iMac 2019 which cpu regarding fan noise.

[Dingens]

Hey all
Looks like I will buy an iMac 2019 in the foreseeable future. Now the question of configuration arises. It would be important to me that the fan remains quiet and then the next aspects are performance and price.
The 3.0 GHz and 3.1GHz variants have a lower TDP (65 watts) and the 3.7GHz has 95 watts. One should assume that the fan will be more quiet in the first two configurations, do I see that right? The internet also seems to think so in some places. The difference between the first two is rather marginal, isn't it?

But you can also find contrary statements, according to which the 3.7GHz as a 9th generation model with soldered heatspreader runs 10 degrees colder in these tests.

next: the 1TB SSD costs much less with the more expensive model, in the end there is only a 60€ difference between 3.7GHz and 3.1 GHz. Now I've been racking my head for days, which is the right configuration for me.

Tasks: Lightroom (hobby, not profession) cut a little music, and the usual office and surf stuff. I'm sure all new iMacs will be able to do that.

Any thoughts?
Thanks
Rolf

 

[cruisin]

It would be important to me that the fan remains quiet

65 watts is less heat to remove, so all things equal it should be quieter. As a comparison the 5 watt MacBook is fanless. If you are in a hot room without AC then you might get fan noise anyway as the machine struggles to keep cool. 3.0 GHz vs 3.1 GHz shouldn’t be noticeable in everyday use unless you look at progress bars often (and even then it is only a few percent difference).

runs 10 degrees colder

What does "runs" mean in this context? Is it colder when something like a web page is open? Or is it colder running a specific task? Most programs try to finish tasks quicker at a cost of more heat, so a test would usually show a time decrease not a temperature decrease.

If the machine is colder when the computer is waiting for you to do something then it just means it has a lower idling temperature, perhaps an efficiency boost of the 9th gen over the previous 8th gen. Movie playback is something that comes to mind as something that can run cooler, but this is also a bonus of newer parts.

In general newer CPUs should be more efficient and will run cooler, unless you do something like rendering in which case you are using the new efficiency to finish quicker. Music can use a lot of resources if you start doing multitrack mixing or using generated sound effects and Lightroom can use up more or less resources depending on what you are doing, and the high megapixel counts in newer cameras also add to the demands. Surfing will be fine but 4K streaming might produce some fan noise. For your use it doesn't seem like you will have much fan noise.

 

[Dingens]

65 watts is less heat to remove, so all things equal it should be quieter. As a comparison the 5 watt MacBook is fanless. If you are in a hot room without AC then you might get fan noise anyway as the machine struggles to keep cool. 3.0 GHz vs 3.1 GHz shouldn’t be noticeable in everyday use unless you look at progress bars often (and even then it is only a few percent difference).


What does "runs" mean in this context? Is it colder when something like a web page is open? Or is it colder running a specific task? Most programs try to finish tasks quicker at a cost of more heat, so a test would usually show a time decrease not a temperature decrease.

If the machine is colder when the computer is waiting for you to do something then it just means it has a lower idling temperature, perhaps an efficiency boost of the 9th gen over the previous 8th gen. Movie playback is something that comes to mind as something that can run cooler, but this is also a bonus of newer parts.

In general newer CPUs should be more efficient and will run cooler, unless you do something like rendering in which case you are using the new efficiency to finish quicker. Music can use a lot of resources if you start doing multitrack mixing or using generated sound effects and Lightroom can use up more or less resources depending on what you are doing, and the high megapixel counts in newer cameras also add to the demands. Surfing will be fine but 4K streaming might produce some fan noise. For your use it doesn't seem like you will have much fan noise.

Thanks!
By now, I have ordered the 3,7GHz. It will be delivered Friday...exciting times ahead
Cheers
Rolf