iMac 27 - Temperatures Hardware

johanlindman,

Welcome to Apple Discussions.

Your temperatures should be OK, if your machine was in danger of overheating it will let you know and shut down.

If you are still concerned call Apple (the number is in your manual) and ask for advice.

Regards,

Roger

It's fine, come back again if it get's well above 80 degrees.

60° for hdd is normal for imac's !

hdd idling is around 55°c and if it's on heavy load temp goes up to 60°c ..

maybe you can hope, that the sensor shows more than it is. 😉

60° as max. temp. is very important as several hdd macufactures announces "only" 55° as their max. temp. ..

I just touched the back of my screen when plugging a usb port and I was like WOW it was Hot. I then got a bit worried and started looking up and found it is pretty normal.

My temps are as follows:


HD 57
CPU A 49
GPU Diode 61
GPU heatsink 60
ambient 28
memory controller 52
optical drive 53

Fans
Optical 1360
Hard drive 1100
CPU 1339

I posted this in another thread:

This is not the first thread I've read about temps with the hardware in the new iMacs. Peoples concerns seem to be misplaced with no basis for comparison. In regards to this thread on the HD, according to the specs on Western Digitals website, ( http://westerndigital.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=733), normal operating temperature is 0C to 60C. If your temp is above 60C, then be concerned.

Is this hard drive running hotter than the average temp of all other users in various machines, including non all-in-ones. Use Google and find a basis for comparison. My guess, it probably is and you should expect this with an all-in-one. If this bothers you, then you shouldn't buy cutting edge technology, (not talking about the hard drive, but the form factor of the machine), until user feedback can put your concerns at bay. Otherwise, if your HD is running under 60C, Apple seems to have responsibly provided a machine that meets the OEM's specs.



BTW, I have yet to see my HD go above 60C. Johanlindman, I definitely give you credit for one thing, most people that post concerns about temps don't even bother looking up specs for the hardware.

+Well obviously if 60 degrees is normal for an iMac they are built wrong since the manufactor of the hard drive says the hard drive should not be used in working conditions over 60 degrees.+

Is 60 the normal temp of your iMac's HD? When has your Mac's HD shown a temp of greater than 60 degrees Celisus? Did your fans not activate to provide cooling? What is the average operating temp of your HD?

+I just want something more calming then "I'ts OK". WD does not think 60 degrees is "OK" for the HD.+

In that case, why has WD warranted them for Apple? It's an economic calculation. You can't possibly believe that Apple writes the check for each one that goes bad. If that were true, what would be the incentive for quality control at WD?

Apple has designed and installed accurate fans and system management controls that prevent sustained excessive temperatures, so they've done their part - and WD obviously agrees. Manufacturing quality control is up to WD. If they fail to provide it, that costs them money.

Your iMac processor speed will be halved if/when overheating occurs. Who's going to continue to use an iMac commercially for sustained periods with only half their processing power available? And even if they do, no one can continue to use it when it shuts down automatically due to sustained excessive heat.

Those who want to get the most efficient use out of their all-in-one computers will be careful to locate and position them carefully. Apple's long-time published ambient operating temperature range has continued unchanged at: 50° to 95° F (10° to 35° C). I'm sure you were already aware of that, and by purchasing have agreed it's acceptable to you. If not, you must have been thinking of providing a properly air conditioned location for it, right?

i may email wd and ask about this as i have a wd hdd and at peak usage it goes up to around 60c although at idle its sitting at around 43c

If you install iStat/pro you'll see that if the HD goes nearer to the upper end of the specs, the fans will go up too. (Fans operate between a min/and max speed and the system speeds them up/slows them down between the two speeds depending on heat along the air stream).

When Apple (anyone) builds a computer, they have to balance, space requirement, noise and temp. Personally I welcome the decision to accept higher temps (within the specs) in order to not generate more noise from the fans.

If you want a cooler HD, get SMCFanControl ( http://www.eidac.de/?p=134). It lets you raise the base/min. speed of the HDD fan, so it will generate more air flow, even if the SMC (System Mangement Controller) thinks the HD is cool enough.

my point though is, if its sitting close to its max temperature then that cant be good for it?

Thanks for posting the link to the SMCFanControl Shimodax...I was looking for a link to this. I have noticed these high temperatures as well after running some heavy graphics games for a few hours, but everything seems to be working just fine. As temps rise, fan speed does as well, and I have experience no shutdowns. Nonetheless, for me it gives peace of mind to be able to monitor temps and adjust fan speed manually during period of intensive use, as I have seen HD temps plateau around 60-61 Celsius and my Power Supply 2 has been up around 160 Fahrenheit (wow, I could use my iMac as a slow cooker!) Does anyone know if using fan control jeapordizes Applecare protection should a fan wear out? Not that I expect that to happen if used properly.

+...if its sitting close to its max temperature then that cant be good for it?+

You are certainly correct. However, if that were the only concern, the first personal computer would have yet to make it out of development. Not many of us ordinary users can afford a separate air conditioned computer room for our mainframes or whatever. There's a trade-off involved in personally owning and using a computer.

Corporate users in their air conditioned offices and labs are reading this and laughing at us wasting our time posting things like this. Actually regret I'm part of it:(

Hello

I just got a new iMac 27" duel core today. Temps seem to be consistant with what people have on here but not used it to any real extent yet. Ithis is my first mac so i dont know where anything is. How do you find out the make and model of the HD? i tried about this mac but couldnt see hard drive.

Also what actually is the Northbridge on the istat screen? It is running at around 60C on mine, looking on net this seems normal, just wanted to know what is is?

Thanks

@HellFira

The HD is in About this Mac, Details, Serial-ATA.

Northbridge is an Intel controller that manages parts of the mainboard:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northbridge_%28computing%29