iMac 21.5-inch (Late 2012) normal fan speed/noise?

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It's high. I recommend you to reset the SMC because it will restore your fan speed to 1100 rpm, the default fan speed on older iMacs

Hello,

If "Mende1's" solution doesn't work, I was wondering whether the noise is there from start-up. I had a new iMac 21,5inch, and it had to go back to Apple and I'm waiting for a new one ... It was a constant light buzzing that stopped when I used the cam.

My main fan speed is also running at 1400rpm. It is noisy !!!! 😠

Can anybody confirm this fan speed is normal?

Regards.

@mende1 solutions: No change after resetting SMC...

I have two iMac 21.5" units. One is late 2011 and the other mid 2012. On both, the fan runs at circa 1200 RPM and both are totally silent.

thanks, but in this topic we are not interested in the old iMac with one-time good hardware.

Can anybody else check the fan speed in the NEW iMac (late 2012) ???

P.S. Dear Apple please slow down the fan speed in the iMac within an new update.

1000 odd

1100 hdd

940 cpu

These are the latest specs I could find....

Hi, my new iMac 27'' also sounded noisy. I opended an app I had previously dowloaded from my iMac G5 Power PC to check fans (which didn't work on that model) called: Fan Control. This showed that fan was runing at 1500 rpm - I adjusted the Base Speed to 1000 rpm. The app now shows the fan running at 1200 rpm, and the fan noise has all but disappeared!

Hope this news is helpful and any feedback would be most welcome.

Graham

Fyi:

Fan Speed 1400 rpm is normal and really silent! The Real Noise Maker is the cheap built in Seagate HDD....worth about 50 dollar...

CoreShell wrote:

My main fan speed is also running at 1400rpm. It is noisy !!!! 😠

Can anybody confirm this fan speed is normal?

Regards.

I think it is normal, in the sense that you're not the only one. ... The fan speed on my brand new 21.5 iMac (late 2012) runs consistently at 1400 at idle. When the room is quiet, I can hear it too.

It seems to be an issue on the 27-inch late 20012 iMac too. See this thread. (The person posting the inquiry reported getting a replacment, and the noise continued.

Perhaps it's something that will change with software updates, or perhaps because of the new body design the fan always needs to run at this speed.

Regardless, if Apple says the fans are supposed to be inaudible when the machine is idle, surely what we're hearing didn't pass as inaudible for them. It's a very quiet, subtle noise, yes. But for who anyone who was not expecting to hear anything whatsoever, it's a noice nonetheless.

I have the same issue and I've decided to replace my iMac within the 2 week grace period when that option was offered to me through tech support.

As a note SMC and pRAM were reset during my call to Apple and the sound is still there. After downloading iStat Pro my fan speed was reading 1400rpm which appears to be the idle speed on the new 21.5 iMacs.

My concern isn't the volume as much as the nature of the sound which I would liken to a feint but audible high speed ticking. Put me in mind of an old 1.0 litre Fiat I once owned with the engine ticking over way too fast ...

Even though it's a very quiet sound, it's incredibly distracting when you're trying to work. Having said that, I imagine it would be almost inaudible in an office environment.

I have the 21.5" with a fusion drive and for a while I was worried that it might be the hard drive, but that fear was dispelled when I downloaded SMC fan control. When I upped the fan speed to 1500rpm and beyond the clicking/ticking sound got faster. Ergo, noisy fan.

Also note I was unable to reduce the fan speed below 1400.

Even though I'm taking advantage of my grace period I'm kind of resigned to the possibility that the replacement Mac will be the same. At least I know it's not the fusion drive but it's still kind of irritating.

However, I won't pre-judge, I'll update this thread as soon as I know, hopefully in the next few days when the replacement arrives.

when i got my computer in december it was perfect, only recently have i noticed the fan making a broken sound when spinning at its slowest speed, 1200rpm. this is very disappointing, i spent nearly $3,700$USD on this. it sounds like the fan is either clogged with dustballs or the blades have dislodged and become loose (some idiot suggested it became loose due to loud music, however, that is one of the dumbest things i have ever heard and lament the possibility.)

Hey,

I also have similar problem but do not see the point of Apple giving me a repalcement if the problem will re-occurr. DId your replacement have an audible noise? I wonder if changing the hard drive would make a difference?

Paddy.

I just fixed the same problem and thought I'd share - I downloaded SMCFanControl and ran the fan at its highest speed for one minute, and whatever was making the noise worked itself out. I also recommend the SMC reset above as well as checking the airways for obstructions / dust.

I am, purposely, running my 2009 iMac's fans at 1450 RPMs and while you can hear the fans when it is fairly quiet, the noise of the spinning fan is barely audible and hardly loud at this speed!