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GrantMeThePower

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 12, 2011
114
0
Hi guys, first post.

I've been a windows user for my whole life. I wouldn't call myself "very" advanced, but i've built my fair share of boxes. Gaming, HTPC, you name it. I've sort of given up hope that it will ever run the way i want it to. Smoothly. There are always contradicting updates and sleep/standby problems, wake up problems...half the time is spent just making it work and, in the immortal words of Danny Glover, I'm getting to old for this $h!t

That leads me to a Mac. One of my major uses is photo managment and photo editing. I still use CS2, so i'm not on the bleeding edge and its a hobby not a profession, but it is one i enjoy and when i get a new computer i'm sure i'll update the software as well.

I'm leaning toward an iMac over a Macbook Pro becasue i think i would like the larger screen, and the increased power (once the update comes along).

I'm trying, though, to figure where to put it in my house. I've never had such a large monitor before (they were always either my tv itself, or a laptop) and i live in a small home.

One thing i was thinking about was using it in the bedroom. Does anyone do that? How loud does it run? How about when it is sleeping? Is it really silent?
 

vancleef

macrumors member
Mar 11, 2011
35
0
Hi guys, first post.

I've been a windows user for my whole life. I wouldn't call myself "very" advanced, but i've built my fair share of boxes. Gaming, HTPC, you name it. I've sort of given up hope that it will ever run the way i want it to. Smoothly. There are always contradicting updates and sleep/standby problems, wake up problems...half the time is spent just making it work and, in the immortal words of Danny Glover, I'm getting to old for this $h!t

That leads me to a Mac. One of my major uses is photo managment and photo editing. I still use CS2, so i'm not on the bleeding edge and its a hobby not a profession, but it is one i enjoy and when i get a new computer i'm sure i'll update the software as well.

I'm leaning toward an iMac over a Macbook Pro becasue i think i would like the larger screen, and the increased power (once the update comes along).

I'm trying, though, to figure where to put it in my house. I've never had such a large monitor before (they were always either my tv itself, or a laptop) and i live in a small home.

One thing i was thinking about was using it in the bedroom. Does anyone do that? How loud does it run? How about when it is sleeping? Is it really silent?

Asleep it's completely silent. While on, it's close to it.
 

W1MRK

macrumors 6502
Dec 9, 2010
295
1
I live in a small apt and my wife and I both have our 21.5 mid 2010 iMacs side by side in the bedroom which is 12x14. Quiet, real quiet. I had a 8 fan Full size tower setup that sounded like a Huey helicopter. Big change once I switched. You can feel free to put it in your room. The audio from it is also quite satisfactory to my needs for ambient music while sleeping.

Rest assured it is a quite machine

Mike - models I have listed below

Hi guys, first post.

I've been a windows user for my whole life. I wouldn't call myself "very" advanced, but i've built my fair share of boxes. Gaming, HTPC, you name it. I've sort of given up hope that it will ever run the way i want it to. Smoothly. There are always contradicting updates and sleep/standby problems, wake up problems...half the time is spent just making it work and, in the immortal words of Danny Glover, I'm getting to old for this $h!t

That leads me to a Mac. One of my major uses is photo managment and photo editing. I still use CS2, so i'm not on the bleeding edge and its a hobby not a profession, but it is one i enjoy and when i get a new computer i'm sure i'll update the software as well.

I'm leaning toward an iMac over a Macbook Pro becasue i think i would like the larger screen, and the increased power (once the update comes along).

I'm trying, though, to figure where to put it in my house. I've never had such a large monitor before (they were always either my tv itself, or a laptop) and i live in a small home.

One thing i was thinking about was using it in the bedroom. Does anyone do that? How loud does it run? How about when it is sleeping? Is it really silent?
 

Hellhammer

Moderator emeritus
Dec 10, 2008
22,164
582
Finland
I have my 24" in my bedroom. I would say it is around 2 meters away from my head when I'm laying on my bed. The fan makes a slight sound when it's running but it's not bad, you can barely hear it. When it's in sleep mode, there is absolutely no sound at all (RAM is the only component that is powered and it needs no fan).
 

TMRaven

macrumors 68020
Nov 5, 2009
2,099
1
It is completely silent while in sleep, virtually completely silent while in use, unless you're doing some intensive stuff for a while, and the fans have to pick up. CS2 isn't that intensive.
 

Jolly Giant

macrumors 6502a
Sep 15, 2010
646
0
Hamburg, Germany
One thing i was thinking about was using it in the bedroom. Does anyone do that?

i for one.

How loud does it run?

hardly noticing it. doing a lot of movie conversions over night which tends to make the fans spin up occasionally but, from a certain distance (2 meters) it's hardly noticeable.

How about when it is sleeping? Is it really silent?

yes, extremely. my MBP (which downloads the movies) is noisier.
 

ZombieZakk

macrumors 6502
Feb 23, 2011
353
25
mines completely silent it sits across the room from my bed about 7-8 feet away and i cant here it at all if your doing processes you might hear some noise but when asleep its dead quiet
 

Shattentor

macrumors member
Mar 30, 2011
64
1
Germany
My iMac (see sig) is definitly very qiet, I would say almost not noticable except in complete silence. Also the fans kick in much later than on a Macbook due to the larger aluminum body which makes a great heatspreader. I can run an intensive Pro Tools session with many virtual instruments parallel to 2 Logic sessions without any noticable noise.

I'd say the iMac is as qiet as performance gets in an out-of-the-box desktop computer.
 

GrantMeThePower

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 12, 2011
114
0
Awesome! Thanks for the responses, guys.

I'm thinking the bedroom may be the way i have to go with it, though I'd rather do work on the computer in the living room. i just dont think i have the space outside of the bedroom. You have eased my concerns with the sound, which was an issue with a DVR i had in there before. The box would constantly make noise.
 

blevins321

macrumors 68030
Dec 24, 2010
2,768
96
Detroit, MI
Awesome! Thanks for the responses, guys.

I'm thinking the bedroom may be the way i have to go with it, though I'd rather do work on the computer in the living room. i just dont think i have the space outside of the bedroom. You have eased my concerns with the sound, which was an issue with a DVR i had in there before. The box would constantly make noise.

Yeah you should be good. Even if the iMac starts whirring with age, it's an excuse to make some racket in the bedroom ;)
 

BobbyCat

macrumors regular
Jul 22, 2002
167
6
Beyond
I'm thinking the bedroom may be the way i have to go with it, though I'd rather do work on the computer in the living room. i just dont think i have the space outside of the bedroom.

Since you have such a small living room, maybe you should consider sleeping in it and live in the sleeping room instead :p

Anyway, sleeping with the Mac is a must, always :)
 

harcosparky

macrumors 68020
Jan 14, 2008
2,055
2
We have a 24" iMac in the bedroom. As far as noise, I cannot hear it for the birds in the trees outside our house.

We have amplified speakers on is so we can here the TV and movies that we occasionally watch.

Looking at a new one?????

Consider this ........

My 24" iMac is 4 years old and we are looking to upgrade. I was excited thinking about getting a new 27" iMac, then I had a thought.

Why not by a new Macbook Pro, and add an eternal monitor say about 30" to it.

This way I can pick the screen I like best for photo editing as I do a lot of that and have the portability of the Macbook Pro.

Sure that will cost a little more than a new iMac, but ever try carrying an iMac around in a brief case? :D
 

Detosx

macrumors regular
Aug 27, 2010
117
0
Recent iMacs are usually quiet unless you are driving them hard and the fans come on, but I was unlucky, re noisy Seagate hard drive problem; most Seagate batches are quiet but, in my case, it's not something I could sleep through, being a bassy rumble rather than the chatter you might be used to with some desktop computer hard drives. It is still audible with foam-type earplugs. Again, as people say above, unless you get unlucky, it is quiet in regular use.
 

MonkeySee....

macrumors 68040
Sep 24, 2010
3,858
437
UK
Hi guys, first post.

I've been a windows user for my whole life. I wouldn't call myself "very" advanced, but i've built my fair share of boxes. Gaming, HTPC, you name it. I've sort of given up hope that it will ever run the way i want it to. Smoothly. There are always contradicting updates and sleep/standby problems, wake up problems...half the time is spent just making it work and, in the immortal words of Danny Glover, I'm getting to old for this $h!t

That leads me to a Mac. One of my major uses is photo managment and photo editing. I still use CS2, so i'm not on the bleeding edge and its a hobby not a profession, but it is one i enjoy and when i get a new computer i'm sure i'll update the software as well.

I'm leaning toward an iMac over a Macbook Pro becasue i think i would like the larger screen, and the increased power (once the update comes along).

I'm trying, though, to figure where to put it in my house. I've never had such a large monitor before (they were always either my tv itself, or a laptop) and i live in a small home.

One thing i was thinking about was using it in the bedroom. Does anyone do that? How loud does it run? How about when it is sleeping? Is it really silent?

I use my mac in my bedroom it is so quiet i forget its on sometimes. The only thing you should focus on is the external hardrive. (assuming you're using it for back up etc) I have the WD My Book and its pretty quiet also. :)
 

RiceKilla

macrumors member
Jan 23, 2011
42
0
You'll have no qualms about it being in the bedroom.

I was in your situation, windows user my whole life, and recently purchased my first mac this past January 2011.

You won't be disappointed. it has to be the quietest computer I've owned. Before I had a dell that was quiet as well, but this iMac is DEAD SILENT!

I used to have a gaming rig with a ton of blue LEDs and 6 fans on it one of them being 80mm, that was not fun, especially when trying to sleep.
 
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