No DVD drive in new iMac ???

So it's a fan that gives you compliments?

How unusual.

PlotinusVeritas wrote:

that the dual fan used to cycle air AROUND the logic board and then up to the TOP

Wrong. I had my disassembled 2008 iMac sitting on my workbench less than a month ago, & that fan definitely does not blow across the logic board, which is to the left of where that fan is positioned, partially covered by the metal gridwork you see in the picture. The CPU is cooled by the fan visible at the lower left, which blows the air through the CPU heat sink under the double X shaped retainer & onto the power supply above it.

All the hot air exits through the perforated vents at the top. There is nothing above the Superdrive besides that little bump, which is an antenna assembly in a perforated metal cage.

There is no "dual fan," whatever that means. There are the two fans visible & a third one not visible behind the hard drive near the upper center of the picture, to the right of the power supply. That one draws air up behind the center section of the motherboard & across the hard drive.

More easily seen in the full sized image are the black, twisted pair wires that lead to the temperature sensors. One is under the black adhesive sponge tape visible on the hard drive, another runs across below it & is positioned out of sight under the SuperDrive.

PlotinusVeritas wrote:

richsadams wrote:

Here's one showing the SuperDrive's dedicated cooling fan.

Nope

that the dual fan used to cycle air AROUND the logic board and then up to the TOP

(hot air rises) put you hand top of back, and youll notice the heat escaping

thats not a "dedicted superdrive fan" 😉

I'll agree that the fans do move air throughout the interior case. Having passed physics 101 I'm pretty comfortable with the properties of hot air and having disassembled this particular machine several times I'm familiar with its circulation and exhaust properties…but thanks for the refresher! 😉

That said…

• Apple's actual name of the fan is the CD2 Optical Drive Fan (Apple Part #: 922-8152, 922-8458, 922-8867)

• The optical drive has a dedicated thermal sensor (located on the underside)

• The fan is aimed (using a cowling) directly at the optical drive.

So I was simply confirming that the drive itself does heat up under stress and that the fan in question cools it directly. Apple part names aside, was the fan meant for direct or passive cooling of the optical drive and/or other parts? We can agree to disagree.

R C-R wrote:

There is no "dual fan," whatever that means. There are the two fans visible & a third

........

I let the above speak for itself. 😊 dual syn. 'two'

"revealing dual cooling fans"

http://appleinsider.com/articles/07/08/09/design_details_and_teardown_photos_of_ apples_new_imacs

Yes, you can see about the superdrive therm. sens. here:

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iMac+Intel+20-Inch+EMC+2266+Optical+Drive+Thermal+Se nsor+Replacement/922#s5005

Yes, of course that line has 3 fans, the HD fan, the CPU fan, and the Optical drive fan (see pic below)

The error is assuming this means "that fan is for the CPU", or ...etc.

rather it refers to the LOCATION of a fan. In computer repairs, and even in car repair etc etc.

multiple items go by location in their part definition.

"the fan near the Superdrive" = "optical drive fan" not that the fan is "designed specifically to cool the superdrive"

richsadams

Apple part names aside, was the fan meant for direct or passive cooling of the optical drive and/or other parts

passive, but if you want to consider it active, thats fine too

If you look (as you have) you can see they all work in tandem to circulate flow thru the huge Imac chassis

all fans are designed, in that Imac assy. chassis to:

"efficiently direct, with as little energy as possible, as much cool air from the outside, across hot surfaces (cpu, gpu, heat sync) and efficiently keep that hot air flow directed to expedient ejection from the system"

In THAT model there are a pair of main fans, and a tertiary "HD fan (smaller)"

CD2 Optical Drive Fan (Apple Part #: 922-8152, 922-8458, 922-8867)

Very cunning of Apple to disguise the true nature of this component by calling it an "Optical Drive Fan" don't you think?

Csound1 wrote:

CD2 Optical Drive Fan (Apple Part #: 922-8152, 922-8458, 922-8867)

Very cunning of Apple to disguise the true nature of this component by calling it an "Optical Drive Fan" don't you think?

Whats cunning? thats due to location, not what it does in specific 😊

"the fan near the Superdrive" = "optical drive fan" not that the fan is "designed specifically to cool the superdrive"

Same is true of car parts, ship parts. etc. multiple same assy. or parts are designated by where they are mounted, not by what they do.

Youll also notice in the pic below, the HD is designed to be placed and mounted sideways like that for a reason

it acts as an air block to draw air in one side and shuffle it around the logic board, then back up WITHOUT mixing the hot air with the other side's cool air. 😉

PlotinusVeritas wrote:

If you look (as you have) you can see they all work in tandem to circulate flow thru the huge Imac chassis

No true. All three (not "dual" or two) fans bring air in from the vents on the bottom, blow it upward across a specific set of parts, after which it exits through the vents on the top. There is no appreciable circulation, particularly on the right where the optical drive is the only thing in the part of the fan that cools it.

Each fan is independently controlled by the SMC & respond to input from the temperature sensors. The optical drive fan speeds up rapidly during burns because the sensor under it heats up along with the drive. This is easily confirmed with iStat Pro & similar tools that query the SMC.

You were mistaken about the number of fans, the air flow patterns in the case, & the operating temperature of the SuperDrive. It is time to accept that & move on.

R C-R wrote:

No true. All three (not "dual" or two) fans bring air in from the vents on the bottom, blow it upward across a specific set of parts

You were mistaken about the number of fans, the air flow patterns in the case, & the operating temperature of the SuperDrive.

Suggest you read earlier post closely: "Yes, of course that line has 3 fans, the HD fan, the CPU fan, and the Optical drive fan"

two primary fans, and a tertiary

Only partially correct, air is also circulated from the back (in addition to the bottom) on older Imacs

Intakes from bottom, exchange of air at back (older Imacs), main output on top

Geometry of internal components are positioned to maximize air exchange in conjunction with the fans.

back vent (older)

PlotinusVeritas wrote:

Suggest you read earlier post closely:

Maybe you should read your own posts more closely. In your reply to richsadamsou you said the pictured 2008 iMac had "dual fans used to cycle air AROUND the logic board and then up towards the TOP."

If you were familiar with that model you would not have made that mistake. But you just looked at the picture & guessed wrong.

incredible, i just set up my new imac, and will most likely bring it back/return it tomorrow......

tedsilvers wrote:

incredible, i just set up my new imac, and will most likely bring it back/return it tomorrow......

Sorry to hear that...my brand new iMac is absolutely awesome, couldn't be happier with it. So many questions...

Are you returning it because it doesn't have a built-in DVD drive? If so did you not know that before you spent that much money? Plus you created an account today just to let us know that? Just curious. I'm also wondering what you'll buy instead.

FWIW you can buy a very good external DVD burner for about $30. The one I have works perfectly and is a good deal faster than the built-in SuperDrive in my old iMac.

In any case, hope you're able to find something that suits your needs.

no, didn't know it before i purchased it......i have a large music library, and enjoy creating playlists for friends, etc. to manme just one enjoyment that the new machine won't provide, and as you know, these Imacs ain't cheap!

yes, i created an account to complain as i see many others' doing regarding the identical situation....

as for buying an external hard drive, yes, i get it, but isn't/wasn't one of the selling points on the new machine "thinness", and wouldn't an external drive, tend to add fatness to the thiness?

tedsilvers wrote:

no, didn't know it before i purchased it......i have a large music library, and enjoy creating playlists for friends, etc. to manme just one enjoyment that the new machine won't provide, and as you know, these Imacs ain't cheap!

yes, i created an account to complain as i see many others' doing regarding the identical situation....

as for buying an external hard drive, yes, i get it, but isn't/wasn't one of the selling points on the new machine "thinness", and wouldn't an external drive, tend to add fatness to the thiness?

Yes, if Apple had incorporated a SuperDrive into the new iMac it would have added "fatness", heat and required more internal support parts. For better or worse they opted not to do that.

My external DVD burner sits behind my iMac, out of the way and pretty much invisible. When I need it I just pull it forward, pop in a disc and I'm off and running. I actually used it with my old iMac to copy most of my own CD music library (about 8.000 tracks) as well as dozens of DVD movies...it was a good deal faster than my old iMac's built-in SuperDrive.

I have a dual-monitor setup with an Apple Cinema Display to the right of my iMac. Having to move the display out of the way every time I wanted to use the SuperDrive on my old iMac became a pain so the external drive was better in that respect as well.

In any case, you have 14 days to get a full, no questions asked refund on your iMac. You have until January 31st to return an external DVD burner to Amazon. I'd give it a fair try, what's to lose? I think you'll end up loving it.

i get it, but after transferring over 56,000 titles from the old mac, you could understand my disappointment? that took about 5 hours with all my other stuff from the old one. i didn't even look to see if there was an internal drive. For $$$$ i think we would all expect one (at least one)? as for heat, etc., never had a probelm with the old one in that regard.

anyway, you may have talked me off the ledge, but still maintain the right of not being "happy" with the new machine. haha....

what type of drive did you get, and where did you get it?

tedsilvers wrote:

i get it, but after transferring over 56,000 titles from the old mac, you could understand my disappointment? that took about 5 hours with all my other stuff from the old one. i didn't even look to see if there was an internal drive. For $$$$ i think we would all expect one (at least one)? as for heat, etc., never had a probelm with the old one in that regard.

anyway, you may have talked me off the ledge, but still maintain the right of not being "happy" with the new machine. haha....

what type of drive did you get, and where did you get it?

So it sounds like you have most (all?) of your music library on your new iMac already and just want to burn a few discs now and then? (You understand no one condones piracy here right?)

It's a no-brainer then. The DVD burner I have is a few years old so out of production. But there are dozens on Amazon. If I were to buy a new one I'd probably get this one...

http://www.amazon.com/External-Stylish-SDRW-08D2S-U-BLK-AS/dp/B006HUMYCO

It has a number of five-star reviews from iMac owners...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/community-content-search/results/ref=cm_srch_q_rtr/?que ry=imac&search-alias=community-reviews&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&idx.asin=B006HUMYCO

But there are many, many available.

I don't know if you'd have any use for blu-ray, but here are a couple...

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MRSSBDR6X/

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-SE-506BB-TSBD-External-Blu-ray/dp/B00AO1XFM0

Lots of iMac owners seem to like the Samsung...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/community-content-search/results/ref=cm_srch_q_rtr/?que ry=imac&search-alias=community-reviews&Go.x=-1519&Go.y=-374&idx.asin=B00AO1XFM0

Of course, blu-ray burners cost a bit more. I have a blu-ray burner as well. I thought I'd use it more, but it mostly collects dust. It's nice to have it if I need it though.

Anyway, you have plenty of very good options!

Best of luck and let us know how it goes!