High end 27" 2013 iMac - Cores running 100 degrees celcius when gaming!!!

[Fantola]

Hello everyone.
1 week ago i installed Core Temp (a trusted program, that shows the temperatures of the processor cores) on my Windows 7 partition, just to be sure the temperatures were ok. When i played high-end games like Battlefield, it ran on about 65-75 degrees celcius.
I remember the fans were really loud.

Today (it started yesterday) When playing battlefield 3, Core Temp shows 85-103 degrees celcius. Even in minecraft, it goes up to 97 degrees. I noticed that the fans were NOT loud at all when playing. I know when getting +95 degrees celcius, its getting dangerous for the processor.


I think the problem is that the fans dont activate.
Im pretty scared to use my computer right now.

I can make a video about it if anyone wants to see it.

Ive been having my iMac since 21.Dec 2012, still have my warranty.
the specs are:

27"
i7 3.4 ghz
680mx
32 gb ram (3rd party)
fusion


Please help me, its really freaking me out!
(sorry for my bad english)

 

[iamgalactic]

Your iMac will shut off before the chips fry...

However, sounds like the issue is with Windows not powering-up the fans rather than something wrong with your mac.

There are Win programs out there to control mac fans, download one of those and see if it helps. There is one called 'Lubbo's fan control' - it's for MacBooks but may work on iMac too.

Or there is this http://www.crystalidea.com/macs-fan-control

I've not tested either of these - I don't run Windows any more apart from in Parallels for book-keeping.....

*use any of these tools at your own risk!

 

[Fantola]

Thanks for the answer. I dont think i will try it. It sounds kind of dangerous!
When i play minecraft on mac, the fans gets loud, Temperature monitor shows maximum 80 degrees.

So yeah, maybe the drivers for the fans stopped working in windows.
It worked a week ago, what could the problem be?

And btw, people are saying the cpu still gets damaged when it fries.
And that it's lifetime gets shorter because of the + 90 degrees.

 

[Gav2k]

Honestly I wouldn't bat an eyelid at those temps under load during gaming. The system has hardware in place to shut the system down and prevent damage if the temp manages to get up high enough. If you want to manually set the fans to high that is totally up to you but no damage will be caused by leaving it as it is now.

 

[Fantola]

Honestly I wouldn't bat an eyelid at those temps under load during gaming. The system has hardware in place to shut the system down and prevent damage if the temp manages to get up high enough. If you want to manually set the fans to high that is totally up to you but no damage will be caused by leaving it as it is now.

But 103 is very close to the shut down which is 105 degrees on my i7 3570!
And it already gets there after 10 mins of playing.

 

[iamgalactic]

I used to use SMC Fan Control on my MacBook Pro because it was always just too damn hot - and that was in OSX! Honestly, couldn't sit the thing on my lap and could have cooked on it.

These programs are pretty good for controlling fans if you feel you need them. I used to run Windows in Bootcamp when I was doing a lot of 3D work with Studio Max. The machine ran really hot most of the time...

You have a year standard warranty - and should consider Applecare.

 

[Nightarchaon]

ive run my old C2D macbook Pro at 105 degrees C for over 3 days in a single run, and often over night on other occasions (Handbreak encoding on those old C2D chips was SLOOOW) and its non-the worse for wear.

Its now sat doing a load of medium intensity tasks, and averages 75 degrees - 80 degrees all the time, an has been on doing that for 2 years now, no problems.

 

[davidcmc]

You didn't expect it to keep the CPU cool with that chassis thickness, did you?

Macs (except Mac Pro) aren't machines for graphic-intensive gaming.
The 680MX will run it with good FPS, but the machine WILL get extremely hot, no matter what you do.

It's a choice made by Apple. Form over technical performance (which involves temperatures and speed, too).

If you want a machine to game without worrying about temperatures, you need to build your own computer (or just pay for overpriced Alienware things).

As for your current issue, it maybe some Windows driver not correctly installed (I highly doubt on that, since the cooler was working fine before, as you said).
It might simply be a problem with the cooler or the Windows installation itself.

Reinstall drivers. If the problem persists, format and install Windows again.
If the problem is still there, you have your answer.

 

[jmhart]

You can try resetting the SMC (system management controller). I had a mini whose fan never seemed to spin up even under load and high temps and an SMC reset remedied the problem.

 

[Arfdog]

You didn't expect it to keep the CPU cool with that chassis thickness, did you?

Macs (except Mac Pro) aren't machines for graphic-intensive gaming.
The 680MX will run it with good FPS, but the machine WILL get extremely hot, no matter what you do.

It's a choice made by Apple. Form over technical performance (which involves temperatures and speed, too).

If you want a machine to game without worrying about temperatures, you need to build your own computer (or just pay for overpriced Alienware things).

As for your current issue, it maybe some Windows driver not correctly installed (I highly doubt on that, since the cooler was working fine before, as you said).
It might simply be a problem with the cooler or the Windows installation itself.

Reinstall drivers. If the problem persists, format and install Windows again.
If the problem is still there, you have your answer.

Another uneducated answer. The computer as a system has much better heat management than a PC. The reason he has problems is because Windows can't manage the temps as well as OS X, because there were designed around each other.

Also PC's aren't engineered worth a damn. They are just huge heatsinks with a computer somehwere in there. Form over function? Try one of those flower-shaped hot-pink anodized heat sinks and see how well that really cools. Don't forget the neon and LED lights.

 

[davidcmc]

The computer as a system has much better heat management than a PC.

Windows can't manage the temps as well as OS X, because there were designed around each other.

They are just huge heatsinks with a computer somehwere in there.

Try one of those flower-shaped hot-pink anodized heat sinks and see how well that really cools. Don't forget the neon and LED lights.

And this, folks, is what I call "the effect".

This, allied with marketing, takes out all the intelligence from your brain. Beware.

Ps.: I've marked the parts where you show how alienated you are.

 

[dannylillhtc]

i dont get why people come on here complaining. its gonna get hot, your playing games on a machine with the minimum amount of airflow allowed to keep noise down and that suits apples design. You payed probably $2000+ for that iMac, just so you could install windows on it and game? why not just buy a gaming pc for half that that will be better set up for that, it makes no sense...........

 

[WilliamG]

i dont get why people come on here complaining. its gonna get hot, your playing games on a machine with the minimum amount of airflow allowed to keep noise down and that suits apples design. You payed probably $2000+ for that iMac, just so you could install windows on it and game? why not just buy a gaming pc for half that that will be better set up for that, it makes no sense...........

That argument simply isn't valid. As it happens, the high-end 27" 2012 iMac makes an EXCELLENT gaming machine. Sure, if you want JUST a gaming rig you can do better for less. But For those of us who want a Mac and ALSO to play games, the iMac can't be beaten for power/size/noise.

 

[dannylillhtc]

That argument simply isn't valid. As it happens, the high-end 27" 2012 iMac makes an EXCELLENT gaming machine. Sure, if you want JUST a gaming rig you can do better for less. But For those of us who want a Mac and ALSO to play games, the iMac can't be beaten for power/size/noise.

im not argueing that if you want a mac and play games at the same time then there is no other choice, but in the grand scheme of things they are not primarily designed as gaming rigs, im a mac user myself but i keep my gaming to consoles as they are designed for it and it is my choice. Its a well known fact that macs run hotter under windows on bootcamp as the thermal managment isnt as good as it is under osx, but the amount of threads on here of people bitching cause their macs get warm while gaming or cpu intensive task, what do they expect ?

 

[WilliamG]

im not argueing that if you want a mac and play games at the same time then there is no other choice, but in the grand scheme of things they are not primarily designed as gaming rigs, im a mac user myself but i keep my gaming to consoles as they are designed for it and it is my choice. Its a well known fact that macs run hotter under windows on bootcamp as the thermal managment isnt as good, but the amount of threads on here of people bitching cause their macs get warm while gaming or cpu intensive task, what do they expect ?

Well, in response I'd say he's having software-related issues. I game extensively under Windows 7, and have zero overheating issues. Heck, the thermal management to me looks fine. My system is room-temperature to the touch at all times just sitting here.

No computer is primarily designed as a gaming rig, surely (except maybe some Alienware)? The iMac is as capable of gaming as anything out there. Maybe you have to turn down a few things at the higher resolutions on some really new titles, but if somebody wanted a smart, all-in-one computer for gaming, I'd have no choice but to recommend an iMac over anything else. There's simply no other option as far as I'm aware (The XPS One is not in the same league).

So let's stick to the point, here. Many of us are gaming (and overclocking to near 680GTX desktop card speeds) without any issues at all.

 

[gregorsamsa]

You didn't expect it to keep the CPU cool with that chassis thickness, did you?

Macs (except Mac Pro) aren't machines for graphic-intensive gaming.
The 680MX will run it with good FPS, but the machine WILL get extremely hot, no matter what you do.

It's a choice made by Apple. Form over technical performance (which involves temperatures and speed, too).

If you want a machine to game without worrying about temperatures, you need to build your own computer (or just pay for overpriced Alienware things).

As for your current issue, it maybe some Windows driver not correctly installed (I highly doubt on that, since the cooler was working fine before, as you said).
It might simply be a problem with the cooler or the Windows installation itself.

Reinstall drivers. If the problem persists, format and install Windows again.
If the problem is still there, you have your answer.

All VG points that occasionally need restating. The iMac is one of the finest AOIs money can buy. The top-end model excels even when doing most serious work (with few exceptions & assuming one doesn't mind reflective screens). It's also more than adequate for most gaming at decent FPS.

However, if one wants to play the latest, more graphically-demanding games, these things occasionally get so hot that some users will end up questioning the overall effect on internal components & longevity. Hardly surprising considering the high prices these computers sell at. I also agree that you can't beat a decent PC for high-level gaming.

 

[Mac32]

Do some research...there's absolutely no reason to run your iMac at 100C if you do some tweaking. I overclock the GPU fairly high, and never run into those kinds of temperatures.
Yeah, I agree, the iMac is a great gaming machine if you can live with 60hz screen and making some graphics compromises in the newest, most demanding games. To have everything in one slick package, including your work computer, really makes up for slightly less performance. However, if Apple made thunderbolt connection work with Windows PCs, then I would definately consider getting a seperate gaming system to hook up to my iMac for more demanding games in the future.

 

[Hakiroto]

I've had a 'high end' late 2012 iMac for a couple of months now and have Windows 8 set up using Boot Camp. I've recently played through Crysis 3, BioShock Infinite and Tomb Raider - all new games - and had no issues with overheating. I've not overclocked anything and I have a temperature monitor running when I game so afterwards I can see what the temperatures reached. The highest I've seen the CPU was 97 and that was after playing around with some buggy mods on the (old) GTA IV, which I hear is very CPU intensive. As for the other new games, it's typically around 90 degrees and the GPU has been as high as 84.

 

[Woyzeck]

Another uneducated answer. The computer as a system has much better heat management than a PC. The reason he has problems is because Windows can't manage the temps as well as OS X, because there were designed around each other.

Do you really believe this ***** ?

 

[iamgalactic]

Maybe you folks can stop arguing about mac vs pc for gaming and give the OP some advice?

It's embarrassing.

The iMac with GTX680MX 2GB card is MORE than capable for running games - so get of your elitist gamer high horses.

The majority of mac users aren't using a mac primarily as a 'gaming rig' so stop suggesting that people "should use a console", or "just get a pc for gaming".

OP - the SMC reset is good advice

 

[SMDBill]

To get back to the point....

The issue is fans, specifically fan speed. Heat is a symptom caused by the fans not properly escalating speed to remove the heat. That's where the search for info should focus - how to get fans under Boot Camp/Windows to properly throttle fans at various temperatures.

Core temps approaching 100C are dangerous, regardless what you may read here. The reason there is a shutoff is to prevent damage, but it's naive to think no slow degradation is occurring by running IC's at high temps for extended periods of time. It may not break them instantly, but it does degrade them over time. To run them hot and assume because it's a Mac it can somehow handle it is not in your best interest since you paid for the machine and will pay for a replacement one day when strange failures begin to occur that point to nothing except random errors or logic board failures.

If nothing else, you are over-taxing your system unnecessarily and shortening its lifespan. Finding the answers to why your fans aren't throttling up to max speed at 100C is important to helping that machine last as long as possible. If those fans were really not that important, Apple would not have wasted time or, more importantly, the space putting them there. They must run properly to do their job.

 

[d0nK]

Games make graphic cards hot. The new iMac design doesn't care.

As everyone knows, Apple hobbled the iMac by making it thinner.

Yes Icarus... those wings look very nice

 

[Mac32]

Yeah, just to summarize try pram and smc reset. There is something wrong with your iMac fan, it should be going at 2600rpm+ at those temps. If that doesn't help, call Apple.
The iMac is very powerful, but it's an expensive, compact AIO system, so be smart about gaming - do some research. My CPU temps are 20-25C lower than yours, and even with my rather high overclocks the GPU temp never goes higher than the low 80s. If your gaming regularly at 100C, that's no good in the long run...you're basically asking for hardware failures.

 

[flavr]

I had a 27 with 680mx and now 675mx and both GPU temps easily shoot up to mid 90s-100+C in Valley and Heaven graphic benchmarks...

Thats what AppleCare is for, right?

 

[thekev]

Another uneducated answer. The computer as a system has much better heat management than a PC. The reason he has problems is because Windows can't manage the temps as well as OS X, because there were designed around each other.

Also PC's aren't engineered worth a damn. They are just huge heatsinks with a computer somehwere in there. Form over function? Try one of those flower-shaped hot-pink anodized heat sinks and see how well that really cools. Don't forget the neon and LED lights.

You call his answer uneducated, yet you're simply making things up. Sometimes there are bad bootcamp drivers, but given that it is officially supported, this shouldn't happen. You shouldn't badger the OP for being aggravated that a desktop machine is operating around T-junction.