GPU - too hot?

[chabig]

Yes, do be in the dark... just let your Mac run until it dies, without knowing for example, that your fan has been inactive for a few months during summer..

And increasing the fan speed from 1200 to 1800 RPM keeps things a wee bit cooler this summer (I'm in the southern hemisphere) for my Retina iMac

I only discovered thanks to iStat Menus that the elevated temps of the SSDs inside my Akitio thunderbolt enclosure lead me to find it had it's quiet fan die on me.

So, it's a question of whether you want to know what's going on inside your Mac, or if you prefer to be ignorant, and then wonder one day why your Mac is dead

Out of curiosity, how many parameters do you monitor? 10, 100, 200?

 

[matreya]

Out of curiosity, how many parameters do you monitor? 10, 100, 200?

iStat Menus shows about 40-odd, but I only closely look at my storage devices, CPU and GPU temps, so about 15 parameters..

 

[GGJstudios]

My recommendation would be the opposite. If you're not using those things you're doing it right.

There is nothing wrong with being informed about the status of your Mac. If you prefer to not know these things, it's up to you, but you're not "doing it right" or "doing it wrong" by choosing either approach.

My recommendation would be the opposite. If you're not using those things you're doing it right.

It's not like people sit all day looking at iStat data. It's there if you need to check something, such as hearing your fans and wondering how fast they're spinning, or what components are heating up.

 

[chabig]

There is nothing wrong with being informed about the status of your Mac. If you prefer to not know these things, it's up to you, but you're not "doing it right" or "doing it wrong" by choosing either approach.

It's not like people sit all day looking at iStat data. It's there if you need to check something, such as hearing your fans and wondering how fast they're spinning, or what components are heating up.

I agree with you, but too many people don't really know what they're looking at and then imagine problems where none exist. This results in apps like memory cleaners...

 

[GGJstudios]

I agree with you, but too many people don't really know what they're looking at and then imagine problems where none exist. This results in apps like memory cleaners...

That's very true. Too many Mac hypochondriacs out there!

 

[Alesc]

While those temps are within safe operating parameters, I would still buy iStat Menu's and manually adjust the fan speed( especially if you plan to keep the computer beyond the AppleCare warranty if you bought that). While the heat may not damage the GPU, CPU, etc the heat build up within the case may damage the LCD display, etc( as seen with my parents Late 2009 iMac LCD panel gaining vertical lines which a lot of people suspect is due to the heat).

When I play X-Plane 10, I set the fan to 2600 RPM and the 780M is around 62-66 C. If I leave it to Apple's stock fan control, temps go up to 82-85 C.

Apple values quiet operation above all else. They will let heat build up in order to keep the machine quiet. And IMHO, just because the temps at 90 C is within parameters, doesn't mean those temps are good to begin with. If your cars engine temperature began to run right below the redline, would you be comfortable with that and go, " It's still within safe parameters"?

That's what I do too. I let the Mac handle the fan most of the time, but before playing intensive 3D games, I push the fan at 2000 tpm so that the GPU and the CPU don't be too hot (+85°C if I let the Mac handle the fan, 70-75°C with the fan at 2000 tpm).
I know that Apple has set the fan for the silence, but an electronic chip at +85-90°C will have its life reduced...

When I had my 2007 iMac, I had seen with iStat Menus that the HDD was at +60°C with the fan speed by default... I push one of the fan a little so that the HDD is at 50°C max, and 8 years later, it is still alive...

 

[virginblue4]

While those temps are within safe operating parameters, I would still buy iStat Menu's and manually adjust the fan speed( especially if you plan to keep the computer beyond the AppleCare warranty if you bought that). While the heat may not damage the GPU, CPU, etc the heat build up within the case may damage the LCD display, etc( as seen with my parents Late 2009 iMac LCD panel gaining vertical lines which a lot of people suspect is due to the heat).

When I play X-Plane 10, I set the fan to 2600 RPM and the 780M is around 62-66 C. If I leave it to Apple's stock fan control, temps go up to 82-85 C.

Apple values quiet operation above all else. They will let heat build up in order to keep the machine quiet. And IMHO, just because the temps at 90 C is within parameters, doesn't mean those temps are good to begin with. If your cars engine temperature began to run right below the redline, would you be comfortable with that and go, " It's still within safe parameters"?

95C is fine and it's designed to work like that for long periods. If you want you can use smcFanControl to set the fans to their max RPM before you start playing. That will make the computer stay cooler for longer. It's much harder for the fans to cool the GPU once it's already hot than it is to keep it cool from the start.

Thant's what I do too. I let the Mac handle the fan most of the time, but before playing intensive 3D games, I push the fan at 2000 tpm so that the GPU and the CPU don't be too hot (+85°C if I let the Mac handle the fan, 70-75°C with the fan at 2000 tpm).
I know that Apple has set the fan for the silence, but an electronic chip at +85-90°C will have its life reduced...

When I had my 2007 iMac, I had seen with iStat Menus that the HDD was at +60°C with the fan speed by default... I push one of the fan a little so that the HDD is at 50°C max, and 8 years later, it is still alive...

So I tried putting the fans to around 2400rpm 5 minutes before playing The Sims 4 and then played the game for around 4 hours non-stop. The GPU temp never went above 72C which is 20C lower than it was previously, so thank you for the advice.

Out of interest, will running the fans at this speed quite often cause any damage to the machine or premature fan failure?

 

[Alesc]

So I tried putting the fans to around 2400rpm 5 minutes before playing The Sims 4 and then played the game for around 4 hours non-stop. The GPU temp never went above 72C which is 20C lower than it was previously, so thank you for the advice.

Out of interest, will running the fans at this speed quite often cause any damage to the machine or premature fan failure?

Of course the fan will wear faster. To run it at 2400 tpm during 4 hours is like a normal use at 1200 tpm during 8 hours... But I don't think it will cause a failure: I've nerver seen one fan dying in one of my machine, PC, Mac or external HDD. And in my case, I'm playing one or two hours per day top, I don't think it is damageable for the fan.

 

[LangdonS]

Hi, I have a late 2012 27" iMac with the top processor and top GPU (680MX 2GB) and 24GB RAM.

I installed The Sims 4 a couple of days ago and my GPU diode is getting up to 92C! The fans kick in enough to drop it by 5-10 degrees and then they slow down and the process repeats. Not causing any problems whatsoever, just wondering if this is potentially bad for the GPU?

I assume not, otherwise it would shut itself down. The fans only go to around 2000rpm for around a minute, I know they are capable of going much higher. So, nothing to worry about?

While it won't break, 92˚ is not optimal either.
If you play games frequently, you should probably consider Macs Fan Control.
I reccomend installing it with brew because it makes uninstallation is easy.

macs-fan-control

Homebrew’s package index

formulae.brew.sh

 

[IngerMan]

While it won't break, 92˚ is not optimal either.
If you play games frequently, you should probably consider Macs Fan Control.
I reccomend installing it with brew because it makes uninstallation is easy.

macs-fan-control

Homebrew’s package index

formulae.brew.sh

You just awakened a 2015 post, 9 years later 😂

 

[LangdonS]

Oopsy.

 

[LangdonS]

My iMac is from 2011 so 2015 is almost like the future for me in a sense.
To me, retina iMacs are like some cool new thing.