Running 150 degrees F how do I cool it down?

Read other forums about Imac's Running hot, Already tried what they recommended. These are my specs


3.2 Ghz intel core i3

6 GB 133 MHz Ram

1 T hard Drvie 60% Full


I'm only running 30% usage on my Ram, CPU usage is, 10% user 10% system and 92% idle, not sure why the idle is so high! I'm using istatpro to check all the symptoms but not finding any solutions. I have also cleaned out the vents on the bottom, but I could cook and egg on the back of this thing, I'm getting hungry and might just try it, please hurry with help before I do!

iMac, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.4)

Posted on Aug 1, 2013 8:33 AM

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5 replies

Aug 1, 2013 8:57 AM in response to jsargent124

150 degrees is nothing. I've heard of it reaching the boiling point of water at sea level. Those applications that measure the temperature are unreliable. What they might give is a clue if your machine is showing some other signs of misbehavior that coincides with temperature spikes. Apple's official specs only discuss outside environmental conditions, not inside of the machine. Such signs could be kernel panics* (four language screens telling you to restart, which may also be caused by other issues), automatic power offs while working with it and not hitting any key or touching any cables or having Energy Saver settings to force it off.

Aug 1, 2013 12:59 PM in response to jsargent124

What exactly is running at 150 degrees F?

If it's the Power Supply or the GPU diode, both of these, usually, run on the hotter side .

If this is heat coming from the CPU, hard drive or optical drive, then there could be a problem.

Despite what some other experienced users here will tell you 150 degrees F is hot enough to be of concern.

When was the last time any of the iMacs vents, slots and ports vacuumed out from dust, lint and dirt?

You need to power down your iMac, disconnect everything, even the power cable, lay the iMac, screen down, on a soft towel or blanket before starting the cleaning.

When cleaning away surface dirt from all of the openings around your iMac, use a vacuum with hose and crevice tool ( no brush attachments as these have the potential to cause a static discharge). Also, clear away any dust, lint and dirt from the RAM slot by unscrewing the access cover and slowly and lightly vacuum inside that area.

Once this is complete, reconnect everything on your iMac and start it up.

report back with your iMac's internal temps.

Aug 1, 2013 1:36 PM in response to jsargent124

Thank you all for your help and advice. I installed istat and have been watching my temps, The parts that were 150 and up were CPU GPU Diode GPU heat sink and Power supply topped out at 168, I unplugged the machine, ran the vacuum over the vents, opened the ram slot and vacuumed that as well, let the back cool till it was chill to the touch, plugged it back in, been running a solid three hours and nothing above 122, Thank you again!!!

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Running 150 degrees F how do I cool it down?

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