I KNOW RIGHT !! when they were announcing it i was almost certain that they were going to say "we learn from our retina mbp using this fan... bla bla blah, now the imac is getting it too" but that never happened and im still wondering why. like i said it bothers me but not quite as much as a crappy screen so..
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
27 inch iMac Late 2012 fan concern
- Thread starter streetfoldsfive
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I KNOW RIGHT !! when they were announcing it i was almost certain that they were going to say "we learn from our retina mbp using this fan... bla bla blah, now the imac is getting it too" but that never happened and im still wondering why. like i said it bothers me but not quite as much as a crappy screen so..
I've called apple and they said to bring it into the store to be looked at. I'm not to keen on that though. They also said the fan should be audible because of the thinner design. Now my concern is maybe its the harddrive spinning causing the noise not the fan?
iMcLovin
macrumors 68000
As you hear on the audio clip I have, I have the slight clicking sound too. I have no HDD just flash, so it has to be the fan 🙂
As they say in the store, that the fan should be audible. I have no problem with that, it's just the tiny clicking sound that attracts my attention.
iMcLovin
macrumors 68000
I just talked with a pc geek of mine, who said he had the same sound multiple times from fans of pc´s he built. And, it´s obviously some cable or some minor thing that is barely touching the blades of the fan. it is probably so little that it doesn´t really matter and it might as well go away after a while. He also said a slight tilt to one of the sides often works.
So, I tilted my machine and I kept it on for an entire night and now its gone. Only smooth silent air which is barely hearable. 🙂 So, then currently it´s nothing left to worry about on my imac.
So, I tilted my machine and I kept it on for an entire night and now its gone. Only smooth silent air which is barely hearable. 🙂 So, then currently it´s nothing left to worry about on my imac.
How can you check your fan RPM's? What program are you guys using? I'm currently using a replacement model because my original had a small defect, but the original didnt make a sound. I can hear the fan blowing air out of this imac pretty much from the moment I turn it on. No clicking noises or anything, but I can still hear it. How can I check the fan speed???
My iMac 27'' is pretty much silent, yes I can hear a very low fan sound if I try to notice it, but it is hardly there at all - and this is in a silent room. I installed Windows 7, and did lots of stuff and didn't hear the fan speed up once. I have the SSD, no HD.
PS: What the other guy said. I also had a PC a few years ago, and the chipset fan on the motherboard was sligthly hitting a small cable. That could definately be the problem, because then you would get that "clicking" sound.
PS: What the other guy said. I also had a PC a few years ago, and the chipset fan on the motherboard was sligthly hitting a small cable. That could definately be the problem, because then you would get that "clicking" sound.
My fan sounds like constant air blowing but its pretty loud so i think ill bring it in to the apple store sunday.
Brand New iMac 27" fans run loud
So my 27" iMac just arrived on January 18 after coming all the way from China through Japan, Alaska, and California on Monday to get here. I ordered it Dec. 25. I have it maxed out so it cost me $3200. I just got it out of the box, set up, and turned it on and the first thing I notice before anything else that can impress me is that the fans are running at full speed (it seems) and are quite loud. Very loud. I've been through all the steps Apple suggests (resetting SMS, for example), but nothing works. I live at least a hundred miles from any Apple store. I have three other iMacs, a 2009 27" iMac, and two 2011 21.5" iMacs. I can hear them, too, but their sound is something I actually have to concentrate on to hear. This new computer is just flat-out loud. Anyone have any ideas? I sure would appreciate it! Thank you.
So my 27" iMac just arrived on January 18 after coming all the way from China through Japan, Alaska, and California on Monday to get here. I ordered it Dec. 25. I have it maxed out so it cost me $3200. I just got it out of the box, set up, and turned it on and the first thing I notice before anything else that can impress me is that the fans are running at full speed (it seems) and are quite loud. Very loud. I've been through all the steps Apple suggests (resetting SMS, for example), but nothing works. I live at least a hundred miles from any Apple store. I have three other iMacs, a 2009 27" iMac, and two 2011 21.5" iMacs. I can hear them, too, but their sound is something I actually have to concentrate on to hear. This new computer is just flat-out loud. Anyone have any ideas? I sure would appreciate it! Thank you.
iMcLovin
macrumors 68000
I have no idea, but it sure isn´t normal. I can hear loud fan noise when my fan ups to about 2500 rpm. That happened only once when I was encoding a video. Once the encoding was done it went down to 1200 rpm. When I play heavy 3d games such as Diablo 3 etc it stays at 1200 rpm and it´s bearly hearable. Seems your fan is unable to adjust to the temperature the way it should...I don´t know how the fan would behave then, but I assume it would stick to a high rpm to make sure the machine stay cold or something like that 🙂 though Im no expert. I would get it repaired unless they are able to help you over the phone.
Download SMC Fan Control (http://www.eidac.de) and tell us what RPM your fan is set to. It should be 1200rpm or thereabouts when idling/general OS X usage.
I had a simiar experience with 2 2012 21.5" iMacs with 2.9 i5 processors and Fusion Drives loaded to only 100GB.
The first iMac I ordered on Nov 30, delivered Dec 10, used for about 60 hours in a very quiet room and shipped back on Dec 18. I never heard a fan.
I could hear the fan running all the time in the replacement iMac delivered to me on Dec 26 from the moment I turned it on. I could barely hear it from the front and found it not to be annoying.
Mine has a similar air flowing sound as everyone is describing is this normal or is the fan being heard a reason for return?
mocciat
macrumors regular
iMcLovin, Thats exactly what mine sounds like. I think it's more noticeable with the vent on the chin. I was worried because I just had a 2012 27" 1TB Fusion with no other upgrades replaced because it developed a red line down the screen after 29 days and don't remember this noise. Although, I did have to upgrade to a 27" 3.4 with the 680 card because they didn't have my model in stock and I would have had to wait 4 weeks. They did give me a bit of a discount though.
I feel better about it after listening to yours.
mocciat
macrumors regular
I couldn't take the noise anymore. Since I was within my 14 days I returned it and swapped it out. iT is more quiet but still some normal fan noise.
Be advised to check the new unit before you take it home as the 1st one they gave me had a big dead pixel in the front middle of the screen and the 2nd one had the black paint scratched off the bezel just above the isight camera. Just do your due diligence.
Hope this helps.
Be advised to check the new unit before you take it home as the 1st one they gave me had a big dead pixel in the front middle of the screen and the 2nd one had the black paint scratched off the bezel just above the isight camera. Just do your due diligence.
Hope this helps.
ZMacintosh
macrumors 68000
there are not loose cables in the iMac, and especially not with the fan. its the bearing of the fan blades itself.
tilting it may have only changed the rpm a bit but will probably kick back into the previous sound you heard before.
either get the fan replaced or swap the machine.
Another thing you can try is to run the hardware test, it will stress the fan during the logicboard test, so that may help max the fan for a moment to see if it will adjust. otherwise the fan will continue to operate as it is.
iMcLovin
macrumors 68000
Mine has been perfect ever since I tilted it. And the air stream sounds smooth both in high and low rpm. I don't know if there were cables or something else inside the iMac somewhere in the way of the air stream causing the flaff-flaff sound. But it disappeared after I did what I did.
It seems strange it's such a common problem. You would think apple would detect it then. Which is why I think it might happen through shipping?!?
AppleNewton
macrumors 68000
Tilting it probably temporarily adjusted the bearing of the fan, but likely wont be a full fix. And there are no cables that would be against the fan or other components.
If it becomes an issue get the fan replaced.
If it becomes an issue get the fan replaced.
Is that sound the fan or hard drive. I am curious how loud is your fan noises? I can hear mine a few feet away, but I can not hear it if it across the room? How loud is your fans and air blowing noise?
Good point, it can be difficult to identify the source of the noise. When dealing with a traditional desktop, you can open it and stop (temporarily) the fans to figure out where it comes from, but this is not the case... I wonder how many of the noisy iMacs have the SSD.
Anyone considered that it may *not* be the fan after all?
I found this thread because I too was looking for confirmation whether the fan noise I hear on my 2012 iMac is normal or not.
I used to own a high-end late 2009 model with 1000 rpm fans - nothing to hear. New 2012 iMac (680MX, Core i7) has a constant hissing noise. Not very audible, the clicks of mouse & keyboard are far louder. Though I'm really sensitive thanks to no outside audio pollution. I can even hear the humming of my TV LCD screen on mute.
So … after playing around with the fan speed (iStat) and having had plently of hard drive models to work with recently, I suspect that the noise most of us are hearing may actually be the spinning of the hard drive!
Why? Because the sound the fan makes as it speeds up seems to shift or change the "type" of noise generated. Though the more I speed up the fan, it doesn't really change its audio characteristics. It's only when it falls below 1500 rpm that I start to hear more and more of the constant hissing noise I hear all the time.
What's more, the sound at the back has the profile of a running fan. There's a slight ffft-ffft-ffft sound of the fan blades spinning and air pressure constantly rising and falling. That's not what I hear at all on the front: at the front it is a very constant humming/hissing sound, no flapping blades.
Think about it: a 3.5" 5400 rpm hard drive spinning has a constant, low-level hiss that most people would dismiss as barely audible. The hard disk sound can be enhanced depending on how the fan and its casing are connected and positioned.
And the fact that we may actually be hearing the hard disk may have two explanations:
- The new model's casing may allow a better transfer of noise from the hard disk, possibly to the front thanks to the much thinner glass. I can hear the noise sitting in front of it, about 40 cm away.
- The air vent is where the air is blown out - naturally that's also where most any noise coming from inside will come from. If you listen closely there you'll of course attribute the noise to the fan. But both loudness and vibration of the sound on the back don't match what I hear on the front.
Possibly the only way to confirm would be to open up the iMac, and stop the fan altogether. See if the noise persists. Anyone care to try? 🙂
Btw: if the iMac is standing on a small wooden or glass table the iMac may give off more sound than if you put its stand on a piece of cloth, carpet or plastic. More so if its against the back of a solid wall - the noise gets reflected back on you. Even the stand itself influences the sound, I can clearly hear the sound profile changing depending on what angle the screen is on.
It may be easiest if you simply find a piece of old carpet or kork to place your iMac on, perhaps even cover half a square meter of the wall behind the iMac. This may be enough to dampen the noise significantly. I'll try this myself soon.
I found this thread because I too was looking for confirmation whether the fan noise I hear on my 2012 iMac is normal or not.
I used to own a high-end late 2009 model with 1000 rpm fans - nothing to hear. New 2012 iMac (680MX, Core i7) has a constant hissing noise. Not very audible, the clicks of mouse & keyboard are far louder. Though I'm really sensitive thanks to no outside audio pollution. I can even hear the humming of my TV LCD screen on mute.
So … after playing around with the fan speed (iStat) and having had plently of hard drive models to work with recently, I suspect that the noise most of us are hearing may actually be the spinning of the hard drive!
Why? Because the sound the fan makes as it speeds up seems to shift or change the "type" of noise generated. Though the more I speed up the fan, it doesn't really change its audio characteristics. It's only when it falls below 1500 rpm that I start to hear more and more of the constant hissing noise I hear all the time.
What's more, the sound at the back has the profile of a running fan. There's a slight ffft-ffft-ffft sound of the fan blades spinning and air pressure constantly rising and falling. That's not what I hear at all on the front: at the front it is a very constant humming/hissing sound, no flapping blades.
Think about it: a 3.5" 5400 rpm hard drive spinning has a constant, low-level hiss that most people would dismiss as barely audible. The hard disk sound can be enhanced depending on how the fan and its casing are connected and positioned.
And the fact that we may actually be hearing the hard disk may have two explanations:
- The new model's casing may allow a better transfer of noise from the hard disk, possibly to the front thanks to the much thinner glass. I can hear the noise sitting in front of it, about 40 cm away.
- The air vent is where the air is blown out - naturally that's also where most any noise coming from inside will come from. If you listen closely there you'll of course attribute the noise to the fan. But both loudness and vibration of the sound on the back don't match what I hear on the front.
Possibly the only way to confirm would be to open up the iMac, and stop the fan altogether. See if the noise persists. Anyone care to try? 🙂
Btw: if the iMac is standing on a small wooden or glass table the iMac may give off more sound than if you put its stand on a piece of cloth, carpet or plastic. More so if its against the back of a solid wall - the noise gets reflected back on you. Even the stand itself influences the sound, I can clearly hear the sound profile changing depending on what angle the screen is on.
It may be easiest if you simply find a piece of old carpet or kork to place your iMac on, perhaps even cover half a square meter of the wall behind the iMac. This may be enough to dampen the noise significantly. I'll try this myself soon.
Thank you for sharing this. I've spent some time thinking about this as well, and I was pretty sure it was either the hard drive or PSU malfunction.
The problem is, with fusion drive, is the hard drive really supposed to be on constantly? Shouldn't it shut down when it's not being used?