Critical CPU Temperature?

The way I see it is the only time a operating temperature becomes critical for an iMac is when it's shutting down the computer. That happens when the iMac reaches 185ºF. As long as you're below that and the fans aren't revving wildly I wouldn't worry about it.

As far as how creditable your Widget is? I have a Widget too (not sure if it's the same one) and I also use iPulse which has a CPU temp. gauge as well as X Resource and there's a +/- 10ºF difference between them at any given time.

They (CPU monitors) are a good "rough estimate" of the temps but I wouldn't rely on any one application as the end-all last-word. As long as you're working well and it's not shutting down I would find something else to worry about.

Billy, as Joel says, the critical temp for the processor in your iMac G5 is 85 degrees C (185 degreesF)

As he also says, different temperature monitors indicate different temps. In my experience minicpuheat tends to overstate temps compared to others.

Don't worry about the screen display from the sample. Different types of CPU run at vastly different temps. My early model 867 MHz PB 12" with a G4 processor , for example, usually shows temps in the 40's C.

Even the same CPU running different tasks will show vastly different temps. (If I'm doing a bit of word processing and nothing else on my iMac G5, for example, my cpu sits around the low 50's C. If, however I'm running Classic and maybe burning a disc or watching EyeTV then its likely to head up towards 80 degrees C.)

There is a lot of "hype" about temperatures in this forum, largely because of problems that occured with the first generation iMac G5's and fan issues, capacitor problems, etc etc. Don't let it worry you. There is an awful lot of over-reaction and unnecessary anxiety being seen here.

In your case you have nothing at all to worry about in this area. Your temps look prefectly normal to me.

Cheers

Rod

Don't understand why some are dismissive about high temps which, at the very least, will shorten your hard drive life. Not sure about CPU though.

Nice forum.

Edit: " iMac G5 runs hotter than other Macs, and heat is bad for computer components. Computers do best in the same sort of conditions (temperature, humidity, stability) that are comfortable for people, and it's really not surprising that we're seeing higher failure rates with the thermal challenges and ranges of the iMac G5 enclosures..." http://www.macintouch.com/reliability/

Mmm.

Firstly the temperatures we have been talking about here are CPU temps, Bob, not HD temps. CPU temps can generally be much higher than HD temps. The G5 used in the iMac is rated to about 85 degrees C, but others , like the G3 used in CRT iMacs, can actually handle over 100 degrees Celsius!

HD temps in the iMac G5 do run fairly warm (around the 50 degree C mark), but the drives in most of them are rated to 60C. Personally, though, I'd be more worried about an HD temp of 55 or aboveC than a CPU temp of 80 C in these computers.

Secondly, the macintouch reliability survey which you mention was heavily skewed towards the "first generation" models with the problematic capacitors . If you look at the at the "split" between "first generation" and "second generation" iMac G5's contained in the same survey you will see that, for example, the early 20" model was almost three times as likely to fail as the ones currently on sale.

The figures for both the current 17" and 20" iMac G5 in this survey are actually better than those reported for the PC industry as whole, so I guess they must be doing something right!

Yes, "first generation" imac G5's have some problems, but these seem to have been overcome with the current model (like Billy's) .

As I said in my previous post, the sorts of temps reported by Billy are absolutely nothing to worry about with a current iMac G5.

Cheers

Rod

Bob,
I, for one, don't believe I'm being "dismissive" but rather realistic:
jmurray, "How long until my CPU melts??" #11, 08:16am Oct 4, 2005 CDT

Rod, when you say "personally, though, I'd be more worried about an HD temp of 55 or aboveC than a CPU temp of 80 C in these computers", what do you consider a not worrisome temperature of HD? Does the difference of 2 or 3 C matter a lot? I have the first generation iMac G5, had already had the motherboard replaced, and still cannot be at ease. My HD keeps very constant temperature of 53 C, while CPU varies between 53 and 63, depending on applications in use. Also, since I added 1G memory, my machine is much more quiter then before - could it be linked, more memory=less noise?

Thank you.

Zo

I'm not Rod so I can't say what he'd think "personally" but I do think there's a correlation between RAM and fan use. If you think about it the more RAM you have the less the system is relying on the CPU and HD. The RAM is taking more of the load. Hence if the CPU/HD aren't being used as much the temperature of those are going to be lower and that in turn lowers the requirements of the fan. So the fan isn't running as fast to keep the CPU/HD temperatures low and it's going to be quieter as a result.

Zo,
My hard drive also has stayed very steady at 53, and I replaced the perfectly fine, original Western Digital 250 with a slightly larger Maxtor 300. I would not be afraid to install a 500GB monster HD if I thought I might need it, so I can't see anything to really be uneasy about, except for your previous experience. These iMacs were designed for the temperatures at which they're operating. Remember that there are LOTS of users who don't give it a thought and just go about their businesses every day churning out videos, tunes, etc., etc. While certainly some get pampered while others are abused, on average they seem to be doing pretty well, and word of mouth must be fairly good, or else sales would stop in their tracks, which is not at all the direction in which buyers are moving. I recently sold an un-needed 17" on eBay and was surprised at how well I did{:-))

myhigh that's pretty much my take on it. Of course I don't want to downplay others that are having issues related to temperature but I certainly don't stress about what my CPU/HD is at any given time.

I figure if it's working and I can do what I want with my iMac I really don't care what temperature it is. As I say I do have a Widget and a couple of other places I can access the temperatures but I've only got them (well I use iPulse for many things) because I was so curious after reading so many posts here asking about "normal operating temperatures" that I just had to see where I was at any given time.

If for whatever reason I start having trouble that could be thermo related I'll worry then.

Hi Zorana.

A few degrees does make quite a difference here. By and large the cooler that HD's are the better for their long term happiness, but 53 degrees is an acceptable operating temperature for the drives in iMacs.

Cheers

Rod

Hi Rod, Joel C, Myhighway, thank you for the reply. Also want to stress that I am not under the HD or CPU temperature stress, I just use my iMac any way I need to, and I love it more and more! I have never been a computer freak before, would never go inside my PCs to look how they look like or work. But with this beauty I just want to learn everything about it. As much as I can, and that is why I want to know all, which I may not need in my life, but just want to understand.

What ever we are discussing here, pointing to problems and dangers, G5 is still a great machine, the best I have ever had. One more reason to love it is this forum, despite the fact that it discusses mostly problems, I am so grateful for it.

Cheers

Zo

Actually, need to correct myself - because this forum discusses the problems with iMac, I love it, that is the way to learn!

Zo