Dual monitors and heat advice

[ivanzorkic]

This question has been around forums in one form or another but I was not able to find a definite answer. Please help - I have no idea who to ask anymore.

I read that heat can cause display issues with iMacs (prior to 2012 version) and I am worried to prolonged exposure to high GPU temperatures. The problem is - I use a second monitor with my 2011 27" iMac (it is important to my work) and it causes the GPU to constantly work in 70-80C (Celsius) ranges. With the secondary display plugged out, the GPU temp is 50-60C.

I would like to know if anyone had any issues with dual monitor setups after long periods of time. I don't have an Apple Store in my country and replacing parts in an authorized repair service would cost a lot of money. So, basically, if some screen issues/smudges appear as a result of heat, I'm pretty much stuck with them.

So, any thoughts? I would really appreciate some advice. Is running dual monitor setups safe?

 

[bmcgrath]

The components are designed for high heat thresholds. Obviously when things starting getting very hot the fans pick up to start cooling down. Failing that the machine will shut off if things get out of control but this is very unlikely.

 

[justperry]

If you are that concerned buy a fan similar to the below one and point it towards the iMac's back.

 

[bmcgrath]

If you are that concerned buy a fan similar to the below one and point it towards the iMac's back.

How much noise does that make?

 

[justperry]

How much noise does that make?

Not that much, it's a 6" aerogaz fan, bought it in Singapore for about $4 and keeps my old rusty Powerbook cool in hot Asia.

 

[bmcgrath]

Not that much, it's a 6" aerogaz fan, bought it in Singapore for about $4 and keeps my old rusty Powerbook cool in hot Asia.

Not bad!

 

[Eduardot]

Three Monitor Setup and heat?

I have a 2011 Imac i5, 32 gig RAM, with two samsung monitors attached to the two thunderbolt ports, three external HDD, one via firewire 800 and the other rwo via an usb hub. An external usb camera via a usb tv dongle and El Gato software to run it.
I am also running iStat menus with the fans in medium speed, and the temperatures never go more than 60 degrees even under intense gaming.
Normal operating temperatures will be 47, 42, 17 and 35, gnu, cpu, incoming air and the internal hard disk drive.
The room where the imac sits it's also air conditioned.
Iam always listening to music, and the camera is monitoring a specific area.
The iMac is on 24 hours. NO HEAT PROBLEMS AT ALL….!

 

[ivanzorkic]

Thank you for your responses.

I also run iStat menus, but I'm not sure of leaving the fans running at high speeds for a long time - they may suck more dust in and create the opposite effect.

Still, I may use some medium setting and see if it cools down the machine. Thank you for your advice!

 

[MrMacMack]

You can install smc Fan control. Works great.

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/23049/smcfancontrol