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New iMac: Since when can you hear the fan?

I used to have 2012 model with 3TB fusion drive which I now sold and got the latest 2015 Retina model (3.3 GHz M395 512SSD).

The fan runs at 1200 rpm and stays low even if you stress the computer. There is no clicking. The sound it makes, albeit silent, has however a very annoying 'whooshing' quality which I did not hear in the 2012 version (which I now so regret selling !). Maybe it was because the sound was there but masked by the hard drive spinning - even that was however less distracting while in completely silent room at night than the Retina's whooshing. I am not sure, but I have the impression that in 2012 model the air was taken from the vent in the back and expelled below the screen, while in Retina the air is expelled in the back against the stand making it louder somehow- could someone with 2012 model at hand check ? Anyway, I cannot stand it and I am returning mine.
 
I got one of the first 5k imac and it was just filled with issues - dead pixels, graphics OS crashes and 2 days before I returned it, the fan started making this loud sound like if twas hitting something.

I got a new one and installed everything that I had on the original one and noticed this about the fan.
On the 1st one, I could run 2 windows VM and final cut (just have it open), and Photoshop & I could not even hear the fan come on.
Now with the new one, just having 2 VMs on, the fan is always on, wtf? :eek:

Is this a possible issue or what? o_O
Maybe Im just going crazy, but this is a little annoying . . .

Edit configs: half gig ssd, 395X, 4.0 i7, 24gb ram (8 base from apple)
 
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Torrin said:
Hi Panosher

Sounds pretty much like same whirring noise that my fan produced (plus a large clock ticking in the background?)
Right now I am still waiting for my replacement iMac, curious to find out if it makes a difference.

Torrin
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply! I dont know what to do, as it seems that a lot of people have the same sound, so I guess it is bad designed. I will go tomorrow morning in the store and see what they are going to tell me and then I will decide if I am sending this back or not. Right now I am having issues with the word 2016 being slow :(
Very annoing.
 
foxkoneko said:
I got one of the first 5k imac and it was just filled with issues - dead pixels, graphics OS crashes and 2 days before I returned it, the fan started making this loud sound like if twas hitting something.

I got a new one and installed everything that I had on the original one and noticed this about the fan.
On the 1st one, I could run 2 windows VM and final cut (just have it open), and Photoshop & I could not even hear the fan come on.
Now with the new one, just having 2 VMs on, the fan is always on, wtf? :eek:

Is this a possible issue or what? o_O
Maybe Im just going crazy, but this is a little annoying . . .

Edit configs: half gig ssd, 395X, 4.0 i7, 24gb ram (8 base from apple)
Click to expand...
Can you please post here some pictures of?
The fan speed to 100% CPU load?

On my iMac Fanspeed here was at its maximum at 2850 rpm.
 
I have been at the Apple store, they suggested me to order for a replacement and now I am waiting for mine to be picked up. I will update once I will get the replacemet in about 2 weeks :(
 
Guys,

Curious who got a replacement is everything working well? I will get mine (as it looks for now) this week. I'll make sure to update you but again I'm hoping that you guys notice a improvement.
 
AnTaR3s said:
Hey

I just set up my new iMac and the first impression is very very negative because I can constantly hear the fan and some click-sounds!

I checked the stats and the fan is running at 1200rpm. I could never hear the fan in my old iMac (2012 model) when it was not under stress. Also there is a constant clicking sound in the background. I tried recording it with the iPhone, but it's just too quiet. Nonetheless, I can hear the fans and this weird background clicking.

I am thinking about returning this thing if this is not normal. Is the new iMac running completely silent for you?

thanks

EDIT: I have got an audio recording where you can hear it in the background if you listen closely. It definitely comes from the fan:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/16787607/Temp/imac.m4a
Click to expand...
My older iMac is having the same problem... suddenly the fan is really noisy... even when I am only surfing... any solutions out there?
 
Hey

I just received my replacement. The clicking is definitely gone, so that was indeed not my imagination. The new model, however, is slightly louder than my 2012 version. It is neither loud, nor annoying, but the airflow is audible where in the 2012 machine it was not. I don't have time to do more tests, but I will take a closer look on the weekend :) So far, I am happy with the replacement
 
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AnTaR3s said:
Hey

I just received my replacement. The clicking is definitely gone, so that was indeed not my imagination. The new model, however, is slightly louder than my 2012 version. It is neither loud, nor annoying, but the airflow is audible where in the 2012 machine it was not. I don't have time to do more tests, but I will take a closer look on the weekend :) So far, I am happy with the replacement
Click to expand...

That's good to know as I am sending back mine. I wish you enjoy your new one with no problems at all!
 
Just adding a bit more info from my side: I spent about 1 1/2 hours with the new machine which I used to install all my software for work + other things. I constantly monitored CPU usage and Fan speed and while the CPU was sometimes under heavy load, the fan only spun up to > 2000rpm for a minute or two. So far, nothing severe to complain about. In fact, I am pleasantly surprised. For me this case is closed: My first machine was faulty, probably the fan was not correctly in place. My replacement is what I initially wanted :) I hope all of you get your replacements soon with this annoying issue fixed
 
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AnTaR3s said:
Just adding a bit more info from my side: I spent about 1 1/2 hours with the new machine which I used to install all my software for work + other things. I constantly monitored CPU usage and Fan speed and while the CPU was sometimes under heavy load, the fan only spun up to > 2000rpm for a minute or two. So far, nothing severe to complain about. In fact, I am pleasantly surprised. For me this case is closed: My first machine was faulty, probably the fan was not correctly in place. My replacement is what I initially wanted :) I hope all of you get your replacements soon with this annoying issue fixed
Click to expand...

Happy to hear that! Can you please upload a clip of how your fan sounds at 1200rpm? Maybe behind or below the left side? Thanks!
 
Panosher said:
Happy to hear that! Can you please upload a clip of how your fan sounds at 1200rpm? Maybe behind or below the left side? Thanks!
Click to expand...

Certainly! I am not sure when I'll be back at home, so I might only be able to do it on Friday. Also, I am not sure whether you will hear anything but noise (or constant airflow which will sound like noise) in the new recording, but I can try :)
 
Got my new one today, everything is completely okay right now. Screen has no light leakage and fan is WAY more quiet.

So good news, make sure to swap it if you don't feel comfortable with your current device.
 
I just received my late 2015 IMAC 27 5k i7/512 SSD/M395 and though not loud or unusual sounding, the fan always is running at 1200 rpm. Is it really supposed to run all the time?
 
jrsub said:
I just received my late 2015 IMAC 27 5k i7/512 SSD/M395 and though not loud or unusual sounding, the fan always is running at 1200 rpm. Is it really supposed to run all the time?
Click to expand...

Same here. Got my late 2015 iMac 27 5k i5/2TB Fusion/M395 from Best Buy last weekend. The fan is constantly running at 1200 rpm. It's not loud but the noise is definitely there. It's noticeable when working in a quiet room. Very annoying, I'm debating if I should just return the machine.
 
jrsub said:
I just received my late 2015 IMAC 27 5k i7/512 SSD/M395 and though not loud or unusual sounding, the fan always is running at 1200 rpm. Is it really supposed to run all the time?
Click to expand...

That's idle fan speed. It's normal.

pugxiwawa said:
Same here. Got my late 2015 iMac 27 5k i5/2TB Fusion/M395 from Best Buy last weekend. The fan is constantly running at 1200 rpm. It's not loud but the noise is definitely there. It's noticeable when working in a quiet room. Very annoying, I'm debating if I should just return the machine.
Click to expand...

Speed is normal, the lowest it will go with the Mac on. However it should barely be noticeable, like something you really need to focus on to hear. Idle fan speed noise is subjective, in my experience I can hear it but the room needs to be absolutely silent otherwise, a whisper would be louder....again subjective...
 
I just got my replacement RiMac today for one that had 15+ stuck pixels. The fan is there but it's very quiet and it doesn't bother me one bit. The original unit, which was Made in China, had a slightly louder fan that had very, very faint clicking to it if I put my ear right up to the back of the unit. The new one is quieter and has NO clicking. This replacement iMac came from California.
 
This iMac actually has a pretty good PASSIVE cooling system...

So after reading so much about fans, temperatures.. I did a fun test myself. When I picked up my iMac, I did not remove the plastic film on the screen, which also covers the entire bottom of the screen, where the air intake is.

So, without any air being sucked into the machine, the fan does tend to ramp up pretty frequently. But, but, but, even when I manually maxed out the fan, I can barely feel any air flowing out of the machine, it was indeed noises, but the computer actually kept cool. The max I got was around 90c.

Which means, even without any airflow, the cpu was kept under/around 90c. Pretty impressive.
Ps. I was putting a not-to-heavy normal work load on the machine, installing apps, browsing web, watching 4K YouTube, repairing ~400g photo library, indexing ~700g Spotlight. Definitely have some heavy cpu usage from time to time, but never kept it 100% for long.
 
So far my i7/1TB/395X/24Gb has been fantastic to work on. Last night in started to notice a very very slight noise though, it's like a hard drive ticking over inside the Mac. Very faint but I've picked up on it. Anyone else got this? Pure SSD and all external drives unplugged.
 
Cliffy Biro said:
So far my i7/1TB/395X/24Gb has been fantastic to work on. Last night in started to notice a very very slight noise though, it's like a hard drive ticking over inside the Mac. Very faint but I've picked up on it. Anyone else got this? Pure SSD and all external drives unplugged.
Click to expand...

i got it too. The noise comes and goes though. I have already replaced one iMac cause of the noise, but i am still getting another one and hope the third one is my lucky one :/
 
You've already replaced a late 2015 5K? Maybe we're only picking up on it because it's so quiet otherwise?

It's almost like the airflow is "rough" it's not clicking like previously described by another poster, just a little rough sounding. I'm not sure how to describe it. Am I just being picky? 14 days is tomorrow, although I did buy Apple Care anyway.
 
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