Tips to cool down the i7 cpu and Gpu on iMac 27 running Windows 10.

[Serhan Uygur]

Hi fellas,
my iMac Retina 27' has i7 7700K @4.2Ghz , 16GB Ram and a Radeon Pro 580-8GbRam.

i installed bootcamp also to my imac, with an external SSD to play some games.

When i am playing , as you can guess, it gets so Toasty, and some times game crashes and it kicks out to windows (sometimes it freezes totally)

i am guessing that these happens because of the CPU keeping at 99c constant. and may be even GPU temps .

SO

i am thinking about to Undervolt the CPU to keep it cooler using throttlestop, but i want to take your opinions also.
is logic? or is it even a solution?

can the kicking out to windows can cause from another problem? like GPU or smt?

 

[RossH51]

Get the Windows version of Macs Fan Control and run the fan on Full Blast. You can maintain CPU / GPU speed with ower temp. There is an evaluation version.

Macs Fan Control - control fans on Apple computers, also on Windows via Boot Camp

Control fans on Apple computers, also on Windows via Boot Camp. Monitoring of fan speed and temperature sensors. Solve fan noise and overheating problems, iMac HDD replacement

crystalidea.com

 

[V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r]

Or use the newer tool DrFan. It has the best possible implementation of the automatic mode, so you can avoid full RPM blast, yet both CPU and GPU stay as cool as possible. (Also see my thread at https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/new-fan-control-utility-for-imac-drfan.2222482/)

 

[q64ceo]

Macs arent known for their good thermals. As for undervolting the CPU/GPU, I doubt that can be done for Windows at least

For macOS the Hackintosh world has designed a kext that'll let you do something like that. With CPUFriend.kext, you can tell macOS to not go over certain frequencies.

 

[Serhan Uygur]

Thanks for the replies,

i kinda managed to undervolt the gpu -0,125v , but could not limit the max frequency of the cpu,so i left them as is it.

i installed afterburner also to keep track on whats going on with the gpu which usually hovers around 75-80 degrees.

very interesting that, cpu thermals were not hitting to 99 and staying there. It was around 80-85 degrees, but the gpu was 100 degrees! And kept like that for a while. I was worried and thought it is because afterburner? Altough i did not activated any profiles for oc.

i rebooted the imac then tried again, then it looks ok with the gpu, and cpu hits 99 sometimes, but not keeping it there. Keeps around 85-90. And the fans keep on %44 all the time (the reading from the gpuZ).

so i want to try the fan controlling programs which you suggest also tonight.

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Radeon Pro 580 driving a 5k monitor, and gaming....
Enough factor to heat up.
And you keep them in a ill-veltilated enclosure like an iMac.
Check your AppleCare ++ plan. You'll gonna need it in a very near future.

 

[Serhan Uygur]

Radeon Pro 580 driving a 5k monitor, and gaming....
Enough factor to heat up.
And you keep them in a ill-veltilated enclosure like an iMac.
Check your AppleCare ++ plan. You'll gonna need it in a very near future.

im not gaming in 5k ofc 1080p fixed 60fps usually.

Do you think that imac will broke down if i game too much?

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

im not gaming in 5k ofc 1080p fixed 60fps usually.

Do you think that imac will broke down if i game too much?

Absolutely.
A separate 4k/5k LCD has it own driver board.
iMac doesn't. The GPU has to do that.
Even if you are using 1080p resolution, the GPU still has to re-calculate it to display the contents on the 5k LCD.
It will heat up much faster than a normal PC graphic card. A normal PC graphic card has a massive heatsink, attached to 1 or 2 dedicate fan. while iMac has passive heatsink.
So, happy gaming on iMac, just be sure your AppleCare++ plan is still valid.

 

[AndyMacAndMic]

im not gaming in 5k ofc 1080p fixed 60fps usually.

Do you think that imac will broke down if i game too much?

I don't know if it will break down, but I do know the iMac is not a gaming machine for AAA games. The cooling situation in the iMac is simply not adequate for that purpose even in 1080p. If you play demanding AAA games every day for a longer period of time I wouldn't be surprised if it shortens the life span of your iMac considerably. Undervolting/Afterburner/Fan control etc. are only stopgaps, because in the end the iMac is an AIO with limited internal space and undersized physical cooling for this purpose.

I know this is anecdotal, but when my girlfriend bought a new iMac, she gave the old one to her son. Her son gamed on it every day (AAA games) and the old iMac broke down within a couple of months. I must admit her son is a heavy gamer (and the iMac was already around 4 years old) so this may not be your use case.

In my opinion the best you can do is: buy a gaming console (The new Playstation or Xbox series X or S, around $300-500) or buy/build a desktop PC (more expensive) for that purpose. I know this will cost you extra money, but this investment will most certainly benefit you in the long run.

 

[Serhan Uygur]

I don't know if it will break down, but I do know the iMac is not a gaming machine for AAA games. The cooling situation in the iMac is simply not adequate for that purpose even in 1080p. If you play demanding AAA games every day for a longer period of time I wouldn't be surprised if it shortens the life span of your iMac considerably. Undervolting/Afterburner/Fan control etc. are only stopgaps, because in the end the iMac is an AIO with limited internal space and undersized physical cooling for this purpose.

I know this is anecdotal, but when my girlfriend bought a new iMac, she gave the old one to her son. Her son gamed on it every day (AAA games) and the old iMac broke down within a couple of months. I must admit her son is a heavy gamer (and the iMac was already around 4 years old) so this may not be your use case.

In my opinion the best you can do is: buy a gaming console (The new Playstation or Xbox series X or S, around $300-500) or buy/build a desktop PC (more expensive) for that purpose. I know this will cost you extra money, but this investment will most certainly benefit you in the long run.

Thanks for the updates, actually i have gaming console and a gaming laptop also, i am not obliged to play on this one but last weeks i played some because my laptop was in service(battery change), and i see this problem while trying to keep my character up to date in game )) , and because i like solving things i focused on how to solve that if possible, main use of imac is for daily use of offfice works and some video production.