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Does anyone's new iSight iMac buzz?

jacg

jacg

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 16, 2003
976
88
UK
I've just got my 20" iMac 2.1 GHz. Very dissapointed to hear a quiet buzz from the lower left of the machine. It would seem to be the CPU fan - it changes in pitch when applications are working harder. I can hear it over quiet music and it is quite annoying.

I plunged for this machine after reading so many positive testimonials. I thought I would only be hearing movement of air. I will ask Apple to replace it tomorrow but I don't want to hear that it is "within specifications".

Are other owners hearing a buzz (like a quite mini motorbike) from the lower left hand side of the machine?

I'd be grateful for your feedback.
 
jacg said:
I've just got my 20" iMac 2.1 GHz. Very dissapointed to hear a quiet buzz from the lower left of the machine. It would seem to be the CPU fan - it changes in pitch when applications are working harder. I can hear it over quiet music and it is quite annoying.

I plunged for this machine after reading so many positive testimonials. I thought I would only be hearing movement of air. I will ask Apple to replace it tomorrow but I don't want to hear that it is "within specifications".

Are other owners hearing a buzz (like a quite mini motorbike) from the lower left hand side of the machine?

I'd be grateful for your feedback.
Click to expand...
Mini motorbike in your iMac, eh? :eek:

Well, the only sound that I hear from my new (iSight) 20" iMac is the fan in the rear, which really only sounds like air being blown very quietly; however, there certainly isn't a sound coming from the lower left-hand corner--blow some air from your mouth for a few seconds at a moderately steady pace and that's the volume you should be getting from your iMac when it's idle.

I would check with Apple ASAP, as it's NOT normal and is likely symptomatic of something else. Not sure what it could be...
 
Yes!! i've had my 20" for about three days now and have noticed the same exact thing. It's hard for it to fade into the background cause it's an oscillating noise and yeah you can hear it over soft music, ugghhh, frustrating...... i'm hesitant to call apple about it myself cause i wasn't sure if that'd be being wayyy to picky or something but let me know what they say about yours if you do, or anyone else have similar problems???
 
I tried the online chat thing and the agent said blowing was the only sound I should hear. He said ring.

I don't think I'm being picky. This is louder than my G4 iMac and, on account of the type of sound, much more annoying.
 
Update

Apple have been super about this. Unfortunately there's nowhere near for me to get it repaired (I was keen to hold onto the perfect screen, and all my stuff is on it now, + memory) but they will get another one out priority. They were even offering to let me keep this one until the next one arrived which was surprising.

Holding the phone near the vent behind the stand was enough to convince the tech support guy that there was a problem.
 
Excellent, I hate it when people slag apple off for their after sales service. I think some expect too much from them at times. They have a problem with their 9 month old iPod. Ring apple and they will have it replaced within 7 working days. What? Can't they send me a new one tomorrow. This is disgraceful.

Apple still offer the best support, when you give it a chance.
 
Make sure there are no CD in the imac... Somtimes, depending on the media the imac make a buzzing noise when reading from CD's
 
Mine has a really quiet sort of buzz coming from the lower portion of the iMac... I can't tell if its normal or not but it doesnt really bother me.
 
ipwitch said:
Make sure there are no CD in the imac... Somtimes, depending on the media the imac make a buzzing noise when reading from CD's
Click to expand...

Nope. I really do have a buzzing fan.

My first iMac was set to ship by 16 Nov (it arrived a week before that) - the replacement is set to ship by 18 Nov. Not a bad effort! I'm guessing they'll contact me about picking up the first one tomorrow.

Otherwise I'll have two. :D
 
Mine has the lower fan noise also - It really isn't that loud but it is certainly one of those things that if you think about it too much it gets worse. I can still hear the clock ticking across the room over it.

Does anyone have one without a nose whatsoever?
 
ok just noticed something on the Apple boards about someone mentioning that if they lift their iMac part of the sound goes away. I tried that with mine and sure enough part of the hum goes away - so I tried putting the base on a mousepad and its gone then too - I still have the fan whir but its a little better at least. In the morning I wil experiment with some rubber feet I have.
 
According to the apple support forums this guy reckons that the fan vibrates the outer casing, and the casing's vibrations cause the stand to vibrate. The vibrating against the surface its on will make it buzz. Try a softer surface like a mousepad as suggested by zathras
 
Feedback...

Yes if I pick it up the vibrations passed on to my work surface cease. But the buzz continues, and this is the noise that is annoying me. It emanates from the vent behind the stand.
 
Well jacg, I hope that you aren't expecting a perfectly silent machine, cuz the iMac will always have the sound of the fan spinning and the blowing air. But I'm sure your problem makes the sound more intense, so hopefully you'll get a more satisfying sounding iMac this time.

Just out of curiosity, can you drown out the sound if you play music loud enough? Like at what minimum sound notch does the motorbike sound disappear?
 
JayMtl said:
Well jacg, I hope that you aren't expecting a perfectly silent machine, cuz the iMac will always have the sound of the fan spinning and the blowing air.
Click to expand...

Well you know I was sort of expecting it to be as quiet as my iMac G4. Especially as quite a number of people on this board claim that the only noise is the sound of moving air.

Unfortunately I have just received a new G5 iMac and it seems to make much the same fan noise.

So I guess I keep sending them back until I get a quiet one........?!!!?

I really don't want a computer that makes a variable pitched whine next to my ear. If this is how it is going to be I will wait for an upgrade to the powerbook line.

Perhaps some of those with silent G5 iSight iMacs could put me right on this. Does the fan behind the round vent behind the stand normally make a quiet buzzing sound?
 
Have now compared them...

I have them both running side by side. The new one makes a slightly less annoying sound - very similar but more like fan noise than a specific buzz. It is still much louder than the G4 iMac and definitely not whisper quiet.

Are my expectations too high?
 
OK I can appreciate that everyone is probably bored with my moaning by now, but if there's any feedback, I'd appreciate it.

The first iMac is being picked up tomorrow - fair enough, it does make a slightly more irritating noise than the 2nd one. I will hold onto the 2nd one while I gather some more feedback. Perhaps I will compare it to some from a store, although there are none near by.

I'm confused though. Apple were so quick to send me a new one (arrived within 5 days!) and yet the new one is much the same.
 
My iMac also buzzed (CPU fan). I took it back to Apple and they traded me a new one - straight up.:)
 
mr_matalino said:
My iMac also buzzed (CPU fan). I took it back to Apple and they traded me a new one - straight up.:)
Click to expand...

Are you saying your replacement makes no whining, buzzing or rattling sounds?

If so, I've been unlucky twice. I will ring Apple tomorrow.

Whatever happens, I definitely can't work with this noise one foot from my face (or whatever the safe distance is...).
 
The iMac is not whisper quiet, first of all. If this is what you're expecting, then you should return your iMac and purchase a PB, perhaps. Secondly, as I've said before, the sound coming from the rear of the iMac should only be produced by the CPU fan (which could be likened to a very slight buzzing...but it still sounds like a spinning fan) and air being blown.

If anyone on these boards (who is reading this) has an iMac that is totally silent please enlighten me, because as far as I know, the iMac cannot conceal (i.e., make silent) the sound of the spinning CPU fan.

Anyway, jacg, it's great that Apple was able to get another iMac out to you with such speed, but what are the odds of 2 iMacs having the exact same "problem." This is just how the iMac is; I doubt there's anything faulty with either iMac you currently have.
 
My old iMac G4 successfully concealed the sound of a spinning fan. All I heard from it was the sound of moving air. I can confirm this as it now lives in my classroom.

Searching forums such as this and Apple discussions yields many testimonials suggesting that the iMac G5 (iSight) can be nearly silent. It is these people I am putting my faith in rather than the "whisper quiet" statement.

It is possible that been spoilt with the G4 iMac and now a powerbook and as a result I will never be able to go back to a desktop computer that whirrs (especially one that is so close to my head). I am reminded of my B&W G3, although I could at least hide that under my desk (which was a shame as, like the iMac G5, it looked nice...)

Ringing Apple today. Thanks for the help everyone.
 
My new 20" Rev C. iMac also makes a slight buzz - when I put my hand over the vent in the back, the sound is muffled, and when I remove my hand it starts again, which makes me certain that it is coming from within the case, and not from a stand vibration. I've also picked up the iMac, and put some soft stuff (velcro, actually) underneath the stand to make certain the vibration wasn't coming from anywhere else.

I also tried the web chat help system, and typed with an extremely polite individual who seemed to do his best to help me out. He gave me three suggestions:

1. Resetting the SMU and seing if that helps (link is to Apple's support page on the process)
2. Removing the extra Ram that came with the computer, and seeing if that helps
3. Running the hardware check program on the original DVD

I've tried the SMU reset, but that didn't change the noise, however I'm not certain whether I'm going to do much else about the situation. I was initially worried, because I didn't want to ignore a hardware problem, and have the fan fail during heavy use and cook the computer, or something, and I also had subtle fears that the noise would get louder or more annoying as time went on. Now that I've heard that several others have had a similar experience, I'm more willing to consider the possibility that the computer is not quite silent, and leave it at that. I'm not using the computer as a media centre, except for some music, and since that is streaming through the Airport to the bigger speakers in the living room, I don't think it'll bother me.

That being said, I'm still curious - does anyone have a Rev. C iMac that is completely silent? My sister has a Rev. B (bought it JUST before they announced the C) and she reports that she doesn't recall it making noise when idle, but that she'd have to check to be certain. I've also thought about visiting a store with iMacs in stock, and listening to them, to get an idea of what to expect normally, but obviously a lot of places around here have had trouble keeping them in stock :p.

If anyone has further information on the issue, I'd love to hear about it. If this issue does (in Apple's eyes) warrant a quick replacement, I'd certainly consider that avenue - but if by and large this is just the way the Rev. C iMac functions, I could live with that as well. It is a lovely computer, after all.

Thanks for all the information, everyone,

Anik
 
Well hate this...

steve_hill4 said:
Excellent, I hate it when people slag apple off for their after sales service. I think some expect too much from them at times. They have a problem with their 9 month old iPod. Ring apple and they will have it replaced within 7 working days. What? Can't they send me a new one tomorrow. This is disgraceful.

Apple still offer the best support, when you give it a chance.
Click to expand...

Absolute snottingham crap. Apples service has been terrible everytime I've ever needed them. Which, over the last 6 years has been a lot. It's been the same for the only other Mac user in my family. This Apple corporate worship is infantile. My corporation is better than yours! Grow a political muscle for f***s sake.
 
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