Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

smcFanControl Fan Setting Recomendation PLEASE

R

ratherbfishn

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 30, 2011
12
2
My imac5,1 has all the problems that everyone else bitches about their iMacs on this board. I just installed smcFanControl. What fan settings should I use? What has worked for you? Thanks


Model Identifier: iMac5,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.16 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 4 MB
Memory: 4 GB
Bus Speed: 667 MHz
Boot ROM Version: IM51.0090.B09
 
Do you experience any high temperatures? Have you monitored the temperatures and the CPU usage yet?

I normally use SMC Fan Control only when the temps rise above 80° C, but that is only during high CPU usage.
 
65C after 5 mins of Hulu video and slowly climbing. The machine freezes/shuts down after about 10-15 mins of video. Getting random green horizontal lines across the screen too. Not too reliable at this point. Any ideas welcome. Thanks
 
that is far from normal that it is freezing ,i hope you mean the GPU at 65 which would be acceptable when watching flash based things and not the CPU


and yes i start again , clean your iMac inside , very likely as it is a old(more then a couple month) iMac it will be full of dust , and smc will drop the temp a bit , but that is only a short term solution of a couple weeks maybe ,then you have to constantly rise the fan speed again and again until the iMac gives up for good

why is everybody concerned about the temperature but nobody is maintaining his iMac like it should be done regular , even in the cleanest house is dust and the dust gets soaked up inside and clocks up the fin's of the heatsinks of both CPU and GPU

..why is everyone thinking that dust you will only find in ugly windows boxes ?
 
Last edited:
65c for the cpu? gpu? hdd? 65c is a perfectly reasonable temperature for the cpu/gpu. Your problem might be stemming from something else.
 
65 degree celsius is not normal for the cpu after just 5 minutes hulu
my CPU never ever rises above 47 not even when i rip dvd's and convert to avi not even after dozens of dvd's in one go neither when i watch online tv flash based HD content and i only have a old core duo iMac, sure the GPU eventually hits 69 degree which is normal for a GPU
and my fans only idle along at minimum speeds , but like i said my iMac is clean inside like a operating-theater in a hospital

but the constant rise and of temp inclusive freezing could also mean that maybe one fan is not working any more
 
Last edited:
Nah those cpus are rated at 100c. There has to be something wrong hardware wise, as 65c is a perfectly acceptable temperature for a cpu (unless temperature sensor is wrong)

Give hardware test a spin.
 
Dusting is a good idea. Any other ideas to fix my machine?

I don't know about everyone else, but I opened my imac up about a year ago and replaced a failed HD and added RAM. I dusted thoroughly while I was inside. FWIW, it wasn't too dusty.

I could guess why "everyone" doesn't do it though. It's a pain in the ass to get inside. It's like playing the old board game "Operation". I'd guess it voids the Apple warranty too. I know plenty of people who don't know how to change a car tire.

Jacking up my fans is my last ditch effort with this old girl. I am at most a computer USER. I'd rather be fishing than spending any time keeping a computer running. ...or weeding through snarky online posts in an attempt to extend its life. Precisely the reason I bought an Apple vs. a PC to begin with.

Last try. What min. fan settings has anyone had success with...ODD, HDD,CPU?

Thanks
 
I can't find my snow leopard disk so no Apple Hardware Test for me. Anyone know of a free program which will do the same thing as Apple Hardware Test?

To answer my own previous question: I've bumped up my min fan settings, ODD ~1800rpm CPU ~1400rpm.

With a hulu vid playing and multiple other web pages open, I've had a couple hours of crash or freeze free use. My CPU is holding 45C.

Obviously, I'm NO authority on computer repair, but I did stay in a holiday inn express last night. I'm not claiming victory just yet. Hopefully I can limp a few more months out of my tired iMac.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jagooch
.

ratherbfishn

I have a mid-2010 iMac 21.5" with optional SMCFan Control installed. Its HDD fan, Optical drive fan and CPU fans are all set to 1500 RPMs. Its internal temps are much cooler (when compared to factory defaults). re: currently now 17 C to "max" 36 C range. Now, my iMac rarely goes above 45 C. Try setting your fans to minimum at 1,400 RPMs as well. And, set threshold values to 30C (low end) and 75C (high end). This works great for my iMac as well....

Also.... If you feel your iMac is "paging in/out" too much while "under load", it will make your CPU and HDD work much harder. More work = more heat. Use included Activity monitor to investigate memory usage and its "disk thrashing" behaviour. By installing more memory (re: 8 GBs total instead of 4 GBs), your iMac could do less "disk thrashing". Thus, lower inside temps as well - because less paging to its disk (which creates heat). When buying/installing memory, its best to ensure all GBs are the same speed and same company chips. From a white board view, one should never mix memory chips.

Hope this helps...

-------

FanSpeedJune25-2011.png
 
Last edited:
Spike,

Spike thanks for the reply. How do I do this?: "set threshold values to 30C (low end) and 72C (high end)."

The max ram is 3GB on this '06 machine. Prior to upgrading, I researched and found that by installing 4GB(matched set of two 2GB), I supposedly get a portion of that last GB. (3+?GB).

Anyone know if there a good way to synch the now ~1500rpm props?:D

I appreciate all the help.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jagooch
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back