You went to the Apple Store but you can't bring an iMac there? How about you buy an iMac there, test it in store, and then bring it home?
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2017 iMac 27" 5k - BUZZ ELECTRIC NOISE - URGENT
- Thread starter MarcoTogni
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A UPS might help and is never a bad idea. It is especially a good idea with all of the crazy electrical storms in the Kanto area recently.
Is it so strange? Apple Store is very far, I don't have a car, so I can go there but I can't bring the iMac there.
And I can't bring it home from there, because I don't have a car.
I don't think it's strange. That would be a very large, unwieldy package to carry home by train in Tokyo.
I changed my mind about my UPS advice above. I think rather than a UPS you might be best served with a special surge protector with an EMI/RFI filter. You should be able to get a good one for less than ¥5000. Here is a page of such surge protectors at the Sound House music site. You are almost certainly dealing with line noise interference.
Here is a relevant paragraph from the US-based surge protector manufacturer, Tripp-Lite:
Line noise interference
Surge protectors also protect against “line noise,” which is distortion on AC, telephone/modem, network or coaxial lines. Most people recognize this as audio static or video snow. Line noise is caused by Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) and/or Radio Frequency Interference (RFI), typically generated by operating other equipment on the same electrical system. For example, line noise may result from turning on fluorescent lights or a laser printer, or using a generator or major appliance.
This is strange, coil whine is often caused by vibrating capacitors or VRMs on graphics but I wouldn't have thought it'd be this much of an issue on iMacs and doesn't sound like your electricity will definitely be the cause either, but will be interesting to find out.
If theres no way you can resolve this you could consider getting a MacBook Pro as suggested above and a 5k monitor. I use this combination and personally prefer the idea of a hybrid as it saves investing in 2 computers! Of course you might not need a portable and the iMac is a more capable pc.
If theres no way you can resolve this you could consider getting a MacBook Pro as suggested above and a 5k monitor. I use this combination and personally prefer the idea of a hybrid as it saves investing in 2 computers! Of course you might not need a portable and the iMac is a more capable pc.
I'll admit that I don't know anything about home electrical power in Japan.
But here in the USA, one can buy a "circuit tester" -- a small device that plugs into a wall outlet and (using indicator lights) tells you whether the outlet is properly configured or not.
Since there are only 2 conductors in your wall outlets (no ground), I'm wondering if the "hot" and "neutral" wires in your outlets might be reversed?
But here in the USA, one can buy a "circuit tester" -- a small device that plugs into a wall outlet and (using indicator lights) tells you whether the outlet is properly configured or not.
Since there are only 2 conductors in your wall outlets (no ground), I'm wondering if the "hot" and "neutral" wires in your outlets might be reversed?
Hi Marco, have you solved your problem? It seems I have the same problem even though the noise is lower. To listen to it I have to close the ear to the right and bottom of the monitor but the quality of the noise is the same as yours. Sometimes it seems to me that you do not even feel at times, but it's really annoying. How did you solve it?
P.S. Sorry for my very rough English.
P.S. Sorry for my very rough English.
Hi, Apple sent me a new iMac and it had the same problem. So I returned it and they gave me back the money.
I still didn't buy a new iMac. Probably if I will buy it, I will buy a system to "clean" the electric power, but I am not sure if the problem is coming from there.
Did you buy it online? if yes, where was it shipped from?
PS: se l'hai comprato sul sito Apple, puoi dirmi da dove è stato spedito? il mio è stato spedito dalla Cina.
Any news or update? My iMAC does the exact same things that your iMac was doing. I don't know about all this grounding and what not, but if it's just coil whine and is no threat to my iMac, I don't care. As long as I know I don't have a faulty power supply. I don't want to drag this huge 27" computer to Apple store.
Yours would have the same electric/static noise only when doing things like scrolling, minimizing the windows. Mine does that too and if it's just normal coil whine, I don't mind. I hope it's not a bad power supply or component.
Do you really think it's possible it's "normal coil whine"?..I mean, we are not talking about a small and costant "bzzz", but we are talking about a quite big noise that is produced when you move even just a folder! Apple told me it's not normal, at Apple Store told me it's not normal, other people wrote it's not normal.
My guess is that something strange is happening with power supply, and maybe today is a little noise and after 2-3 years it may be a big noise, or in the worst case you let your iMac working in the night and you wake up with a huge fire, who knows..my noise was something electrical, not just a small coil whine.
I still didn't buy any new machine. After 2 iMac changed, I am waiting..
Yeah, for me I have had it for a couple months so the only thing I can do is take it in for check up and repair. I cannot get a refund from it anymore. It might just be coil whine and we are overthinking it, considering you got 2 iMacs and both of them have the same buzz. Maybe i will take it in sometime before my 1 year. Man, it sucks to spend so much on a computer that gives problems like these.
My iMacs were unusable, it was not just a normal coil whine. The PC I am writing now has some noise of fan, maybe coil whine etc. but I never complained about it because it's normal. The iMacs I received had a huge problem and it was scaring too: I can't leave a computer alone if I hear electrical noise all the time.
I have a feeling if it was the power supply, it would have been buzzing all the time. It only happens when there is a change in animations or scrolling windows or animations(when the screen was moving), so it might be coil whine from the gpu. When you took in your first iMac to exchange, did they run a diagnostic test at least and check to see if all parts were running normally?
Is coil whine harmful? Seeing that the op had 2 iMacs with this issue, I don't think it's worth the hassle taking it to apple. I'm fine with the noise as long as it's not a faulty power supply or something down the road
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Did it long last and give any issues down the road?
Probably solved by now but sounds like a bad power supply, bad ground or another connection problem. I would take it back considering it is a new product.
Not sure if it would ever cause harm, it can indicate that a device is getting older as caps come loose (like 'buzz' from a monitor requiring brightness adjusted); some graphics cards will always whine due to the way they were made. Personally the harm is in my experience of the product.
If a graphics card only makes noise when it is doing demanding work, and that work also produces sound (like a game) then its tolerable. In a quiet room with a noise every time I move a cursor? not so much I would imagine. I've never owned an iMac either, so no experience of them.
I am having this EXACT SAME problem. Many others are experiencing this as well. I contacted apple, they sent me a new power cord as they thought this was the issue. I got the cord today, did not resolve the buzzing noise. Now, I am going to have to have the computer inspected as I think it has something to do with the PSU within the iMac. I hope this helps. If I find a resolution, I will let you know. I will be traveling to an apple store January 1st. My email is bales_mihalovich@hotmail.com if you need to reach me.
Hi all who are hearing electrical noise. Let me share my experience.
I am currently using the 5k iMac late 2015 highest end model without other configuration. I have been hearing the electrical noise since day 1. It comes somewhere near the apple logo on the front. I have sent it to repair 4 times, changed PSU, graphic card. Replaced the Mac 3 times with Apple.
Final verdict from Apple "you are working in a too quiet place"
So I think it's normal. There is no safety concern, it's just the parts making these noise. I would say unless it's causing a issues like Mac not working properly, overheating, return the Mac. Else every model is probably going to be the same.
Take it back....14 day return period, you can do that at the Apple online site, and the computer has a one year warranty, you wasting time talking about it here......
I have a similar problem with my Mac Pro 2013 - noticeable buzzing during scrolling or other short term CPU-intensive work. I think it's related to power draw during turbo boost of the CPU. I just live with it, as returning my otherwise-perfectly working machine is too much of a hassle for me.