Imac Temperature

[Trekker24689]

HI

I have an Imac Mid 2011 with 16GB Memory.

I am finding the top of the monitor really hot (i usually leave the mac on as i don't have a SDD and takes a bit loading up sometimes). At the moment i have a small desk fan at the back facing up to cool it down.

I am not doing anything heavy i am just browsing the web using firefox or chrome and downloading videos etc. The only heavy thing is Football manager 2019 which i close everything down when i use it.

The temp of the Computer at the moment (only have mail and chrome open) is 54 CPU and 51 HD (had the fan on for about 25 mins). (attached is a screenshot from istat) . The temp before the fan was 58 to 59 when the top of the monitor was very hot.

Not sure what the temp should be normally but it was the heat at the top of the monitor when i was moving it a little that i thought was not right.

Im using Mac Sierra High (10.13.6)

Cheers

Keith

 

[chscag]

The top of your iMac is where the exhausted warm air leaves the machine and normally is hot. Just make sure that the bottom air intakes are not blocked or covered with fuzz or dust. The iStat temps that you show and the three fans speeds are in the normal range. I'm using my iMac in an air conditioned room where the ambient temperature is set at 78 degrees F. And even at that, the top of my iMac and back exhaust opening is warm.

 

[Wickintime]

Hi Trekker

Are you telling us degrees Centigrade or degrees Fahrenheit???

 

[Trekker24689]

Thanks for the replies. Sorry should have mentioned in the original post. The temp is in Centigrade.

Thats good to know about the top and bottom. the bottom is not blocked at the moment and will keep checking it.

 

[alisalem]

The temps you're seeing are completely normal. It's all about the utilization of your CPU and the frequencies it's hitting.

My 2019 i5 iMac idles around low 40's, but jumps instantly up to 70 whenever I open a website on Chrome in a new tab, especially if it's a 4K YouTube video, but then drops quickly back to mid 40's. Here's a quick video of my temps: https://www.dropbox.com/s/1upydstlxacgehx/istat_temps.mov?dl=0

You can install Intel Power Gadget to see your CPU frequency in iStat.

 

[Trekker24689]

HI

Thanks for that. just reassurance i guess. I am playing FM 2019 for the past few hours (more like 4-5) and the system is at 60. Just downloaded Intel Power Gadget.

 

[Trekker24689]

This is What Power Gadget comes up with. If that sounds good then as mentioned reassurance.

 

[Bertrude]

I have a 2011 iMac too with High Sierra and those temps seem OK to me. Probably idles in the 40's though.

If I'm gaming, they go up to around the 70's (possibly higher) but I try to mitigate it by using 'smcFanControl' which have set up with a variety of fan speeds - I just manually kick them up or down depending on what's happening. Lowering the resolution and using vsync to keep frames per second down/stable on certain games helps too, depending on how demanding they are (I'm not sure about Footy Manager 2019).

 

[alisalem]

Completely normal.. Mine just passed 90 while playing Batman Arkham Asylum which is like a 10 year old game.

 

[Trekker24689]

Will have a look at smcFanControl. Someone mentioned it but was not sure how to use it. . The only thing with FM is when playing the match as is a bit more on the graphics.
[doublepost=1564874534][/doublepost]Wow, Thanks for that. never had it that high before.

 

[alisalem]

Will have a look at smcFanControl. Someone mentioned it but was not sure how to use it. . The only thing with FM is when playing the match as is a bit more on the graphics.
[doublepost=1564874534][/doublepost]Wow, Thanks for that. never had it that high before.

No worries. These iMacs are designed to run hot, so don't sweat it.

 

[Bertrude]

Here's a screen shot of smcFanControls preferences. You just set up some Favourites with the plus button and the sliders then you can use the pull down menu from the main menu bar to select different favourites for the active setting.

I ended up creating ones for low, medium, medium-low, medium-high, high and full and have settled on a medium-high when I'm gaming. It's a little noisy but I stop noticing after a while and rather keep the internal temps down a bit having had the graphics card pack in after 4 years.

 

[Trekker24689]

Thanks Bertrude.

I have downloaded and use the same settings for the moment. I have never changed any setting since i got my mac so this is a first.

Will have a look and make other favourites.

 

[Cruz3LT]

No worries. These iMacs are designed to run hot, so don't sweat it.

They are not designed to run hot, they are designed to be quiet. They will cook to death before you hear the fans come on.

 

[Wickintime]

I have a 2012 iMac (21 inch) which even with heavy use has never felt even slightly warm. When I opened it up to fit an SSD there was a decent amount of dust on the fan. I was quite surprised as I have always worked in a very low dust environment.

Your iMac is 8 years old. I suspect your cooling fan is clogged up and you should clean it out as a matter of urgency. There is not much point in making it spin faster or more often if it is struggling to move a decent volume of air.

 

[Trekker24689]

Wickintime

I probably should do that but i don't really want to open it up and make a mistake. The Temp is at the moment is 42c and the fan is not making a noise at all it was just the heat at the top of the monitor.

I might have a loot at a video on Youtube and see. The only time i opened it was about 6 years ago to upgrade the memory.

 

[Cruz3LT]

Wickintime

I probably should do that but i don't really want to open it up and make a mistake. The Temp is at the moment is 42c and the fan is not making a noise at all it was just the heat at the top of the monitor.

I might have a loot at a video on Youtube and see. The only time i opened it was about 6 years ago to upgrade the memory.

it’s really easy on this generation. Take the glass off, take out 8 screws, and then disconnect 3 cables. There are 3 fans, with one being behind the logic board. Blow some compressed air in there and get the dust out.

 

[Trekker24689]

Will still think about it . Looked at a few links on google and most people said don't open the mac just to clean dust out unless you are going to do something else inside. just use compressed air on the back air vents when the mac is off. As mentioned there is no noise in the fan so it is not really overheating that i know off (and you guys mentioned)

 

[Cruz3LT]

Will still think about it . Looked at a few links on google and most people said don't open the mac just to clean dust out unless you are going to do something else inside. just use compressed air on the back air vents when the mac is off. As mentioned there is no noise in the fan so it is not really overheating that i know off (and you guys mentioned)

I don't care what everyone else says on the internet, in order for you to actually get the machine clean, you have to disassemble it. What happens with years of dust and moisture? You get a cake like substance that collects on the fan blades which makes it hard to get it off without direct contact. Just spraying compressed air in the rear vents will not do anything at all because of all the stuff that is in the way. My 2011 would not pass diagnostic's due to the HDD fan not being able to spin to max. It recommended replacing the fan. I pulled the iMac apart and cleaned the fan and it all worked perfect afterwards.

Like I said in an earlier post, you won't hear the fans ever, doesn't mean it is not overheating. Apple set it up that the fans will never ramp up enough to hear them. If you won't clean it, take it to apple or a certified repair facility and pay them to do it.

 

[Trekker24689]

Mmm that sounds like good advice. Thanks. Will have a think when im not busy and see what i can do to clean it.