iMac noise over time?

[FlintAlt2]

Hi all,

I was just wondering if it was normal for an 24" Alu iMac to increase its "mechanical" noise ( Fans or hard drive spinning ) over time?

I bought the iMac back in July 2008 ( Switcher ). When I first got it you couldn't hear it at all only if you got really close to it. Now the sound is much more prominent. I've noticed that this has happened after running a game for a month pretty much nonstop ( don't ask ).

The fans are going at the same speed as before:

CPU Fan: 1199-1205
Hard Drive Fan: 1199-1240
Optical: 699

Also, does anyone know if I can pay or something for Apple to clean the dust out?

Thanks to all!

 

[solitaireformac]

I have the same feeling (also a 24" Juli iMac). But after I powered my old notebook last week, which I thought was quiet, I was shocked how noisy it really was.
I believe that the iMac isn't really louder, rather we got too accustomed to this silence...

(and from the objective perspective: the iMac fans mostly run with the speeds you mentioned. And they have always been the same, since the beginning. so there is no objective reason for the iMac to be noisier.)

 

[FlintAlt2]

I have the same feeling (also a 24" Juli iMac). But after I powered my old notebook last week, which I thought was quiet, I was shocked how noisy it really was.
I believe that the iMac isn't really louder, rather we got too accustomed to this silence...

That is a very good point my old HP Pavilion desktop made such a noise, I would be able to hear it 7-8 meters away behind a closed door. Not to mention the laptop I had before that which made even more noise than the desktop.

Thanks for replying its put my mind at rest. I just adore my iMac ( I have never adored a computer quite like my iMac before ) and just take extremely good care of it, just a little too paranoid I guess!

 

[Reventon]

That is a very good point my old HP Pavilion desktop made such a noise, I would be able to hear it 7-8 meters away behind a closed door. Not to mention the laptop I had before that which made even more noise than the desktop.

Heh. I know what you mean.. sometimes I can hear my HP Pavillion's fan from the other side of the house. Can't wait for the new iMacs. Good to know about the iMac's fans too..

 

[FlintAlt2]

Heh. I know what you mean.. sometimes I can hear my HP Pavillion's fan from the other side of the house. Can't wait for the new iMacs. Good to know about the iMac's fans too..

Hehe yep those HP Pavillion's make a hell of a noise, especially after 6 months or so of use. When you get your iMac you won't actually think its on. It really is 0 noise when you come from a noisey computer.

 

[pwn247]

Before I bought my Mac Pro, I thought my old Dell crapmachine was quiet. When I booted the Mac for the first time, I finally realized that my Dell was a chainsaw compared to a box of feathers on the loudness scale.

But now that I've become accustomed to the quietness of the MP, it's not all that quiet anymore. And when I boot up the Dell I'm amazed at how loud that thing is, even after I clean the dust out.


And as for your question on cleaning the iMac, you can usually use compressed air (but not that canned nonsense). I have a vacuum that you can plug the hose up to the output blower (just blows fast, warm air), and that's what I use on the MP. I simply blow the dust out (usually in my garage, outside, etc...).