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Do BTO iMac's with internal SSD's (and no HDD) still have the HDD fan?

NMF

NMF

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 27, 2011
885
21
The noise level of my 27" is really starting to bug me. My fan speeds hover around 1150rpm for optical drive, 1300rpm for HDD and 1100rpm for CPU. I'm not sure if it's just one or all that are bugging me with the noise, but I figure if I can avoid just one that might help.

If I order a BTO iMac from Apple with an SSD and no mechanical HDD will there still be a fan? If there isn't then I might consider selling this one and re-buying, heh. I have 2TB FW800 drive that's pretty silent. Plus I can cable it under my desk where it'll make less noise. :)

Also, does CPU model have any effect on the heatsink fan, or do all of them use the same cooler? I have the 3.1GHz i5 in my machine and I'm wondering if the 2.7GHz would be quieter.

Maybe these are silly questions but I'd really like to get this machine quieter. Any tips are appreciated!
 
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NMF said:
The noise level of my 27" is really starting to bug me. My fan speeds hover around 1150rpm for optical drive, 1300rpm for HDD and 1100rpm for CPU. I'm not sure if it's just one or all that are bugging me with the noise, but I figure if I can avoid just one that might help.

If I order a BTO iMac from Apple with an SSD and no mechanical HDD will there still be a fan? If there isn't then I might consider selling this one and re-buying, heh. I have 2TB FW800 drive that's pretty silent. Plus I can cable it under my desk where it'll make less noise. :)

Also, does CPU model have any affect on the heatsink fan, or do all of them use the same cooler? I have the 3.1GHz i5 in my machine and I'm wondering if the 2.7GHz would be quitter.

Maybe these are silly questions but I'd really like to get this machine quieter. Any tips are appreciated!
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Hmm. Im sure the no HDD model comes with an HDD fan. But your fans shouldn't be spinning that fast. Mind sharing your temps.? My iMac idles (and stays) at 1000 ODD, 1100 HDD, and 940 CPU. Its the 2.7GHZ but I'm almost positive the CPU model doesn't make a difference in base fan speeds. If, however, your constantly using the CPU at a high %, the 2.7 will be cooler because its a lower power rating (75W i think, where as the 3.1 is 95W) with the sacrifice of a small bit of speed though. But if your not doing anything intensive then your fan speeds should be lower. (I've never seen any of my fans speed up on my 2.7ghz btw. can't hear a thing.)
 
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So loud. :(

Also I dunno what this means but it's not like I'm maxing out my CPU:

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NMF said:
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So loud. :(

Also I dunno what this means but it's not like I'm maxing out my CPU:

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Wow. Is it hot where you live? If not, i would contact Apple. Those are defiantly not normal. Here's mine right now...(click on it for a bigger version, sorry its small :mad:
Also, notice I'm doing a lot more work then you. Your CPU says 99% idle, mine is 49% idle. (which basically means I'm using half the power of my CPU which creates more heat then using none of it obviously.)
 

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macdudesir said:
He has increased heat without reason, not fans without reason. The fans increase because the heat increased...without reason (echo :p) Take a gander :)rolleyes:) at his screen shots...
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The hard drive is not hot enough to justify increased fan speed. I did see the screen shots... and everything else said in the thread. :rolleyes:
NMF said:
I don't know if it's faster than normal, it's always been like this. Computer is really loud unless I have my overhead fan on.
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Resetting the SMC is a simple thing to do, with a possibility of resolving the issue. No guarantees, of course, but it's worth a try.
 
I guess the SMC reset helped, fan speeds are down while temps stayed about the same. It's still way to loud though. Maybe I'm just used to having a PC that's far enough away from me (in an entertainment unit on the floor) that I've never had to hear it. The constant hum of the iMac is starting to drive me insane.

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NMF said:
I guess the SMC reset helped, fan speeds are down while temps stayed about the same. It's still way to loud though. Maybe I'm just used to having a PC that's far enough away from me (in an entertainment unit on the floor) that I've never had to hear it. The constant hum of the iMac is starting to drive me insane.

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Those speeds are close to the slowest you get if it still bothers you then you might want to consider a mini o pro and put it away like you had the pc :(
 
I was afraid of that. :(

Part of me wants to get a Macbook Air and dock it to an Apple Thunderbolt Display, but I have no idea what I'd actually use the MBA for. :confused: I don't need a laptop, heh.
 
My optical drive fan is running at 1150, and my iMac is doing virtually nothing. However I can't hear the fan at all.
 
NMF said:
I was afraid of that. :(

Part of me wants to get a Macbook Air and dock it to an Apple Thunderbolt Display, but I have no idea what I'd actually use the MBA for. :confused: I don't need a laptop, heh.
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A Macbook Air with the lid closed driving a 27" display will probably have more fan noise than an iMac.
 
NMF said:
I guess the SMC reset helped, fan speeds are down while temps stayed about the same. It's still way to loud though. Maybe I'm just used to having a PC that's far enough away from me (in an entertainment unit on the floor) that I've never had to hear it. The constant hum of the iMac is starting to drive me insane.

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My fan speeds and temps are pretty much identical to yours when my 27" is idle, but my fans are silent. Maybe the fan(s) is loose, causing it to create more noise then necessary.
 
jsolares said:
Those speeds are close to the slowest you get if it still bothers you then you might want to consider a mini o pro and put it away like you had the pc :(
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Actually the slowest is 1100 for the HD. But even at 1300rpm you shouldn't hear anything. Unless your a dog ;) Or your in a recording studio.
 
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