What Do Some of You Do To Keep Your 27" iMac Cool?

[rs14smith]

Hey,

I just purchased my 27" iMac yesterday, and I love it. So far, I haven't seen any issues (no yellow tinge, flickering..etc.). Just 2 days old tho so kinda early to judge, but anyway, my question regards the heat from the iMac.

I'm sure this is normal, but I was wondering if some of you went the extra mile to help keep your iMac cool? I have this thing on full brightness, and I use it for a long period of time, and it stays on 24/7 (putting the display to sleep at night), but when I touch the top of the iMac it is fairly hot, and I know that's where the ventaliation is for the iMac, but it can get pretty hot lol.

I almost burnt my arm...well I wouldn't say burnt, but when I reached my arm behind the mointor to grab a cord to hook up my xbox 360 to my external montior, my arm bumped the top and it felt like i was about to be burned lol.

Again, this is when the monitor is fully lit up, and I'm doing casual work, so yeah of course ill be hot, but again back to the orginal question, what do some of you do to "help out" the iMac to stay cool (or warm).

BTW: I'm new to All in One PC's in general so...don't bash me for asking
I just have the thought that, if you can help keep your electronics cool, they will last a lot longer, and less worries of something inside malfunctioning

 

[scottness]

Hey,

I just purchased my 27" iMac yesterday, and I love it. So far, I haven't seen any issues (no yellow tinge, flickering..etc.). Just 2 days old tho so kinda early to judge, but anyway, my question regards the heat from the iMac.

I'm sure this is normal, but I was wondering if some of you went the extra mile to help keep your iMac cool? I have this thing on full brightness, and I use it for a long period of time, and it stays on 24/7 (putting the display to sleep at night), but when I touch the top of the iMac it is fairly hot, and I know that's where the ventaliation is for the iMac, but it can get pretty hot lol.

I almost burnt my arm...well I wouldn't say burnt, but when I reached my arm behind the mointor to grabbed a cord to hook up my xbox 360 to my external montior, my arm bumped the top and it felt like i was about to be burned lol.

Again, this is when the monitor is fully lit up, and I'm doing casual work, so yeah of course ill be hot, but again back to the orginal question, what do some of you do to "help out" the iMac to stay cool (or warm).

BTW: I'm new to All in One PC's in general so...don't bash me for asking

I don't have a 27" (yet), but I do keep a fan circulating the air behind my iMac.

 

[rs14smith]

I don't have a 27" (yet), but I do keep a fan circulating the air behind my iMac.

Yeah I was thinking the same. I mean, it's kinda similar to laptop fans you can set laptops on to help keep those cool, so I'd think it wouldn't harm the computer if I was to put some type of small fan behind it to help it out.

I'm a former PC user, and when it came time to dusting, opening the PC case is a breeze, but it takes a little extra work for the iMac (not much but more than the typical PC case, at least for me it does), but on average, how many times do you all clean out the internal components of your iMac's rather it's a 27" or the older iMacs? I may need to open a seperate thread for that

 

[johnrs]

Hi

I have a 27" i7 and while its get hot at the top where the vents are the middle to lower part of the back is much cooler..

I have boot camp installed to play the odd windows game such as COD MW and after a good hours playing the top is very warm to the touch which did surprise me at first but figured that this was part of the case design as the lower parts where still much cooler. The back of the case is like one big heat sink.

I would not overly worry about the temps. My iMac has work perfect from day 1

 

[scottness]

Yeah I was thinking the same. I mean, it's kinda similar to laptop fans you can set laptops on to help keep those cool, so I'd think it wouldn't harm the computer if I was to put some type of small fan behind it to help it out.

I'm a former PC user, and when it came time to dusting, opening the PC case is a breeze, but it takes a little extra work for the iMac (not much but more than the typical PC case, at least for me it does), but on average, how many times do you all clean out the internal components of your iMac's rather it's a 27" or the older iMacs? I may need to open a seperate thread for that

I've had my 20" aluminum for about 1.5 years and haven't opened it up yet. Maybe I should, but I monitor the temp and it seems ok so far. I keep a small fan there for my iMac, backup drives, etc.

 

[rs14smith]

Yeah good points from both of you.

I have the Apple Care plan too, so I'm not too worried, but just like to get educated from people who already own iMac's and what you guys do.

Just curious though on how long you've owned your i7 iMac johnrs?

lol I went into the Apple Store yesterday thinking I was looking at the 27" when I was really looking at the 21.5"! I couldn't believe how huge this thing was omggg!

 

[NATO]

Unless you're running your computer in an abnormally hot environment then you're wasting your time trying to keep it any cooler than it already is. Apple have very smart engineers who have designed it to operate properly under all normal conditions. Plus, if it's hot to touch at the top that's because it's designed in such a way as to conduct heat to the aluminium enclosure rather than keeping it trapped inside as would be the case with most PCs with a plastic enclosure.

Relax and enjoy your computer, stop worrying about inconsequential things!

 

[AlexisV]

It doesn't need cooling. You don't drive around slowly because you're worried your engine is too hot to touch.

 

[ttopp]

Apple made the iMac cool, I try and not keep it hot..

there are usb fans, i used to keep one on my 24" imac due to it having the black back and it facing the window (Got really hot in summer).

Bad design or bad computer placement???

 

[spcdust]

Whilst in OSX I reckon best leave alone as the fans and heat sensors should adapt to increases in temperature and the aluminum rear of the new iMacs will get hot as I would imagine it's working as a secondary heat sink. HOWEVER when on the PC side of things via Boot Camp I've heard the fan and temperature management isn't so efficient. Running GFX intensive games like COD MW can result in the GPU getting a little toasty - the consensus I've read is to install SMCFanControl on the OSX side. First boot into OSX and increase the fan speeds and then restart (not shut down) and boot into the PC side of your Mac. When you shutdown the Mac the fans will return to their default settings.

 

[rs14smith]

Relax and enjoy your computer, stop worrying about inconsequential things!

This message is for AlexisV as well:

I hate replies like this. It's like, what the hell is the point of this forum if you can't ask a darn question about stuff you may not be sure about??

If I have no clue, I'm going to ask, it's nothing wrong with worrying about something you care about. If you don't ask, and something happens, who fault is it?...yours.

As stated in the opening post, "in bold", I'm new to all in one pc's in general so hell if I don't know everything there is to know about them. Give me a freakin break. And sorry to take all my frustration out on you, however, I see tons of ppl here bashing ppl new to apple all the time, and it's ridiculous.

Thanks to everyone else that provided generous help to my question.

 

[JimKirk]

How about getting it some cool shades?

 

[spcdust]

This message is for AlexisV as well:

I hate replies like this. It's like, what the hell is the point of this forum if you can't ask a darn question about stuff you may not be sure about??

If I have no clue, I'm going to ask, it's nothing wrong with worrying about something you care about. If you don't ask, and something happens, who fault is it?...yours.

As stated in the opening post, "in bold", I'm new to all in one pc's in general so hell if I don't know everything there is to know about them. Give me a freakin break. And sorry to take all my frustration out on you, however, I see tons of ppl here bashing ppl new to apple all the time, and it's ridiculous.

Thanks to everyone else that provided generous help to my question.

As well as SMCFanControl another useful program is iSTAT. Using these two apps allows you to monitor system info and, if you feel the need, make adjustments to fan speeds - for instance if you were doing some heavy duty video transcoding.

 

[spencers]

I keep it in my refrigerator.

 

[53x12]

I keep the stand in a bucket of ice water. Works well.

 

[agr5]

This message is for AlexisV as well:

I hate replies like this. It's like, what the hell is the point of this forum if you can't ask a darn question about stuff you may not be sure about??

If I have no clue, I'm going to ask, it's nothing wrong with worrying about something you care about. If you don't ask, and something happens, who fault is it?...yours.

As stated in the opening post, "in bold", I'm new to all in one pc's in general so hell if I don't know everything there is to know about them. Give me a freakin break. And sorry to take all my frustration out on you, however, I see tons of ppl here bashing ppl new to apple all the time, and it's ridiculous.

Thanks to everyone else that provided generous help to my question.

Whoa...I didn't take any of their responses as sarcastic or hurtful towards you. You need to calm down my friend. They were just stating their opinions.

 

[TheBritishBloke]

To be honest, if you get a cheap 4" USB fan off of ebay or somewhere, and hook it behind your iMac, I think the air would keep circulating perfectly fine. And Apple have designed it to stay cool anyway, so I don't think the circulation via an outer fan is too important.

Enjoy.

 

[rs14smith]

Whoa...I didn't take any of their responses as sarcastic or hurtful towards you. You need to calm down my friend. They were just stating their opinions.

And I'm stating my opinion. Half of the post in this thread are useless because of sarcastism. "I sit mine in refrigertator, I sit mine in a bucket of ice water..", etc. are extremely helpful.....right..?

Of course they are just being funny, and that's fine, I'm not directing my post towards them, however, if you seriously do not know something about an item or subject, wouldn't you be a little pissed if everyone bashed you for asking? Would you ask a question next time?

And by bashing, I mean, someone telling me I'm too worried about something, with explanation points(!). States the person is basically yelling if you. So not sure if you missed that or not, but yeah, I LOVE being yelled at for asking a concerning question about something I purchase.

But I don't care to keep debating this matter, as it's my opinion, and has little to do with this thread, but needed to be said. Seem the majrority here are between ages 10-17, or have the mind set.

 

[justit]

....And Apple have designed it to stay cool anyway...

I wouldn't rely on apple alone, that's asking for a false sense of security. I learned that lesson with my MBA. These AIOs are tight configurations inside a closed case without enough vent ports.
As a software only solution, SMC fan control as stated earlier is the best option. Technically, the iMacs are a large version of a laptop. If you're really gung-ho you could try coolbook which actually lowers the voltage, thus running cooler, at you own risk.

 

[quagmire]

I have no worries about keeping my iMac cool. Both the Core i7 and 4850 are running cooler then the C2D and 8600M in my 17" MBP. The i7 likes to range from 34 C to 40 C. The 4850 seems to like 50 C. Where my C2D runs at 52-55 C and the 8600M at 65 C. I am quite content at how cool it is running.

When I was doing a handbrake, I saw the Core i7 at 88% usage was at 59 C with the fans running at 2000 RPM I believe I saw it at( not sure exactly). I forgot what temp the 4850 was at.

 

[DesignerOnMac]

Hey,

I just purchased my 27" iMac yesterday, and I love it. So far, I haven't seen any issues (no yellow tinge, flickering..etc.). Just 2 days old tho so kinda early to judge, but anyway, my question regards the heat from the iMac.

I'm sure this is normal, but I was wondering if some of you went the extra mile to help keep your iMac cool? I have this thing on full brightness, and I use it for a long period of time, and it stays on 24/7 (putting the display to sleep at night), but when I touch the top of the iMac it is fairly hot, and I know that's where the ventaliation is for the iMac, but it can get pretty hot lol.

I almost burnt my arm...well I wouldn't say burnt, but when I reached my arm behind the mointor to grab a cord to hook up my xbox 360 to my external montior, my arm bumped the top and it felt like i was about to be burned lol.

Again, this is when the monitor is fully lit up, and I'm doing casual work, so yeah of course ill be hot, but again back to the orginal question, what do some of you do to "help out" the iMac to stay cool (or warm).

BTW: I'm new to All in One PC's in general so...don't bash me for asking
I just have the thought that, if you can help keep your electronics cool, they will last a lot longer, and less worries of something inside malfunctioning

Welcome to the imac and the forums!

My iMac 24" 2.8 extreme that I have owned for two years runs as hot all most of the others, and yes, the iMac is vented out the top and there is quite a bit of hot air blowing out.

Anyway, as I said my imac is two years old and I live on the equator. It is warm here EVERY DAY! It is 7:41 PM and the temp is 84. CPU fan runs @ 1200 rpms. All is good with this computer and I do not have the air conditioning on either.

If your worried about the heat, then by all means buy a small desktop fan, as suggested or depending on your setup a small floor fan. But from my use of my iMac no extra fans have been needed.

 

[rs14smith]

Welcome to the imac and the forums!

My iMac 24" 2.8 extreme that I have owned for two years runs as hot all most of the others, and yes, the iMac is vented out the top and there is quite a bit of hot air blowing out.

Anyway, as I said my imac is two years old and I live on the equator. It is warm here EVERY DAY! It is 7:41 PM and the temp is 84. CPU fan runs @ 1200 rpms. All is good with this computer and I do not have the air conditioning on either.

If your worried about the heat, then by all means buy a small desktop fan, as suggested or depending on your setup a small floor fan. But from my use of my iMac no extra fans have been needed.

Thanks, good to hear. Since it's my first iMac, I have no idea what I should expect, thus is my reason for being wise enough to ask related questions when I need too. I may download that software just to have it, as it's nice to know what is going on inside your computer, well for those who care

Thanks again

 

[Bryan Bowler]

I'm sure this is normal, but I was wondering if some of you went the extra mile to help keep your iMac cool? I have this thing on full brightness, and I use it for a long period of time, and it stays on 24/7 (putting the display to sleep at night), but when I touch the top of the iMac it is fairly hot, and I know that's where the ventaliation is for the iMac, but it can get pretty hot lol.

This shouldn't come as a surprise, but you do not need to do anything extra to keep your iMac cool. Believe it or not, Apple designed it to be used and you can do that for as long as you want without fear.

Just enjoy your computer...

Bryan

 

[quagmire]

This shouldn't come as a surprise, but you do not need to do anything extra to keep your iMac cool. Believe it or not, Apple designed it to be used and you can do that for as long as you want without fear.

Just enjoy your computer...

Bryan

Exactly.

While for some, Apple sets the fans to speed up at a higher temperature then they like. Which smcfancontrol allows you to set it lower. But, the standard settings are fine and won't do the components harm.

I just did another handbrake and I noticed that the fans didn't kick in until the CPU reached 68-70 C which then brought the CPU fan to 2000 RPM and dropped the temperature to 59 C. This iMac and the i7 has no problem with staying cool. The fans didn't slow down again until it hit 110 F( wasn't look at iStat when I noticed the slow down). Right now it is running at 41 C, but if I leave it idle for awhile, it will cool back down to 34-38 C. Which I repeat is far cooler then my C2D and 8600M that is in my MBP. The i7 ran at the same temperature my C2D runs at watching a simple youtube movie when I was doing the handbrake and the 4850 ran at the idling temperature of the 8600M.