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imac fan speed

jetjaguar

jetjaguar

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Apr 6, 2009
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I have a 2013 imac and the fan is quiet noisy compared to a 2012 i have. What is the normal speed the fan should run at ? Istat menus is showing 1850 rpms ?
 
iStat Menus should let you change the fan speed.
What's the minimum?

(There might be a reason it's never at the minimum rpm, such as a malfunctioning or missing sensor, but knowing the floor may help.)
 
2013 iMac has a fan idle speed of 1200rpm which is virtually silent.

You’ll need to diagnose why it’s not at 1200.

It’s not uncommon to have increased fan speeds if you have an i7 and the computer is doing something. Could be some background task. What’s the CPU temp and check activity monitor.
 
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cynics said:
2013 iMac has a fan idle speed of 1200rpm which is virtually silent.

You’ll need to diagnose why it’s not at 1200.

It’s not uncommon to have increased fan speeds if you have an i7 and the computer is doing something. Could be some background task. What’s the CPU temp and check activity monitor.
Click to expand...
it honestly sounds like i have a modded pc in my room with a bunch of fans .. it is annoying.

It is an i5 not the i7. My cpu temp is 35C.
Even if I restart the imac and let it sit idle the fan never changes. I would expect the noise if I was playing a game but not just when im web browsing etc. The fan NEVER drops below 1800rpm

Gonna try a SMC reset.
 
jetjaguar said:
it honestly sounds like i have a modded pc in my room with a bunch of fans .. it is annoying.

It is an i5 not the i7. My cpu temp is 35C.
Even if I restart the imac and let it sit idle the fan never changes. I would expect the noise if I was playing a game but not just when im web browsing etc. The fan NEVER drops below 1800rpm

Gonna try a SMC reset.
Click to expand...

Yes try SMC reset and if that doesn't work than try an NVRAM reset. The iMac isn't modified in anyway is it?
 
cynics said:
Yes try SMC reset and if that doesn't work than try an NVRAM reset. The iMac isn't modified in anyway is it?
Click to expand...

Tried SMC reset and thought it worked. Booted into osx super quiet then the fan ramped up to and still is at 2000rpm now.The imac isn't modified
[doublepost=1532268606][/doublepost]NVRAM didn’t fix it either. Boots into OSX dead silent then after 30 sec the fans Ramps up to 2000-2100 now and doesn’t go down.

Maybe I need to reinstall OS X.
[doublepost=1532269053][/doublepost]Reinstalling OS X
 
Do all the sensors give what appears to be accurate and normal readings?

You could try running Apples Hardware Test. Turn off the iMac, turn it on and immediately press and hold D on the keyboard.
 
cynics said:
Do all the sensors give what appears to be accurate and normal readings?

You could try running Apples Hardware Test. Turn off the iMac, turn it on and immediately press and hold D on the keyboard.
Click to expand...
The sensors all seem to give normal readings. I’m resintalling OS X right now. I’ll do the hardware test after.

If I can’t get the fan to behave normally I don’t know what I’m gonna do.
[doublepost=1532270140][/doublepost]Welp a reinstall didn’t help. I don’t know what the problem could be
[doublepost=1532271604][/doublepost]Apple hardware test came back as normal
 
jetjaguar said:
The sensors all seem to give normal readings. I’m resintalling OS X right now. I’ll do the hardware test after.

If I can’t get the fan to behave normally I don’t know what I’m gonna do.
[doublepost=1532270140][/doublepost]Welp a reinstall didn’t help. I don’t know what the problem could be
[doublepost=1532271604][/doublepost]Apple hardware test came back as normal
Click to expand...

Does the software you are using list ALL of these sensors and are the temps about the same at idle for all of them?

Screen Shot 2018-07-22 at 11.00.48 AM.png
 

Hmm everything there looks good. Honestly everything points me back to the SMC but you already reset it so I'm not sure. Just to test can you force iStat to reduce the fan speed?
 
Fan speed is always between 1850 and 2100 rpms .. it is LOUD.

I downloaded macfancontrol that allows you to change the fan speed but im not sure what parameters i should set.
 
What shows in CPU usage in your Activity Monitor? (Make sure that is set to show "All Processes", and not just "My Processes") You can click on the column labels to sort by %CPU, or whatever you prefer.
 
DeltaMac said:
What shows in CPU usage in your Activity Monitor? (Make sure that is set to show "All Processes", and not just "My Processes") You can click on the column labels to sort by %CPU, or whatever you prefer.
Click to expand...
 

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So I did an SSD upgrade today. It looks like whoever owned this iMac before me (bought from eBay) had already swapped out the HD... and they didn't install the temp sensor cable... Which is why my fan speed was always 1600 minimum... After installing the SSD today with the temp sensor cable from OWC, my fan has been sitting at 1200 as expected.

Did you upgrade the hard drive on it? Or are you the original owner? Wondering if you are seeing what I had... Prior owner changed HD, but didn't use the temp sensor cable.
 
Last edited:
jetjaguar said:
Fan speed is always between 1850 and 2100 rpms .. it is LOUD.

I downloaded macfancontrol that allows you to change the fan speed but im not sure what parameters i should set.
Click to expand...
Set fans RPM to keep temperature at 150 degrees F/66 degrees C. Initially set all fans to 100% RPM for five minutes to blow out accumulated dust.
 
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