Please review your 2017 iMac

[SuperSven]

Got my base model yesterday. Added 16GB RAM (27'' 2017 i5 3.4Ghz 24GB RAM 570 512GB SSD)

I did get the base model because I was afraid of the noise. But nevertheless the fans are producing a constantly whooshing noise without any load at 1196RPM/44c. And that does irritate the $# out of me.
I have a Mac Pro 2009 single CPU with 4 disks and 48gb RAM under the same desk which I do not hear at all.
At work I mostly use my 13' Air 2014 which is dead silent and an old MacBook Pro 2012 i7 which makes the same whooshing noise but A LOT less loud (until you hit the CPU load).

Second thing I dislike is the clicking noise of the mouse, never used a Magic Mouse before. It is way to loud just like the MacBook Air 2014 that one had a lot louder click than my previous are from 2012 or 13.

The only explanation I have is that the design campus was next to an airfield. Don't know what to do yet maybe I get used to it but it if I do not it is to late to return.

update: did anyone exchange their Mac and got a better one? Because some people say the have a complete silent one.

 

[SaSaSushi]

Don't know what to do yet maybe I get used to it but it if I do not it is to late to return.

If it irritates the $# out of you why try to get used to it?

Return it and get something that doesn't irritate the $# out of you instead. Life's too short.

 

[Foxglove9]

update: did anyone exchange their Mac and got a better one? Because some people say the have a complete silent one.

I'm curious too. I'm past the return window and have the noticeable fan noise, but I'm buying AppleCare in case future revisions have quieter fans I'll see about exchanging mine.

 

[triangletechie]

Finally received my 21.5" 4K model from B&H yesterday and set it up last night. Absolutely gorgeous display. This machine is just for my home office use so I got the base 3.0 processor and upgraded to 512 SSD. Boots up extremely fast and all apps and websites open instantly. Very happy with the purchase and this should last me several years. The only other iMac I have owned was a 27" 5K '15 model. But I got that one with the fusion drive which was incredibly slow and clunky for everyday usage. I was not going to make that mistake again. Night and day difference with the new SSD drive. Also love the new magic keyboard with the keypad.

The only thing that isn't great are the speakers. But I'm comparing them to the new macbook pro so probably not a fair comparison.

 

[Fishrrman]

SuperSven wrote:
"I did get the base model because I was afraid of the noise. But nevertheless the fans are producing a constantly whooshing noise without any load at 1196RPM/44c. And that does irritate the $# out of me."

What you're hearing is probably the "base level" of fan operation (1200rpm).
It's not going to get any quieter.

If you're that sensitive to noise, you have two choices:
1. Get used to it (did you ever sit next to a PowerMac g4 MDD?)
2. Get something else.

I predict that if you return it for another copy, it will still have the same fan noise...

 

[Apple_Robert]

The fan noise is hardly noticeable. The iMac is not supposed to be completely silent all the time. There is a lot of hardware underneath that has to be cooled. If you are looking for silent, look elsewhere

 

[SuperSven]

The fan noise is hardly noticeable. The iMac is not supposed to be completely silent all the time. The is a lot of hardware underneath that has to be cooled. If you are looking for silent, look elsewhere

Maybe it depends on the environment noise how to qualify the noise. And I'm not shocked it makes noise when the fans rev up. But in my opinion the iMac should be silent in IDLE state (like now; idle, 34degrees,1204 rpm) and it is not. The fan is noticeable immediately at boot (after the screen light goes on like 3 seconds or so after pressing the power button) and never goes away until I turn it off.

The iMac has 1 fan with a base rpm of 1200. I've a MacBook 2010 next to it which has 2 fans running at 2000 RPM with 80 degrees and that machine is quit. The MacBook Air is running 1200 rpm with 57degrees and that machine is quiet. Just went to a shop nearby and the 27'' 2014 model there was also quiet.

Normally when you build a computer yourself the rule is - the bigger size the fan the less noise. So therefore it is strange the iMac has biggest case but the loudest fan (or airduct) (yet again: in idle state) of these machines.

Gonna switch it out just to be sure.

 

[Mac47]

I'm in bliss. I got the 3.8 Ghz i5, 580 GPU, 1tb SSD. Haven't added any RAM; stock 8 GB seems to be sufficient for everything I do. I'm a longtime Apple user, going back to the Apple IIgs. I'm also a sucker for Apple's impractical designs. I owned a G4 cube. My previous computer before this iMac was a cylinder Mac Pro with a 4k monitor. I sold it in May, then waited a few months to get this iMac. It is so much nicer than that nMP.

My hearing is not the best, but I can't hear the fans. Games at 2560x1440 are faster than games at 1080p on the cylinder Mac Pro that was my previous computer, including the absurdly ill-optimized and taxing 3d sandbox that is Ark:Survival Evolved. I love the Magic trackpad 2 and the extended keyboard. Everything is snappy and reactions are instant. The 5k screen is fabulous: I can look at a full two-page spread in Word with comments on both pages; or four pages at once without squinting. I use nature-landscape photos for all my desktop wallpaper and screensavers because they look like the real thing at 5k.

It's the best computer I have ever owned. Insanely great. Any idea that Apple has lost its mojo is just crazy.

 

[Timotime]

Hey guys!
I`m really happy that I found this thread before I bought the new imac.

Actually I planned to buy the biggest machine with an i7. It`s not that i really need an i7 for my stuff but if I spend 2.500-3.000€ I really want to use this machine for quite a while - like 5-7 years! So - right now i don`t need this i7 but who knows what it`s like in a few years? And the only thing I can upgrade is the ram so I wanted the components that I can`t upgrade to be the best I can get right now.

Well, I found this thread and things have changed. The i7 will make noise... I read the whole thread and unfortunately this is a fact So the i7 is out for me.

My next thought was to buy the biggest machine (580 pro) but don`t make the upgrade for the i7 - instead I would stay by the i5 with 3,8 (4,2). BUT then I read that this i5 is cooler and more quiet then the i7 but it will still be hearable. Just the i5 with 3,5 (4,1) will be a lot cooler and quite most of time time. ALSO this cpu is almost as fast as the model with 3,8 (4,2).

Unfortunately I can`t buy the biggest model (580 pro) with the 3,5 (4,1) i5. Damnit! This should have been my iMac!
So what should I do? Any advice?

I could get the middle configuration (i5 3,5 (4,1) with the 575 pro) but then i won`t have the fastest graphic card. I`m not so happy with this because I can`t upgrade this graphic card. Sure, from today`s perspective this card has enough performance for all stuff I want to do with it and I could play the most games (bootcamp) with it. But also graphic cards get very fast outdated and in 4-5 years maybe I can`t play a thing with this card.


Radeon Pro 580 (27-Zoll-iMac)
36 Compute-Unites, 2304 Stream-Processors, Performance 5,5 TFlops.

Radeon Pro 575 (27-Zoll-iMac)
32 Compute-Unites, 2048 Stream-Processors, Performance 4,5 TFlops.

Radeon Pro 570 (27-Zoll-iMac)
28 Compute-Unites, 1792 Stream-Processors, Performance 3,6 TFlops.


The 580 is almost 20% faster then the 575. This could be a big difference for the lifetime!


So what should I do?

1. Buy the version with 580 pro and i5 3,8 (4,2) = 2.929€ / 3.487$ (incl. 512GB SSD + Magic Trackpad)
2. Buy the version with 575 pro and i5 3,5 (4,1) = 2.749€ / 3.272$ (incl. 512GB SSD + Magic Trackpad)

 

[RUQRU]

Hey guys!


Well, I found this thread and things have changed. The i7 will make noise... I read the whole thread and unfortunately this is a fact So the i7 is out for me.

No, you found out that the self-selected sample that added comments to this thread reported "noise."

I have the 27" i7 with 40 GB RAM, Radeon Pro 580, and for just about every task I use, I repeat, I use, the fan does not go over 1204 and makes NO NOISE!

If you read threads where only those people who have issues and complain you do not understand the entire population of people who have the machine and the portion, like myself, who have no noise. If you want the i7 get it. If, by chance, it makes noise, that you cannot tolerate, return it. But to say that this thread definitively "proves" the i7 is a "noisy" machine, then you are making an error.

Similar comments here: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/the-new-imac-is-a-lot-noisier.2051501/page-32

"As expected, on my i7 4.2GHz the fan ramps up to the max of 2700rpm within about one minute of starting the stress test...

In my regular usage after 2 months with the i7 the fan is at 1200rpm idle about 99.9% of the time. YMMV."

BOTTOM LINE

Fan speed depends on load. Depending on what you do the system fans may ramp up and make more noise than you can tolerate. However, like the user above, I rarely see my fan speed above 1204 and the machine is quite silent at low RPM.

 

[SaSaSushi]

So what should I do?

1. Buy the version with 580 pro and i5 3,8 (4,2) = 2.929€ / 3.487$ (incl. 512GB SSD + Magic Trackpad)
2. Buy the version with 575 pro and i5 3,5 (4,1) = 2.749€ / 3.272$ (incl. 512GB SSD + Magic Trackpad)

Buy the version with the 580 Pro and i7 4,2 (4,5) and don't pass on your configuration of choice based solely on something you read in a user forum.

At the very least let your own ears be the judge. I concur with RUQRU's comments above and I own the same i7, Radeon 580, 512GB SSD and 40GB.

 

[tarsins]

It would be a real shame if you didn't get the machine you want based on some people's experience. I've had my 27" 4.2 i7 580 Pro 32GB RAM 1TB SSD for nearly 2 months and I've only heard the fans once when I was setting things up and importing over 5000 photos into Photo. I'm sure if I pressed my head next to it I may be able to detect them but I'm not comfortable when I do that. Get the one you want. If you don't like it send it back, otherwise you'll always be wondering what could have been.

 

[D-MONCH]

Hi. I am thinking about getting the same imac 3.8ghz. Any comments about any loud fan noise? During the transfer of data or intense CPU usage? I have read that the i7 has an issue where the fan speed ramps up to the max.

Thanks

New member here, first ever message...

Imac 2017 27 :
I5 3.8GHZ
512 GB SSD
AMD RADEON PRO 580
32 GB (2x16) HyperX ram (removed original)
Numpad magic keyboard
Magic mouse 2

Ordered 4th august, said shipped 11th, received today 23rd august.
Previously was on a 2011 21.5 Imac that I had resurected from it's almost hibernating state since Sierra with the addition of an external booting SSD, a LaCie I chose for it's ThunderBolt 2 and USB 3.0. 2011 Imac needed TB2 and I used the USB to migrate all my datas in about 30 minutes to the new 2017 (not much, around 180 GB after huge cleaning).

Everything went smooth and fast. Unboxing, wiring, migration of 180 GB data and update to last Sierra and iTunes, all done in under 2 hours. (Happy to be on 1Gb/s optic fiber with my provider)
Only thing so far that didn't work straight out of migration was Mail, the password to be sent to my provider wasn't migrated.

Geekbench say 5481 16326 single / multi, 114665 OpenCL, everything looks fine.
Blackmagic 1900+ write, 2200+ read. Looks great.
Screen looks great ! And I like integrated nightshift, I prefer it over fLux I previously used on the 2011 model.

I'll need to get used to the keboard, I was still using really old keyboards with a totally different feeling.
Same for the mouse, I'll get used to it, or go back to old wired one.

First impressions are great !

A big thanks to all contributors to these forums and all the precious infos I got that helped me chose my config.

 

[KtothaEvin]

Drove myself nuts deciding between the i7 and the i5. I was so worried about the noise but I have had the i7 for a few days now and I haven't heard it once! I haven't done anything too strenuous but I have edited some 4k video and the computer stayed completely silent.

I added 16GB of Cosair Vengeance ram to bring my total to 24GB and I could not be happier!

I love this computer!!!

 

[Apple_Robert]

Drove myself nuts deciding between the i7 and the i5. I was so worried about the noise but I have had the i7 for a few days now and I haven't heard it once! I haven't done anything too strenuous but I have edited some 4k video and the computer stayed completely silent.

I added 16GB of Cosair Vengeance ram to bring my total to 24GB and I could not be happier!

I love this computer!!!

Glad to see you are happy. It is good that you took a leap and tested a machine for yourself, instead of relying solely on forum posts. I wish more people would do that, even if it means having to make an honest return to Apple.

 

[Timotime]

Drove myself nuts deciding between the i7 and the i5. I was so worried about the noise but I have had the i7 for a few days now and I haven't heard it once! I haven't done anything too strenuous but I have edited some 4k video and the computer stayed completely silent.

I added 16GB of Cosair Vengeance ram to bring my total to 24GB and I could not be happier!

I love this computer!!!

I absolutely have no doubt that even the i7 machine is silent if you don`t stress it. But thats not the important thing... it has to be silent if I use / stress it. If I will play a game and don`t want to use headphones it should be silent. That`s the point. That it wont be loud, if I am just surfing the web or doing some normal stuff should be nothing spezial - this should be normal...

 

[OS X Dude]

Absolutely adore it (see sig). Previous Mac was a 2011 15" i7 Pro with 512GB Samsung SSD and 8GB RAM. Still a great performer but the SSD is no match for the iMac's NVMe one and the Retina display is simply stunning. I'm absolutely in love with it. Also, very light and pretty portable when using its box for transport.

I also really like the Magic Keyboard 2. My old one is now being used with my iPad on iOS 11.

Not had any fan noise at all, contrary to many reports. Played Sims 4 on max settings for hours, nothing. Ran Logic and Pro Tools 11 for hours, nothing. Couldn't be happier. Nice to have a desktop again after 11 years of MacBooks in various guises.

 

[theluggage]

I absolutely have no doubt that even the i7 machine is silent if you don`t stress it. But thats not the important thing... it has to be silent if I use / stress it. If I will play a game and don`t want to use headphones it should be silent.

Well, that's rather a big ask - a silent machine with a 4.2GHz quad i7.

What you'll get is a machine that is near-silent under low/modest stress but which, when you light up all 8 virtual cores, starts making an audible but fairly unobtrusive rushing noise - which is probably going to be drowned out by the sound of your game or music. Plus, if you're gaming, you'll probably be fine with the i5, which plenty of people here are reporting as quiet under stress.

I'd say that the only people who should be concerned about the noise are pro-audio types who want to work with their ears set to Daredevil mode to pick out the slightest flaw in their mix while running exactly the sort of CPU-intensive real-time effects software that will ramp up the fan. Unfortunately, that's also the sort of CPU-intensive software that might benefit from the extra grunt of the i7 over the i5.

That's where Apple are lacking a decent "headless" option that could be kept in a soundproof box or sited in the next room... or could just be quieter because it had space for bigger fans and more passive cooling.

 

[EugW]

Well, that's rather a big ask - a silent machine with a 4.2GHz quad i7.

What you'll get is a machine that is near-silent under low/modest stress but which, when you light up all 8 virtual cores, starts making an audible but fairly unobtrusive rushing noise - which is probably going to be drowned out by the sound of your game or music. Plus, if you're gaming, you'll probably be fine with the i5, which plenty of people here are reporting as quiet under stress.

I'd say that the only people who should be concerned about the noise are pro-audio types who want to work with their ears set to Daredevil mode to pick out the slightest flaw in their mix while running exactly the sort of CPU-intensive real-time effects software that will ramp up the fan. Unfortunately, that's also the sort of CPU-intensive software that might benefit from the extra grunt of the i7 over the i5.

The noise was enough to partially drown out the background music of videos I was watching. It's pretty damn annoying when that happens actually.

 

[propower]

You should absolutely get the machine that pleases you!
I bought the i7, 1TBSSD 27" when it came out!
It ran too hot for my tastes and with larger multi-track audio recording and mixing sessions (30% to 50% load on all cores - not maxed out) - it started increasing the fans. For any video transcoding (music videos for youtube in my case) the fan would be on near max. In the end - I found i could fit my work in an i5 and have zero extra fan noise above idle. That suited me more. I would much prefer the i7 because in audio - cores are what limit the number of plugins. With the i5 I am always watching core use - but so far 60% is the furthest I have needed...

Just because someone prefers quiet computing doesn't make them wrong or right with respect to computers. It is a simple preference and we have choices that cover most people. Wanting power and a quiet machine is the only place where it gets harder to do with current iMacs. If you need the i7 (whether for personal or practical reasons) then you simply have to make a choice whether the iMac or today - the MacPro is the better solution.

 

[Brian Y]

Are the fans on the i7 really that big of an issue?

I'm awaiting delivery of mine - currently preparing for shipment. Got the i7/512GB SSD/580 model, and I have 64GB of RAM waiting for it. I'm coming from a heavily modified 2011 (2 SSDs + HDD, i7 CPU upgrade) and I barely ever noticed the fans on that.

I wonder if cracking it open and applying some decent thermal paste would help.

 

[Spudlicious]

I'm in bliss. I got the 3.8 Ghz i5, 580 GPU, 1tb SSD. Haven't added any RAM; stock 8 GB seems to be sufficient for everything I do. I'm a longtime Apple user, going back to the Apple IIgs. I'm also a sucker for Apple's impractical designs. I owned a G4 cube. My previous computer before this iMac was a cylinder Mac Pro with a 4k monitor. I sold it in May, then waited a few months to get this iMac. It is so much nicer than that nMP.

My hearing is not the best, but I can't hear the fans. Games at 2560x1440 are faster than games at 1080p on the cylinder Mac Pro that was my previous computer, including the absurdly ill-optimized and taxing 3d sandbox that is Ark:Survival Evolved. I love the Magic trackpad 2 and the extended keyboard. Everything is snappy and reactions are instant. The 5k screen is fabulous: I can look at a full two-page spread in Word with comments on both pages; or four pages at once without squinting. I use nature-landscape photos for all my desktop wallpaper and screensavers because they look like the real thing at 5k.

It's the best computer I have ever owned. Insanely great. Any idea that Apple has lost its mojo is just crazy.

Insanely great.... Steve Jobs would love you and your comments! And I too like to read about a happy customer.

 

[CE3]

Are the fans on the i7 really that big of an issue?

I'm awaiting delivery of mine - currently preparing for shipment. Got the i7/512GB SSD/580 model, and I have 64GB of RAM waiting for it. I'm coming from a heavily modified 2011 (2 SSDs + HDD, i7 CPU upgrade) and I barely ever noticed the fans on that.

I wonder if cracking it open and applying some decent thermal paste would help.

I’m getting the same configuration except with 32GB RAM. I almost chose the i5 because of heat and fan noise concerns, but I’ll take my chances with the i7.

Passmark puts the i5’s performance on par with the i7 in my mid-2015 MacBook Pro. My MacBook has done a good job handling the audio, photo, and video editing tasks I’ve thrown at it (and with far less dGPU power). But I want to see some gains, and there’s no question that the 7700K is the better workhorse for these tasks. I guess I’ll find out how loud of horse she is!

 

[Brian Y]

I’m getting the same configuration except with 32GB RAM. I almost chose the i5 because of heat and fan noise concerns, but I’ll take my chances with the i7.

Passmark puts the i5’s performance on par with the i7 in my mid-2015 MacBook Pro. My MacBook has done a good job handling the audio, photo, and video editing tasks I’ve thrown at it (and with far less dGPU power). But I want to see some gains, and there’s no question that the 7700K is the better workhorse for these tasks. I guess I’ll find out how loud of horse she is!

I'm really surprised the i7 with 512GB ssd isn't a standard config.

Mine arrived this morning. Put 64GB in it (crucial) - works beautifully. No fan noise at all, not even during the installation of High Sierra.

Also, it feels incredibly quick. I have a 2017 MacBook Pro which was a replacement for my dead 2014 one (too many repairs so it was replaced) - so I'm kinda used to the speed of these SSDs, but this thing blows my MBP out of the water.

 

[Cavepainter]

The Good:
Apple sent my computer to the store for pickup a week before their projected delivery date. Cool. Fantastic monitor- especially looking at high resolution photography from my full-frame digital camera- the quality of the color and texture and the image is a HUGE improvement on large images. Super snappy response with 512 SSD, very quiet operation with 3.8 I5. Happy to leave legacy ports like expensive FW800 behind. Only Thunderbolt and ubiquitous/cheaper USB 3 now! I also like the new, lower profile keyboard and it feels comfortable to use. This computer runs very cool, fast and quiet. Our film studio's Apple discount knocked $180 off my price.

The Bad:
An additional $400 for the 1TB ssd option is just too much of an upsell for me. $300 and I would have sprung for it. Count me as one of the many who found the 512 to be the sweet spot. Same for the memory upgrade- buying it separately, much cheaper, from another company, like most everybody else.

Cable/adapter Hell. Spent an hour in Fry's (with a bunch of other equally perplexed customers) poring over thousands of cable solutions from hundreds of companies. Lets see, whats the difference between USB 3.0, USB C, USB 3.1 Gen1, Gen 2, Thunderbolt 2, Thunderbolt 3, USB C is not Thunderbolt? How do I hook up a Cintiq again with a DVI cable- do I have to lose one of the 2 precious Thunderbolt ports? Should I use USB 3 for the my external storage drives? Should I buy a USB 3.0 enclosure for my 1TB Crucial SSD, or should I try to find a USB C? Or a 3.1? Or a Thunderbolt SSD enclosure?

This is still a very expensive computer when you finally get it all set up- already something like $400 over the base 3.8, $200 for a thunderbolt hub (coming soon) $150 for more memory (also coming soon), I also added $79 for a superdrive (I do need it still), $30 for extended keyboard, $40 for USB hub, $50 for etc adapters and cables, Apple really kills you on the upsell. What they don't realize is that a good portion of that money is being spent at other companies because of the Apple Tax.

In Summary:
All in all, I'm very happy with my purchase- 3.8 I5, 512GB SSD, 8GB ram, 580 w/8gb, extended keyboard. I drew a line in the sand and refused both the I7 upgrade and the 1TB SSD upgrade, both of which I really really wanted and could have afforded, but would have driven the price tag into the "honey, we better start bringing our lunches to save some money" zone.

Coming from a 2.93 I7 I had plenty of reservations "downgrading" from an i7 to an i5, but I took Macrumors' users fan noise concerns seriously and I chose the 3.8. Years ago I had a Mac Pro cheesegrater with fans that would rev up and down constantly (remember those?) and it drove me nuts- so I avoided the I7 here. My last Imac- a 2.93, could literally cook an egg it was so dam hot on the top of the case. This new model is still about twice as fast as my last computer, sometimes even faster still. I have had absolutely no regrets with the 3.8 processor- I NEVER think about the computer noise- my external storage drives (Seagate and Qdrive) make significantly more noise that the computer fan. I've had this computer for a couple weeks and I'm not sure I know what the fan sounds like if it spools up- it may or may not have done it. I don't know and I don't care- cuz I've got work to do and the machine is quiet and fast and lets me do my work without any distracting noise! Very happy with the 3.8 and the gorgeous monitor!