iMac G4 Temperature Monitor & 2006 Core2Duo iMac.

[GraniteTheWolf]

I like to be able to view system thermal information on my computers, but it appears the iMac G4 isnt going to make that easy.

Is there a program out there that works? Is it even possible?

So far every one I have tried does not work. I have read, some say that there is no way to view temperatures of the computer but I find that hard to believe.

I also searched here on the power pc forums but didn't find any helpful information or even a thread directly related to PPC mac temperature monitoring. Anyone able to help me out?

If it makes any difference my G4 iMac is the 17" 1.25ghz model.
I normally use "Temperature Monitor" but the only temp sensor it can find is the hard drive.

 

[eyoungren]

I like to be able to view system thermal information on my computers, but it appears the iMac G4 isnt going to make that easy.

Is there a program out there that works? Is it even possible?

So far every one I have tried does not work. I have read, some say that there is no way to view temperatures of the computer but I find that hard to believe.

I also searched here on the power pc forums but didn't find any helpful information or even a thread directly related to PPC mac temperature monitoring. Anyone able to help me out?

If it makes any difference my G4 iMac is the 17" 1.25ghz model.
I normally use "Temperature Monitor" but the only temp sensor it can find is the hard drive.

If there are no temp sensors built in, it doesn't matter what app you try. My Quicksilver has no temp sensors so the only judge I have is hard drive temps.

About the best you can do is judge things based on that. My two main drives hover between 109-118º. I know that I will get a freeze though if my HD temps go beyond 120º. Fortunately, I've managed to stabilize things so that the temp range I mentioned above is the norm and not the exception any more.

 

[Intell]

As eyoungren stated above, G4 iMacs have no system accessible temperature sensor besides the hard drive's SMART. I've seen the SMART get to about 130F without any problems in a G4 iMac. They tend to idle at around 110F. G4 iMacs' fans usually always run at idle to about 30% of maximum. If for some reason they do get too hot, the fan will rev up to 100% of speed. When that happens, it'll sound like a vacuum cleaner and put the MDD's fan noise to shame. But such an event is exceedingly rare to happen. I've only even encountered it twice in over ten years of working on them.

 

[GraniteTheWolf]

As eyoungren stated above, G4 iMacs have no system accessible temperature sensor besides the hard drive's SMART. I've seen the SMART get to about 130F without any problems in a G4 iMac. They tend to idle at around 110F. G4 iMacs' fans usually always run at idle to about 30% of maximum. If for some reason they do get too hot, the fan will rev up to 100% of speed. When that happens, it'll sound like a vacuum cleaner and put the MDD's fan noise to shame. But such an event is exceedingly rare to happen. I've only even encountered it twice in over ten years of working on them.

All is still perfectly happy in the world of my old imac. Ive since maxed out the ram to 2gb, stuck in a fast 400gb 7200rpm ultra-ata hdd, and replaced the dead disc drive with a new superdrive.
After the last upgrade I cleaned the old thermal paste off the cpu spreaders that go to the dome and put some new artic silver 5 on the 2 ends that spread the heat to the outer metal shell inside.

I can sit watching youtube with youview, maxing out the cpu and the fan only gets up to a decent whirr that really isnt very loud at all.
I can also hold open the optical drive tray and touch the cpu heatsink/spreader with my pinky to feel how hot it is. To be honest even with the cpu maxed out for a few minutes, I dont think it can even get hot enough to burn skin

I love this old girl even though it isnt the fastest G4 ive ever used.

 

[GraniteTheWolf]

Instead of making a new thread I am going to post here.

My beloved maxed out 17" G4 iMac is being retired from its "3rd monitor" duties. It has carefully been packed away into a tote filled with padding and bubble wrap!
I'm not going to sell it as its a neat-mint condition perfect working machine that I have put more time and money into then its worth. I'll just keep it tucked away where I can pull it out and play with it if I want to

My reasoning for upgrading- for $70 I got a mid-2006 iMac 1.86 Core2duo with the intel GMA 950 gpu with no OS on it and free shipping.

So now I'll be able to use everything I used the G4 for, only much faster. I'll be able to use Skype without screwing around with version stuff. I'll also be able to playback any HD content I want or streaming services. For $70 I really couldn't pass it up!

I already have a Snow Leopard install ready, and I have 1.5gb of compatible ram in my ram box ready to pop in for an immediate upgrade.

I know this generation has its share of screen/gpu issues, but my intel iMac has the intel GMA 950 gpu chipset. From what I can (or cant find) the GMA 950 gpu never fails since its not really a hot gpu, rather weak infact. It wont have any graphical failures that the other ATI X1600 models had from overheating. The only problem I can see is a possibility of the screen its self getting lines or dying.

Replacing the screen myself (if i ever need to) would be cheap and with my skillset, rather easy. Ive already been inside an aluminum iMac for a HDD upgrade for a friend of mine. I also am very comfortable around computers (Build thread of a 2008 mac pro in my sig)

 

[n0cus]

Instead of making a new thread I am going to post here.

My beloved maxed out 17" G4 iMac is being retired from its "3rd monitor" duties. It has carefully been packed away into a tote filled with padding and bubble wrap!
I'm not going to sell it as its a neat-mint condition perfect working machine that I have put more time and money into then its worth. I'll just keep it tucked away where I can pull it out and play with it if I want to

My reasoning for upgrading- for $70 I got a mid-2006 iMac 1.86 Core2duo with the intel GMA 950 gpu with no OS on it and free shipping.
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So now I'll be able to use everything I used the G4 for, only much faster. I'll be able to use Skype without screwing around with version stuff. I'll also be able to playback any HD content I want or streaming services. For $70 I really couldn't pass it up!

I already have a Snow Leopard install ready, and I have 1.5gb of compatible ram in my ram box ready to pop in for an immediate upgrade.

I know this generation has its share of screen/gpu issues, but my intel iMac has the intel GMA 950 gpu chipset. From what I can (or cant find) the GMA 950 gpu never fails since its not really a hot gpu, rather weak infact. It wont have any graphical failures that the other ATI X1600 models had from overheating. The only problem I can see is a possibility of the screen its self getting lines or dying.

Replacing the screen myself (if i ever need to) would be cheap and with my skillset, rather easy. Ive already been inside an aluminum iMac for a HDD upgrade for a friend of mine. I also am very comfortable around computers (Build thread of a 2008 mac pro in my sig)

That is an awesome deal. Good luck with your new iMac. If only it had a swivel screen!

 

[bunnspecial]

Most of the polycarbonate Intel iMacs are still very capable and relatively current machines. I know of more than a couple at school that are still in daily(heavy) use.

As much as I love my PPC Macs, Intel machines can do things that the PPC ones just can't do. I think you'll be very happy with that one.

Depending on how much you want to get into it, I'd suggest at a minimum maxing the RAM(DDR2 is cheap these days) and maybe even look into throwing an SSD into it. From my experience with a slightly newer Macbook, I can say that the SSD made the whole thing feel and respond like a new computer.

 

[GraniteTheWolf]

Most of the polycarbonate Intel iMacs are still very capable and relatively current machines. I know of more than a couple at school that are still in daily(heavy) use.

As much as I love my PPC Macs, Intel machines can do things that the PPC ones just can't do. I think you'll be very happy with that one.

Depending on how much you want to get into it, I'd suggest at a minimum maxing the RAM(DDR2 is cheap these days) and maybe even look into throwing an SSD into it. From my experience with a slightly newer Macbook, I can say that the SSD made the whole thing feel and respond like a new computer.

I imagine it will be a bit faster then my old 2007 macbook (that I sold a few years ago) that had almost the same chipset (only mobile)

As for putting an SSD in it, I'm not going to upgrade the hard drive unless it is ready to die. If it does die I'll just toss in a 7200 rpm WD black drive and call it a day.

I plan to max out its ram and give it my usual nitpick cleaning job to make it like new. Clear out the dust inside of it and just plop it where my G4 imac used to be!

If any computer of mine is going to get an SSD, that would be my 2012 6-core Mac Pro.

That is an awesome deal. Good luck with your new iMac. If only it had a swivel screen!

I know, I couldn't pass it up! I am going to miss the brilliant g4 lampshade screen setup though.

My new mid-2006 iMac is due for delivery tomorrow. I'm pretty excited to get it all set up!

 

[GraniteTheWolf]

32,600+ hours. That is the SMART status logged hours on the hard drive of this 2006 iMac. That is about 3.6 years of on-time.

Youd never know either, I cleaned it up and removed the dust from it. Only issues are a non-working iSight webcam and the optical drive doesn't work (no surprise there)

My only big thing is im on Snowleopard with 1gb of ram. Its so low on memory that the intel GMA graphics cant get enough to play back flash video without making the playback flash white here and there. One time when i tried to go full screen the iMac completely shut its self off and turned back on with no error messages.
Its been a long time since ive been on an OS running the bare minimum ram requirement! I got a 2gig stick on the way now

Going to miss my G4 on my desk, but this poly iMac is already WAY faster running on the minimum ram for SL. Its design also isnt all that ugly like I had originally thought.

 

[Altemose]

32,600+ hours. That is the SMART status logged hours on the hard drive of this 2006 iMac. That is about 3.6 years of on-time.

Youd never know either, I cleaned it up and removed the dust from it. Only issues are a non-working iSight webcam and the optical drive doesn't work (no surprise there)

My only big thing is im on Snowleopard with 1gb of ram. Its so low on memory that the intel GMA graphics cant get enough to play back flash video without making the playback flash white here and there. One time when i tried to go full screen the iMac completely shut its self off and turned back on with no error messages.
Its been a long time since ive been on an OS running the bare minimum ram requirement! I got a 2gig stick on the way now

Going to miss my G4 on my desk, but this poly iMac is already WAY faster running on the minimum ram for SL. Its design also isnt all that ugly like I had originally thought.

That shut off is a bit odd. Does it go all the way down and chime then reboot? They are nice machines and you got a great deal.

 

[GraniteTheWolf]

That shut off is a bit odd. Does it go all the way down and chime then reboot? They are nice machines and you got a great deal.

The shut down was like someone was holding the power button, and then instantly pressed it again to turn it back on, bonging back to life like a restart. Instant shutoff with no panics or errors to find. No error log.... nothing!

It happened when I went to play a YouTube video and went to put it in full screen. Ive played a lot of flash video on it and it only shut off that one time. I also had iTunes open as well. I really left it with no free ram.

I feel its because of my lack of ram. When having JUST the browser open I am left with around 10mb free ram. The intel GMA 950 gpu in this leeches off the ram. I honestly believe the video card completely ran out of accessible video memory (system ram.) Already ordered a 2GB stick yesterday. It should clear up the system and make it run like it should.

 

[Intell]

The Intell GMA 950 always has 64MB of memory available to it. It has priority over kernel and kernel space memory and those 64MB is outside the control of Mac OS X entirely. Thus, it cannot every run out or have less than 64MB.

 

[GraniteTheWolf]

The Intell GMA 950 always has 64MB of memory available to it. It has priority over kernel and kernel space memory and those 64MB is outside the control of Mac OS X entirely. Thus, it cannot every run out or have less than 64MB.

Ah, hm. I had thought that at first as well. I do feel the restart is lack-of-ram related anyway. The iMac isnt overheating, it idles at a nice low mid-30s C and the hottest ive made it is 48C.

Intell, what do you think the sudden power-down and turn back on is from?

 

[Intell]

Bad capacitors or failing hardware. A lack of ram rarely, if ever, forces a machine to restart. It'll swap out to the whole hard drive before it would do that.

 

[GraniteTheWolf]

Bad capacitors or failing hardware. A lack of ram rarely, if ever, forces a machine to restart. It'll swap out to the whole hard drive before it would do that.

I can hear a very faint whine from the power supply within the iMac when it is turned off if I put my ear near the back of it. Perhaps the power supply is on its way out?

Overall function of the computer is...perfect, really. Other then the slowdowns caused by lack of ram. For the little I paid, I wouldn't mind investing a little into it if I have to.

Edit: I just fixed the flash video flickering in firefox. Turned out to be a hardware acceleration bug in the newest version of firefox.

Also I probably should mention when the iMac did shut off on its self I was seconds ago wiggling the (non-apple generic) power cord in the back of it. I'll use it non-stop tonight playing videos and random things.

 

[GraniteTheWolf]

Have been going nonstop straining the hell out of the system by having more programs open then I should while streaming videos. Hasn't missed a beat. Got the cpu up to a whole 50C! (lol hardly anything but cpu was near pegged for a long time)

Thanks for the comments and help/opinions with this old intel imac guys. I know this is the PPC forum and this isnt a PPC machine. I peeked at the iMac side of the forums and it seems like no one there would give much of a crap about this old intel imac. Most the posts there are centered on the latest and greatest iMacs.

I'll probably end up putting 4gb ram in this old girl, replacing the dead optical drive, putting in a new PSU since the current one has 32,600+ hours on it.... A new hard drive would probably be a good idea while I am in there, too.

 

[Altemose]

Have been going nonstop straining the hell out of the system by having more programs open then I should while streaming videos. Hasn't missed a beat. Got the cpu up to a whole 50C! (lol hardly anything but cpu was near pegged for a long time)

Thanks for the comments and help/opinions with this old intel imac guys. I know this is the PPC forum and this isnt a PPC machine. I peeked at the iMac side of the forums and it seems like no one there would give much of a crap about this old intel imac. Most the posts there are centered on the latest and greatest iMacs.

I'll probably end up putting 4gb ram in this old girl, replacing the dead optical drive, putting in a new PSU since the current one has 32,600+ hours on it.... A new hard drive would probably be a good idea while I am in there, too.

Sounds like some decent parts to replace. That being said, I would check the current PSU before you go flipping in a new one. The newer ones likely have some decent hours on them unless it was pulled from the iMac that grandma planned her church tours on Sundays with. It is quite sad that you get a better response from the PowerPC community than the actual iMac community.

 

[GraniteTheWolf]

Sounds like some decent parts to replace. That being said, I would check the current PSU before you go flipping in a new one. The newer ones likely have some decent hours on them unless it was pulled from the iMac that grandma planned her church tours on Sundays with. It is quite sad that you get a better response from the PowerPC community than the actual iMac community.

The current PSU in it gives off a very soft high pitched whine while the iMac is off. I think any used PSU would be better then the current one thats inside of this one. Remember, what I got already has a giant LOAD of hours on it haha!

 

[Altemose]

The current PSU in it gives off a very soft high pitched whine while the iMac is off. I think any used PSU would be better then the current one thats inside of this one. Remember, what I got already has a giant LOAD of hours on it haha!

I was referencing checking the capacitors in the PSU unit itself. How did you find the amount of usage time on the PSU? Did you base it off the hard drive?

 

[GraniteTheWolf]

I was referencing checking the capacitors in the PSU unit itself. How did you find the amount of usage time on the PSU? Did you base it off the hard drive?

The SMART status logs on the hard drive are accurate to the whole system, for the most part. The hard drive in it is original, even the ram it came with was the original 512mb it came with.

I imagine the power on time may be actually higher for the power supply compared to the hard drive, since the hard drive may only be saving "up" time as the time it is rotating and in use. This is just a guess, but checking the SMART information on a computer's hard drive is my best way to look up actual hours of usage based on hard drive usage logging.

 

[weckart]

The current PSU in it gives off a very soft high pitched whine while the iMac is off. I think any used PSU would be better then the current one thats inside of this one. Remember, what I got already has a giant LOAD of hours on it haha!

I have an Anker 5 port USB charger that whined from new. A known ' feature' apparently and not necessarily a sign of the psu's imminent demise. I would hold off replacing the power unit unless the noise is loud enough to be irritating.

 

[GraniteTheWolf]

Finally got a few additions to the machine. Replaced the faulty iSight with a "tested" working one from eBay for super cheap! $4 is all it cost. Its also a small adventure getting into the iMac. Just as hard to work on as the G4 it replaced, or perhaps slightly easier.

Upgraded the ram from 1gb to 2.5Gb. That alone made it feel like a machine I could live on for small day to day activities.

The next time I crack it open it will be to replace the dead optical drive and probably the power supply too.

 

[Altemose]

Finally got a few additions to the machine. Replaced the faulty iSight with a "tested" working one from eBay for super cheap! $4 is all it cost. Its also a small adventure getting into the iMac. Just as hard to work on as the G4 it replaced, or perhaps slightly easier.

Upgraded the ram from 1gb to 2.5Gb. That alone made it feel like a machine I could live on for small day to day activities.

The next time I crack it open it will be to replace the dead optical drive and probably the power supply too.

If you do put a new power supply in, then I highly recommend you keep the old one as a spare part. Perhaps you could pull the cover off and see if any capacitors are failing and replace them.

 

[GraniteTheWolf]

If you do put a new power supply in, then I highly recommend you keep the old one as a spare part. Perhaps you could pull the cover off and see if any capacitors are failing and replace them.

I believe what I am hearing is the coil whining. Coil whine happens in coils that have tons of hours on them and the insulation that covers them wears off so the vibrations of the coil can be heard (or so ive read.) All coils would whine if they had no insulation on them, apparently (again, so ive read.)

I plan to open up the old one and peek around it. If I dont find any bulging caps, I figure I could order some coil specific insulation glue and coat a few things inside of it, and hang onto it as a spare.

 

[n0cus]

I believe what I am hearing is the coil whining. Coil whine happens in coils that have tons of hours on them and the insulation that covers them wears off so the vibrations of the coil can be heard (or so ive read.) All coils would whine if they had no insulation on them, apparently (again, so ive read.)

I plan to open up the old one and peek around it. If I dont find any bulging caps, I figure I could order some coil specific insulation glue and coat a few things inside of it, and hang onto it as a spare.

That sound like a good idea. I never knew about coil whine. You learn something new everyday, I guess. Good luck with your operation Dr. Granite!