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How loud should an iMac be?

S

spinstorm

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Sep 14, 2007
1,619
146
I'm not complaining about the amount of sound my new 2012 iMac makes before I say anything else.

I've seen lots of threads about how noisy or quiet the iMacs are and honestly I have no idea what noisy is and what quiet is.

I don't believe any computer is totally silent, even an all flash MacBook Pro because they have fans and if if they are spinning at the lowest speed they will make a noise.

That noise probably won't be audible if there is other noise in your house, room or even outside but it will be audible if you sleep in the same room at night. because there isn't any noise then (where I live there isn't but if you live in a city that may be different).

So what is quiet? And what is noisy?
 
C

chrishe

macrumors newbie
Jan 2, 2013
6
0
london
how load

i can hear the fan running all the time on my new 27 inch iMac.called apple and they say its normal?
 
P

PaddyPoke

macrumors newbie
Oct 17, 2012
4
0
Oslo
I can hear the fan on my new 27" 2012 iMac. It sounds like a fan running at 1200 rpm, as it should ;) I take the people saying their iMacs are completely silent with a grain of salt.

However my 2012 13" retina Macbook pro, DOES NOT make any fan noise/sound what-so-ever, during everyday tasks. It is completely silent.
So it is possible. :rolleyes:

edit:
I have a replacement iMac on the way, due to high pitched (Probably because to the power-supply) noise, so I will compare the fan sounds when it arrives.

Other edits: forum newbie
 
Last edited:
rpg51

rpg51

macrumors 6502
Jul 4, 2012
268
2
My 2011 with internal SSD is

silent 95% of the time. I love it.
 
M

majkom

macrumors 68000
May 3, 2011
1,854
1,150
my 2011 21incher is silent, but one thing makes it little bit loud/annoying - HDD - its vibrations are transmitted via imac stand on the desk - deep brooming sound - i had to switch the desk (had one from ikea - filled with paper) for one more solid - loudness fell down, but still, I can hear it during nights...
 
C

chrishe

macrumors newbie
Jan 2, 2013
6
0
london
noise from fan maybe

the guy at apple said that it could be as the new imac is very thin and the fan could be closer to the casing so you can hear the fan more than the older iMac.
 
P

Paul-B

macrumors newbie
Jan 2, 2013
28
0
Europe
27" late 2012 iMac:

fan runs all the time. But it is soooo quiet. Sky plus box, external hard drive even the cat's purring is louder...
 
Fishrrman

Fishrrman

macrumors Penryn
Feb 20, 2009
28,340
12,458
An iMac is NOT going to be "completely silent". There is a fan inside, and most units have rotating hard drives.

As such, they are going to generate some sounds, but as a rule, they run -very- quietly. Now and then the fan might speed up when the processor is running under a heavy load, but even then, they aren't -that- "loud".

I'm amused by those in this forum who claim that the "noise" from their iMacs (and MacBooks) is "too loud". Obviously, they haven't spent the last nine years sitting next to a PowerMac g4 tower!
 
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