that crap?" I calmly asked how much he has worked with it, his response, never but Apple says its crap and all these people say its crap. So, in his professional view it was crap, yet he never used it. I bought a few Mac's so I could get back to using both platforms and because I liked the idea of having both on one machine. But this I have to hate one in order to use the other is stupid. Ford vs Chevy, is either one really better than the other? No, but Ford and Chevy are real happy when they get people to believe the hype and argue about them.

I'm not here to argue, I'm here complaining about a product that's running hot, much hotter than it should and all I get from Apple is it's normal and from Apple users I get the holy grail speech, good grief. I'll be posting temps in my next post, the PSU runs at 170f, this isn't warm, it's friggin HOT.


Ive not heard of many people complaining that their Imacs Burnt from heat issues in my time of reading and owning an iMac.

Burnt, the heat needed to actually burn is pretty high, so I doubt you would. Do a search, there are plenty of articles and forum posts filled with complaints, I found them easily.


If you feel its a BAD system replace it and try another one, Yes it gets warm, but I will settle for a little WARM monitor (Not that I ever need to touch it!!!) over the loud fans any PC has...

First, you're using a PC with Apple's OSX OS on it, it's no longer a Mac, it's a PC with a new BIOS not a Mac, it also has fans, in my view they could run a tad faster and yes, if I deem this machine isn't worthy of the near $2,000 price tag because of heat I will return it. So, now can we just stick to the issue instead of the fanboy talking points?

Only thing I would be worried about would be the HDD and PSU in the long term.

Agreed and also the CPU and GPU, lets not forget the very items that heat affects the most. ;)

Maybe your room is warm too?

The computer is in my office which is my basement, it's never over 59f down here. During the summer it's the nicest temps in the house. Computers love the cool air down here, I can only imagine how hot this sucker would get upstairs. :eek:

Ok, here are the temps.

Fan CPU Speed 1200rpm
Hard Drive 1198rpm
Optical 680rpm

CPU 91f
Airport 124f
Ambient 74f
GPU 111f
GPU Diode 108f
GPU Heatsink 104f
Hard Drive Bay 1 120f
Memory Controller 106f
Optical Drive 110f
Power SUpply 178f

Room temp is 59f, just got off the phone with Apple, the PSU and overall temp's (Airport HD bay and PSU) are a "concern" considering the room temp, I have to bring it upstairs and run it over night and report back the temps tomorrow morning. I'll do it and post the numbers then.

For those of you who don't care as long as it works, ok, I understand that. For me however I expect a lot from a company that makes the claims that Apple claims and I expect a lot for the money I spend. I have nobody to complain to when I build a system, but my systems are rock solid, so I expect the same from Apple.

I also have a Mac Pro and I am one of those people who turned up the fans (1200rpms normal use, 1500 during heavy use), simply because 12 gigs of memory make a lot of heat (memory modules in A1 and B1 hit 180f during intense use) and the only thing that will get heat out quickly, is fans.

[Richard.John]

Here are my stats for comparison. Temps in f (please go metric, it's better) running inside a house here in autumnal Japan. The case gets hot but no trouble I think.

HD - 119
CPU - 104
AP - 104
Ambient - 74
GPU - 122
GPU diode - 124
GPU heatsink - 122
HD bay - 122
Mem cont - 110
Optical drive - 101
Power supply - 139

CPU fan - 1196
HD - 1198
Optical - 699

[viking396]

Richard.John,

Thank you for posting that! :)
135 for your PSU and almost 180 for mine, very strange also of note is how much higher my airport card runs, are you wireless or wired, that could explain the difference there. EDIT: I see you're wired, so that answers that.

What is the room temp?

[synth3tik]

The case is designed to pull heat away, making the casing hotter then the internals. All your temps look normal. The only thing I would keep an eye on is the PSU and even thats not all that bad. In my Mac Pro my PSU is running at 170F and the next highest temp is my first memory riser which is at 156F. That said the ambient heat inside the computer is only 76F so the computer is doing a great job with removing the heat, although I am sure I could roast a chicken behind the thing.....


I should note that the only reason the memory is so high is because the fan pushes the air through the CPU heat sinks and then to the memory risers. The memory in the Mac Pros are also supplied with heat sinks so the temp reading gets higher since so much heat is being pulled out of the CPUs and the memory.

[aki]

viking congratulations on your new imac!!

everybody as you now can see has a different idea about temps and imacs... i will tell you what i found and what i do if its any help for you

first yes the imac is hot this is because of the case and so yes its good to use istat pro to see what is really the heat inside

as for separate temps your gpu and cpu should be ok as they are rated for very high temps... the most sensitive are as johto said psu and hd mostly hd

as u no maybe hd life drops with long term high temperatures.... if you upgrade your mac every few years its no issue i think but if u want to be safe or to last longer then its good to watch your hd temp

in my own case i try not to get HD over 50 C for a long period but its personal preference :)

also as a vista user u should know that fan management is NOT good running bootcamp vista.... it is a very good idea to watch temps if u game a lot or do heavy work on windows on an imac

(oh and a note....i looooove my macs and always have BUT vista is a good OS.... seriously the vista hate/xp love is just crazy IMO vista is easily easily better than xp)

so what do u do??

well i run istat pro of course under OSX and an app smcfancontrol also under OSX....smcfancontrol lets u manually set fan speeds (it wont go under the apple speeds tho so its safe)

smcfancontrol is an OSX app BUT you can set fan speeds in osx and then reboot (not shutdown and startup that wont work) into bootcamp vista and the speeds will stay at your settings

in my case i have a smcfancontrol setting for heavy long OSX work and a pretty high/noisy setting for vista gaming

for the people who say "apple knows how to make a mac its fine you dont have to mess with it mine works fine" thats all true i dont think most people would have any problem for a year or two or maybe three BUT if u keep your machine more than 2 or 3 years or dont backup or whatever.... or if u game in windows every night :p ...then thinking about temps isnt paranoid

wow that was long i hope it makes sense

again i hope you enjoy your new mac!!

[Richard.John]

Viking396,

You are welcome. Room temp is 22c so about 71f.

[viking396]

The case is designed to pull heat away, making the casing hotter then the internals. All your temps look normal. The only thing I would keep an eye on is the PSU and even thats not all that bad. In my Mac Pro my PSU is running at 170F and the next highest temp is my first memory riser which is at 156F. That said the ambient heat inside the computer is only 76F so the computer is doing a great job with removing the heat, although I am sure I could roast a chicken behind the thing.....


I should note that the only reason the memory is so high is because the fan pushes the air through the CPU heat sinks and then to the memory risers. The memory in the Mac Pros are also supplied with heat sinks so the temp reading gets higher since so much heat is being pulled out of the CPUs and the memory.

Right now my main concern after doing some reading at other places concerned about heat is the PSU, as you said and I guess it's location isn't the best suited to venting off heat. The airport card really doesn't shock me, it's how the thing is hooked to the web so it will run warmer, I'll hook up a cable and that will help.

But the PSU, holy crap that will be hard to agree as being normal. Even Apple support said wow after I told him how cool the room is. Thanks for the reply!

[Richard.John]

Viking396,

Here in Tokyo during the summer the room temp was at least plus 10c on top of my current room temp, but it never skipped a beat or sounded any louder than it does now. it's a great machine, enjoy it.

[viking396]

viking congratulations on your new imac!!

Thanks, Apple did a fantastic job in making it look sexy (as computers go).


everybody as you now can see has a different idea about temps and imacs... i will tell you what i found and what i do if its any help for you

Thanks, I appreciate debate and facts but take issue with fanboy talking points.

first yes the imac is hot this is because of the case and so yes its good to use istat pro to see what is really the heat inside

as for separate temps your gpu and cpu should be ok as they are rated for very high temps... the most sensitive are as johto said psu and hd mostly hd

Agreed, it might have been a better idea to use a brick PSU instead considering how much heat the LCD also puts out but I know what Apple was shooting for, hopefully it works long term as people have stated.

as u no maybe hd life drops with long term high temperatures.... if you upgrade your mac every few years its no issue i think but if u want to be safe or to last longer then its good to watch your hd temp

in my own case i try not to get HD over 50 C for a long period but its personal preference :)

Yeah, this will probably get a larger hard drive next spring and most will be kept on a share anyway.

also as a vista user u should know that fan management is NOT good running bootcamp vista.... it is a very good idea to watch temps if u game a lot or do heavy work on windows on an imac

I have no fan software running in Vista, only the OSX side but thats where I do the heavy work with video files and such. The Vista side runs in Bootcamp and also Fusion.

(oh and a note....i looooove my macs and always have BUT vista is a good OS.... seriously the vista hate/xp love is just crazy IMO vista is easily easily better than xp)

Agreed 100% I run it on enough computers to be able to tell if its crap or not. Most if not all issues I have run into are sitting behind the keyboard, not the computer and that includes me sometimes when I try something new that I know can mess things up. :)

so what do u do??

well i run istat pro of course under OSX and an app smcfancontrol also under OSX....smcfancontrol lets u manually set fan speeds (it wont go under the apple speeds tho so its safe)

smcfancontrol is an OSX app BUT you can set fan speeds in osx and then reboot (not shutdown and startup that wont work) into bootcamp vista and the speeds will stay at your settings

I don't have temp issues when running Vista, the fans run about 1100rpm and things look fine, memory jumps a bit but not usually over 120 but then my work stuff isn't that intense for this system.

in my case i have a smcfancontrol setting for heavy long OSX work and a pretty high/noisy setting for vista gaming

for the people who say "apple knows how to make a mac its fine you dont have to mess with it mine works fine" thats all true i dont think most people would have any problem for a year or two or maybe three BUT if u keep your machine more than 2 or 3 years or dont backup or whatever.... or if u game in windows every night :p ...then thinking about temps isnt paranoid

wow that was long i hope it makes sense

again i hope you enjoy your new mac!!

You bring up many valid points, thank you for the reply. I'm enjoying all 3 of them, I have had the Air since it came out, aside from it being able to roast my nuts sometimes I love that little thing!

Viking396,

Here in Tokyo during the summer the room temp was at least plus 10c on top of my current room temp, but it never skipped a beat or sounded any louder than it does now. it's a great machine, enjoy it.

Thanks for the feed back Richard.John, have a great night. :) :apple:

[EdbBob]

You have to accept a little heat haze over the top of your iMac, but mine's been running absolutely flawless for a year now :D Put your coffee mug on top and it'll never get cold!

Also being an old pc user I don't think it's much different than many pc's and I don't envy you Vista. That's the worst peace of crap Microsoft ever did! Shame on them for that one. Even worse than ME. OS X on the other hand keeps amazing me every time i use it. Two huge thumbs up to Apple from a previous hardcore dedicated pc owner. Really looking forward to my 8 core Pro running Snow Leopard.

[viking396]

You have to accept a little heat haze over the top of your iMac,

Heat haze, um, ok.

but mine's been running absolutely flawless for a year now :D Put your coffee mug on top and it'll never get cold!

Great idea.

Also being an old pc user I don't think it's much different than many pc's

The only comparable PC would be the old all in one gateway's that ran AMD CPU's years ago. So yes, it's much different which is why I bought it.


and I don't envy you Vista. That's the worst peace of crap Microsoft ever did! Shame on them for that one. Even worse than ME. OS X on the other hand keeps amazing me every time i use it. Two huge thumbs up to Apple from a previous hardcore dedicated pc owner. Really looking forward to my 8 core Pro running Snow Leopard.

Spoken like a true Apple fan boy, congrats. Windows ME was a huge pile of crap, even Microsoft admits to that turd however Windows Vista runs smoother on my Mac Pro than Leopard does, it must not take much to amaze you I guess but you'll believe all the crap you hear about Vista.

Here is what I think is wrong with Vista, the hardware requirements are wrong and most computers are to wussy to run it. This IS Microsoft's fault but for the machines like my home brewed one and my new Mac Pro with 12gigs of memory, it runs like it should. I can run as many video streams as I can fit on the 2 27" LCD's on my desk, Leopard stutters after 4 or 5, multi-tasking in Vista never lags, Leopard does, maybe I'm expecting more than I should from Leopard but amazed by it, no, do I like it, yes.

Having a very powerful GPU, crap loads of memory and 8 cores really makes Vista fast as hell, I wish Leopard responded to all this horsepower as well but it doesn't but I still like it, does it amaze me, no, it would be nice if Front Row didn't lock up so right now it leaves a sour taste behind. I'm not going to call Leopard crap, maybe Front Row is crap, I don't know, we'll see how Apple resolves the issue on my machine.

As for thia iMac, it's probably going back and I'll wait for the next version to come out in a few months.

[danielsamuels]

I'm only using FireFox on my MBP and my CPU is at 55C and my GPU is at 52C. The general rule is, as long as it's under 70C you are fine.

I've seen my MacBook at 95C quite a few times..

[secretpact]

I've seen my MacBook at 95C quite a few times..

Yikes!! I max out at around 150F, (65.55C). That's really hot, still. It's really hard to keep my MBP on my lap at that temperature, I can't imagine it going up to 95 :eek:

[StevieB]

YIKES! Can't we all just get along?

As a life-long PC guy who is right now deciding whether to leave the only computer world I know . . . and pull the trigger on a brand new fully loaded IMAC 24". . . . this thread (and some others I have been reading on this forum) is kind of freaking me right out.

I have to admit . . . I have been heavily affected by the great Apple commercials and the "grass must be greener on the other side mentality" . . . but every time I walk into my local Apple store and try to work with the local kool-aid drinkers I get turned off for a million reasons. After I finally am able to catch one of the employees attention for some help (which should not be too hard as I am the height as Kobe), I the find it kind of scary that most of them seem to know even less about computers than I do.

So what to do. I am sitting here with a totally maxed out Dell 4600 Windows XP (and a 21" Viewsonic CRT monster) . . . which I just learned has been rated as the 10th WORST PC OF ALL TIME by PC WORLD Magazine. (but has actually done all right by me for 5 years or so).

Anyway, I digress. I really am stumped though. Do I get a new Dell XPS 630 and a Dell 2408WFP monitor and run XP again or take a chance on Mojave er Vista . . or do I join the Apple army and get the IMAC 24". Or do something else.

Oh by the way . . . sorry for high-jacking the thread . . . I am just kind of confused! :confused:

[Detektiv-Pinky]

YIKES! Can't we all just get along?

As a life-long PC guy who is right now deciding whether to leave the only computer world I know . . . and pull the trigger on a brand new fully loaded IMAC 24". . . . this thread (and some others I have been reading on this forum) is kind of freaking me right out.

I have to admit . . . I have been heavily affected by the great Apple commercials and the "grass must be greener on the other side mentality" . . . but every time I walk into my local Apple store and try to work with the local kool-aid drinkers I get turned off for a million reasons. After I finally am able to catch one of the employees attention for some help (which should not be too hard as I am the height as Kobe), I the find it kind of scary that most of them seem to know even less about computers than I do.

So what to do. I am sitting here with a totally maxed out Dell 4600 Windows XP (and a 21" Viewsonic CRT monster) . . . which I just learned has been rated as the 10th WORST PC OF ALL TIME by PC WORLD Magazine. (but has actually done all right by me for 5 years or so).

Anyway, I digress. I really am stumped though. Do I get a new Dell XPS 630 and a Dell 2408WFP monitor and run XP again or take a chance on Mojave er Vista . . or do I join the Apple army and get the IMAC 24". Or do something else.

Oh by the way . . . sorry for high-jacking the thread . . . I am just kind of confused! :confused:

Don't be confused :)

The trouble with a lot of the Mac folks is that they are really just deeply in love with their machines and fail to see that it just another piece of HW to get the job done - featuring a nice design - but a tool nonetheless.

Also they are deeply obsessed with PERFECTION and PRECIOUSNESS (shall I say Gollum?). Also there is this almost religious believe to be ON THE RIGHT SIDE that gets a great dent every time Steve decides to take away the Firewire Port on MacBooks and other things.
It can be off-putting. Get over it, order online - and you find the Mac just a very nice computer that has it's good sides and it's bad ones.
Some run very nicely 24/7/365 and a minority fails, just like any other computer out there.

So relax a bit and stop reading all these posts here! (That's what I keep telling myself all the time ;))

[viking396]

YIKES! Can't we all just get along?

As a life-long PC guy who is right now deciding whether to leave the only computer world I know . . . and pull the trigger on a brand new fully loaded IMAC 24". . . . this thread (and some others I have been reading on this forum) is kind of freaking me right out.

I have to admit . . . I have been heavily affected by the great Apple commercials and the "grass must be greener on the other side mentality" . . . but every time I walk into my local Apple store and try to work with the local kool-aid drinkers I get turned off for a million reasons. After I finally am able to catch one of the employees attention for some help (which should not be too hard as I am the height as Kobe), I the find it kind of scary that most of them seem to know even less about computers than I do.

So what to do. I am sitting here with a totally maxed out Dell 4600 Windows XP (and a 21" Viewsonic CRT monster) . . . which I just learned has been rated as the 10th WORST PC OF ALL TIME by PC WORLD Magazine. (but has actually done all right by me for 5 years or so).

Anyway, I digress. I really am stumped though. Do I get a new Dell XPS 630 and a Dell 2408WFP monitor and run XP again or take a chance on Mojave er Vista . . or do I join the Apple army and get the IMAC 24". Or do something else.

Oh by the way . . . sorry for high-jacking the thread . . . I am just kind of confused! :confused:


Ok, after calling more than a few people Apple Fan Boys my answer is buy the Mac. Ignore the attitudes of the guys in the store and go straight to a Best Buy where they are just as computer stupid but will happily walk you right up to a 24" iMac and sell it to you without the we are God's attitude. :D

Now you ask, why am I pushing the Mac? Simple answer, because you can run both Windows and Leopard and decide which best suits you and use that one. The Dell 4600 got a bad rap but that's because Dell used pretty cheap parts in it.

Should you buy a Mac or iMac, well, to me, buy the Mac Pro, but that might be more than you want to pay so if the iMac looks right then go to the store and try it out, tell the sales guy/girl to leave you alone with it for awhile and get the feel of it. I think you'll like it!

EDIT: oh yeah, buy the one with the least memory, then go to OWC to buy the memory, MUCH cheaper! http://www.macsales.com/

Good luck.

[thezerox]

My temperatures: here (http://thezerox.com/mac/imac-temperatures) and here (http://thezerox.com/mac/updated-imac-8800gs-temperatures).

[gehrbox]

Ok, here are the temps.

Fan CPU Speed 1200rpm
Hard Drive 1198rpm
Optical 680rpm

CPU 91f
Airport 124f
Ambient 74f
GPU 111f
GPU Diode 108f
GPU Heatsink 104f
Hard Drive Bay 1 120f
Memory Controller 106f
Optical Drive 110f
Power SUpply 178f

I have a 3.02Ghz iMac that has been running 24/7 since spring. My temps right now are:

Fan CPU Speed 1199rpm
Hard Drive 1198rpm
Optical 698rpm

CPU 126f
Airport 113f
Ambient 77f
GPU Diode 137f
Hard Drive Bay 1 133f
Memory Controller 130f
Optical Drive 117f
Power Supply 175f

These readings were taken while watching a live TWiT stream on Firefox. Programs running in the background: EyeTV, Addr book, Mail, Calendar, OpenOffice, iTunes, Numbers and Preview. Network connection is ethernet, wireless turned off. Peripherals effecting power draw: iPod touch charging on USB, Turbo.264 powered on USB.

These temps represent pretty much norms on my system. Room temp is 75f.

[danielsamuels]

Yikes!! I max out at around 150F, (65.55C). That's really hot, still. It's really hard to keep my MBP on my lap at that temperature, I can't imagine it going up to 95 :eek:

I never ever use my MacBook on my laptop, it sits on a Griffin Elevator all of the time. Due to this situation, I've got an iMac arriving on Thurs so I have a desktop acting as a desktop, not a laptop.

[viking396]

My temperatures: here (http://thezerox.com/mac/imac-temperatures) and here (http://thezerox.com/mac/updated-imac-8800gs-temperatures).

Thanks!

I have a 3.02Ghz iMac that has been running 24/7 since spring. My temps right now are:

Fan CPU Speed 1199rpm
Hard Drive 1198rpm
Optical 698rpm

CPU 126f
Airport 113f
Ambient 77f
GPU Diode 137f
Hard Drive Bay 1 133f
Memory Controller 130f
Optical Drive 117f
Power Supply 175f

These readings were taken while watching a live TWiT stream on Firefox. Programs running in the background: EyeTV, Addr book, Mail, Calendar, OpenOffice, iTunes, Numbers and Preview. Network connection is ethernet, wireless turned off. Peripherals effecting power draw: iPod touch charging on USB, Turbo.264 powered on USB.

These temps represent pretty much norms on my system. Room temp is 75f.

Hmmmm ok, I took mine to work today and ran it in an office about the same temp as yours (73f) and got pretty much the same temps. Wow.

[akdj]

Viking

Pardon me, and don't take offense, but what kind of "video" work are you doing? How are you constantly locking up Front Row with a "bunch of open video streams?"

You're writing seems childish, again, please don't take offense...maybe you are typing too quick. You have a Mac Pro but you're doing all this work on an iMac when you have 5 PC's in your house? With a Mac Pro twin quad core?

You're confusing, or rather your writing is confusing.

iMacs are fine for what they are. They are not built to be your end all answer to video editing, albeit they're incredible little machines on Final Cut and iMovie. Alot can be done with them. 99% of this is based on CPU not GPU intensive tasks. Gaming, on Vista, will tax the GPU....but why in the hell would anyone with 5 PC's in their house buy an iMac to play MS games on? Ridiculous!

I DO have 3 Windows machines in my house (Home Production studio) with 4 Macs at home! I can run rings around my Quad core 6600 with my Dual Quad Core Mac Pro in Flight Sim and other Graphics intensive games. We're talking 3 times the frame rates, busting sysmark and other bench scores on XP vs. OSX.

You're posting and rant seems more like an "anti" iMac message than a true user concern. Sorry. I call ********.

Especially with your trying to slam others by talking about "Fanboys" and "Kool-Aid." Sorry, I wasn't going to respond as a recent Apple Fanboy myself (after 20 years of living with Windows, and yes, Vista SUCKS!). But when folks read your postings of "genuine" concern and base their buying decisions on your BS, someone needs to call you on it:)

Stevie B...seriously, read from the rest of us, those happy with the iMac. There are no issues, Mac wouldn't warranty the iMac for 3 years with Apple Care if there were a "heat" issue.

Jeremy

[viking396]

Viking

Pardon me, and don't take offense, but what kind of "video" work are you doing? How are you constantly locking up Front Row with a "bunch of open video streams?"

Never said Front Row locked up playing video streams, Front Row is locking up my Mac Pro playing DVD's. Maybe I wasn't clear. Saying "I'm locking up Front Row" assumes Apple isn't at fault and I am.

You're writing seems childish, again, please don't take offense...maybe you are typing too quick.

No offense taken, maybe I can write as well as you someday, one can only hope. I'll pray for that tonight. ;)

You have a Mac Pro but you're doing all this work on an iMac when you have 5 PC's in your house? With a Mac Pro twin quad core?

I don't do **** with the iMac, it's a toy. I have much more than 5 PC's in the house but I am doing video editing on the Mac Pro and also on the Mac Pro I use Vista for business work that has nothing to do with video editing.


You're confusing, or rather your writing is confusing.

Ok then, seems most have been keeping up, instead of looking to offend, oh wait I mean NOT offend how about just asking questions instead of not offending?

iMacs are fine for what they are.

Did I say somewhere that they weren't, my sole complaint with the iMac was heat, if it wasn't clear before it should be now.

They are not built to be your end all answer to video editing, albeit they're incredible little machines on Final Cut and iMovie. Alot can be done with them. 99% of this is based on CPU not GPU intensive tasks. Gaming, on Vista, will tax the GPU....but why in the hell would anyone with 5 PC's in their house buy an iMac to play MS games on? Ridiculous!

Nice rant, waste of time since I do none of these things on the iMac however but maybe someone else will get something from it.

I DO have 3 Windows machines in my house (Home Production studio) with 4 Macs at home! I can run rings around my Quad core 6600 with my Dual Quad Core Mac Pro in Flight Sim and other Graphics intensive games. We're talking 3 times the frame rates, busting sysmark and other bench scores on XP vs. OSX.

Ummmm hooray?? :rolleyes:

You're posting and rant seems more like an "anti" iMac message than a true user concern. Sorry. I call ********.

Ok, cool, I came here complaining about a hot running iMac and posted temps that were inline with many save for the PSU which runs very hot compared to most. Nothing ******** about it, also Front Row locking up my Mac Pro pisses me off and if I was anti-Mac I wouldn't have 3 of them (4 counting my iPhone). What I am, is ANTI Apple fan boys and if that wasn't clear before I hope it is now.

I appreciate Apple gear but I in no way think its the cats meow over other computer companies. The iMac design and MacBook Air design is very nice but feel the heat issue could have been dealt with better on both.

Especially with your trying to slam others by talking about "Fanboys" and "Kool-Aid." Sorry, I wasn't going to respond as a recent Apple Fanboy myself (after 20 years of living with Windows, and yes, Vista SUCKS!). But when folks read your postings of "genuine" concern and base their buying decisions on your BS, someone needs to call you on it:)

I call it like I see it, as do you obviously, we agree to disagree but if you don't like what I have to say such is life. Don't worry, when you write like a fan boy I'll call you out on it as well. Saying Vista sucks without specific reasons as to why is ignorant and smacks of "fan boy" so there is my call out to you. I at least state a reason for my concerns, just saying Vista sucks IS childish but typical for Apple fan boys. ;)


Stevie B...seriously, read from the rest of us, those happy with the iMac. There are no issues, Mac wouldn't warranty the iMac for 3 years with Apple Care if there were a "heat" issue.

Jeremy

You lost any kind of credibility stating that, like a typical fan boy you claim there is no issue because Apple throws a warranty on it (Mac isn't a company by the way), funny, Apple Care does not come with it so don't make it out like Apple "cares". Hyundai gives a 10 year warranty on their cars, does it make them good cars, NO.

EDIT: Caution, my post may have grammar and spelling errors and could be considered childish, oh well.

One other rant while I'm at it, no HD option on the Mac is just stupid. The iMac has a very nice screen and HD would be fantastic on it. Regular DVD's just look "ok". Jobs wants people to rely on iTunes for HD content, grow up Steve, people like to make their own as well, I understand the need for profit but be careful, people might think you're like Microsoft which of course they are, profits drive all business but some are better at making it seem like it's less important.

Also, while Front Row seems to hate my Mac Pro it runs fune on the iMac.
I hope this post was clear enough and not too childish, I wouldn't want Jeremy confused. :apple:

[gehrbox]

Hmmmm ok, I took mine to work today and ran it in an office about the same temp as yours (73f) and got pretty much the same temps. Wow.

I used to have a 17" Powerbook that was pretty uncomfortable after a while on my lap. Ran fine that way for years. Seems Apples designs push the thermal limits, but I have not had any heat related failures in any that I have owned.

Seems the majority of forum complaints regarding the new iMacs are screen quality. They either get condensation, uneven backlighting or stuck/dead pixels. The few that mention temperatures find that their temps are normal for the iMac when compared to other users. It's the nature of the design. Fans aided by passive cooling make it quiet, but the enclosure gets hot. There have not been lots of HDD or video related failures. They have happened, but not in any significant amount.

I understand your concerns, but if you compare your numbers to the others you will see that yours are not very far off from everyone elses. Your PS temp was only 3 deg different from mine. In several locations my system was a good bit warmer then yours. Seems like you are having some buyers remorse.

Have you mentioned your Mac Pro video/Front Row issue in the Mac Pro forum? Maybe somebody there has seen it or could suggest some solutions.

Please remember that you are posting in a forum full of Apple enthusiasts. While talking about issues is expected, providing details with facts to backup your point of view would go a long way toward tempering fanboyism.

Personally I feel Apple products are more then a tool for GTD. I can use Firefox on any platform, get email any number of ways and watch videos any place. So why did I buy an iMac? It represents art, efficiency and simplicity to me.

[orpheus1120]

Here's the stats for my white iMac 2.16. I'm in Malaysia so room temp is around 86. viking396, the only concern I see in your stat is the PSU that's all.

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg177/orpheus1120/Picture3-2.jpg

[viking396]

I used to have a 17" Powerbook that was pretty uncomfortable after a while on my lap. Ran fine that way for years. Seems Apples designs push the thermal limits, but I have not had any heat related failures in any that I have owned.

Seems the majority of forum complaints regarding the new iMacs are screen quality. They either get condensation, uneven backlighting or stuck/dead pixels. The few that mention temperatures find that their temps are normal for the iMac when compared to other users. It's the nature of the design. Fans aided by passive cooling make it quiet, but the enclosure gets hot. There have not been lots of HDD or video related failures. They have happened, but not in any significant amount.

I understand your concerns, but if you compare your numbers to the others you will see that yours are not very far off from everyone elses. Your PS temp was only 3 deg different from mine. In several locations my system was a good bit warmer then yours. Seems like you are having some buyers remorse.

Have you mentioned your Mac Pro video/Front Row issue in the Mac Pro forum? Maybe somebody there has seen it or could suggest some solutions.

Please remember that you are posting in a forum full of Apple enthusiasts. While talking about issues is expected, providing details with facts to backup your point of view would go a long way toward tempering fanboyism.

Personally I feel Apple products are more then a tool for GTD. I can use Firefox on any platform, get email any number of ways and watch videos any place. So why did I buy an iMac? It represents art, efficiency and simplicity to me.

Yes, I have posted in the Mac Pro forum, also called Apple and posted in their forum. I don't think I can be more detailed about my concerns if I tried, I have only complained about heat and Front Row and have NEVER said Apple products or Leopard sucks. I call anybody who says something sucks with nothing to back it up a fan boy because thats what they are. Stupid and ignorant come to mind as well but fan boy isn't as harsh.

It would be nice in an Apple forum if people would back up their "this or that sucks" with some detail and facts to back up their point of view, this would go a long way toward preventing me from calling them a fan boy.

:apple:

Here's the stats for my white iMac 2.16. I'm in Malaysia so room temp is around 86. viking396, the only concern I see in your stat is the PSU that's all.


Agreed 100%, considering the room temp 170 plus is a bit nuts, at the office today the PSU was near 190. :eek:

Thanks for the post Orpheus!

[orpheus1120]

Ever consider calling Apple and sending the unit in for a diagnosis?

[viking396]

Ever consider calling Apple and sending the unit in for a diagnosis?

Since it's only 3 days old I will sooner return it for a new one than send this one in. Also rumors keep circulating about price reductions and or new models coming out very soon. I'm going to run this one for the next week and probably return it next week Thursday. If by then nothing has come out new model wise I may wait a few more weeks and see what happens.

[orpheus1120]

Good thinking. I just hope you don't get slapped with the restocking fee.

[akdj]

Viking,

You have a point, I did not go into a detailed description about the reasons I believe that Vista "sucks!" None of the three versions I have and have tried to live with, Home Premium, Bus, and (as much a geek as I am, I bought the numbered version) Ultimate (32/64).

I could start an entire thread on those reasons, but that isn't what this thread is about. It's about your problems with a new iMac 24" that you picked up 3 days ago. That you can't get to do really, anything intensive, that doesn't shock the $8/hr. Apple Support folks with temperature readings...WTF did you buy it for? To run benchmarks? Measure internal temps?

Why would you be concerned with Windows apps when you have "Much MORE" than 5 PC's in the house?

Seriously dude, I wasn't trying to boast with having a couple of PCs in the house. Around these parts, that's almost embarrassing;) Jokes aside, I have a need for what I do with my computers/workstations. I work from home with 2 fulltime and 3 P/T employees. All we do is video/photo/audio/print editing for media. When a guy gets the opportunity to work with ANY of the new Macs, whether or not they're from the iMac lineup or the Pro lineup, it's an absolute JOY when it comes to creative work. A far cry from the annoying world of Windows, IMHO. The ONE reason I will mention to you about my complete disdain for Vista and to a lesser extent, XP (Windows, period) is synergy. The way ALL components and Software for what I need WORKS! Bugs, hiccups with new releases, you bet. But...someone to call, in America, that answers the phone....in the same location for Logic, FCP, Itunes, and trying to get the Bluetooth to work...everything, from software to hardware. They support it. Whether or not you choose to use their software, or go to places the computers weren't designed to go, that's your choice.

Back to the topic. One of our iMacs is a two and a half year old, bone stock system for the kids. 3 of 'em. I don't think it has ever intentionally been turned off...Kool-Aid, Peanut Butter...long hairs from celery. I've found it all in and around that computer. It runs great. Wish I wouldn't have wasted my money on Apple Care for that one:)

Peace

J

[viking396]

Viking,

You have a point, I did not go into a detailed description about the reasons I believe that Vista "sucks!" None of the three versions I have and have tried to live with, Home Premium, Bus, and (as much a geek as I am, I bought the numbered version) Ultimate (32/64).

I could start an entire thread on those reasons, but that isn't what this thread is about.

Ok then, funny how every single IT guy I know that supports Vista, uses Vista and has rolled it out on every company workstation loves it. Now mind you, I find issues with some things as well but Vista lays the smack down on XP. But hey, maybe my 50 plus workstations and laptops are just the lucky ones. But you're right, this thread isn't about Vista.

It's about your problems with a new iMac 24" that you picked up 3 days ago.

Have I stated there are problems with it or have I stated that I have concerns about heat, because heat to me is one issue, could be just me. Also, it's a valid issue, even if others don't mind if their PSU hits 190f.


That you can't get to do really, anything intensive, that doesn't shock the $8/hr. Apple Support folks with temperature readings...

Who said it can't do anything intensive? Are we reading the same thread?
Well, per them and I can only hope Apple educates them properly, I digress, per them 170f to 190f temps are well above average for the PSU however the other temps are inline with expectations.

WTF did you buy it for? To run benchmarks? Measure internal temps?

Forgive me for being shocked that the PSU can almost cook eggs, I never intended to be shocked by such a high temp but there it is, I didn't create it, I didn't make it up and I didn't buy it with the intent of hoping I could complain about it as for benchmarks I don't care about that for this machine and never stated I did.

Why would you be concerned with Windows apps when you have "Much MORE" than 5 PC's in the house?

What the hell are you even talking about? How am I concerned about Windows apps? What does the amount of computers have to do with a hot iMac or Windows applications? What drugs are you on?


Seriously dude, I wasn't trying to boast with having a couple of PCs in the house. Around these parts, that's almost embarrassing;) Jokes aside, I have a need for what I do with my computers/workstations. I work from home with 2 fulltime and 3 P/T employees.

I have a computer business, so when I say I have more than a few or 5 or 10 its not to brag. I think anybody who has multiple computers has a need for them, if not, well, who cares.

All we do is video/photo/audio/print editing for media. When a guy gets the opportunity to work with ANY of the new Macs, whether or not they're from the iMac lineup or the Pro lineup, it's an absolute JOY when it comes to creative work. A far cry from the annoying world of Windows, IMHO. The ONE reason I will mention to you about my complete disdain for Vista and to a lesser extent, XP (Windows, period) is synergy.

Synergy, ok then. Let me know how that goes with HD, because that is so well supported by Apple. You have an obvious bias against Windows, I think if Microsoft came out with the perfect OS Apple fans would piss on it and say it sucks just because it doesn't have an Apple on it. I am at least open enough to buy both and use them without saying one or the other has to suck so I feel better about my choice. My complaints of heat do not mean I dislike Apple.

The way ALL components and Software for what I need WORKS! Bugs, hiccups with new releases, you bet. But...someone to call, in America, that answers the phone....in the same location for Logic, FCP, Itunes, and trying to get the Bluetooth to work...everything, from software to hardware. They support it. Whether or not you choose to use their software, or go to places the computers weren't designed to go, that's your choice.

I would hope you don't hold Microsoft responsible for bad applications unless of course they wrote them. All the software I buy for Windows works fine as well, but then we test everything that goes onto a Windows PC or a Mac PC.


Back to the topic. One of our iMacs is a two and a half year old, bone stock system for the kids. 3 of 'em. I don't think it has ever intentionally been turned off...Kool-Aid, Peanut Butter...long hairs from celery. I've found it all in and around that computer. It runs great. Wish I wouldn't have wasted my money on Apple Care for that one:)

Peace

J

I have a cheap Compaq text to speech box that has been on for 2 years with no reboot, I check resources once in awhile and its fine and runs Windows 2000 Pro, someday it will crash, I'm waiting for that day. I have my home brewed computer I built for my wife that runs XP, I can't remember the last time she rebooted or powered it down. We can piss into the wind about which is better but we both know neither one is, both have their Pros and Cons but the difference between me and Apple people is Apple people have this nutty need to slam Windows and talk about the mighty Apple like it's the end all be all and it simply just isn't.

If it were it wouldn't have needed to be saved by Microsoft back in 1997 and it would have a much higher market share. Is Apple gaining market share, yes, will it ever dominate, who knows but I do know this, I like Apple and Microsoft and as long as both create products I like I'll use both.

Now, try and read what I say, childishly put or not and stop reading into what I say. The iMac is a fine machine, who cares how many computers we have or why and you'll never see me write Apple or Leopard sucks but I do have the right to vent when they don't work as I feel it should.

190f for the PSU is down right nuts, I don't care if they designed it that way, its nuts and it isn't my fault for feeling it's nuts. Now, if my points aren't clear enough perhaps you should ignore this thread. Last, people slam Microsoft for being a monopoly and greedy, anybody who thinks Apple wouldn't love to monopolize the market or isn't just as greedy is smoking too much ganja (sp).

Good thinking. I just hope you don't get slapped with the restocking fee.

Best Buy doesn't have a restocking fee and I don't want to abuse their return policy however the policy states you should be satisfied and right now I'm not quite there.

[viking396]

WildCowboy,

You combined my last two? Is it the rule to reply to multiple people in one response?

[viking396]

I returned the 24" iMac last night, I'll be watching for the new version before buying another one unless of course I find one at a killer deal.

[yahoodlums]

I returned the 24" iMac last night, I'll be watching for the new version before buying another one unless of course I find one at a killer deal.
I've found this thread really interesting, especially the stuff about Vista. I've often thought about running Bootcamp and installing windows, but I'm not really sure which version to use/get.
I must admit I really know very little about Vista. I'm just curious, viking, which version of Vista were you running on the iMac, 32 or 64 bit? Which one would you recommend? I have a Macbook Pro 2.2 with 4Mb RAM.

[viking396]

I've found this thread really interesting, especially the stuff about Vista. I've often thought about running Bootcamp and installing windows, but I'm not really sure which version to use/get.
I must admit I really know very little about Vista. I'm just curious, viking, which version of Vista were you running on the iMac, 32 or 64 bit? Which one would you recommend? I have a Macbook Pro 2.2 with 4Mb RAM.

I apologize for the lengthy response but can't just answer with a simple sentence. People hate Vista, plain and simple but I have yet to see anybody show me something really wrong with it. Saying Apple hates it, or see the Apple TV ads, or web sites whos agenda is obviously anti Microsoft or the kiddies that mirror what they hear instead of trying it for themselves does not a bad OS make. Almost to a tee people who tell me they hate Vista have never used it or even had problems with it, they just want to be part of the "in hate Microsoft crowd", still not a good reason. I never had an opinion on Leopard till I used it and even now will reserve overall judgement until I have more time under my belt with it.

Trying to install old programs not listed as Vista compatible (even then I have gotten most to work properly) is asking for trouble and isn't Microsoft's fault. Users stated they wanted old code removed so the OS could become more modern and thats what they got, when they got it they were upset including many reviewers who themselves wanted it to be modernized, they're like kids for petes sakes, give me this or that and then when they get it, complain about it.

99% of any issue I have seen was because of the person not the OS. Install Vista on an old machine with 32megs of video, 256 megs of memory and a 4200rpm big foot drive and you get what you deserve. Even more modern computers sold with Vista were under-built for it and yeah Microsoft could have done with a better base config to handle lowered powered machines but then hardware companies knew what they were in for so really both are at fault just as any user who doesn't research before they buy (anybody remember Packard Bell?) gets the lousy computer they deserve.

XP had lots of haters at first and in fact Leopard got off to a not so stellar start as well. I think people on both sides of the OS fence can state miles of issues they have had and I could file a nice post of what I have found and dislike about Leopard but being somewhat new to Leopard I need to insure it's not me causing the issues, it would be nice if people on the Apple side did the same thing. Service Pack 1 has taken care of many of the issues that people talked about and I have to agree the little things have been cleaned up.

I have about 50 (give or take) machines running Vista Ultimate/Business in either 32bit or 64bit form and we never have the issues people complain about on YouTube or Apple fan sites. Many people have an agenda and Apple obviously has one as anybody with a brain can tell watching the ads making it seem as if Apple hardware was made by aliens and regular PC's are made by lowly earthlings, a Mac is nothing more than an Intel x86 platform running a different BIOS. My Mac Pro has proven itself to be less reliable in Leopard than in Vista, since I don't spend as much time in Leopard as Vista this doesn't make a great impression with me yet (I'm working on it), Front Row on this machine is useless, hopefully Apple will have a fix soon, I digress this is about Vista.

My experience with Vista is it needs memory, lots of it to run the way Microsoft describes it should run. The minimum laptop config I order has at least 3gigs of memory and a dedicated video option, not Intel integrated crap. 1gig is a joke as a minimum, 2gig should have been the minimum and 3gig the recommended which of course Microsoft couldn't do. Vista64 is a fantastic OS when running 12gigs of memory but then not everybody can or will run the 64bit version or buy that much memory.

Also MS shouldn't have released so many versions, just plain stupid. In my view if you're never going to join a domain then all you need is Home Premium and if you have available to you or the budget for more than 3gigs of memory then I would opt for Home Premium 64 and make use of the memory. They should have made one OS or at most two, Business and Ultimate 32 or 64.

On my iMac I installed Vista64 Ultimate because I had 4gigs of memory and wanted all of it usable. It ran fine however Slingbox liked to make the dock stick for long periods so you had to wait with your cursor over the dock or turn off hiding completely, but then the icons would take forever to react, could be an issue with Slingmedia however, will try it on the Mac Pro tonight.

For home use on a machine with 2gigs of memory Vista Home Premium is fine, if you go 4gigs then Home Premium 64bit should be fine.

This of course is all just my opinion and the opinion of many of the people I work with in this field and I wouldn't lie about it, I have no reason too. I use it everyday and have no dislike of Apple (or I wouldn't have bought the Mac Pro), just their attitude.

Your MBP will run it no problem, don't expect much from the video but performance in typical apps should be fine. If you go 32bit then you'll only have access to a tad over 3gigs.