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How much quieter and cooler is an iMac G5 compared to an eMac?

J

johnbro23

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Does anyone have any numbers that compare the two in terms of heat given off and noise produced?

My mom is flipping out about my computer being left on at night because its right by my bed and she claims it's messing up my sleep. I'm thinking about maybe getting an iMac... I've got the money and wanted an iMac in the first place.
 
iMac Noise

Slow down there, buddy. You get a new computer because you need one, not because of its location. 🙂

I haven't had an eMac to compare it to, but I do have an iMac. Keep in mind the iMacs use blowers instead of fans. While they're more effective, they're also more noisy. And it's not a steady noise. It'll power up and slow down and power up and slow down - which will really mess with your sleep cycle.

My advice - get a loud fan (the regular kind, not the computer kind) - that will drown out whatever noise your computer is making (whichever computer you decide to keep or get). That way, it's a constant noise, which should alert you less while you're trying to sleep.

Good luck!
 
jsalzer said:
Slow down there, buddy. You get a new computer because you need one, not because of its location. 🙂

I haven't had an eMac to compare it to, but I do have an iMac. Keep in mind the iMacs use blowers instead of fans. While they're more effective, they're also more noisy. And it's not a steady noise. It'll power up and slow down and power up and slow down - which will really mess with your sleep cycle.

My advice - get a loud fan (the regular kind, not the computer kind) - that will drown out whatever noise your computer is making (whichever computer you decide to keep or get). That way, it's a constant noise, which should alert you less while you're trying to sleep.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

May I ask what is the difference between a blower and a fan 😕
 
Blowers

The difference between a blower and a fan.

Well, I may be off on this, but I believe that the eMacs use traditional fans, which would be like spinning flower petals that "slice" through the air and push it forward, as a traditional fan in your house would.

A blower, on the other hand, would be a spinning cylinder of blades that go blunt force against the air, rather than slicing through it. This is what you'd see in those cylindrical tower fans or in the heavy-duty blowers that are used to dry wet carpet. Because they don't slice into the air, they produce (per air flow) more noise.

Someone who's more of a hardware expert can correct me if I'm off here. 🙂
 
As an owner of an iMac and an eMac, I can say that the eMac is quieter when the computer is hard at work but the iMac is quieter at rest. This is because the eMac fan runs at a constant speed all the time. The iMac ramps up and down depending on load. But, since the eMac runs at a constant speed, it becomes white noise and shouldn't interfere with your sleep paterns at all.

Also, with the eMac you can add a Zalman Fanmate to the fan to make it run silently. There are a number of articles about this on the internet. My solution to this problem would simply be to put the computer to sleep at night unless you are using it as a 24/7 server or something. Just remember to run your chron jobs periodically.

As far as the blower/fan issue, I believe that if both were operating at the same RPM and moving the same amount of air, they would be equally quiet/loud. The noice difference in my mind comes from the interference the accelerated air encounters in the computers. There is little resistance in the eMac but the iMac has a number of obstructions in the way before the air can exit the case.

Long story short, the eMac is the better bet to make your Mom happy. It is a low-level constant noise that shouldn't disrupt your sleep. If she doesn't buy that then check out LBodnar's website which has instructions on how to quiet the eMac.
 
JeffTL said:
Or how about you shut it off when you are done using it?
Click to expand...
Thats what I do, but some nights, I leave it on because I'm downloading stuff.

I agree with most of you, that the eMac is constant noise, and it doesn't disrupt my sleep. She's always been bugging me about it, but the reason I started this thread was because she stormed into my room before I woke up today telling me I needed to turn the computer off now. She's all the way down the hall, there's 2 doors between us, both happened to be open last night. It's really rediculous that shes being like this. Do you guys have any arguements I can use to make my point?
 
You should keep your eMac and upgrade your mom...

Just kidding. I'm not sure what your mother's issue is. Is it that you spend too much time on the computer? Is it that you are up late at night and sleeping in late? Or does she think that the computer is using electricity and should be turned off when not in use?

If she is not technical you need to explain to her that your eMac puts itself into "sleep mode" when it is not in use. Tell her that this saves electricity and that it won't harm the computer. Tell her that in corporations and universities they leave computers on (in sleep mode) all the time.

Good luck.
 
Being someone who can sleep through sonic booms, I don't really understand a computer disrupting your sleep. But I tend to put my computer to sleep at night unless I want to run IM all night for some reason. That and my computer is equivalent to a space heater, something not needed in Florida.

You should tell your Mom that the only thing disturbing your sleep is her waking you up telling you to turn your computer off. I've never even heard of a computer disturbing someone's sleep. You'd have to be a really light sleeper.
 
johnbro23 said:
Does anyone have any numbers that compare the two in terms of heat given off and noise produced?

My mom is flipping out about my computer being left on at night because its right by my bed and she claims it's messing up my sleep. I'm thinking about maybe getting an iMac... I've got the money and wanted an iMac in the first place.
Click to expand...

I don't have the acutal decibel levels, but the difference between the two is night and day.

I replaced my eMac with an iMac, and the difference was amazing. The iMac is a lot quieter.
 
If you are downloading stuff at night, then the iMac should be much quieter since the workload is nothing at all. In order to make those fans kick in you have to be doing some processor demanding things. My friend has an iMac, and it is extremely quiet almost always. My eMac is not loud imo; however, so it is fine even at night. If you had the money, then why didn't you buy the iMac from the start?
 
This is interesting since I have an eMac and an iBook but I really want to get an iMac. The only issue was fan/blower noise. Since I got my iBook I've become happer due to the lack of fan noise and wanted something in between the two as far as noise is concerned.
When some say "under heavy work load" what would be heavy? I ask this since I'll be doing some animation with flash and I'm not sure if that is heavy use or not?
Nice thread and thanks to others that gave info on how to lower the noise levels of an eMac 🙂
 
sigamy said:
You should keep your eMac and upgrade your mom...

Just kidding. I'm not sure what your mother's issue is. Is it that you spend too much time on the computer? Is it that you are up late at night and sleeping in late? Or does she think that the computer is using electricity and should be turned off when not in use?

If she is not technical you need to explain to her that your eMac puts itself into "sleep mode" when it is not in use. Tell her that this saves electricity and that it won't harm the computer. Tell her that in corporations and universities they leave computers on (in sleep mode) all the time.
Click to expand...
My mom's points are this:

It's too hot. I started solving this problem by cracking my window a little to let some air in (in my room only!). Then, today she shows me the gas bill and blames it on me. But in fact, the little cool air getting in through my window is accounted for by the little heat this computer makes.

It's too noisy. Its a constant hum, but according to her, its disturbing my sleeping patterns.

It's too bright. I've turned down the contrast as low as it can go. Whats the difference between this and a night light when we were little kids?

And your thing about sleep mode doesn't work, because she thinks "sleep mode" is "off". I'm using bit torrent to download concerts and stuff like that, so I don't think it'll run while the computer is asleep.

mkubal said:
You should tell your Mom that the only thing disturbing your sleep is her waking you up telling you to turn your computer off. I've never even heard of a computer disturbing someone's sleep. You'd have to be a really light sleeper.
Click to expand...
Good point.

auxplage said:
If you had the money, then why didn't you buy the iMac from the start?
Click to expand...
I didn't have as much money back then. Plus I didn't know if I would like a Mac, so I didn't want to put too much money into one.
 
Just move out... then you can do whatever you want. If you can afford a new iMac, you can afford at least a few months rent on your own!

Lee Tom
 
LeeTom said:
Just move out... then you can do whatever you want. If you can afford a new iMac, you can afford at least a few months rent on your own!

Lee Tom
Click to expand...
Haha, thats not an option and pretty stupid... especially because all it's about is leaving my computer on at night. I guess you were being sarcastic 🙄

Yea, so anyone else got anything else I can say to her?
 
"The eMac can only be rebooted a certain number of times because hardware can wear out." This is obviously a half-truth, but there is more wear and tear when rebooting than when just running. How tech-savvy is your mom?
 
johnbro23 said:
Haha, thats not an option and pretty stupid... especially because all it's about is leaving my computer on at night. I guess you were being sarcastic 🙄

Yea, so anyone else got anything else I can say to her?
Click to expand...
you could sleep the screen while not in use (in terms of brightness) but yes, emacs ARE loud and slightly hot, so tell her (assuming she bought it, or perhaps even if she didn't) to buy you an imac if she doesn't like your emac. at least that's what my demented little self would do 😛
 
johnbro23 said:
It's too bright. I've turned down the contrast as low as it can go. Whats the difference between this and a night light when we were little kids?
Click to expand...

Why don't you set the display to switch off after a certain period of inactivity (i.e no mouse movement) Use the Energy Saving preferences panel. I do this with my iMac G3 and after 15 minutes of not being used the screen shuts down completely - almost looks like it's asleep, but downloads will still be going just fine.

You could also swap out the HD for a quieter model. It's only a small part of a computers noise but alot of OEM/Factory Fit HD's have a NASTY whine. I replaced mine with a Seagate Barracuda 7200 and it makes a gentle whooshing sound 🙂

Just a few ideas
 
TMA said:
You could also swap out the HD for a quieter model. It's only a small part of a computers noise but alot of OEM/Factory Fit HD's have a NASTY whine. I replaced mine with a Seagate Barracuda 7200 and it makes a gentle whooshing sound 🙂

Just a few ideas
Click to expand...

How much would that be? And would anyone else say that it would help?

I never knew about the screen thing... thats amazing. I've always wanted it to do that. Now I know.
 
More ideas

An alternative to setting the display to turn off during inactivity (if you're not for that for some reason) would be to set a screensaver to show pictures from a file where the only picture in there is a black square.

Definitely stop cracking the window!!!! Even if the heat averages itself out, you're telling her that you're wasting enough electricity to offset an open window - not smart. I have 3 computers running in my small office at work, and I do notice the heat. I can't imagine, though, that one computer in a standard bedroom would contribute enough heat that you'd have to open the window.

And keep in mind that you don't know that the computer is compensating for the open window - the furnace will compensate either way, and you wouldn't know the difference.

Also, start closing your bedroom door when you go to bed. That alone should make you sleep better (not feeling like you're in a fish bowl.)

You can also join a Protein Folding team (I'd offer up mine, but that would be kind of rude, since MacRumors has its own team) and tell your mom you're letting your computer donate its spare processing time to help find a cure for Mad Cow Disease (and that Alz disease I can never spell.) She'll never know that you're also downloading at the same time!!!
 
jsalzer said:
The difference between a blower and a fan.

Well, I may be off on this, but I believe that the eMacs use traditional fans, which would be like spinning flower petals that "slice" through the air and push it forward, as a traditional fan in your house would.

A blower, on the other hand, would be a spinning cylinder of blades that go blunt force against the air, rather than slicing through it. This is what you'd see in those cylindrical tower fans or in the heavy-duty blowers that are used to dry wet carpet. Because they don't slice into the air, they produce (per air flow) more noise.

Someone who's more of a hardware expert can correct me if I'm off here. 🙂
Click to expand...

Thanks

So no 1 is a blower and no 2 is a fan
 

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Good pics

I was thinking about you yesterday when I ran an Apple Hardware Test on my iMac (the monitor has been flickering and changing colors). Because there's no blower control while running the test, the blowers were on full blast - which sounded like I had a hair dryer going to those who passed my office.

I can't imagine an eMac can get as loud as a hair dryer. Then again, I've never worked with one up close.
 
If your mom's worried about the computer disrupting your sleep because it's too close to your head- why don't you just move the computer ? How about moving the bed ?

Sounds like Mom's being either a little overprotective, or possibly being such a pain in the neck you'll want to move out ;-)... lol.. Just kidding with that last one-
 
Artful Dodger said:
When some say "under heavy work load" what would be heavy?
Click to expand...

I've found my iMac to be noisiest when applying Photoshop filters and when printing large documents...especially when printing. Other than that, the fans will ramp up slightly and settle back down when opening a number of applications at once, etc.
 
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