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I got the new base model imac retina yesterday and I am noticing a very subtle but consistent noise. I don't think it's the fan but the processor. The best way I can explain is that the noise sounds like the processing noise when you first turn on a computer. Normally that sound dies off when the computer finishes loading and you're at the desktop but it was constant yesterday.

Is this normal?
 
If your machine has a HDD or FD, it could be you're hearing the hard drive at work. Since you just got it yesterday, it might be Spotlight indexing stuff or the FD moving things around to optimize itself.

I got the new base model imac retina yesterday and I am noticing a very subtle but consistent noise. I don't think it's the fan but the processor. The best way I can explain is that the noise sounds like the processing noise when you first turn on a computer. Normally that sound dies off when the computer finishes loading and you're at the desktop but it was constant yesterday.

Is this normal?
 
The "yes" processes only uses CPU and the Valley is not using the GPU to the fullest. What would be interesting to know is running the furmark benchmark on this configuration. This uses the GPU to the max....

:)
iMac 27" late 2013 (Core i7-4771 3,5 GHz / GeForce GTX 780M)
11 "yes" processes and Furmark benchmark running, after 10 mn :)

201505_stress-test-mac.png
 
Hi, I'm planning to buy the maxed out retina Imac soon, for work in the Adobe CC suite and heavy gaming in bootcamp. I have some questions:

1. Has anyone tried underclocking the m295x in Windows or in OSX? Does sacrificing some performance help with the heat/noise in games at all?

2. Anyone got the "refreshed" retina Imac with m295x already? I know it's (in specs) the same machine, but perhaps Apple handled the heat/noise issue in some way?

3. My current iMac is late 2011, which gets quite noisy under heavy usage in games. Can anyone, who had it as well, compare it to the noise of the maxed retina Imac?

Thanks in advance!
 
3. My current iMac is late 2011, which gets quite noisy under heavy usage in games. Can anyone, who had it as well, compare it to the noise of the maxed retina Imac?

I have the 2011 iMac and compared to the maxed out Retina iMac (that I returned) I can say that the Retina iMac is much louder than the 2011 iMac when pushing it (which as you can see from this thread happened quite easily on my machine). However, when idling the Retina iMac was near silent while the 2011 iMac does make some noise even when idling.
 
Does anyone know how the new iMac perform when it comes to fan noise? Is it the same or have Apple solved the problem?

I'm still waiting for my new iMac to arrive, but found some information in Apple Support site.

The thermal output on the new CPU i7 4.0 GHz is 819 BTU/h vs 983 BTU/h for the old i7 4.0 GHz. The question is if that will make any differens regarding the overheating issues.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201918

Screenshot 2015-10-19 10.48.09.png
 
Thanks a lot. Sounds good. Will you post your results when your new IMAC up and running?

Best regards
 
I'm still waiting for my new iMac to arrive, but found some information in Apple Support site.

The thermal output on the new CPU i7 4.0 GHz is 819 BTU/h vs 983 BTU/h for the old i7 4.0 GHz. The question is if that will make any differens regarding the overheating issues.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201918

View attachment 593720

I think a 17% reduction in heat output from what is a significant heat source in the iMac will undoubtedly make a difference.

The question is whether it makes enough of a difference and what the output figures are for the various GPUs.

People talk about the 395 and 395X being just rebadged 295 and 295Xs. From a performance viewpoint there may be little or no difference between the GPU's, however I would suspect that there is a little more difference than just a different name, probably a minor re-design that results in lower heat output for equivalent performance.

From a business perspective, every return on AppleCare costs Apple money. they would much rather sell you the AppleCare and never have you make a claim.

There is a clear business benefit to them in making the most reliable computer possible.

If there is an identifiable benefit to Apple in reducing the thermal output then they will do so.
 
I think a 17% reduction in heat output from what is a significant heat source in the iMac will undoubtedly make a difference.

The question is whether it makes enough of a difference and what the output figures are for the various GPUs.

People talk about the 395 and 395X being just rebadged 295 and 295Xs. From a performance viewpoint there may be little or no difference between the GPU's, however I would suspect that there is a little more difference than just a different name, probably a minor re-design that results in lower heat output for equivalent performance.

From a business perspective, every return on AppleCare costs Apple money. they would much rather sell you the AppleCare and never have you make a claim.

There is a clear business benefit to them in making the most reliable computer possible.

If there is an identifiable benefit to Apple in reducing the thermal output then they will do so.
 
I hope you're right. But I am afraid that new slim designed IMAC combined with retina display makes it difficult to make a powerful machine without fan noise.
 
Does anyone know how the new iMac perform when it comes to fan noise? Is it the same or have Apple solved the problem?

I would be very interested in this aspect as well. Especially on the impact of the different GPU options in the noise level of the fan..
For me the choice of the GPU is dominated by the overall noise level of the iMac.
 
I wonder if the heat and noise problems in the first edition 5K i7 iMacs now have been resolved at the 2nd edition?
I'd rather not invest in a noisy i7 iMac, because I prefer a lesser performance with i5 noisy than its boiling over iMac :)
 
I'm still waiting for my new iMac to arrive, but found some information in Apple Support site.

The thermal output on the new CPU i7 4.0 GHz is 819 BTU/h vs 983 BTU/h for the old i7 4.0 GHz. The question is if that will make any differens regarding the overheating issues.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201918

View attachment 593720

Notes

  1. Power consumption data (watts) is measured from the wall power source and includes all power supply and system losses. Additional correction is not needed.
  2. "CPU Max" is defined as running a compute-intensive test application that maximizes processor usage and therefore power consumption.
  3. These numbers reflect a 23°C (73.4° F) ambient running environment. Increased ambient temperatures will require faster fan speeds which will increase power consumption. At 35° C (95° F), 50 W should be added to reflect increased power consumption.
So the numbers seem to be for the whole system. I also noted that the late 2015 has the M390 not the M395 or M395X, so not really an apples to apples comparison.
 
Really interested in the heat / fan noise of an i7 + M395X configuration. I'm just waiting on the benchmarks before ordering my saved basket :)
 
Really interested in the heat / fan noise of an i7 + M395X configuration. I'm just waiting on the benchmarks before ordering my saved basket :)

I too was concerned about this after reading all the threads re the late-2014 i7 noise issues. But pulled the trigger last week and ordered the new i7 + M395X + 1TB SSD + 8GB RAM (to be upgraded if I decide to keep this machine). it arrived yesterday.

Haven't put it through too much as of yet but in regular usage for me, which is software development (web and mobile apps), I am extremely happy with this purchase.

Point of reference, I am coming from a late-2011 27-inch imac i7 + AMD6970 2GB + 16GB Ram + 256GB OWC SSD + 1TB HDD (factory installed).

In regular usage the new retina iMac is noticeably quieter than my late-2011 iMac, which in itself was already pretty quiet (I had no complaints about it and I am fairly particular about noisy fans and such). It also runs much cooler to the touch (the case of the late-2011 would get HOT even under normal use, although the fans didn't spin up extra, it's just designed that way I guess). the new retina iMac still feels cool to the touch even after running for several hours, again regular usage.

regular usage for me being usually 3 browsers open with average 10 tabs per browser, photoshop open and generally some image or other loaded in (screenshot, mockup etc), software IDE running and/or Xcode, office suite running (maybe word, excel, depending on need), mail running, skype, itunes playing somthing or other. So no video encoding or "heavy" photoshop or lightroom work going on most of the time.

using SMC fan control, the main temp (it doesn't seem to break out component temps on this new machine) hovers around 43 degrees and fan is always around 1200rpm, which at that speed is nearly inaudible to me when sitting in front of the machine using it. I have to go around the back and put my ear close to the vent to hear the fan.

By comparison, my late-2011 27-inch iMac would have fan speed around 1000-1,1100 for same sort of usage but the fan was noticeably MORE audible than the new retina iMacs, even though the new iMac is running at a higher fan speed. Maybe it has to do with an older fan versus a newer fan?

I'm not a big benchmark person, so can't help too much there, but I did run Unigine Heaven on the new machine and at any quality setting (medium, high or ultra), the fan speed remained the same at 1,200rpm, although GPU temp reported by Unigine did go up as high as 98 degrees, but still no audible fan noise (I turned speakers off so I could listen out for that).

Also did run a 1.5GB MP4 convert to MKV handbrake encode job on both the late-2011 and the new retina iMac. in both cases, the fans did spin up quite a bit after a short while, going as high as 2,600rpm on the late-2011 and 2,700rpm on the new iMac. Fan definitely audible at those speeds. The new retina iMac, while the fans did go faster than the late-2011, it completed the job almost 5 minutes faster. It also cooled down much quicker with the fan speed dropping back to 1200 in under 1 minute once the job was done.

The screen is of course, gorgeous, and the main reason why I bought this new machine as I am staring at the screen pretty much all day at lots of text, so crisp, sharp text definition is so much easier on my eyes. I also opted for the new magic trackpad 2 (didn't like the original trackpad, never got used to it) just to try it out, see if would like it. So far, definitely prefer it to the old one, but not sure yet if i wont go back to my trusty logitech laser mouse).

so far, I am very happy with this purchase and have no regrets, but in fairness, it's only been 1 full day of usage and now around another half day of usage.

hope this rather unscientific but layman's experience helps!
 
I like this kind of review, thanks for posting it. I too do a lot of development, though mine requires me to run many virtual machines with 2GB of RAM each, so I put the extra memory to good use. Otherwise everything I run isn't taking advantage of all the impressive hardware. I just want the screen. Crisp text becomes even more meaningful when it's all you do.

I bought my machine maxed out to make sure the experience was as fast as possible for as long as possible. I want web pages to snap into place. I want animations and transitions to be as smooth as possible. I want to casually play games now and then. Basically, I want an all-in-one. Work, play. :)

Also good to hear about the trackpad. I've been thinking I might try to force myself to use one, but there's a lack of accuracy I find frustrating.

I too was concerned about this after reading all the threads re the late-2014 i7 noise issues. But pulled the trigger last week and ordered the new i7 + M395X + 1TB SSD + 8GB RAM (to be upgraded if I decide to keep this machine). it arrived yesterday.

Haven't put it through too much as of yet but in regular usage for me, which is software development (web and mobile apps), I am extremely happy with this purchase.

Point of reference, I am coming from a late-2011 27-inch imac i7 + AMD6970 2GB + 16GB Ram + 256GB OWC SSD + 1TB HDD (factory installed).

In regular usage the new retina iMac is noticeably quieter than my late-2011 iMac, which in itself was already pretty quiet (I had no complaints about it and I am fairly particular about noisy fans and such). It also runs much cooler to the touch (the case of the late-2011 would get HOT even under normal use, although the fans didn't spin up extra, it's just designed that way I guess). the new retina iMac still feels cool to the touch even after running for several hours, again regular usage.

regular usage for me being usually 3 browsers open with average 10 tabs per browser, photoshop open and generally some image or other loaded in (screenshot, mockup etc), software IDE running and/or Xcode, office suite running (maybe word, excel, depending on need), mail running, skype, itunes playing somthing or other. So no video encoding or "heavy" photoshop or lightroom work going on most of the time.

using SMC fan control, the main temp (it doesn't seem to break out component temps on this new machine) hovers around 43 degrees and fan is always around 1200rpm, which at that speed is nearly inaudible to me when sitting in front of the machine using it. I have to go around the back and put my ear close to the vent to hear the fan.

By comparison, my late-2011 27-inch iMac would have fan speed around 1000-1,1100 for same sort of usage but the fan was noticeably MORE audible than the new retina iMacs, even though the new iMac is running at a higher fan speed. Maybe it has to do with an older fan versus a newer fan?

I'm not a big benchmark person, so can't help too much there, but I did run Unigine Heaven on the new machine and at any quality setting (medium, high or ultra), the fan speed remained the same at 1,200rpm, although GPU temp reported by Unigine did go up as high as 98 degrees, but still no audible fan noise (I turned speakers off so I could listen out for that).

Also did run a 1.5GB MP4 convert to MKV handbrake encode job on both the late-2011 and the new retina iMac. in both cases, the fans did spin up quite a bit after a short while, going as high as 2,600rpm on the late-2011 and 2,700rpm on the new iMac. Fan definitely audible at those speeds. The new retina iMac, while the fans did go faster than the late-2011, it completed the job almost 5 minutes faster. It also cooled down much quicker with the fan speed dropping back to 1200 in under 1 minute once the job was done.

The screen is of course, gorgeous, and the main reason why I bought this new machine as I am staring at the screen pretty much all day at lots of text, so crisp, sharp text definition is so much easier on my eyes. I also opted for the new magic trackpad 2 (didn't like the original trackpad, never got used to it) just to try it out, see if would like it. So far, definitely prefer it to the old one, but not sure yet if i wont go back to my trusty logitech laser mouse).

so far, I am very happy with this purchase and have no regrets, but in fairness, it's only been 1 full day of usage and now around another half day of usage.

hope this rather unscientific but layman's experience helps!
 
I'm not a big benchmark person, so can't help too much there, but I did run Unigine Heaven on the new machine and at any quality setting (medium, high or ultra), the fan speed remained the same at 1,200rpm, although GPU temp reported by Unigine did go up as high as 98 degrees, but still no audible fan noise (I turned speakers off so I could listen out for that).

Hi, can you pos the Heaven scores on ultra quality? Screenshot of it would be ideal, I think a lot of people are trying to figure out the difference between the 395x and 395
 
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Otherwise everything I run isn't taking advantage of all the impressive hardware. I just want the screen. Crisp text becomes even more meaningful when it's all you do.

I bought my machine maxed out to make sure the experience was as fast as possible for as long as possible. I want web pages to snap into place. I want animations and transitions to be as smooth as possible. I want to casually play games now and then. Basically, I want an all-in-one. Work, play. :)

Also good to hear about the trackpad. I've been thinking I might try to force myself to use one, but there's a lack of accuracy I find frustrating.

Yes, it was almost all about the screen for me, as my previous 2011 iMac is/was certainly still very much up to snuff performance wise for my usage. the retina screen is amazing.

re trackpad: yes, my accuracy isn't as "natural" as it is with the mouse, but I'm trying to give it time and see how it goes. I do like the wide array of gestures available that you dont get with a mouse (especially a third party mouse), and that can a time saver once the muscle memory is there and you don't have to think about what gesture to use in a given situation
 
Hi, can you pos the Heaven scores on ultra quality? Screenshot of it would be ideal, I think a lot of people are trying to figure out the difference between the 395x and 395

I'll try to gather that later today if I get some time. I did notice that on ultra quality when i ran unigine yesterday the FPS dropped quite low (teens I think?) and there was jerkiness, so it's probably lower than most people would consider "playable" in a game situation. that said, to my eyes the medium quality was already quite stunning, and movement was smooth, so personally I'd be happy playing a game at that sort of quality (if I was to game that is... which I generally don't...)
 
I got the new base model imac retina yesterday and I am noticing a very subtle but consistent noise. I don't think it's the fan but the processor. The best way I can explain is that the noise sounds like the processing noise when you first turn on a computer. Normally that sound dies off when the computer finishes loading and you're at the desktop but it was constant yesterday.

Is this normal?

Its called a "coil whine". I had similar issues on a Mac Pro. Apparently some people can hear at that frequency, and others cannot. From my research (on the Mac Pro), nobody really understands the source. Some say its the fan, others say its the power supply, and yet others think its the GPU. So who knows.

I know this doesn't really help, but thought you might like to know the technical term for research/troubleshooting.
 
Hi, can you pos the Heaven scores on ultra quality? Screenshot of it would be ideal, I think a lot of people are trying to figure out the difference between the 395x and 395

I can't run the full benchmark now as using the machine for lots of other stuff. but posting a few screenshots at Ultra quality. GPU temps and FPS can be seen in top right corner.

50zjcf8.jpg


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