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iMac Retina Heat management

M

misho73

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 26, 2014
78
0
I just got my new iMac retina today. to replace the recently purchased late 2013 imac. I spend most of my time on lightroom. today while exporting my photoshoot, I heard the fan at it's max (during the export time) then calmed down once done. I never faced this issue with the non retina imac.
Is this a sign of heat issues with the new machine??
 
misho73 said:
I just got my new iMac retina today. to replace the recently purchased late 2013 imac. I spend most of my time on lightroom. today while exporting my photoshoot, I heard the fan at it's max (during the export time) then calmed down once done. I never faced this issue with the non retina imac.
Is this a sign of heat issues with the new machine??
Click to expand...

it's definitely noisier than my late 2012 iMac
 
More and more I'm glad I didn't prematurely sell my perfectly fine 2013 27" iMac and rush out to buy the Retina.

Let's see what issues lies several months to a year down the road. Hopefully, it won't be a sad sight to see.
 
misho73 said:
I just got my new iMac retina today. to replace the recently purchased late 2013 imac. I spend most of my time on lightroom. today while exporting my photoshoot, I heard the fan at it's max (during the export time) then calmed down once done. I never faced this issue with the non retina imac.
Is this a sign of heat issues with the new machine??
Click to expand...

GAWD DONT EVEN SAY THAT!
After hearing today that Apple is getting sued for the MacBook gpu issue, I'm getting scared of buying into bleeding edge hardware.
 
Seramir said:
More and more I'm glad I didn't prematurely sell my perfectly fine 2013 27" iMac and rush out to buy the Retina.

Let's see what issues lies several months to a year down the road. Hopefully, it won't be a sad sight to see.
Click to expand...

Don't buy the new one. Not because it's bad. You are not missing much. I would only recommend it for new imac buyers or for those who have a very old machines. Other than this. If you hold a beauty like urs. Keep it.

----------
FredT2 said:
No, it's just the cooling system doing it's job.
Click to expand...

That's obvious. But it means that this particular model needs more cooling compared to older ones
 
misho73 said:
That's obvious. But it means that this particular model needs more cooling compared to older ones
Click to expand...

Maybe, but there's only a couple of people here that have mentioned it. It may seem like more because one person has messaged bombed ten different threads with it.

If you expect your fans never to kick in you're being unrealistic, they wouldn't put them in if they weren't needed.
 
steve23094 said:
Maybe, but there's only a couple of people here that have mentioned it. It may seem like more because one person has messaged bombed ten different threads with it.

If you expect your fans never to kick in you're being unrealistic, they wouldn't put them in if they weren't needed.
Click to expand...

I am not panicking about it. I just comparing the two machines I held this month. with the exact work flow/load.

I had the late 2013 one for 3 weeks and yes I never heard the fan kicking in with it. then I got the retina one just yesterday and it welcomed me with a horrific fan noise. not comforting at all
 
I've yet to hear my fan kick in. I don't do any video/photo work but I've been gaming on it. I haven't created my Windows boot drive yet though which is where I expect I'll hear the fan.
 
no fan noise here...i know when 1800rpm is pass i hear the noice..especially in summer (like my imac late 2012 and 2013)
 
misho73 said:
I am not panicking about it. I just comparing the two machines I held this month. with the exact work flow/load.

I had the late 2013 one for 3 weeks and yes I never heard the fan kicking in with it. then I got the retina one just yesterday and it welcomed me with a horrific fan noise. not comforting at all
Click to expand...

If you have horrific fan noise, you've probably got an issue.
 
I would like to know how much faster it is reaching the threshold in temperature where it starts to raise the rpm on the fan >1200rpm.
 
nrubenstein said:
If you have horrific fan noise, you've probably got an issue.
Click to expand...

"horrific" is a relative word. to me it's horrific cause I never heard it with the previous one during the 3 weeks I had it in possession. it happened one last night anyway. i hope it's not an exclusive issue with me

----------

any idea how do I monitor the CPU temperature. I am new to mac
 
I posted this in another thread, (wouldn't call it bombing if you are referring to me above - sheesh) but at least on the 4ghz 295x version, it does seem that the is combination runs noticeably hotter than prior imacs and yes the fan runs (mostly at cpu load) much more often than prior imacs. It is very noticeable when working in Logic for instance where you can watch activity monitor rev the cpu which turns on the fan pretty regularly. It's not a deal killer, but is noticeable in comparison to what came before and yes, disappointing if you are sensitive to fan noise.
 
xgman said:
I posted this in another thread, (wouldn't call it bombing if you are referring to me above - sheesh)
Click to expand...

No, he's referring to me because I deigned to mention a design flaw in the m295X mobile graphics chip in three different threads, two of which were specifically about gaming. I'm waiting for him to install a hardcore game and iStat and see for himself what the temps on the GPU Die are...
 
Cameryn12 said:
No, he's referring to me because I deigned to mention a design flaw in the m295X mobile graphics chip in three different threads, two of which were specifically about gaming. I'm waiting for him to install a hardcore game and iStat and see for himself what the temps on the GPU Die are...
Click to expand...

Yes I was and with good reason. These are the posts you have left on the issue in six different threads excluding this one in just the few days you have been a member. Rather excessive don't you think? Just give it a rest.

https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20230142#post20230142
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20226237#post20226237
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20230390#post20230390
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20245449#post20245449
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20207957#post20207957
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20226227#post20226227
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20226987#post20226987
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20228431#post20228431
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20230109#post20230109
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20230439#post20230439
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20231050#post20231050
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20231672#post20231672
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20232496#post20232496
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20229017#post20229017
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20232528#post20232528
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20238663#post20238663
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20239120#post20239120
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20239479#post20239479
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20240637#post20240637
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20207725#post20207725
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20210855#post20210855
 
Last edited:
Cameryn12 said:
No, he's referring to me because I deigned to mention a design flaw in the m295X mobile graphics chip in three different threads, two of which were specifically about gaming. I'm waiting for him to install a hardcore game and iStat and see for himself what the temps on the GPU Die are...
Click to expand...
Design flaw? What evidence do you have that there is one?
 
steve23094 said:
Yes it was and with good reason. These are the posts you have left on the issue in six different threads excluding this one in just the few days you have been a member. Rather excessive don't you think? Just give it a rest.

https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20230142#post20230142
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20226237#post20226237
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20230390#post20230390
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20245449#post20245449
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20207957#post20207957
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20226227#post20226227
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20226987#post20226987
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20228431#post20228431
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20230109#post20230109
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20230439#post20230439
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20231050#post20231050
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20231672#post20231672
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20232496#post20232496
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20229017#post20229017
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20232528#post20232528
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20238663#post20238663
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20239120#post20239120
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20239479#post20239479
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20240637#post20240637
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20207725#post20207725
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20210855#post20210855
Click to expand...



Yeah. I thought he was providing good info, but now that I see how many times he's posted the same info it makes me think he never owned the imac.
 
steve23094 said:
Yes it was and with good reason. These are the posts you have left on the issue in six different threads excluding this one in just the few days you have been a member. Rather excessive don't you think? Just give it a rest.

https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20230142#post20230142
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20226237#post20226237
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20230390#post20230390
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20245449#post20245449
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20207957#post20207957
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20226227#post20226227
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20226987#post20226987
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20228431#post20228431
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20230109#post20230109
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20230439#post20230439
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20231050#post20231050
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20231672#post20231672
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20232496#post20232496
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20229017#post20229017
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20232528#post20232528
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20238663#post20238663
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20239120#post20239120
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20239479#post20239479
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20240637#post20240637
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20207725#post20207725
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20210855#post20210855
Click to expand...
Thanks for posting this.
Now I'm not so worried.
 
misho73 said:
Don't buy the new one. Not because it's bad. You are not missing much. I would only recommend it for new imac buyers or for those who have a very old machines. Other than this. If you hold a beauty like urs. Keep it.
Click to expand...
So why did you choose to upgrade to the Retina instead of keeping your 2013?

And now that you have the Retina, plus learning and witnessing the potential issues it has, do you think the upgrade was worth it?
 
Seramir said:
So why did you choose to upgrade to the Retina instead of keeping your 2013?

And now that you have the Retina, plus learning and witnessing the potential issues it has, do you think the upgrade was worth it?
Click to expand...

I replaced it cause this is my first purchase for i mac ever. The 2013 model was still under the return policy period. So I had the chance to exchange. If i had it couple of months earlier i would have kept it without exhange thats why i advice those who have 2013 model not to rush for an upgrade.

The answer to your second question is a dillama to me. Am i happy 100% the answer is no. Sure the screen is fantastic. But there are trade offs. So it's not really clear what was better for me. Having a flawlessly machine that works like water with an older technology or having the latest technology with minor issues?in the few coming days things will be clearer for me. It would have

2 things that bother me with the new retina:
- the fan at high speed that kicks more often compared to a by far more silent setup is so annoying
- The stuttering that occurs in some situations

I hope later os x updates may fix these issues
 
The AMD GPU runs hotter and draws more power than the equivalent Nvidia mobile chip.

This was true of older iMacs that used the AMD GPU's so it's no surprise that these new RMacs run hotter than the 2012/2013 iMacs which used Nvidia GPU's.

How this will affect the RMac machines in the long run is anyone's guess, but certainly if the fans are cutting in/out, then everything is working as intended.

The big slab aluminium back of the iMac should be regarded as a giant heat sink, so as long as this remains fairly cool then there's no problem.

On my old 2011 iMac I used a fan program called SMC fan control which allowed the user to manually control the fans and I found having the fans on very low all the time was better than having them cutting in/out all the time.
 
Georgio said:
On my old 2011 iMac I used a fan program called SMC fan control which allowed the user to manually control the fans and I found having the fans on very low all the time was better than having them cutting in/out all the time.
Click to expand...
The fan on new iMac is always on at 1200 RPM. It starts to be noticeable to me when it reaches 1500 RPM.
 
I was curious about what would happen when both the CPU and GPU were stressed, so I ran a Handbrake encode and Unigine Valley together. Handbrake alone gets the CPU temperature to 100 C quickly and the CPUs throttle back to about 3.8 GHz. The fan runs at max (2700 RPM). Unigine Valley alone gets the GPU temperature a little over 100 C. The fan gets up around 2300 RPM. The effect of running them together is that the CPUs throttle back to 3.3 to 3.4 GHz and Unigine Valley got a bit choppy. Even so, I could play 1080p videos, browse the web, etc, with everything nice and smooth.
 
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