This new iMac starts the fans at 1200 rpm as soon as I start the iMac :(

[Wek]

Hi all



I have just bought and received my new iMac 2019 27" 5K, 3.1GHz 6-core 8th-gen i5.



For many years ago I had another iMac and I don’t remember that I could hear the fans at all, when idle or at low workload.



This new iMac starts the fans at 1200 rpm as soon as I start the iMac, and it seems its default settings. I look in Istats Menu and see I can’t adjust fans manual below 1200 rpm.



Is this just the way of the new iMacs? Louder fans and no fan option to set fans to only run at XX temperature?



Is there any way to down throttle the CPU, to maybe make the fans go lower?



It’s not because the fans are so loud I can’t stand it, but I had expected a new iMac to be 100% silent when just browsing, and such.



Thanks in advance.

 

[gilby101]

Your hearing is better than mine. I don't notice the fan when it is at 1200rpm. And, I suspect you can't make it go slower.

I suggest you just let macOS adjust fan and CPU speed as it thinks best. I have had my i9 2019 iMac for a year now and I have noticed that the fan/cpu speed settings have changed with macOS releases. When new the iMac was very 'reluctant' to raise the fan speed, preferring to slow the CPU (reduce the turbo boost). Now it raises the fan speed sooner, but keeps the CPU speed higher. There is a balance there - for me it is better than it was.

 

[BrianBaughn]

How long have you had it on? Did you migrate your data? Could it be Spotlight indexing?

 

[Wek]

Thanks both for your answers

I got it yesterday. And is downloading all my iCloud data to the disk. hmmmmmm how do I check that?

 

[Wolf1701]

Yes, you can lower the fan speed...

Recent 27" iMacs are NOT silent

So I have a pretty quiet office at home and I have good hearing and I value silence when I'm trying to focus on something. The office can get down to 29 or 30 dB at night. For the past ~8 years I've had a Mac Mini which I put on the outside edge of my desk, on the floor. If it wasn't under...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[BrianBaughn]

Thanks both for your answers

I got it yesterday. And is downloading all my iCloud data to the disk. hmmmmmm how do I check that?

To see if your Mac is indexing do a Spotlight search for anything. If it's indexing, there will be a progress bar under the search field.

 

[Wek]

Well even in sleep mode the fans are running and the iMac is loud I'm not sure it's doing anything else, than sleeping... Seems I have to find another computer. Really sad, because I had been looking forward to have a new 27 retina 5 k monitor.

 

[AdamSeen]

I feel your pain! Unfortunately the latest iMacs are the loudest in years. See https://quietmac.app/ for comparisons. 1200RPM is the base.

You could find a iMac - Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015 secondhand which is the quietest retina or the iMac Pro refurbished which is quieter than all the other iMacs.

 

[nihil0]

Well even in sleep mode the fans are running and the iMac is loud I'm not sure it's doing anything else, than sleeping... Seems I have to find another computer. Really sad, because I had been looking forward to have a new 27 retina 5 k monitor.

If the fans are running in sleep mode, it is not sleep mode. Try to verify whether you have PowerNap on or Wake on LAN or anything like that in power saving settings. Btw I have 2019 5K model with i9 and it is also running 1200 RPM by default but it is normal behavior and, furthermore, while I can hear it it is not sounding like airplane taking off or anything. Just normal idle noise.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
"I have just bought and received my new iMac 2019 27" 5K, 3.1GHz 6-core 8th-gen i5."

What kind of DRIVE is inside the iMac?
Is it a fusion drive or an SSD?

IF it's a fusion drive, could it be the spinning, platter-based hard drive portion (of the fusion drive) that you're hearing...?

 

[CWallace]

Is this just the way of the new iMacs? Louder fans and no fan option to set fans to only run at XX temperature?

My 2014, 2015 and 2017 5K iMacs all had a minimum fan speed of 1200RPM and I believe my 2011 27" did, as well.

 

[quagmire]

As stated, 1200 RPM is the base fan RPM at idle then gets faster as temperatures dictate( which Apple's default setting is always conservative and lets it get relatively high before spinning up the fan). I don't think any of the latest Intel iMac's ever had the fan off. My parents Late 2009 27" iMac has the fan constantly running, my Late 2013 27" iMac had the fan at 1200 RPM. My 2019 27" iMac also runs at 1200 RPM.

 

[Hermolicious84]

As others have said, the base fan speed is 1200rpm. That's the absolute beginning of the fan speed range in the temp/fan management apps I've seen. In a completely quiet room, I've never been able to hear it, even putting my head very close. If your fan seems abnormally loud at 1200rpm, perhaps it's defective.

 

[AdamSeen]

As others have said, the base fan speed is 1200rpm. That's the absolute beginning of the fan speed range in the temp/fan management apps I've seen. In a completely quiet room, I've never been able to hear it, even putting my head very close. If your fan seems abnormally loud at 1200rpm, perhaps it's defective.

It's more likely that the ambient noise levels in Wek's room are somewhere below the 30dB region and if you can't hear it your ambient levels are higher than that. 24dB is not super quiet and most people in a quiet office will be able to hear it, especially if you don't live in a city. There are plenty of people complaining about the noise of the 2019 compared to previous generation iMacs as well, because it is louder.

 

[Wek]

If the fans are running in sleep mode, it is not sleep mode. Try to verify whether you have PowerNap on or Wake on LAN or anything like that in power saving settings. Btw I have 2019 5K model with i9 and it is also running 1200 RPM by default but it is normal behavior and, furthermore, while I can hear it it is not sounding like airplane taking off or anything. Just normal idle noise.

Powernab and Wake on Lan where both active, so after changing that, the Mac sleeps better now, thanks.
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OP wrote:
"I have just bought and received my new iMac 2019 27" 5K, 3.1GHz 6-core 8th-gen i5."

What kind of DRIVE is inside the iMac?
Is it a fusion drive or an SSD?

IF it's a fusion drive, could it be the spinning, platter-based hard drive portion (of the fusion drive) that you're hearing...?

Well sadly it's the Fusion drive model but I'm sure it's the fan.
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It's more likely that the ambient noise levels in Wek's room are somewhere below the 30dB region and if you can't hear it your ambient levels are higher than that. 24dB is not super quiet and most people in a quiet office will be able to hear it, especially if you don't live in a city. There are plenty of people complaining about the noise of the 2019 compared to previous generation iMacs as well, because it is louder.

My ambient noice is around 32-34 dB - and again it's not a "bad" sound, just the spin of a fan Seems I have to accept it, if I want to keep my new iMac
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Thank you all, for your great answers. I's seems that I have to accept the fan noice, if I want to keep my new iMac 2019 model and I guess that I want to keep it