I don't have an internal HDD, so that could be the difference. I have two external 5tb seagate backup drives that are fairly quiet and they drown out any sound coming from the iMac.
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The new iMac is a lot noisier!
- Thread starter Darajavahus
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Hello everyone. I finally pulled the trigger and bought the below 2017 27" iMac.
Has anyone noticed the new iMac running hot and having the fans turn on with loud noises? Is this normal? I've never owned an iMac thus the question.
FYI a 12min clip takes around 11minutes to convert, much faster, and I can continue editing in FCP X while Compressor is running which never used to happen. Pretty stoked.
- 4.2GHZ QC I7, TB UP TO 4.5GHZ
- 32GB 2400MHZ DDR4 - 4X8GB
- 1TB FLASH STORAGE
- AMD RADEON PRO 580 W/8GB VRAM
Has anyone noticed the new iMac running hot and having the fans turn on with loud noises? Is this normal? I've never owned an iMac thus the question.
FYI a 12min clip takes around 11minutes to convert, much faster, and I can continue editing in FCP X while Compressor is running which never used to happen. Pretty stoked.
I have now used my new iMac for a few hours, and my first impression is that it's very quiet when idle and doing light work. I can barely hear it. When listening closely it's a little louder than my early 2013 rMBP 15" which is absolutely silent when idle, but at a normal working distance I can't tell a difference, and I'm very sensitive to noise.
The fan did spin up to 1700 a few time during setup and installation, and while absolutely noticable it's a lower pitch than the rMBP, and not as annoying. I have also had it on full speed a couple of times (hi Lightroom) and I would say it's about as loud as the rMBP, but again lower pitch and less annoying.
Right now I'm running memtest and the fan keeps going up and down and I only really think about it when it's going full blast. Very happy so far!
i7, 580, 512 SSD
The fan did spin up to 1700 a few time during setup and installation, and while absolutely noticable it's a lower pitch than the rMBP, and not as annoying. I have also had it on full speed a couple of times (hi Lightroom) and I would say it's about as loud as the rMBP, but again lower pitch and less annoying.
Right now I'm running memtest and the fan keeps going up and down and I only really think about it when it's going full blast. Very happy so far!
i7, 580, 512 SSD
This is normal with the i7 7700K iMac, and the reason I returned mine and got the i5 7600 instead. However, my needs are usually probably much less than yours, which is why I’m happy with a slower but much quieter machine.
I don't first-hand but was looking at it for the longest time - thats the Non K 65 watt 7700 so it should run as cool as the i5?
After reading what propower does with audio and the i5 27", thats what I'm buying, because of the bigger screen, and ram access door, and the lower fan speeds in use. But the i7 7700 could be a winner?
http://ark.intel.com/compare/97129,97128
After reading what propower does with audio and the i5 27", thats what I'm buying, because of the bigger screen, and ram access door, and the lower fan speeds in use. But the i7 7700 could be a winner?
http://ark.intel.com/compare/97129,97128
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I SO wish the 7700 (non K) would have been an option for these. That is the ideal chip to me. I bet with Turbo OFF it would never hit above 70degC and would have the Hyper Threading for audio. Sadly 1/2 the reason for me and the iMac is the 27" screen. Since I also have no idea how the thermal design is in the 21.5 I can't say if this chip performs well there or not. Soldered in RAM would be a bummer as well.
Will certainly have an eye out for what comes next in iMacPro, iMac and MacPro. For now though this 3.8 is doing everything I need with lots of headroom and 60 degC temps. It very well could be that this machine will prove to be a great choice for the next 2+ years. If in 9 months I am so productive that this one is holding me back I will very happily upgrade
. In ProAudio land there is the ongoing obsession with gear that will hopefully make tracks sound better (Mics, Mic Preamps, plugins etc...) that leads to GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). At present I must harden my will as not to let this turn into the computer shoppers malady - CAS ... LOL!!!I'm not massively bothered about the 27" screen. I'm quite happy to continue with my 30" Dell for now and would probably prefer a 40" 4K as my central monitor if upgrading the screen so that clients get a better view when in the studio with me. Having the 21.5" iMac on the side will give me a nice second monitor for VE Pro or Ableton with Logic Pro constantly on my main monitor.
My issue with the i5 is lack of hyper threading meaning I'll get about half the amount of virtual Instrument instances that I will with the i7 and as a composer this is what I use the most.
I'm looking for the most powerful CPU that stays quiet. So do you the 21.5" i7 might be a good choice?
Thanks
My issue with the i5 is lack of hyper threading meaning I'll get about half the amount of virtual Instrument instances that I will with the i7 and as a composer this is what I use the most.
I'm looking for the most powerful CPU that stays quiet. So do you the 21.5" i7 might be a good choice?
Thanks
All these companies about noise ..... I am curious, where was it said that the iMac was a silent machine?
Did Apple make the claim that the iMac was completely silent?
I guess if one wanted it to be silent, they could turn off the fans and HDD ..... right?
Did Apple make the claim that the iMac was completely silent?
I guess if one wanted it to be silent, they could turn off the fans and HDD ..... right?
I'm not complaining; I just want to find the model thats right for me. If it was possible to test drive the i7 in store I would, but they only have the i5 with fusion drive, which loading Logic on it today I know isn't right for me.
And if I order a configured iMac I can't send it back just because I don't like the noise it makes.
And if I order a configured iMac I can't send it back just because I don't like the noise it makes.
My iMac i5-7600 is effectively silent at my seating distance, regardless if it is at idle or if it is at 100% CPU load.
It is irrelevant that Apple doesn’t claim the iMac is silent. The fact of the matter is that the i7 gets much, much louder much, much faster than the others under max load. This is a simple fact. If you care a lot about noise then you don’t get the i7. If you don’t care much about noise, then the i7 is a viable option.
And no, you can’t realistically turn off the fans.
Not exactly that simple. I care about, and am very sensitive to noise. It also depends a lot on how you're using the machine. I've been using my i7 4.2GHz for a month and a half now and can count how many times I've actually heard the fans on two hands. For example, recently they briefly ramped up during the Sierra 10.12.16 update. It's so rare that I notice when it occurs and I'm often using this machine in a room with ambient temperatures of up to 32°C.
Also, the fans on the 2017 iMac are also not as loud as on the Late 2013 that preceded it.
If you're doing seriously processor intensive work that gets the fans spinning then yes, you might be bothered with the fan noise. Then again, if its for a business purpose the tradeoff of extra noise for extra speed might actually be worth it.
What if your work requires the i7 and you care about noise? All of a sudden noise is not an issue.
You buy an i7 if you NEED the i7 ....... noise is not a consideration when selecting the right tool for the job.
I have a mid-2011 27" iMac with the i7 ....... I use the i7, so the i5 is not a viable option for me.
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Here's the thing ....... you cannot move air without generating some level of noise.
I am sure that Apple has design considerations for the cooling needs of each processor.
The i7 being more powerful, will generate more heat. and need more cooling air ....... which in turn means more noise.
I'v never saw cooling fan noise as a consideration when selecting a computer to do a job.
This is an issue I have but not related to noise but to computer performance.
Would like to have an i5 and i7, comparably configure, side by side to do a " for me " real world comparison.
The last thing I am worried about is cooling air noise ..... and in an Apple Store setting who could tell.
At this point I need a new machine YESTERDAY and cannot wait so I might just leave the iMac neighborhood and move over to the Mac Pro neighborhood.
We had a lightning strike here and my iMac was crippled, thought not killed. Insurance company said " replace it as it is not worth risking " and they paid the cost to replace ...... all I have to do is ante up the difference.
ON A GOOD NOTE - My mid-2011 iMac, in the insurance company mind only depreciated in value by 11.11% ... I gave them a " replacement cost " of $2499.00 based on Apple price of a new 27" i7 with 16 GB Ram and they paid me $2.221.33 telling me if the replacement costs more ... they will pay the difference. No, I won't ask them to buy me the Mac Pro ... LOL
I knew Mac computers held their value but DAMN ....... the adjust said " it's because the mid-2011 is the last model with the optical drive according to the resellers I spoke with "
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In situations like that put the computers in a separate computer room and diskless workstations in the studio or control room!
I would not suggest for a moment the use of " all in ones " in an environment such as that.
I've done work and installs where removing ambient noise was mandatory, such as a testing facility that runs electric motors in a production facility to test them for the noises they created. This was inside the factory ...... computers in one room ....... UUT in another anechoic room .... terminal and operator in a third room.
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Heh. Indeed.
I had the 2017 i7 iMac in my house. Aside from the GPU, they were identically configured, with 1 TB SSD. I returned it because of the noise. I had an 2010 iMac i7 870 before that and while it did become audible under 100% load, it took far, far longer to go to max fan. The i7 7700K iMac is very quick to go to max fan.
See above. I had the 2010 27" iMac with the i7 before. I too though that because I sometimes doing video encoding, I definitely wanted the i7-7700K. So I bought it.
Then I realized I'd prefer a 12.5 minute silent encode (i5) over a 10 minute encode where the fan is at maximum for 9.5 minutes (i7).
Fan noise for me has ALWAYS been a consideration when I buy my computers. It's not the only factor or even the main factor, but it is significant factor. Luckily for me though, I don't need the i7 all day long. That performance is just very nice to have when video encoding and such.
YMMV.
P.S. I've said before, if you absolutely need more than 2017 i5 performance and want a quiet iMac, then for some people it may make sense to wait another year for the 2018 i5 iMac, because 6-core i5 iMacs will likely be out then. This would be an ideal iMac for many audio types.
In fact, that was what I had wanted to do myself, but couldn't because for more mundane reasons I was forced to buy this fiscal year.
Most of the time the i7 was quiet, and yes it depends on your usage pattern. But what really struck me after a week of usage was that any sort of processor intensive usage for longer than say 20 seconds could get the fan going. This was a big change from my 2010 i7. With the 2010 i7 with my regular usage it was quiet 99.9% of the time. With a maxed out CPU it would max out the fan after a few minutes, but that was OK.
With the i7-7700K the core temps spiked up and down and even just heavier usage in Photos and apps like that could get the fan going. I tried to tell myself it was OK, but after a while I just realized I wanted it to behave more like my 2010 i7 in terms of noise, or else better than that. The 2017 i5 is much better than the 2010 i7 in terms of noise behaviour, but 2017 i7 was noticeably worse. If the 2017 i7 had been like the 2010 i7, I would have kept it.
Ironically, the 2010 i7 is rated at 95 Watt TDP, but the 2017 i7 is rated at 91 W TDP, but it would seem the rating doesn't reflect the real-world behaviour. BTW, this is not just noted by us. The PC geeks are saying the same thing. The 7700K runs quite hot under load, and is much quicker to hit those high hot temps than most older mainstream i7 chips.
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Ahh - but you can! You can return any iMac bought from Apple for 2 weeks after delivery - CTO, or stock models! I have done it many times.
Yes - there are those that don't understand the importance of fan noise (with high performance) in Audio applications everywhere - even on the Audio forums!! We are all humans with our own idiosyncrasies. FWIW - I was bothered ny the i7 being at 80degC during normal 20% CPU loads. But that's me.
The iMac (IMO) is a consumer computer that can be used for more demanding work. It is not intended to be ideal for all but it is also all Apple offers in a Desktop between the Mini and the Mac Pro. It come with a gorgeous screen and a desktop processor with at least a good Thermal system. For many Pro Audio folks - having the fan at 2000+ RPM is just too much noise for mixing or recording in the same room. In my testing I found ~33% load (with the YES test) starts to get the fans moving off of idle on the i7. Thankfully - Audio is not really that kind of load (ie doesn't just saturate a core usually like video). Near as i could figure - something around a 50% Logic ProX load will start to move the fans off of idle. To my simple reasoning - if one routinely loads an i7 past 50% (CPU - not the Logic Meter) - then either accept fan noise or give up the iMac paradigm for now and get a HexCore or more 2013 MP (note - I ran the Hex Core machine for 3 years - perfect for that kind of use). Where it got interesting for me was that my usual load today is ~ 25% on the i7 (turns out to be like 35% on the i5). So I don't "need" the i7 today. In simple math this (strangely) also gives me more noise free headroom on the i5 than the i7.
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Have to say at 3300RPM the 2017 model doesn't sound as loud as the 2015 at that speed. You can certainly tell the fans are hauling, but I can hear game audio and such clearly over it.
IMO you should work on narrowing your needs towards choosing which Mac first. I don't see any realistic scenario that the choice of machine can stretch from the 21.5" iMac to iMac Pro.