Safe Operating Temperature for iMac

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Purchased iMac 21.5" in Aug.2012.
OS upgraded to Mavericks 10.9.1
I feel my iMac gets hot after 3 hours.
Downloaded Temperature Monitor Ver 4.8 and ran 4 times.
The last readings are as per the attached file.
Is it OK or I should start worrying !!
 

bobtomay

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Come back when you start seeing 100.

edit:
Just for those wondering since the attachment was removed - the temps ranged from low 40s to upper 50s - nothing to see.
 

pigoo3

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@Deep Dhir. Please don't attach files that are auto-downloaded. This is one great way to spread computer problems...and since you are a 1st time poster...we need to be careful.

If you want to communicate your iMac's temps...post a screen-shot, upload a photo of the info to a hosting site (then link it here)...or simply type the temps manually into your post.

Thanks,

- Nick
 

vansmith

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If I'm right, that's a late 2011 iMac (the late 2012s came out in October). Should that be the case, the operating temperatures are listed here. However, I think you're using "operating temperature" to mean the temperature within the machine. If your internal temperature was indeed only the 40s and 50s, you're perfectly fine.
 

bobtomay

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He did indeed mean the internal component temps vs operating temps.
 

chscag

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As Van pointed out, that's a 2011 iMac. That model was the last model iMac to have three fans for cooling and as indicated above, all temperatures were well within acceptable operating range. You can download the free iStat Pro for Mac which will show you all your temperatures plus fans speeds.
 

vansmith

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It's also worth not worrying about the temperature of the Mac. As with any computer, it is designed to withstand heat and will shut itself down before it overheats and hurts itself.
 
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chas_m

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^^^ what vansmith said.

This is most likely yet another case of a user misunderstanding how the iMac cools itself (and, to be fair, it is quite different and far more clever than most other non-Apple computers).

The iMac uses convection cooling in part, to keep fan activity to a minimum so that the machine can run dramatically quieter. For those who slept through high-school science (raises hand), this means that the design is based on the principle that heat rises. Cool air is drawn in from the underside of the iMac (using gently-run fans), and passes over the hot components. The air is then naturally vented out of the slot near the top of the back of the iMac, which (if a user felt it) would *naturally* feel quite warm, but this is in fact the hot air *escaping* and thus exactly as Apple designed it (I hear they're actually pretty sharp on this "design" business, and don't need the kind of micro-management some PCs do).

Bottom line: what vansmith said. Computers can handle temperatures far higher than humans can, and so long as the heat is being vented properly it is working as designed. In addition, should something like a fan failure occur, there is a failsafe already in place. In short, users need not concern themselves with this.
 

chscag

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Cool air is drawn in from the underside of the iMac (using gently-run fans), and passes over the hot components.

Just would like to mention the above is true except that iMac models 2012 and 2013 only have one central fan. Previous models have 3.
 

Slydude

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I expect we will be hearing similar questions about the 2013 Mac Pros soon. Especially with regard to some games.
 
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@Deep Dhir. Please don't attach files that are auto-downloaded. This is one great way to spread computer problems...and since you are a 1st time poster...we need to be careful.

If you want to communicate your iMac's temps...post a screen-shot, upload a photo of the info to a hosting site (then link it here)...or simply type the temps manually into your post.

Thanks,

- Nick

Thanks for your advice - will do that in future - I had attached the file as the utility existed in the forum and I as a new member thought accordingly.
 
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Purchased iMac 21.5" in Aug.2012.
...
I feel my iMac gets hot after 3 hours.

Some iMacs do get surprisingly hot.

Two suggestions.

First, wet your fingers a bit and run them along the bottom edge of your iMac. You might be surprised by how much fluffy dust comes off if your iMac is more than a few months old. That dust was clogging the air intakes for your iMac. Your Mac should run somewhat cooler now. You might want to repeat this procedure every month or two.

Second, I believe that Apple has set the fans so that they only ramp-up when your Mac is hotter than you might like it to get. (Heat is the enemy of magnetic media, so you really want to make sure that, at minimum, your hard drive doesn't overheat. Also, constant extreme heat cycling can lead to cold soldier joints on your motherboard, resulting in failure.) I think that Apple sets the fans so that they don't come on until your Mac is disturbingly hot so that Macs tend to be quiet. In any case, you can change the setting at which the fans ramp up using this really great free utility:

SMCFanControl (free)
eidac

I especially find SMCFanControl to be valuable for laptops. Apple has set the fan ramp-up threshold for their laptops really high.
 

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