Louie0722

Q: Is my iMac overheating?

So I currently have a mid 2011 iMac (27 inch) (Version 10.10.5) that's running on 3.1 GHz Intel Core i5, its memory is 4GB 1333 MHz DDR3 and I have an internal 1TB hard drive, as well as 2 external hard drives. I primarily use my iMac for browsing the web, as well downloading and watching movies and television shows off of iTunes. I do download whole television seasons from iTunes quite frequently. But lately, I've noticed my iMac gets pretty hot on the back, as well as on its sides. Is this normal? Is it overheating? Like mentioned, I only use my iMac primarily for browsing the web, watching videos off of Youtube and iTunes. I do download television shows and movies onto my external hard drive from iTunes. I don't do any heavy gaming or editing any videos. I googled ways to check the temperature of the iMac and many recommended iSlayer or iStatPro but that seems to have gone away or something, I'm not sure so are they any other good programs to check if the temperature of the iMac is running smoothly or properly? I understand that there are different circumstances as to why an iMac may be overheating but I'd feel comfortable knowing if this is normal or to be expected.

 

I'm not sure if the dust is causing my iMac to overheat, so I'm also wondering are there ways to clean out the dust from the back of my iMac, without taking apart the display and such.

 

On another note, I'm not sure if this is related, but sometimes, when I put my iMac to sleep, and I wake it up using my mouse or keyboard, I hear the iMac turning on but it just gives me a blank or black screen. I try to wait a while to make sure it's not just taking a while for it to wake up but still nothing so I resort to holding on the power button and restarting the computer. I'm not sure if it the two problems are related but this waking up problem happens on and off. Any ides as to why this is. Sometimes, it turns on after sleeping but my main concern is the overheating issue. So any suggestions or comments are greatly appreciated. Thanks.

iPhone 5, iOS 7.0.2

Posted on Aug 17, 2015 4:34 PM

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Q: Is my iMac overheating?

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  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Aug 17, 2015 5:48 PM in response to Louie0722
    Level 10 (208,000 points)
    Applications
    Aug 17, 2015 5:48 PM in response to Louie0722
  • by Louie0722,

    Louie0722 Louie0722 Aug 17, 2015 7:10 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 17, 2015 7:10 PM in response to Linc Davis

    I'm sorry, I don't understand, was your response supposed to be helpful? All you did was put up a link without explaining why my video card needs to be replaced. I read the link and it says the video card needs to be replaced if the computer's display appears distorted, white or blue vertical lines or black. These are none of the symptoms I mentioned above. If the video card is the reason as to why my iMac is overheating, please explain it next time since the link says nothing regarding my issue. Anybody else have any suggestions or ideas as to why my iMac is overheating?

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Aug 17, 2015 7:20 PM in response to Louie0722
    Level 10 (208,000 points)
    Applications
    Aug 17, 2015 7:20 PM in response to Louie0722

    I don't know whether it's overheating or not. If you read the article, you know that one of the symptoms of a defective GPU is a black screen, which you say you have. It costs you nothing to have the unit tested, which you need to do anyway if it really is overheating. If that's not helpful, then I'm not sure what kind of help you want.

  • by Louie0722,

    Louie0722 Louie0722 Aug 17, 2015 7:42 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 17, 2015 7:42 PM in response to Linc Davis

    I only have the black screen when trying to wake up from iMac from sleep mode. The link did not say anything about screen display turning black while waking up from sleep mode. It's only for screen issues that appear distorted or appears to have white or blue lines or just turns black. I don't think it means when waking up from sleep mode. I didn't mean to be rude, but I meant your first response to me was unhelpful because all you did was post a link without explaining the reasoning behind it. And to answer your question as to what kind of help I'm looking for: like mentioned in my original post, the help I'm looking for is regarding the overheating of my iMac and I was looking to see if anybody ran into similar issues, as well as what apps people have used to test out their computer's temperatures as well as how people clean out the dust from their iMac. I'm grateful for anybody's response but by just posting a link without any explanation, especially if the link has nothing regarding the issues mentioned in my original post, seems unhelpful. Im pretty sure others would agree.