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iMac 2020 27" Fan On All the Time

iMac 2020 27" Configuration

3.6GHz 10‑core 10th-generation i9

Radeon Pro 5700 with 8GB of GDDR6

40 Gb Ram

512 Gb SSD


I wish to preface this message with this is the second iMac from my original purchase. The first arrived dead on arrival. Thus I returned it and this is now the replacement.


Background: This will be my 6th iMac owned over the past 20 years.


Issue: Within minutes of starting up or waking from sleep, the fan comes on and stays on. This happens whether I do any activity, such as check email, or do nothing. None of the previous iMacs made any fan noise until heavier tasks were attempted, and this was rare. In fact they were dead silent.


The RPM is highly about 1200 rpm all the time.


The fan noise is low level and I have read that Apple considers this an acceptable decibel level. I am unable to measure, nor should I. Apple may consider this acceptable, but as a consumer I do not.


This is not an isolated incident as there are discussion since last year about this exact same subject.


https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251730390?page=6

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/fan-noise-on-imac-2020.2253629/

https://www.reddit.com/r/mac/comments/iv1jqv/2020_imac_annoying_fan_noise/


However, towards the end of the life of my iMac Intel White iMac (2007), the fan would also come on just after startup or waking from sleep. This went on for a few weeks until the fan got louder and the iMac died.


So, I am extremely concerned about this fan being on a brand new, now the second, expensive iMac. I am also extremely worried that this iMac will quit.


Yes, there is an extended Apple Care warranty. Yet, it took two days of my time to setup and configure.


Attempts to fix: (which I should not be doing at all)

Reset the SMC

Reset the NVRAM

Reduce the brightness of the screen

No second monitor

No significant background process

Location is always cool with no obstructions

iMac 27″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Jan 21, 2021 2:19 AM

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Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Jan 24, 2021 1:57 AM

ado_apple


Thank you for two links to the same article. I have completed extensive research on the subject and have read this single article as well.


Apparently, I have to live with the fan noise.


One, point that I guess was not too clear was the fact that all iMacs I have had in the past never made a sound unless there was heavy work. My previous iMac was a refurbished 21.5" mid 2015 iMac which was silent. I now make almost 2.5x the investment to upgrade to a higher end iMac, I am expecting a dead quiet 2020 27" iMac.


Again, according to Apple, and after all my research, I must live with the fan noise.

Similar questions

2 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Jan 24, 2021 1:57 AM in response to jdo_apple

ado_apple


Thank you for two links to the same article. I have completed extensive research on the subject and have read this single article as well.


Apparently, I have to live with the fan noise.


One, point that I guess was not too clear was the fact that all iMacs I have had in the past never made a sound unless there was heavy work. My previous iMac was a refurbished 21.5" mid 2015 iMac which was silent. I now make almost 2.5x the investment to upgrade to a higher end iMac, I am expecting a dead quiet 2020 27" iMac.


Again, according to Apple, and after all my research, I must live with the fan noise.

iMac 2020 27" Fan On All the Time

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