iMac fan noise increases as screen angle is changed

[Sir Cecil]

I've noticed the new 3.06 iMac's fan noise increases substantially when the screen is tilted back on its hinge by more than just a minimal amount. The noise is not a problem at just a couple of degrees off vertical, but increases to an unacceptable, very annoying level when tilted further. Anyone else's iMac exhibit this?

This is apparent even when the machine is running cool, just browsing the internet etc, and is not related to gaming or photoshop use etc.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

Only with 3.06? Do you have this machine or did you just test the demos at the Apple store?

 

[Sir Cecil]

Only with 3.06? Do you have this machine or did you just test the demos at the Apple store?

It's sitting here in front of me, at home.

 

[sfroom]

I can't comment on fan noise on the new Penryn iMacs, but my old white 24" 2.16 had a screen hum at low brightness that would change in volume depending on the angle of the screen to some degree.

To clarify for someone who might be able to answer your question though, is it just the noise of the fan that increases with the tilting, or is the speed of the fan increasing?

Speaking of which, sorry to derail your thread, but as a side note does anyone know if the old 24" iMacs even had CPU fans? I opened the case once and saw a fan in the bottom left corner, but assumed it was for the GPU (I had the BTO 7600 GT). I never heard a fan spin up though, the entire time I owned the computer (and I did some mild h.264 encoding and 3D gaming on it).

 

[CryptoMac]

I have the 3.06 and I do not have that issue. Any sound from the fans remains constant at any angle.

 

[Sir Cecil]

I took mine in for an "audition" at the Apple Store. They immediately gave me a new unit. The new one is as silent as can be. Glad I questioned it.