27 inch iMac late 2012 making rattling noise!

[aplmcintosh]

Hello,

I just wanted to know if somebody out there has the same problem with the iMac late 2012 ( 27" 3.4 Ghz i7, 3TB Fusion Drive).

I attached the the audio file of the noise. I have an Apple Care Protection plan for the iMac. Will they just repair it or will I get a replacement? Or even better, do you know if they will allow to replace it with a mac mini or MBPR + Cinema display if I pay some extra?

Thanks for your thoughts and advise on it...

 

[DeltaMac]

Sounds like a fan that is failing.
You can verify that yourself by running some fan control software, like SMCFanControl: https://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/23049/smcfancontrol
That will allow you to manually control the fan, and check to see if the noise changes when you make the fan or fans run faster.
It will also make it simple when you take your iMac in for service, and you say that you are not quite sure what makes the noise, but the noise changes a lot when the fan runs faster. You can expect to hear that change, too.

The fan should be relatively simple to replace. You can ask the "genius" your questions, and they can give you a quick answer. But, replacing the fan should fix your issue, and assuming that's your only complaint, you should be good to go...

 

[aplmcintosh]

Thank you very much for your help!

I tried smcfancontrol and even at highest speed the noise do not change. I have the impression it is something else...to be honest I am really pi..ed off because I owned a lot of mac since the mid 90s and there were all ok. I waited quite a while before buying this iMac and was always afraid something like this will happen. I had it for 8 months and the sound started to appear. My 24 inch iMac from 2004 is even more quiet.

That is not a good quality (control) anymore. Definitely the last time I will buy an all in one computer. Next big step Mac Pro! Before that save money and convince my wife

 

[bp1000]

I've had 2 haswell iMacs with these noisy rattling fans. I think apple have selected a poor batch of fans. I've had other iMacs without the issue so I would recommend getting it replaced as it is annoying.