Fan Noise Level on 27 inch iMac

[zhouyd1990]

Hi guys,

I have been a long term user of Macbook Pro and I am super happy about how dead silent those computers are. I cannot hear a single thing out of my 2015 macbook pro.
Recently I purchase a brand new 2019 27inch iMac. It is the base model configured with 512g SSD. I find out there is a constant level of noise mixed with fan and some buzzing/clicking sound as long as I turn it on. Then I did a replacement, but the replacement has the same issue and noise is even louder.

The buzzing/clicking noise is something that worries me. It sounds like some coil whine on mainboard or power unit. Neither my PC or macbook pro have that.

Do you guys have the same experience with your iMac? I do not know if I should downgrade to a 21.5 inch iMac or just have another replacement if this issue is real.

 

[Juicy Box]

Do you guys have the same experience with your iMac?

I have a 27" Late 2012 iMac with the i7, and that is whisper quiet almost always.

The only time I ever here the fans with when I am doing a crap load of encoding.

 

[zhouyd1990]

I have a 27" Late 2012 iMac with the i7, and that is whisper quiet almost always.

The only time I ever here the fans with when I am doing a crap load of encoding.

Do you hear some clicking/buzzing sound? Not the regular air blowing sound. Especially putting your ear against the back of iMac? I can hear those sound even I sit like 4 ft away.

 

[Juicy Box]

Do you hear some clicking/buzzing sound? Not the regular air blowing sound. Especially putting your ear against the back of iMac? I can hear those sound even I sit like 4 ft away.

Not a buzzing, but sometimes a clicking. I always assumed it was the HDD part of the Fusion Drive starting to spin up, but that shouldn't be the case for you.

 

[joema2]

...I have been a long term user of Macbook Pro and I am super happy about how dead silent those computers are. I cannot hear a single thing out of my 2015 macbook pro.
Recently I purchase a brand new 2019 27inch iMac. It is the base model configured with 512g SSD. I find out there is a constant level of noise mixed with fan and some buzzing/clicking sound as long as I turn it on. Then I did a replacement, but the replacement has the same issue and noise is even louder...

I formerly had a 2015 i7 15" MacBook Pro. The fans would spin up at the slightest load. I loved the machine overall -- convenient ports, great keyboard, etc. But it was not quiet under load. It was much noisier than my i7 2016 15" MacBook Pro.

I have a 2015 and 2017 top-spec i7 iMac 27, also a 2017 10-core Vega 64 iMac Pro. The only one that's really quiet is the iMac Pro. Reviews of the i9 iMac 27 say it's generally pretty quiet:

 

[zhouyd1990]

I am totally OK if fan noise kicks in under load. But my iMac has this constant noise (especially buzzing/clicking sound) even at idle. I have booked a genius bar appointment to check it up.

 

[mj_]

Given that you opted for an internal SSD there is only a single moving part inside your iMac: the fan. And you should definitely not be able to hear it at all. In theory, the fan should be running at a dead silent 1,200rpm.

Chances are that you won't be able to hear it at all at the genius bar because of the amount of ambient noise. Good luck either way.

 

[zhouyd1990]

Given that you opted for an internal SSD there is only a single moving part inside your iMac: the fan. And you should definitely not be able to hear it at all. In theory, the fan should be running at a dead silent 1,200rpm.

Chances are that you won't be able to hear it at all at the genius bar because of the amount of ambient noise. Good luck either way.

Indeed it is just the fan. Those buzzing/clicking sound is also coming from fan. I follow another post to reduce my fan speed to 850 rpm, and it becomes dead silent. I also checked the fan speed in my macbook pro, it is 1300 rpm and dead silent. I do not know why my iMac fan is lousy at 1200 rpm. Super disappointed.

 

[Mike Boreham]

I am totally OK if fan noise kicks in under load. But my iMac has this constant noise (especially buzzing/clicking sound) even at idle. I have booked a genius bar appointment to check it up.

If you are hearing clicking buzzing at 1200 RPM (as you said in the DPReview thread) I would say the fan is faulty. Most complaints about iMac noise are about how soon and how fast the i7 spins up. That is a different issue from clicking buzzing at 1200 RPM.

 

[zhouyd1990]

If you are hearing clicking buzzing at 1200 RPM (as you said in the DPReview thread) I would say the fan is faulty. Most complaints about iMac noise are about how soon and how fast the i7 spins up. That is a different issue from clicking buzzing at 1200 RPM.

Yup. I hope genius bar can fix that. If not, I probably need to order another replacement. Hope I can just drop some oliver oil to smooth the fan.

 

[Tumbleweed666]

Faulty fan. I had the same and as another poster said it probabiy can't be heard in the Apple store due to the background noise.
I was quoted £100min the U.K. to have it replaced so it would probably be $100 in the US.

 

[Mike Boreham]

Yup. I hope genius bar can fix that. If not, I probably need to order another replacement. Hope I can just drop some oliver oil to smooth the fan.

Hope you are joking!

You have a brand new machine still under warranty, and very difficult to open up, which would invalidate the warranty anyway. Let Apple fix it!

 

[zhouyd1990]

I have customized 2 PCs and both fans I am using are around $50. It runs dead silent even under medium load. Cannot believe Apple quote a 100$ fan with such quality control.
Kinda frustrated. I wish I could open it up and smooth the fan. But, yes. I need to let the genius do their jobs first.

 

[Fluttershy462]

I just got a Mid 2011 model and fan noise can get a bit noticable.