iMac runs warm

[pastle]

I asked this question before on this forum and was told it was normal for an iMac to be warm. I just called Tech support to be sure and was told that it should not be warm. He had me unplug everything and let it cool down and start up again to see if it gets warm. It has been about 10 minutes and it's allready getting warm.
Should I be worried?

 

[CaptainDanner]

is it a new imac? if it is it might be normal since it is made with aluminum. the MBP get warm to because it is made from aluminum and it gets warm because of the way it disapates the heat, might be the same for the new iMac. but if the support guy says it shouldnt i would maybe return it and get another

 

[Joe Diver]

My new 24" runs warm, but only on the very top. On the back, from about the middle of the black apple to the bottom is cool, but the very top, the metal above the vent, stays warm....not hot, but warm. This can also vary somewhat. First thing out of sleep it's cool....and when I was first loading/configuring it and copying my files over from my PC, it got much warmer than it normally runs now.

Unless it's so hot you can feel it on your face and smell it, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Glenners]

I would recommend installing istat, it's a great widget!

 

[wardge]

My new 24" runs warm, but only on the very top. On the back, from about the middle of the black apple to the bottom is cool, but the very top, the metal above the vent, stays warm....not hot, but warm. This can also vary somewhat. First thing out of sleep it's cool....and when I was first loading/configuring it and copying my files over from my PC, it got much warmer than it normally runs now.

Unless it's so hot you can feel it on your face and smell it, I wouldn't worry about it.

My 20" is the same way... Only warm across the top of the computer. The bottom is cool as a cucumber. I have noticed that disks come out of the Superdrive a tad warm though...

 

[trademark]

On my original iMac G5, iStat says its CPU runs at a constant 158+ degrees fahrenheit. I'm wondering if that's too hot. Would it be worth it to buy some sort of mounted fan on the back to cool it down? Would cooling it down impact the performance largely?

 

[Alexis]

Running hot has no impact at all on the performance of the machine.

There's no such thing as too hot. The CPU will shut down if it reaches a certain temperature, but it's virtually impossible to get near it.

The aluminium iMacs are hot to the touch, especially in the top right. Under high load you'll have a hard job keeping your hand there for 10 seconds.

It's all completely normal.

 

[Eric559]

My 20" is the same way... Only warm across the top of the computer. The bottom is cool as a cucumber. I have noticed that disks come out of the Superdrive a tad warm though...

The disk is spinning really fast when inserted into a cd drive. It's going to be hot after.

 

[WakeCarver]

Running hot has no impact at all on the performance of the machine.

There's no such thing as too hot. The CPU will shut down if it reaches a certain temperature, but it's virtually impossible to get near it.

The aluminium iMacs are hot to the touch, especially in the top right. Under high load you'll have a hard job keeping your hand there for 10 seconds.

It's all completely normal.

Ah, not really. If a processor gets too warm it will become unstable and possibly cause crashes or other erratic behavior and while the processor should shut down before it gets too hot this is not always the case. I have seen many processors ruined because they got too hot, either from a overclock gone wrong or because of an improper cooling setup.

Now for the question at hand. The new iMacs are going to run warm for several reasons:
1. You have a very compact machine, much like a laptop, but with some desktop components that get much warmer.
2. The new case is aluminum which essentially makes it a giant heatsink.
3. Too much thermal compound will hinder the cooling efficiency of the heatsink and fan in the iMac.

Now all that being said the intel core 2 duo processor should reach a maximum of 61.5 degrees celsius or about 142 degrees fahrenheit before any damage occurs. Unless you are constantly seeing these temps on your processor you have nothing to worry about.

EDIT: 61.5C is the maximum recommended temp over long periods of time. You will see higher temps when first starting applications because the fans take time to spin up and cool things off. I wouldn't be concerned about the temp unless you routinely see temps of 70C+ over long periods of time.

 

[Alexis]

Ah, not really. If a processor gets too warm it will become unstable and possibly cause crashes or other erratic behavior and while the processor should shut down before it gets too hot this is not always the case. I have seen many processors ruined because they got too hot, either from a overclock gone wrong or because of an improper cooling setup

In a PC, especially a home made one. The iMac is custom design, well designed to eliminate heat and impossible to damage through running too hot.

You think Apple launched it without testing it to destruction?

You won't be able to damage the iMac through it getting too hot. It can easily handle demanding 3D games for hours without becoming unstable.

 

[bittenapple]

In a PC, especially a home made one. The iMac is custom design, well designed to eliminate heat and impossible to damage through running too hot.

You think Apple launched it without testing it to destruction?

You won't be able to damage the iMac through it getting too hot. It can easily handle demanding 3D games for hours without becoming unstable.

I wouldn't be too sure if I were you. Faulty hardware has been made in the past even though testings have been done. One example can be th exploding Sony batteries on Dell laptops. It is to examplify what I mean.
Heat definitly shortens the lifespan of the CPU if not cause problems immidiately it might get burnt after a year or so, or become unstable.

 

[Alexis]

Nobody's had any problems with the iMac - there are just numerous posts about it getting - surprise surprise - quite hot. And then people like to swap temperature readings!

If I listened to all the scaremongering I'd never go on the internet because OS X viruses are theoretically possible and I'd keep a damp flannel on the computer because some people are worried their Macs are hot to touch.

Some people are not happy unless they're worrying about something!

 

[WakeCarver]

In a PC, especially a home made one. The iMac is custom design, well designed to eliminate heat and impossible to damage through running too hot.

You think Apple launched it without testing it to destruction?

You won't be able to damage the iMac through it getting too hot. It can easily handle demanding 3D games for hours without becoming unstable.

Ok dude, if you want to believe that the hardware thats in your mac is some how impervious to the factors that effect every other computer with the exact same hardware go ahead. I was simply stating that an iMac is going to be warm to the touch because 1. aluminum conducts heat very well, 2. the desktop components in an iMac get warmer than the notebook ones, 3. apple uses too much thermal compound and this can cause components to get warmer than they normally would. 61.5C is very warm and on an aluminum computer its all going to be sucked to the case and there by warm to the touch. I never said it couldn't handle 3D games. The core 2 duo processors can probably handle up to 70C very well because intel usually states in max thermal temps on the conservative side. I would be weary of running the processor at temps higher than this for long periods of time because HEAT CAN CAUSE DAMAGE!

 

[bittenapple]

Ok dude, if you want to believe that the hardware thats in your mac is some how impervious to the factors that effect every other computer with the exact same hardware go ahead. I was simply stating that an iMac is going to be warm to the touch because 1. aluminum conducts heat very well, 2. the desktop components in an iMac get warmer than the notebook ones, 3. apple uses too much thermal compound and this can cause components to get warmer than they normally would. 61.5C is very warm and on an aluminum computer its all going to be sucked to the case and there by warm to the touch. I never said it couldn't handle 3D games. The core 2 duo processors can probably handle up to 70C very well because intel usually states in max thermal temps on the conservative side. I would be weary of running the processor at temps higher than this for long periods of time because HEAT CAN CAUSE DAMAGE!

Gee, thanks. That's exactly what it is...but I think some people have God-made computers rather than human-made ones...invincible you know...

 

[Alexis]

Are you guys for real?
Any computer, PC or Mac, which has been well built, can easily manage high CPU temperatures and loads for very long periods of time without ever running into any problems whatsoever.
I'm not saying a poorly fitted CPU, or a poorly ventilated case won't cause the CPU to get too hot and lock up, but if you're worried that the CPU in your Mac is going to run into problems through running it at 70C+ for long periods of time then I think you're mistaken.

Ok dude, if you want to believe that the hardware thats in your mac is some how impervious to the factors that effect every other computer with the exact same hardware go ahead.

Impervious to being able to run at obscene temperatures, no. Impervious to hours of everyday use, in demanding applications, yes.

Gee, thanks. That's exactly what it is...but I think some people have God-made computers rather than human-made ones...invincible you know...

Invincible to what? Being actually used?


I don't understand why people think the Core2's in their Macs (or PCs) are going to be damaged through running at high loads for long periods of time.

, 3. apple uses too much thermal compound and this can cause components to get warmer than they normally would.

Have you any evidence for this?

 

[WakeCarver]

Are you guys for real?
Any computer, PC or Mac, which has been well built, can easily manage high CPU temperatures and loads for very long periods of time without ever running into any problems whatsoever.
I'm not saying a poorly fitted CPU, or a poorly ventilated case won't cause the CPU to get too hot and lock up, but if you're worried that the CPU in your Mac is going to run into problems through running it at 70C+ for long periods of time then I think you're mistaken.


Impervious to being able to run at obscene temperatures, no. Impervious to hours of everyday use, in demanding applications, yes.


Invincible to what? Being actually used?


I don't understand why people think the Core2's in their Macs (or PCs) are going to be damaged through running at high loads for long periods of time.



Have you any evidence for this?

I'm sorry, your computer must be the juggernaut. If heat doesn't hurt processors we would all be using 20GHZ processors running at 500C. Why do you think server rooms have dedicated air conditioners? Come on dude get a clue. As for the thermal compound open up any mac and you can see the thermal compound oozing out to the surrounding area. I never said you couldn't use your mac for hours on end, take the time to actually read the posts before you respond. You telling some one not to be concerned about very high temps on their processor is not good advice. I have a degree in computer engineering and have built most of my own PC's, except for my macs, since I was 12 years old. I think I know what I'm talking about here.

 

[winston]

wow!

Look what you started...I got my first Mac yesterday...MacBook Pro...it runs hot...on the bottom...I flip it over , throw a couple eggs on and never have to move to fix/eat breakfast

 

[Alexis]

I'm sorry, your computer must be the juggernaut. If heat doesn't hurt processors we would all be using 20GHZ processors running at 500C. Why do you think server rooms have dedicated air conditioners? Come on dude get a clue. As for the thermal compound open up any mac and you can see the thermal compound oozing out to the surrounding area. I never said you couldn't use your mac for hours on end, take the time to actually read the posts before you respond. You telling some one not to be concerned about very high temps on their processor is not good advice. I have a degree in computer engineering and have built most of my own PC's, except for my macs, since I was 12 years old. I think I know what I'm talking about here

I'm not saying heat doesn't hurt processors. I'm saying the processor in the iMac can run hot with no ill effects for long periods of time. As with any PC.
The lifespan of the chip is not going to be reduced to 12 months from running it hot.

You telling some one not to be concerned about very high temps on their processor is not good advice.

And telling someone who is using their Mac normally to be petrified is?
There's no way you can blow the Core2 in a new iMac unless you run it at 100% load for 6 months in a sauna.

have built most of my own PC's, except for my macs, since I was 12 years old. I think I know what I'm talking about here

Same here.

As for the thermal compound open up any mac and you can see the thermal compound oozing out to the surrounding area.

I think I'd trust a bunch of computer engineers at Apple over thinks-he-knows-it-all loose cannon at Mac Forums.

 

[WakeCarver]

Ok dude, you belive what ever you want. You have already contradicted yourself a few times and shown that you don't know what you are talking about. For everyone else who is concerned about heat issues on their processors please read below.

3. Specifications

Intel's Thermal Specification: http://processorfinder.intel.com/Default.aspx

Thermal Specification:

* The thermal specification shown is the maximum case temperature at the maximum Thermal Design Power (TDP) value for that processor. It is measured at the geometric center on the topside of the processor integrated heat spreader.

X6800 = 60c, Vcore max = 1.3525, TDP = 75w / E6X50 = 72c, Vcore max = 1.3500, TDP = 65w
E6X00 = 60c, Vcore max = 1.3525, TDP = 65w / E6X40 = 72c, Vcore max = 1.3500, TDP = 65w
E4X00 = 60c, Vcore max = 1.3250, TDP = 65w / E6X20 = 60c, Vcore max = 1.3525, TDP = 65w

** For processors without integrated heat spreaders such as mobile processors, the thermal specification is referred to as the junction temperature (Tj). The maximum junction temperature is defined by an activation of the processor Intel® Thermal Monitor. The Intel Thermal Monitor's automatic mode is used to indicate that the maximum TJ has been reached.

Ambient Temperature = 22c
Idle to Load Delta Max = 25c
Tcase to Tjunction Delta = 10 to 15c
Thermal Sensor Accuracy = +/-1c
Tjunction Max = 85c (B2 Stepping)
Tjunction Max = 100c (G0, L2, M0 Steppings)


4. Interpretation

* The first part of the spec refers to a single measuring point on the integrated heat spreader, which is in contact with the CPU cooler. Since there is no laboratory test sensor at this location, the CPU Case Thermal Diode is used to display the CPU temp in BIOS, where thermal tables are flashed to emulate the heat spreader. This is the CPU die temperature measured between the Cores. Thermal Case Temperatures of 60c is hot, 55c is warm, and 50c is safe. The single CPU Thermal Case sensor is how Tcase is measured, and is the CPU temperature displayed in BIOS, Motherboard Utilities, and SpeedFan: CPU or Temp X.

* E6X50 and E6X40 have higher Tcase Max specs, however, it is not recommended to operate processors, overclocked or stock, above 60c Tcase.

** The second part of the spec refers to mobile processors without an integrated heat spreader, measured by internal Digital Thermal Sensors (DTS). Since Intel's Thermal Analysis Tool (TAT) is a Notebook tool, and desktop C2D's have an integrated heat spreader, TAT will typically indicate ~ 2c lower than SpeedFan. These are the dual Core temperatures measured within the hot spot of each Core. Thermal Junction temperatures of 75c is hot, 70c is warm, and 65c is safe . The dual Thermal Junction sensors are how Tjunction is measured, and are the dual Core temperatures displayed in TAT, and SpeedFan: Core 0 / Core 1.

** G0, L2 and M0 Stepping have higher Tjunction Max specs, however, it is not recommended to operate processors, overclocked or stock, above 75c Tjunction.

Source: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/221745-29-core-temperature-guide

 

[Alexis]

Your temperature figures do nothing but demonstrate the CPU has a recommended threshold temperature range. Which for some reason you think I am denying?
And also bizarrely, you seem to be under the illusion Apple has thrown in a Core2 which will exceed those and become damaged.

edit - we've called a truce now. Apologies to barbarnette and any one else for having to put up with our rubbish!