COOLING DOWN iMAC's

AFMRPCUSER · Jul 28, 2009

I have one iMAC at home and it runs very hot for a computer. I have discussed this with Apple and they claim that it's designed to operate in this environment. Heat is a terrible enemy to transistor junctions and the less of it the better. So I have a question for those of you who are closely familiar with iMAC's. Is there a means to monitor the temperature inside the cabinet with some software/hardware? I'm curious I have always cooled off my electronics equipment, forced air with high power RF linear tubes in amplifiers I built and conduction heat sink cooling for HP transistor amplifiers and the likes. I have considered utilizing some 40mm muffin 5vdc fans attached to a plenum forcing air from the underside of the iMAC case up through the internal areas and out the top vent. Anybody experimenting with this sorta stuff? My rule has been, "too hot to the touch", to hot period, cool it off. Comments, suggestions welcome and appreciated. OH! at work we use several Pros and an iMAC for video editing and one can almost fry an egg on the top aluminum frame. That just doesn't go well in my book but again; Apple says "No Problem". Truth or Not?

DoFoT9 · Jul 28, 2009

to monitor the heat, download iStatPro (it is a widget).

as for the fact that its too hot, i dont agree. but its your computer so you can do what you want with it

Dry Rot · Jul 29, 2009

All the info you need - worked for me

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/395331/

geoffreak · Jul 29, 2009

Don't color your posts like that. It's obnoxious.

As long as your Mac isn't above 80 degrees C, you are fine.

Eidorian · Jul 29, 2009

Define hot. The entire aluminium body is used for cooling as well.

GimmeSlack12 · Jul 29, 2009

You Can Trust Apple. Have Fun On Alpha Centauri!

Gaelic2 · Jul 29, 2009

DoFoT9 said:
to monitor the heat, download iStatPro (it is a widget).

as for the fact that its too hot, i dont agree. but its your computer so you can do what you want with it

Thanks for the tip on iStatPro. I downloaded it and it works great!

MagicBoy · Jul 29, 2009

Another vote for iStat Pro.

The chips are rated to 80C+ by Intel so heat isn't really an issue. When they get on the toasty side then the fans will ramp up accordingly.

If you want a wind tunnel on your desk then buy an early Power Mac G5 or an uber gaming PC.

Also bear in mind Apple will use the chassis as a heatsink. Why stick a whacking great chunk of Aluminium on the chip when there's a case made of it?

chrono1081 · Jul 29, 2009

Like others have stated your mac is cooler on the inside then you think. The case is a great heatsink.

zmttoxics · Jul 29, 2009

Holy crap my eyes are bleeding.

Your iMac is normal according to the trend of the forum.

DoFoT9 · Jul 29, 2009

Gaelic2 said:
Thanks for the tip on iStatPro. I downloaded it and it works great!

its a great widget! i love it!! an awsome product to use

zmttoxics said:
Holy crap my eyes are bleeding.

Your iMac is normal according to the trend of the forum.

haha you cracked me up! nice one. but yes, the heat is normal - if not below what i experience on mine!

AFMRPCUSER · Jul 29, 2009

DoFoT9 said:
to monitor the heat, download iStatPro (it is a widget).

as for the fact that its too hot, i dont agree. but its your computer so you can do what you want with it

Thank you for the info on the iSatPro. I will look into this.

DoFoT9 · Jul 29, 2009

AFMRPCUSER said:
Thank you for the info on the iSatPro. I will look into this.

thats cool, if you need any other advice/help dont be afraid to ask

AlexisV · Jul 30, 2009

Sob.

Your iMac is fine. It will get very hot in the top left, but it's designed to be. Heat is better out than in.

Your rule is bunkum. Don't tell me you only drive you car if you've put a bag of dry ice on the engine block?

AppleMatt · Jul 30, 2009

The hotter the case is, the more heat is being pulled out of the enclosure. Aluminium is a relatively good conductor so you may perceive it as getting hotter. Don't worry about it. Worry about plastic laptops.

I certainly wouldn't force air through something I couldn't see into.

AppleMatt

mazza · Sep 4, 2009

What about the hard drive ? Mine is around 55-60C and that can't be good. The fan never ramps up, even when the temps do

MagicBoy said:
Another vote for iStat Pro.

The chips are rated to 80C+ by Intel so heat isn't really an issue. When they get on the toasty side then the fans will ramp up accordingly.

If you want a wind tunnel on your desk then buy an early Power Mac G5 or an uber gaming PC.

Also bear in mind Apple will use the chassis as a heatsink. Why stick a whacking great chunk of Aluminium on the chip when there's a case made of it?

DoFoT9 · Sep 4, 2009

mazza said:
What about the hard drive ? Mine is around 55-60C and that can't be good. The fan never ramps up, even when the temps do

ehh thats an ok temperature. i wouldnt worry too much

Eidorian · Sep 4, 2009

DoFoT9 said:
ehh thats an ok temperature. i wouldnt worry too much

Going over 120 F for a hard drive isn't very desirable.

J the Ninja · Sep 4, 2009

DoFoT9 said:
ehh thats an ok temperature. i wouldnt worry too much

For a laptop CPU, it's fine. For an HDD, no it's not fine.

DoFoT9 · Sep 4, 2009

Eidorian said:
Going over 120 F for a hard drive isn't very desirable.

J the Ninja said:
For a laptop CPU, it's fine. For an HDD, no it's not fine.

i know that! but there isnt much you can do about it so unles you wanna blast ur fans all the time. i havent had any problems with my HD after 2 years of having it..

ryan.hayes79 · Sep 4, 2009

You can get SMC fan control if you want to increase the lowest point of the fans that are in the machine.

http://www.eidac.de/?p=134

I have used it for years to increase the fans to just 100 - 200 rpm above the standard settings. Also good to ramp them up once in a while to clear the dust! Pretty much the only time I have ever heard them on full blast!

Hope this helps.

matteusclement · Sep 5, 2009

I agree that apple knows what they are doing, BUT I have a 4inch fan behind my mac that runs when I am doing video editting. It drops the temp and extra 5-10 degrees celcius, depending if I am crunching lots of video. And while iMacs can run hot, I have noticed a slight performance bump from having the small fan on it.

Cabgh5950 · Mar 26, 2010

Oops!

geoffreak said:
Don't color your posts like that. It's obnoxious.

As long as your Mac isn't above 80 degrees C, you are fine.

It's funny you should mention that because when I was uploading a iMovie to Youtube via iMovie 09 it go to 98!

So I put my desk fan pointing toward my Mac and the temp went down to about 70.
When it normally gets that hot i just cut the power!
But smcFanControl is keeping things under control.
Before I had just regular fan control.
Don't get that app.
It spins the fans very quickly makes it so loud!

Cabgh5950 · Mar 26, 2010

Power supply

Just wondering what temperature the Power Supply should be at.
Right now the meters claim it's at 80.

spinnerlys · Mar 26, 2010

Cabgh5950 said:
But smcFanControl is keeping things under control.
Before I had just regular fan control.
Don't get that app.
It spins the fans very quickly makes it so loud!

You can use FanControl quite easy if you set it properly and it does not spin up that fast. But as it has been made for the Apple notebook line you might get some "troubling" results with an iMac.

COOLING DOWN iMAC's

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