High speed fan not kicking in.

When are the high speed fans supposed to kick in the iMac? The ambient temperature here where I am with the computer is 89ºF. Yes, 89 ambient. The top vents from the display are almost too hot to touch, but the fan(s) are still on slow. I have the RAM maxed out, so it's 'working hard', but the heat dosen't seem to affect it. Is this normal? I can't imagine a situation where my iMac could be more heat stressed.

dotdotdot said:

The ambient temperature here where I am with the computer is 89ºF. Yes, 89 ambient.

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Computer temperatures would be much more helpful.

Ambient temps where I am were 87°F yesterday...and my computers were fine.

- Nick

I assume there is nothing built in to read the temp and I need an app for that, yes?

Download 1Stat Pro. Ambient will depend on the air temperature to some extent. Cold winter's morning Down Under and is 16º C or 61º F. And for what it is worth have yet to hear my iMac's fans ever running summer or winter.


http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/status/istatpro.html

dotdotdot said:

I assume there is nothing built in to read the temp and I need an app for that, yes?

Click to expand...

Another app. is "Temperature Monitor":

Temperature Monitor

- Nick

Looks like I'm well within those values. Also, most of that heat is from the monitor: I shut down the display and it cooled down considerably. I tired to do a screen shot of the temp chart but that of course failed.

Your iMac has three fans, hence, three main temperatures to monitor. Have you looked at all of them? The app recommended by Harry will show all three fans speeds and temperatures.

Also, if the top vents of your iMac are hot that means the warm air is being convected upward and out the way it's designed to be. As long as you keep the bottom intake vents clear and cool air can be drawn in, there should be no problem with it overheating.