2011 iMac Temperatures and Fan Speeds

[qap]

14 °C ambient ? Where do you live ?

In my bedroom

I don't know why it displays 14 °C , i've got the air conditioning set to 22 °C and my "normal thermometer" (not hardware-software, only the beauty red and analogic mercury line ) show 20 °C .

Are absolutely not 14 °C in my bedroom I've noted that when the mac is hot also the ambient T rise… but the thermometer no so I think the imac sensor is too near the alluminium case, and when the mac is hot the temps rise, when is not hot the alluminium is cold and temps are (too) low.

 

[thebends6]

There was a recent power outtage when my computer was on. Ever since my iMac has been running extremely hot, especially the HD (50-55 celsius at 99% idle). I've reset the PRAM, repaired permissions, and checked activity monitor for any programs that might be taking up resources. Does anyone have any clue as to why this is happening? It was running fine up until 2 days ago. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[KasperH]

here's mine:

 

[bakura]

Your HDD is not hot KasperH. I have same temperatures as thebends6. I think we have different brands of HDD.

 

[KasperH]

Your HDD is not hot KasperH. I have same temperatures as thebends6. I think we have different brands of HDD.

I know it's not hot, I just posted the screenshot for comparison. My harddrive is the Seagate 1TB.

 

[hikky]

Interesting thread. Just switched to Mac a few weeks ago and was quite worried if the HD temperatures aren't a little bit too high.

Here are the temps for my machine:

27”, i5 3.1 GHz, 6970M 2GB, 1000GB Seagate (ST31000528AS) HDD, 12 GB DDR3-RAM

Idle temperatures: Ambient: 19 — HDD: 46 — CPU: 38 — GPU Diode: 51 — GPU-Heat-sink: 47 — Memory Controller: 42 — Optical Drive: 36
Idle fans: CPU: 998 RPM — Hard Drive: 1099 RPM — Optical Drive: 938 RPM

Load temperatures: Ambient: 23 — HDD: 59 — CPU: 55 — GPU Diode: 77 — GPU-Heat-sink: 69 — Memory Controller: 56 — Optical Drive: ??
Load fans: CPU: 1483 RPM — Hard Drive: 1302 RPM — Optical Drive: 2670 RPM

Since I don't have that many demanding Mac apps yet I decided to fire up Bad Company 2 on Bootcamp for max temps. (Gaming on this machine is a blast after all.)
Aida64 found a bunch of additional sensors, so I'm not that sure what's the equivalent to the "Ambient" and the "Memory Controller" sensors displayed in iStat. I added the screenshot below. I guess the Aux-Sensor is synonomical to the Ambient sensor but no idea about the memory controller. Any ideas?

 

[coolspot18]

Here is mine.

 

[Objector]

I just played Team Fortress for twenty minutes (in OSX) on native resolution and everything on high, except for shadow and reflections. Is it normal that the GPU then goes as high as 84 degrees Celsius? Is it safe to play for multiple hours straight with those temps?

 

[hikky]

I just played Team Fortress for twenty minutes (in OSX) on native resolution and everything on high, except for shadow and reflections. Is it normal that the GPU then goes as high as 84 degrees Celsius? Is it safe to play for multiple hours straight with those temps?

Well, mine goes up to 80° C, should be fine. Usually AMD GPUs can take up to 100°C. The 20°C below the max temp on the gpu doesn't worry me as much as the 1°C below the max temp on the HD to be honest. @_@

 

[Elven]

I have the 2011 i7, wondering what settings you have for your SMCfancontrol, I've noticed mine gets very hot under use in EvE Online after a few hours.

 

[BeSweeet]

I'm curious to see what the Core i7-2600 load temperatures are. By load, I mean FULL 100% CPU LOAD, not load while gaming or something. I don't know if there's anything equivalent to Prime95 on the Mac side of things.

 

[macdudesir]

27", 2.7GHz i5, 6770M 512MB, Western Digital
Idle temperatures: Ambient: 18C — HDD: 42C — CPU: 37C — GPU Diode: 49C— GPU-Heat-sink: 47C — Memory Controller: 42C — Optical Drive: 38C
Idle fans: CPU: 938 RPM — Hard Drive: 1101 RPM — Optical Drive: 1099 RPM

Load temperatures: Ambient: 23C — HDD: 53C — CPU: 46C — GPU Diode: 73C— GPU-Heat-sink: 68C — Memory Controller: 54C — Optical Drive: 44C
Load fans: CPU: 949 RPM — Hard Drive: 1300 RPM — Optical Drive: 1099 RPM
(Tested with: World of Warcraft and Starcraft 2 averaged together)
The actual room temp was 18.5C or 65F

 

[BlindSoul]

Can you post later an average of every iMac ( 21.5"/27" )? :O So we'll be able to know what's good.
and here's mine:
21.5”, i5 2.5GHz, 6750M 512MB, 500GB Seagate (ST3500418AS) HDD
Idle temperatures: Ambient: 32 — HDD: 48 — CPU: 43 — GPU Diode: 57 — GPU-Heat-sink: 53 — Memory Controller: 54 — Optical Drive: 44
Idle fans: CPU: 998 RPM — Hard Drive: 1100 RPM — Optical Drive: 1200 RPM

Load temperatures: Ambient: 31 — HDD: 48 — CPU: 50 — GPU Diode: 67 — GPU-Heat-sink: 64 — Memory Controller: 57 — Optical Drive: 45
Load fans: CPU: 1000 RPM — Hard Drive: 1100 RPM — Optical Drive: 1200 RPM
(Tested with: Sims 3 Generations, Graphics Settings: High all)

 

[littlesmegger]

Normal? Still fairly audible.

My speeds are:

- Optical Drive 3435rpm
- Hard Drive 3495rpm
- CPU Fan 941rpm

There is a fairly audible noise level from the fans still, and I'm thinking the first two numbers aren't normal. SMC was added instantly via Time Machine but have removed it and still no slowing down or quietening of the fans.

Can anyone verify if this is normal speeds? I've had my iMac [27" i7 16GB RAM] for 24 hours roughly.

 

[sth]

Idle speeds:

Optical Drive: 1150rpm
Hard Drive: 1100rpm
CPU Fan: 940rpm

27" i7 16GB as well here.

Have you tried looking at Activity Monitor to see if there are any background processes chewing up CPU time?
Maybe spotlight is still indexing your hard drive.

 

[theSeb]

Yes, it's a heat sink. But if the outer edge of the heat sink is so hot that you can't touch it then maybe the heat sink isn't big enough.

I would suggest to not touch the computer since there is no need to. It's like worrying that your engine is hot to touch after driving around.

 

[chilli42]

Here are the results for my system:

Hi,

Just got my 2011 iMac and have the same fans speeds as yours, yet most have different speeds with the CPU fan at 938. Is it normal to have different speeds?

Thx

 

[laserbeam273]

Sorry to bump an old thread but though it was relevant (very hot day over here and my iMac was idling at 57C). Given that the operating maximum is 60C, what's the max temp we should be aiming for during normal usage? Mine is usually 53-55C without fan speed mods. It was at 57 today, but then I boosted fan speeds up to 4000 to bring it down to 49C, and now I've brought it down to 2500 RPM to level it off.

So yeah, if 60 is max, what should we aim for during normal usage?

 

[sth]

Given that the operating maximum is 60C

Where does it say that?

 

[laserbeam273]

Where does it say that?

The model of my HDD is WDC WD1001FALS-403AA0, a WD caviar black and the spec sheet for it is here:

http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/SpecSheet/ENG/2879-701276.pdf

At the moment I've been working to hold idle temp around 50C, if not lower. As long as you preempt really hot days, the fastest I think you need the fan is 2500 RPM. And that's before you get the noise picks up from hitting turbulent flow, so it's alright I reckon.

EDIT: And when I say really hot days, I mean an ambient temperature of 35-40C. Over 40 C, I think you'll struggle. Might be best to just go for a swim and give the computer a break.

 

[sth]

The model of my HDD is WDC WD1001FALS-403AA0, a WD caviar black and the spec sheet for it is here:

http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/SpecSheet/ENG/2879-701276.pdf

Okay, I thought you were talking about CPU temperature.

 

[stridemat]

Does anyone know a way to reduce the Optical Disk Drive speed on an iMac?

It runs at a constant 1600rpm and from looking around the internet and in the forums it should be nearer 1100 (ish) It is starting to bother me now as my iMac used to be silent



I fixed it myself

Download SMC and forced it to 1000rpm. Peace and quite at last.

 

[caralosdbernard]

I got my late 2011 card replaced by the program. i change the thermal paste in the cpu. but i think still run on the diode on the gpu. Normally my Imac is on AC the entire day, but i need to fix it first. the ambient temp goes down up to 22c on A/C. when i use my external monitor, the gpu dye goes to 64c Still going testing the new gpu. but i think i will take it out, replace the factory thermal paste and use the mx4 and change the thermal pad from the memory modules to aqua tuning and polish the aluminum heat sink on that area and see if I can drop down the C more. there is a hack since my mac did not come with a 3.5 hd, is making a air tunnel from the hd fan and direct the flow to the gpu. let see.

ScreenSize 27 inch , CPU 3.1 i5 , GPU 6970m 1024mb , HDD ssd 256 fury on ssd space below the dvd rom.
Idle temperatures: Ambient: 28.4c — HDD: 44c — CPU: 43.5c — GPU Diode: 56.2c— GPU-Heat-sink: 52.6c — Memory Controller: 50.6c — Optical Drive: 46.9c
Idle fans: CPU: 940 RPM — Hard Drive: 2413 RPM — Optical Drive: 1193 RPM (using macfan control reading the gpu diode)

I will post these later since it is to early for me.
Load temperatures: Ambient: 0 — HDD: 0 — CPU: 0 — GPU Diode: 0— GPU-Heat-sink: 0 — Memory Controller: 0 — Optical Drive: 0
Load fans: CPU: 0 RPM — Hard Drive: 0 RPM — Optical Drive: 0 RPM
(Tested with: )

 

[caralosdbernard]

Does anyone know a way to reduce the Optical Disk Drive speed on an iMac?

It runs at a constant 1600rpm and from looking around the internet and in the forums it should be nearer 1100 (ish) It is starting to bother me now as my iMac used to be silent

View attachment 334748

I fixed it myself

Download SMC and forced it to 1000rpm. Peace and quite at last.

mmm. 18C on the ambient temp and 41 on the cpu?? that is high. i got 28,8c on the ambient and 44.6 on the heat sink and 48,8 on the proximity sensor. Today is a hot morning here. if you got the the will change the thermal paste on the cpu dye with mx4. that will help more. the ambient sensor is below the cpu fan, just on top the grills.

 

[evilness]

Can't really make it any lower, even after full dismantle and air blow