iMac, heat issues and windows 7?

[redri]

Hi everybody,
I recently found out that i own the game Battlefield: bad company 2 for pc (had totally forgot about it) and i really want to play this game again. The problem (or maybe not) is that i don't own a windows pc anymore. What i do own is the 2011 27" iMac: i7 3,4gHz, 4gb ram, 1tb hdd, radeon hd6970 2gb and it would be enough to play almost any of the games today. But i have a few questions and thoughts about windows on the mac.

I have read a lot about people having problems with heat when gaming under windows but i don't know if this is true because i have also heard that people have (or think they have) problem with heat under os x too.

This is what think about this:
The macs and especially the MacBooks and iMacs are getting really hot when used and thats a fact when you look at the construction. They are also built out of aluminum which generating A LOT of heat but also releasing a lot of the heat into the air again as the heat rises which you also can feel with your hand if you touch especially the iMac, it is cool on the bottom half and burning hot on the top and sometimes you can barely touch it. But for me that seems absolutely normal because me in personal have never experienced a random shut down caused by overheating or something like that and when i look at iStat Pro the temps seems absolutely normal.

An example in osx when playing WoW for hours is this:
HDD: 55-58C My hard drive can operate at 60C stated by the manufacturer and when they say 60C it is the operating temps so anything under that is absolutely harmless no matter what the whiners says.
CPU: 60-65C
GPU: 80-85C

This is absolutely normal temps and will not hurt the computer in any way.

But how is it to game in windows with bootcamp?
Is the cooling the same as in OSX?
How is your system running under windows?

I would be very pleased if the people who uses windows 7 on the mac especially for gaming can speak up and give me some feedback.

 

[88 King]

Here is the method I use to keeping the GPU cool when play games in Bootcamp.

I first boot into OSX and set the DVD fan speed to 2300 rpm and CPU fan to 1500 rpm using Fan control than restart into Bootcamp.

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/23137/fan-control

I use GPU-Z to monitor GPU temp and Mac/SMC Fan Control for Windows to adjust any speed changes within Windows.

http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/

http://sourceforge.net/projects/macfan/

With those settings my GPU is around 65C to 68C on around 88% load. Without any user intervention, the GPU can hit 95C under the same load.

Hope this helps.

P.S. I got the same machine with 1GB GPU

 

[macdudesir]

Hi everybody,
I recently found out that i own the game Battlefield: bad company 2 for pc (had totally forgot about it) and i really want to play this game again. The problem (or maybe not) is that i don't own a windows pc anymore. What i do own is the 2011 27" iMac: i7 3,4gHz, 4gb ram, 1tb hdd, radeon hd6970 2gb and it would be enough to play almost any of the games today. But i have a few questions and thoughts about windows on the mac.

I have read a lot about people having problems with heat when gaming under windows but i don't know if this is true because i have also heard that people have (or think they have) problem with heat under os x too.

This is what think about this:
The macs and especially the MacBooks and iMacs are getting really hot when used and thats a fact when you look at the construction. They are also built out of aluminum which generating A LOT of heat but also releasing a lot of the heat into the air again as the heat rises which you also can feel with your hand if you touch especially the iMac, it is cool on the bottom half and burning hot on the top and sometimes you can barely touch it. But for me that seems absolutely normal because me in personal have never experienced a random shut down caused by overheating or something like that and when i look at iStat Pro the temps seems absolutely normal.

An example in osx when playing WoW for hours is this:
HDD: 55-58C My hard drive can operate at 60C stated by the manufacturer and when they say 60C it is the operating temps so anything under that is absolutely harmless no matter what the whiners says.
CPU: 60-65C
GPU: 80-85C

This is absolutely normal temps and will not hurt the computer in any way.

But how is it to game in windows with bootcamp?
Is the cooling the same as in OSX?
How is your system running under windows?

I would be very pleased if the people who uses windows 7 on the mac especially for gaming can speak up and give me some feedback.

I haven't done any gaming but i have noticed that the temps rise and fall way more quickly than in OSX...however, they only go a few degrees C higher than OSX. Ive never had a random shutdown but again, no gaming. (let me rephrase, no hardcore gaming....18 WoS lol) I think Windows is a little more aggressive with Turbo Boost than OSX which would account for the faster rise and fall of temps...cooling shouldn't be any different in Windows because fans are controlled by the SMC not the OS...Oh and i have a 27 inch i5 2.7ghz Radeon 6770m 512mb...i know i know shoulda gotten the 6970m I'm just too impatient to save up more money plus I'm not keeping this as my primary machine for more than two years lol

 

[Spike88]

.

Me thinks that too much "stuff" is being packed into the small space of the iMac screen. And, these faster items are creating more and more heat - compared to the older days. And today, people are pushing their iMac's much faster CPU, much faster Video cards harder and harder. For example, Windows and/or hard core gaming. Intense levels of processing, heat output and time length that Apple didn't test. Or, didn't even think of testing for long enough time. Hence, the "new technology" iMacs are running hotter and hotter - compared to previous year iMacs. istats Nano (free widget) are showing the new 2011 iMacs are hotter then the previous 2010 iMacs and previous 209 iMacs. Hotter insides is the side effect of jamming more things into the same size inner box shape. Sad to say but true....

Ever see those optional laptop cooling pads that have their own fans and are powered by a USB Port or their own battery system? re: http://www.laptoppicker.com/archives/targus-chill-mat-laptop-cooling-pad.jpg

As more and more "newer technology" iMacs continue to heat up, I can see a similar device created for iMacs. Instead of being flat, they are behind the iMac screen, their power vents are under the iMac screen and they flow air "up" - into the iMac chassis. Thus, providing much better cooling then factory defaults. And, something with a physical speed dial - to allow the iMac owner to easily turn down the optional venting - to reduce fan noise. Perhaps one day, a person will design such an "optional" cooling system for the iMac boxes. Only time will tell....

As a suggestion, do purchase a little 6" variable speed desk fan and place behind the iMac screen. Extra air flow (even against its back cover) may help lower its inside temps a few degrees - which will help in the long run...

.

 

[redri]

I am not a fan of these 3:rd part programs that messes a bit with the SMC in the mac, especially when they're not built by apple them selves.
But I tried smcFanControl once on my earlier mid 2010 21,5" iMac when a thermal sensor broke on me (i am almost 100% sure it broke because of heat because it was the one connected with the bluetooth in the upper burning hot area of the chassi) and the fans started to behave very strangely and i had no problems with that program and i actually liked that i could set up presets for different use like watching movies, creating music and gameplay and the iMac stayed very cool all the time just by tweaking the fans a tiny bit. (i am not worried about the high temps but it's a cool feature)

"I use GPU-Z to monitor GPU temp and Mac/SMC Fan Control for Windows to adjust any speed changes within Windows." I am all aware about GPU-Z since pc time but is the smcFanControl also working in windows?

 

[redri]

.

Me thinks that too much "stuff" is being packed into the small space of the iMac screen. And, these faster items are creating more and more heat - compared to the older days. And today, people are pushing their iMac's much faster CPU, much faster Video cards harder and harder. For example, Windows and/or hard core gaming. Intense levels of processing, heat output and time length that Apple didn't test. Or, didn't even think of testing for long enough time. Hence, the "new technology" iMacs are running hotter and hotter - compared to previous year iMacs. istats Nano (free widget) are showing the new 2011 iMacs are hotter then the previous 2010 iMacs and previous 209 iMacs. Hotter insides is the side effect of jamming more things into the same size inner box shape. Sad to say but true....

Ever see those optional laptop cooling pads that have their own fans and are powered by a USB Port or their own battery system? re: http://www.laptoppicker.com/archives/targus-chill-mat-laptop-cooling-pad.jpg

As more and more "newer technology" iMacs continue to heat up, I can see a similar device created for iMacs. Instead of being flat, they are behind the iMac screen, their power vents are under the iMac screen and they flow air "up" - into the iMac chassis. Thus, providing much better cooling then factory defaults. And, something with a physical speed dial - to allow the iMac owner to easily turn down the optional venting - to reduce fan noise. Perhaps one day, a person will design such an "optional" cooling system for the iMac boxes. Only time will tell....

As a suggestion, do purchase a little 6" variable speed desk fan and place behind the iMac screen. Extra air flow (even against its back cover) may help lower its inside temps a few degrees - which will help in the long run...

.

I don't think that's a problem at all, at least not in OSX (in windows i don't now, that's why i'm asking). In my own experience the computers handle to keep them as cool as they need to all the time without exceeding the heat limits of the hardware.
The problem (or not a problem) i think is that apple is trying to keep them as quiet as they once where with todays hardware and therefore the hardware always needs to work on the edge of what it is suppose to do. That's perfectly fine but can seem a little bit scary sometimes.

The use for cooling pads on the iMac is absolutely not necessary because the fans can handle 4k rpm each and if you turn them all to that value i can assure you that it will stay really cool no matter of what you are doing with it. But even when i play games or making music in pro tools i have never experienced none of the fans go above 1800-2000 rpm and even at those values i can barely hear them

"And, something with a physical speed dial - to allow the iMac owner to easily turn down the optional venting - to reduce fan noise." You have these 3:rd part softwares that will do this for you, but you can't turn them below the manufacturer levels for logical safety reasons.

 

[88 King]

I am all aware about GPU-Z since pc time but is the smcFanControl also working in windows?

The smcFanControl fan settings remain the same after reboot into windows 7. Verified using Mac/SMC Fan Control for Windows (a different program use command line).

I'm running the latest SL, not sure if it will continue to work in Lion.

 

[iSayuSay]

Sorry to be a bit off topic but I have heat issue on Lion. I'm just playing around with gestures, new features etc, play itunes and browsing (dangg safari just got better)

I have iMac 3.4GHz i7 w/ 6970M

But even with those light activities I reach 75 - 80C on gpu diode and heatsink!!! (monitored via istat) and smcfancontrol disabled

Does anyone have the same issue? i mean i didnt do anything intensive and it already reach 80C. My gpu is baked, and strangely other readings are quite normal (cpu hdd psu), just the gpu!! WTF apple?

 

[redri]

Sorry to be a bit off topic but I have heat issue on Lion. I'm just playing around with gestures, new features etc, play itunes and browsing (dangg safari just got better)

I have iMac 3.4GHz i7 w/ 6970M

But even with those light activities I reach 75 - 80C on gpu diode and heatsink!!! (monitored via istat) and smcfancontrol disabled

Does anyone have the same issue? i mean i didnt do anything intensive and it already reach 80C. My gpu is baked, and strangely other readings are quite normal (cpu hdd psu), just the gpu!! WTF apple?

I've read about it this morning and you're not alone as it seems. I have the same spec as you with the 2gb upgrade on the gpu and right now when i am typing this my gpu is 47C steady and i haven't noticed anything different so it seems fine.
But i don't think you should be worried about those temps anyway, that's normal temps for a gpu under load and is not going to harm your computer and i am sure apple will fix this soon. Your fans should also start to rise a bit when the gpu temp is reaching 80-83C so don't worry.
And i hope they fix it as soon as possible.

 

[iSayuSay]

I've read about it this morning and you're not alone as it seems. I have the same spec as you with the 2gb upgrade on the gpu and right now when i am typing this my gpu is 47C steady and i haven't noticed anything different so it seems fine.
But i don't think you should be worried about those temps anyway, that's normal temps for a gpu under load and is not going to harm your computer and i am sure apple will fix this soon. Your fans should also start to rise a bit when the gpu temp is reaching 80-83C so don't worry.
And i hope they fix it as soon as possible.

Thanks for your response. Yeah, you see in Snow Leopard everything seems to run cooler, well not everything but GPU is obviously cooler, when idle or doing light activities such as browsing, music or chat .. GPU heatsink/diode's reading is 45 - 50C .. but Lion's reading with same activities increase my temp 50 - 60%. Yeah, I hope Apple fix it soon

 

[Spike88]

redri

Sorry you had bad luck with 3rd party Fan Control software. I too admit that some 3rd party Fan Control software is NOT 100% fitting for the new technology iMac models. If SMC Fan Control software didn't work for you, then perhaps iSlayer iStats Menu 3 is much better. I hear its a "better fit" for the newer iMacs. In the future, I'd like to see Fan Control utility and internal temp utility (like iStats Menus) as Mac OSX `included system utilities`.

Do keep in mind that iMacs are built for "average" user. File, print, web surfing, word processing and minor video playing / streaming. Typical "home user" computer stuff. When one pushes the iMac (especially the new iMac models) harder then normal loads, they get hot. Just like a normal built "average user" automobile gets hot when pulling "more than normal loads" up steep hills as well. Hotter = bad (in both Vehicles and within computers). Folks install 3rd party solutions (like aux ATF coolers or Engine Oil Coolers) in their vehicle and install 3rd party cooling upgrades in their computers to keep it cooler as well. Factories don't build computers for "above normal loads" (like hard core gaming and Windows 7 / Gaming loads) because it costs more. With this in mind, you're iMac is heating up because its being "pushed" harder then normal loads. Remember Hotter = bad.

One doesn't need to install "better" cooling (like a small silent fan behind their iMac screen or 3rd party fan control software) when pushing their iMacs above normal loads. Its a free world and some folks don't believe in "proactive protection". If you want to keep the iMac (or tow vehicle) running cooler under heavy load conditions, then install "better then factory" cooling upgrades. If one solution doesn't work for your new technology iMac model, then use a different solution. I hear iStats Menu (a bought solution) works good. And, I hear a low cost 6" fan behind the "loaded down" iMac screen helps lower its inside temps as well...

.