Curious if the i7 being a little louder is due to spotlight indexing? You think it's at idle because you're not using it or anything but it's actually indexing in the background. I'm not sure if that's a possibility or not, but if so, I'd expect it to quiet down after a while.
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Please review your 2017 iMac
- Thread starter jayfromnova
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The 4.2ghz iMac scores higher in geekbench than my 6-core 3.5ghz mac pro. The single 580 GPU is also more powerful than both D500's combined.
tempting........but I'm going to wait and see what the 2018-2019 mac pro looks like.
tempting........but I'm going to wait and see what the 2018-2019 mac pro looks like.
Thanks, yeah that was my first assumption, that background indexing was causing the fan to spin up... However, it's been 24 hours now and I have installed iStat to monitor fan speed and it's idle speed is consistently sitting on 1200rpm and at present no background processors are running. I can still hear it's whir across the room. Maybe my unit has got a noisier fan than others? It seems to be working as it should, just not 'virtually silent' as my 2012 iMac was/ still is.
My 2012 i7 at the moment is also at 1200 rpm, not under load. Can only just hear it sitting 2 foot away. What CPU does your 2012 model have and what rpm does it run at idle?
This is my first desktop and I'm very happy with it. While I've used 27" 1440p displays before, having that much room plus retina clarity is awesome. I do wish it had adjustable height though.
I also picked up a BackPack by 12South and a new Western Digital 2TB portable HD. A small piece of electrical tape to cover the light indicator and I have tripled my storage with it out of sight and not detectable. Right now I have all of my data on my internal storage (675GB), but I know that my iTunes media will eventually outgrown it and the extra $800 for another 1TB of internal SSD just seemed wasteful for iTunes.
I also used some adhesive dots to cement my Lightning Dock to my desk to act as a dedicated accessory charging and sync station. I'll put my iPhone and iPods on there to sync to iTunes once a week and use it to charge my AirPods, Magic Keyboard, Mouse, Trackpad, Apple Pencil, etc.
- 4.2GHz Core i7
- Radeon Pro 580
- 16GB of RAM
- 1TB SSD
I also picked up a BackPack by 12South and a new Western Digital 2TB portable HD. A small piece of electrical tape to cover the light indicator and I have tripled my storage with it out of sight and not detectable. Right now I have all of my data on my internal storage (675GB), but I know that my iTunes media will eventually outgrown it and the extra $800 for another 1TB of internal SSD just seemed wasteful for iTunes.
I also used some adhesive dots to cement my Lightning Dock to my desk to act as a dedicated accessory charging and sync station. I'll put my iPhone and iPods on there to sync to iTunes once a week and use it to charge my AirPods, Magic Keyboard, Mouse, Trackpad, Apple Pencil, etc.
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Picked up my i7/8Gb/1 TB SSD/Pro 580 today from the Salem, NH (delivered 3 days earlier than quoted....Ordered hours after WWDC announcement). I immediately took out the stock RAM and installed 4 sticks of HyperX 8Gb DDR4 for a total of 32 Gb which should more than suffice my personal usage of FCP, LR, PS, some light gaming and good old web surfing.
Pros:
All in all, this is one amazing machine once I customized it to my needs and preferences. It should easily last 6 years plus when maybe Apple will offer an 8K 32 inch option. One can dream, right? I have zero regrets and look forward to may years of photo and video editing with this new machine. Have fun guys. The 2017 iMac is truly the update that many of us have waited for.
Pros:
- Fastest Mac I've ever owned! I have not heard the fans rev up yet but then I have not stress it much more than run Geekbench 4. (I'm coming from a 2010 Mac Pro 2.8QC, 2010 17" MBP with 2.6GHz i7 and 2012 rMBP with 2.6GHz i7.)
- Jaw dropping gorgeous 5K Display with brighter screen and dithered 1 Billion Colors. This is really the main selling point of the iMac. I have not calibrated it yet but colors look decent out of the box, if a bit cool to my eyes. Backlight bleed and backlighting seems more consistent vs 2015s, which I had to return and ultimately rejected 2 BTOs due to "Dirty Screen Effect". LCD tech has it's limitations and I know no 2 panels will be identical.
- The Samsung 1 TB SSD is lighting fast! Getting 2,000+Mb/s Write and 2,400+ Mb/s Read Speeds with Blackmagic.
- Finally decent enough video card for less than hardcore gamers and productivity apps that will take advantage of the video RAM.
- Good to have up to date IO including TB3, USB-C and USB-A
- Finally have the option to get Wireless Magic Keyboard with Number Pad, which I ordered for the extra $30. Excel lovers and entering complex passwords finally got easier!
- Glad Apple decided to keep SD card reader and ports.
- The look of the current design continues to age well, IMHO. It's clean with proper proportions and I honestly don't mind the thicker bezels. I feel it's a timeless design.
- The chassis is well sorted out and I know I'm not a beta tester for Apple.
- Cost. I know. I know. It's a premium device with an amazing 5K screen. But $3K for my setup is a big chunk of change. Luckily I went through the Education store for a slight discount as I share the iMac with my kids and picked up in tax free NH.
- The loudspeakers. They sound bad compared to the 2015s. They are hollow sounding with very little if any bass. The 2015s that I ordered but returned sounded more powerful and crisp. I don't want to put speakers on my desk. That's why I order an AIO.
- The top 27 inch stick models should come standard with 16 GB of RAM. Sure you can upgrade but I think the average buyer might never crack the back cover open and the extra 8 GB goes a long way should you open up more than a few apps.
- SSDs SHOULD be standard at this point! Fusion drives have no place in the top stock models. Again, my opinion.
- No Target Display Mode.
All in all, this is one amazing machine once I customized it to my needs and preferences. It should easily last 6 years plus when maybe Apple will offer an 8K 32 inch option. One can dream, right? I have zero regrets and look forward to may years of photo and video editing with this new machine. Have fun guys. The 2017 iMac is truly the update that many of us have waited for.
I also own the 3.4 Ghz Late 2012 and intend to get new i7 2017 as well. Over the years I have alsways heard about loud fan noise here and then but people have a different sense when it comes to noise.
You however had the same as I have and this worries me a bit to be honest.
Is teh noise more swoosh or does it make othe noises too? The fan has 1200rpm at idle or do you have perhaps load on the CPU because of indexing or something.... ?
The fan rpm in the newer high end models seems to go faster up then in the first models (same design) what I have read here but I expect it to be as silent at idle at least.
Definitely no processes running in background. There are people claiming silent or near silent 2017 i7's when idle, so I think perhaps I've got one with a rough/gritty sounding fan. I'm planning on returning it and will see how the next one goes.
I went for the top-spec 21.5". Super impressed with it so far; screen is gorgeous, it's really quick and I've got to say, I haven't noticed the fan noise what-so-ever!
Note: I upgraded from a 2010 MacBook Pro which was running with near-constant fan noise...
Note: I upgraded from a 2010 MacBook Pro which was running with near-constant fan noise...
Are you going to return and get i5 instead? Or get another i7 to give it another chance?
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Pure SSD? Or Fusion Drive?
When the first 2015 iMacs came out some had similar problems with their fans.
Perhaps some similar issue with yours?
Better get it changed. Please give some feedback how your new one sounds...
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/new-imac-since-when-can-you-hear-the-fan.1932821/
I'm beginning to revise my opinion. The fan is starting to sound louder in idle. There is a definite swoosh audible at a normal viewing distance, and it sounds slightly uneven too. Most certainly noticeable.
I reset the SMC, but that had no effect.
It is starting to annoy me a bit. I'll have to use the computer a little while longer and see how it goes, but I'll also have to start thinking about returning it; can't really accept noticeable fan noise when doing regular tasks in 2017.
Just finished setting up my new 27" i7/580 and while the fans are definitely audible when the CPU is pushed, it is dead silent for me idle. Coming from a Late 2013 this screen is blowing my mind!
I added 32GB of Crucial Ballistix Sport RAM to the stock 8GB for 40GB. I am extremely satisfied with the purchase.
I added 32GB of Crucial Ballistix Sport RAM to the stock 8GB for 40GB. I am extremely satisfied with the purchase.
When the fans are pushed do you feel that it is not an enjoyable experience? I want to purchase this iMac but after reading all of these reports about loud fan noises I'm hesitant. I'm used to having the fans at 6k fan speed on my 2013 rMBP and that was loud but not horrible so is the sound on these iMacs dramatically worse? Or about the same?
How is fan noise still a thing?!
I've been spoiled by my 2013 with i5. I do 5 hours of video transcoding per day without the fan speed increasing over 1200RPM (silent). Just the thought of 5 hours of max fan speed makes me cringe!
The i7 would really benefit me for what I do however I feel like I'm picking my poison. I can't believe I'm debating waiting another year (iMac Pro seems overkill).
EDIT: Didn't they talk about VR? What about my immersion with all that fan noise?! Lol
I've been spoiled by my 2013 with i5. I do 5 hours of video transcoding per day without the fan speed increasing over 1200RPM (silent). Just the thought of 5 hours of max fan speed makes me cringe!
The i7 would really benefit me for what I do however I feel like I'm picking my poison. I can't believe I'm debating waiting another year (iMac Pro seems overkill).
EDIT: Didn't they talk about VR? What about my immersion with all that fan noise?! Lol
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When the fans are going they are plenty loud and you will notice them. I wouldn't say they are any louder than they were on my Late 2013 iMac though.
I'm just not seeing them kick in as frequently as others in here seem to be. When Migration Assistant was restoring the system I heard them on and off but I haven't really since.
Now I'm in Bootcamp Windows 10 running a ton of Windows Updates and there is still no fan action to speak of.
Thanks for the review, seems well balanced. By any chance could you have gotten use to your old speakers and the new ones just sound different or is there a clear distinction they sound "worse"?
I think Apple only uses the Fusion to help mitigate the cost to reduce its price for storage capacity. Based on the speed and type of their SSDs the price they charge is somewhat justified if we keep in mind Apples profit margins, warranties, service, pre installed, etc. Looking for similar/better quality and performance SSDs.... 2tb PCIe SSD ~ 1300 dollars not on sale. 250gb PCIe SSD ~ 127 dollars. Albeit the SSD cost the price Apple charges + the 2tb Fusion they remove...
Anyway the point is without reverting back to SATA for SSD without the Fusion option someone buying a Mac that merely needs a lot of space would have to drop A LOT of money. Only having 256gb of storage may be fine for many however is laughable for a system that would cost 2499 (2299 + 200 SSD).
Thats just my opinion anyway, to me it seems like there is a method to their madness. And I certainly don't knock Apple for using PCIe based SSDs, they were ahead of the times when they started and I hope they keep up that trend.
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Would you say that if I was to purchase it and play WoW on it that it would not be worth it due to the fan noise? That is the only complaint I'm seeing with these new iMacs is the fan noise. It's just hard for me to tell what 2700 rpm fan noise is when it's completely different from the laptops. The rMBP I have idles at 2k rpm and maxes at 6k rpm and I'm used to playing WoW on that at 6k rpm but I don't really care because I use headphones while playing so wasn't sure if that is basically the same deal here.
No fan noise or other complaints so far on my 21incher except for the fact that my USB c ports dont work. Does anyone else have this problem?