Hi guys, Im seriously considering buying the iMac top spec 21.5, and with the rumoured refresh coming, I think this is a good time to get one. I watch alot of anime and tv shows on my computer, and the problem I have with the current computer im using is that the fans are a bit loud. I know depending on the load of the computer aswell as but generally, If im just playing a video and the room is average room temperature, will it still be loud? I dont mind a bit of noise but it to be quieter than your average computer..
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How quiet is the iMac
- Thread starter Zelnaga
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The fans are actually pretty quiet. Barely ever hear them. Even though I don't really play video games much on my Mac, I did play Portal and the fans remained quiet.
However, the HDD is one loud thing though. Seriously, the loudest component in the iMac is the HDD. I went through 4 of them, and they're ALL the same. I really do hope you get a quiet one, but yeah when it comes to noise, the HDD is the only thing that bugs me.
Although most people manage to keep it quiet for about 2-4 weeks, after which the HDDs just magically turn into hungry stomachs.
Apparently the HDDs Apple use aren't meant to be quiet. They're more performance HDDs. So, I'd recommend getting one under 1TB. Just because those are usually dead quiet.
However, the HDD is one loud thing though. Seriously, the loudest component in the iMac is the HDD. I went through 4 of them, and they're ALL the same. I really do hope you get a quiet one, but yeah when it comes to noise, the HDD is the only thing that bugs me.
Although most people manage to keep it quiet for about 2-4 weeks, after which the HDDs just magically turn into hungry stomachs.
Apparently the HDDs Apple use aren't meant to be quiet. They're more performance HDDs. So, I'd recommend getting one under 1TB. Just because those are usually dead quiet.
the HD on my 24" mac is almost soundless. The only sound i ever hear from my desktop is the occasional fan whir for a couple of seconds very rarely...and even then it is quieter than my breathing.
I have the i7 iMac, and everything is silent. The only way to hear its fans is to go around the back of it and put your ear close to the hdd vent that's behind the stand.
I do have the 1tb seagate in it, and while it makes more noise than the 250gig I had in my old G5 iMac, I wouldn't say it's loud in general-- just the occasional soft grumble here and there. Call me weird, but I like the grumble sound it produces, actually makes it seem like this is a large, working machine.
I do have the 1tb seagate in it, and while it makes more noise than the 250gig I had in my old G5 iMac, I wouldn't say it's loud in general-- just the occasional soft grumble here and there. Call me weird, but I like the grumble sound it produces, actually makes it seem like this is a large, working machine.
You can't hear the machine we have at work, not even if you put your ear up close to the rear side. We have the 21.5/ATI Graphics machine on demo. I suspect it would get louder if you worked it hard. If you're planning on getting the NVidia equipped model (with integrated graphics), it would get louder a lot more often as the 9400M doesn't have half the muscle the ATI chipsets have.
I've got the 27" i5, it's really quiet - the only time I hear it is when the fans kick in a little whilst doing video encoding - this tends to be after 30 minutes or so and it's a lot lot quieter than my 13" macbook aluminium.