Silent iMac (fan noise)

[r-sparks]

Love my 20in iMac (2.13GHz processor). Great screen, great software, much better experience than Windows.

Only one niggling problem: fan noise. The iMac is incredibly quiet compared to any other desktop computer I've had. But there's still a background whirr.

This is par for the course, I guess. I've checked top and nothing is getting above 2-3% of processor. It's not as if it seems there's a hairdrier in the iMac. It's just a low whirr, like I can hear an air conditioning unit next door.

Does anybody have any tips for a quieter iMac? Silent would be lovely, like my iBook G4 notebook, although I might be asking too much.

 

[Fleetwood Mac]

Your asking for too much.

My iMac was silent before the first SMC update, but I don't mind. I listen to music most of the time so it isn't a big deal.

 

[r-sparks]

My iMac was silent before the first SMC update, but I don't mind. I listen to music most of the time so it isn't a big deal.

Is there any way to undo the firmware update?

This is quite a serious matter to me - the CPU fan has developed an annoying whine that's piercing my ear drum. Unfortunately, I can't drown it out with music - it kills my concentration.

 

[r-sparks]

Hard disk

Love my 20in iMac (2.13GHz processor). Great screen, great software, much better experience than Windows.

Only one niggling problem: fan noise. The iMac is incredibly quiet compared to any other desktop computer I've had. But there's still a background whirr.

This is par for the course, I guess. I've checked top and nothing is getting above 2-3% of processor. It's not as if it seems there's a hairdrier in the iMac. It's just a low whirr, like I can hear an air conditioning unit next door.

Does anybody have any tips for a quieter iMac? Silent would be lovely, like my iBook G4 notebook, although I might be asking too much.

Looks like I've figured this one out. The annoying noise is being caused by the hard disk. I know this because I followed a tip to make it spin down within a minute of inactivity. When it does, the noise goes, and I'm left with the gentle whoosh of the fans.

As soon as I click on something the drive spins up again and the tinnitus-like sound returns.

Question is, what can I do now? The computer is brand new, and the disk (a ST3250824AS) reports SMART as OK. I don't think Apple will take it back.

 

[Fleetwood Mac]

Apple uses high quality drives that are relatively quiet. The whirr is something that all hard drives have, but you might be able to buy a quieter one.