Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Mine too, still an appealing machine for some tasks, but like many I suffered a hard disk failure along the way.

Alu 2007 with an SSD upgrade and ideally the ram maxed to 6/8gb depending on which model still run like champs and are very capable. Use a NWT adaptadrive 3.5 - 2.5 bracket to fit the SSD of your choice, but bear in mind it is only sata 2 up to the mid 2011.
 
Not MAC specific just observation:

Has anyone put to thought that iStat may be not terribly accurate reporting this GPU thermistor? I know that on many of my PC based sensors the BIOS report a far different reading than Motherboard Monitor etc within windows.
 
Not MAC specific just observation:

Has anyone put to thought that iStat may be not terribly accurate reporting this GPU thermistor? I know that on many of my PC based sensors the BIOS report a far different reading than Motherboard Monitor etc within windows.

The Mac sensors are the correct ones, windows uses bios emulation though macsfancontrol on windows which is a dual OS X/Windows app seems pretty accurate to me. Windows always runs much hotter than OS X and the GPU is always on.
 
Last edited:
http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-680MX-vs-GeForce-GTX-680M

The 680MX has the superior chip. When overclocked 680MX can produce the same performance as GTX680@default, and still more or less operate under 85c.

From Nvidia.com:
"680MX is based on the 28nm GK104 Kepler architecture similar to the GTX 680M, but features more CUDA cores (1536 vs. 1344)"
"GTX 680 GPU Engine Specs: 1536 Cuda Cores"
"GTX 670 GPU Engine Specs: 1344 Cuda Cores"

680MX is a mobile chip, it just is not ever going to perform equal to a desktop 680.

http://www.gaminglaptopreport.com/news/lets-get-confused-geforce-gtx-680m-vs-680mx-vs-675m-vs-675mx/

http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc...force-gtx-680-1072796/review/2#articleContent

Mobile chip runs at 80% of default desktop chip. "Overclocking" the GPU in an iMac isn't going to happen and no way it would operate at 85c, it's a 200W GPU at 1GHz.

http://www.loadthegame.com/2014/10/...-m295x-outperforms-the-r9-m290x-and-gtx-780m/

The AMD R9 M295X is a damn fine GPU and a far sight better than any Nvidia GPU available when the iMac was drawn up. Perhaps the 980M is more powerful, but that's neither here nor there. :apple:

----------

Would you happen to have a link to operating specs for the M295X?

Nope, educated guesses put at 100W-125W or in between the 780M and 680MX.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-R9-M295X.129043.0.html
 
Not MAC specific just observation:

Has anyone put to thought that iStat may be not terribly accurate reporting this GPU thermistor? I know that on many of my PC based sensors the BIOS report a far different reading than Motherboard Monitor etc within windows.

i think this is kind of true, because even if the gpu is at 100C(so iStat tell me) for an hour, my imac is kind of cold to touch everywhere ...big difference than the 2010-2011 imacs
 
Not MAC specific just observation:

Has anyone put to thought that iStat may be not terribly accurate reporting this GPU thermistor? I know that on many of my PC based sensors the BIOS report a far different reading than Motherboard Monitor etc within windows.

Based on how fast the fans kick in when doing even relatively menial tasks, I bet iStat is accurate.
 
But their kicking in at a really high temperatures. Much higher as on 780m, or?

On MacOS when GPU is 100° the fan is not on full speed.

yes i really think the temperature is not that high...i will try to run with an imac 5k opened to see if the gpu is really at 100C

so with a heat measure kit i found after 10 min iStat was reporting 101C, with my device i recorded an 82C temperature..
 
Last edited:
i think this is kind of true, because even if the gpu is at 100C(so iStat tell me) for an hour, my imac is kind of cold to touch everywhere ...big difference than the 2010-2011 imacs

The temperature of the case is not a good indication of the inside temperature. The cooling system of the newer iMacs works differently and the case will never get as hot to the touch as the older ones did.
 
yes i really think the temperature is not that high...i will try to run with an imac 5k opened to see if the gpu is really at 100C

so with a heat measure kit i found after 10 min iStat was reporting 101C, with my device i recorded an 82C temperature..

Can you elaborate on how and where you exactly measured the GPU
temp?
 
yes i really think the temperature is not that high...i will try to run with an imac 5k opened to see if the gpu is really at 100C

so with a heat measure kit i found after 10 min iStat was reporting 101C, with my device i recorded an 82C temperature..

I find it very hard to believe that you actually measured the temperature of the GPU die. It would be a real hassle to do considering how the iMac is built. You'd need to either make a hole through the casing or somehow twist around the boards inside and/or put extension cords there. Either way it would ruin the function of the cooling system.

I call BS.
 
Maybe someone should give Apples test labs a call? I'm sure they wouldn't have thought about stress testing the GPU under extreme conditions.
 
yes i really think the temperature is not that high...i will try to run with an imac 5k opened to see if the gpu is really at 100C

so with a heat measure kit i found after 10 min iStat was reporting 101C, with my device i recorded an 82C temperature..

You need a heat gun to melt the adhesive around the edges of the screen glass to remove it and a replacement adhesive ring to refit. Then you have to get at GPU to put a sensor probe next to it and having 2012 chassis apart I would find that very difficult to do.

I've yet to see a sensor on the GPU and CPU to seem badly wrong. Put the 5k to deep sleep, and wake it up and if the temperatures are close to ambient you know that it has correct calibration.
 
Maybe someone should give Apples test labs a call? I'm sure they wouldn't have thought about stress testing the GPU under extreme conditions.

Of course they did. But that doesn't mean anything really.

Engineer: Sir! We have done hours of intensive testing. Our readings say that this new GPU chip will run at dangerously high temperatures and start to throttle down hard. It would require a redesign of the cooling system to be able to handle that kind of heat.

Boss: So, does it go above specified max temperature?

Engineer: No, never, the chip will start to throttle down if it does. But I'm worried that it won't hold up if kept there for too long.

Boss: Nah, just get it ready for production! It's good enough.

Engineer: But Sir! Don't you remember what happen to the MacBook Pr...

Boss: Don't you know that our costumers are mostly a bunch of sheep that will believe anything we say? They'll never notice! And even if they do, they'll think that we somehow magically changed the laws of physics.
 
yes i really think the temperature is not that high...i will try to run with an imac 5k opened to see if the gpu is really at 100C

so with a heat measure kit i found after 10 min iStat was reporting 101C, with my device i recorded an 82C temperature..

Pics... or it didn't happen.
 
I'm really not sure why there's any real debate here about the temps. The most obvious explanation is usually the right one: The M295X runs hot. Whether it does damage to the iMac is a concern.

I own this particular iMac, and I'm certainly not going to live in denial about its limitations.
 
Wrong wrong wrong.

I've overclocked my GPU from day 1, 100% stable, no issues at +250/+375. I've tested my 680MX in 3dmark, and yes it performs equal to a desktop 680@default. Of course, if you overclock the desktop 680, then 680MX has no chance. Too bad Apple chose AMD in the retina iMac, they should have kept on using Nvidia. The AMD performance is good, though not as good as 980M, but the big issue with AMD is heat.

680MX is a mobile chip, it just is not ever going to perform equal to a desktop 680.

http://www.gaminglaptopreport.com/news/lets-get-confused-geforce-gtx-680m-vs-680mx-vs-675m-vs-675mx/

http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc...force-gtx-680-1072796/review/2#articleContent

Mobile chip runs at 80% of default desktop chip. "Overclocking" the GPU in an iMac isn't going to happen and no way it would operate at 85c, it's a 200W GPU at 1GHz.

http://www.loadthegame.com/2014/10/...-m295x-outperforms-the-r9-m290x-and-gtx-780m/

The AMD R9 M295X is a damn fine GPU and a far sight better than any Nvidia GPU available when the iMac was drawn up. Perhaps the 980M is more powerful, but that's neither here nor there. :apple:

----------



Nope, educated guesses put at 100W-125W or in between the 780M and 680MX.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-R9-M295X.129043.0.html
 
Last edited:
Wrong wrong wrong.

I've overclocked my GPU from day 1, 100% stable, no issues at +250/+375. I've tested my 680MX in 3dmark, and yes it performs equal to a desktop 680@default. Of course, if you overclock the desktop 680, then 680MX has no chance. Too bad Apple chose AMD in the retina iMac, they should have kept on using Nvidia. The AMD performance is good, though not as good as 980M, but the big issue with AMD is heat.

Even on the desktop class GPU's, the GTX980 uses much less power and blows away AMD's top of the line chip.

I've been called out for being a Nvidia fanboi by the poster you're responding to, but he's behaving as a cheerleader for AMD likewise. I don't care about either brand but will gravitate towards the superior chip overtime. (Notice he likes to compare the 295 to the prior 880MX which the 980M is much faster still) My wife has a 2012 iMac with 680MX which overclocks quite nicely like yours and doesn't throttle either. We're waiting for the 2nd gen rimac which will either have a proper GPU like the 980 or at least a much cooler running 20nm AMD.
 
can anyone post their i5, m290x experience regarding fan noise while gaming (preferably wow)?

since I now gave back my i7, m295x because of unbearable fan noise for every cpu/gpu intensive task but like the imac and screen, I'm considering going with the entry model.

I know that graphics performance is sufficient for wow thanks to barefeats but not sure about heat and fan noise (rpm)?

thanks for any input.
 
yes i really think the temperature is not that high...i will try to run with an imac 5k opened to see if the gpu is really at 100C

so with a heat measure kit i found after 10 min iStat was reporting 101C, with my device i recorded an 82C temperature..

It's not just iStat that reports these temperatures. Just to put this out there my Temperature Gauge app also reports temperatures 100C + literally within minutes of playing a game on modest resolution and graphic settings.

I think the question I would now like answered is whether anyone knows of a precedent where this type of hardware fault (extreme gpu temperature after minimal gaming) has ever been fixed by a software update?

In other words, do those of us who have a iMac 5k with m295x have any chance of seeing Apple resolve this issue?
 
It's not just iStat that reports these temperatures. Just to put this out there my Temperature Gauge app also reports temperatures 100C + literally within minutes of playing a game on modest resolution and graphic settings.

I think the question I would now like answered is whether anyone knows of a precedent where this type of hardware fault (extreme gpu temperature after minimal gaming) has ever been fixed by a software update?

In other words, do those of us who have a iMac 5k with m295x have any chance of seeing Apple resolve this issue?

There kind of is nothing to fix. The GPU runs hot when gaming, it's a fact. Issue if there will be any repercussions of the cards running at that temperature for extended periods of time.

The desktop AMD R9 290x is running extremely hot (95-100C) and was used in bitcoin mining for the past year, where the cards are pushed to extreme and work 24/7 at 100% and so far I haven't seen anyone complaining that the GPU failed.
On the other hand I had Gigabyte 780ti GHZ edition that physically burned with smoke and everything twice already while the card never made it above 85C, Gigabyte is actually refunding me even though I bought from NewEgg.

I have the Apple Care and I am not worried about it one bit.
 
Guys, surely if this was a serious issue, then ASC and other forums would be swamped with complaints, but I can't see it.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.