iMac without the hum?

After usinga 17" G5 for 2 years I am blown away by the silence from my new iMac 20" core duo. I actually thought something was wrong with it because it makes almost no sound at all. I love it!!

So i guess no takers on my interference pattern theory....... ?

After all... i mean if the sound is coming out of a grill.. then there will be multiple coherant sources, creating a complex interference pattern all around the room, thus explaining why tipping the base of the iMac might change the amplitude of the sound heard, as your position phases in and out of a maxima or minima.

Anyone?.. no? Okay, so just me then.

lol.

Hey. give him a break lol. ( I agree with him ).

Whether or not he knows if there is a fan onboard the iMac ( which may not be immediately very obvious ), doesn't immediately discredit his comments.

If you look at the similarities between this issue and the recent MBP whine issue, they're not so different.

One of the documented MBP problems was a screen whine that changed amplitude when brightness was altered.

Considering that the transformers are fairly different between the iMac and MBP models, you could probably rule out the power supply mate. Its more likely to be a problem originating from the screen itself, or in one MBP case a faulty capacitor.

Thats if there is even a problem, I honestly think that there just plain isn't. Try moving around the room and seeing if the sound changes amplitude at certain points. ( wink wink to any ppl who study physics ).

Also.... people within a certain age range... ( 35 and below ) have a better capacity to hear high frequency sound. That and point out the fact that even with a high pitch whine, the iMac is still got to be one of the quietest desktop computers around.

Happy Mac'ing

lol all these people moaning about a hum, ive heard this hum and compared to the noise my trusty ol Rev A 20"iMac can kick out its a godsend the hum. People just expect them to be 100% silent because when they advertised them they said it was whisper quiet, now i don't know about you but a whisper can still be rather noisy. It has moving parts and a power supply, they will make some noise.

Agreed. my sentiments exactly, minus the bit about the rev A iMac as i've never had one.

I mean YOU no disrespect, but that salesperson obviously did not have a clue as to how things are made. It would seem to be a design problem or possibly a defective component.

lol sometimes the fans on the rev a's kicked in that much (such as migration assistant) you would actually see the computer shaking right in front of you. So imagin the noise compared to a little hum, it didnt do stuff like that often but they can get hot in there, and these new ones have a even thinner case so less breathing room

Well, I had the Intel Mac Core Duo 20" for 8 months then sold it to upgrade to the new 24". The 20" was silent - almost completely so unless you put your ear right up to the case.

However, the new 24 inch I have hums - even when the screen is at full brightness (although the hum is not as loud as it is when it's not at full brightness). Note that I never listened specifically for this noise when I first started it - I bought one before all these reports of the screen hum started popping up. But this tells me it's loud enough for me to notice and for others as well.

So what irks me are people who jump on these threads and just dismiss the issue as people being too sensitive, or expecting too much. I really don't think you can make that call unless you've heard my machine - maybe yours doesn't hum (good for you) or maybe your hum isn't as loud, or maybe it hums like crazy and you just don't notice it or it doesn't bother you (again good for you, but why are you even responding to the this thread and how is it helping?) As for expecting too much, well it's kind of hard not too expect my second mac not to be as quiet as the first one I had.

Anyway, not trying to start an argument here, I am otherwise very happy with the mac. I would also assume that all people on these boards are here with the best intentions of assisting others.

Now what I really want to ask is - has anyone tried the new firmware update and found that it made the noise any better/worse?

Hank



imac intel Mac OS X (10.4.4)

I'm on my third iMac 24". The first two hummed when screen brightness decreased. The third one hums as loudly but all the time, regardless of screen brightness level. When the screen shuts off after the machine goes idle idle (Energy Saving pref panel) it is almost whisper quiet - you can barely hear the fans running when the screen is off, but when the screen is on, the hum is louder than the normal noise of my iMac G5. It's annoying to say the least.

lol all these people moaning about a hum, ive heard
this hum and compared to the noise my trusty ol Rev A
20"iMac can kick out its a godsend the hum. People
just expect them to be 100% silent because when they
advertised them they said it was whisper quiet, now i
don't know about you but a whisper can still be
rather noisy. It has moving parts and a power supply,
they will make some noise.

AMEN! I have a Rev A Imac G5 that sounds like a jet engine 24/7 and has had the logic board replaced once, and its working on its second time right now when I get time to take it down to the 100mile away apple store. I am thinking of getting a new intel but I am afraid of getting the same loudness with it. People with new 24" or even 20" imacs are they as loud as the Rev A imacs g5??

lol all these people moaning about a hum, ive

heard

this hum and compared to the noise my trusty ol Rev

A

20"iMac can kick out its a godsend the hum. People
just expect them to be 100% silent because when

they

advertised them they said it was whisper quiet, now

i

don't know about you but a whisper can still be
rather noisy. It has moving parts and a power

supply,

they will make some noise.

AMEN! I have a Rev A Imac G5 that sounds like a jet
engine 24/7 and has had the logic board replaced
once, and its working on its second time right now
when I get time to take it down to the 100mile away
apple store. I am thinking of getting a new intel but
I am afraid of getting the same loudness with it.
People with new 24" or even 20" imacs are they as
loud as the Rev A imacs g5??

With respect, hard drive noise has nothing to do with the age or processor in your Mac. I applied the firmware update and it's still humming away, not fan noise, not whine, hum. I don't believe I should be able to hear the hard drive above Radiohead or when I'm in the next room. The Fan, sure, if the fan is on. I'm used to fan noise from my PowrBook G4, but on the iMac the fans are nearly silent. One of the points about the Intel processors is that they are much cooler running than the G5 (and really, they are hardly taxed at all on my machine, I'm astounded), so the fan noise should be less on the Intels.

Anyway, my mate has my external HD, I'm getting it back on Wednesday and then I'm going to try and get it switched or fixed.

One of the points about the Intel processors is that they are much cooler running than the G5 (and really, they are hardly taxed at all on my machine, I'm astounded), so the fan noise should be less on the Intels.

Just out of curiousity - how hot do the intels get? Mine gets on average about 70 degrees C. (keep in mind that is a rev A G5 not an intel)

i got the hum. disappointing. 24" iMac Core2Duo 2.33 with 7600GT. what i'm wondering is whether this hum is a sign of something to go wrong in the near future (or just after warranty 😉 or whether it's just a component quality issue.

maybe a sly DIY fix?

stefven

One of the points about the Intel processors is
that they are much cooler running than the G5 (and
really, they are hardly taxed at all on my machine,
I'm astounded), so the fan noise should be less on
the Intels.

Just out of curiousity - how hot do the intels get?
Mine gets on average about 70 degrees C. (keep in
mind that is a rev A G5 not an intel)

Normally quite cool, rest at 32 C at load in the 40's /50's, I haven't kept real close track other than to notice its much cooler than the 69 -72 of the G5 iMac. Today was a test though. I was video editing all day so processors were running max a lot, plus a nice warm 84 or so degree f, So Cal day, on 8th fl of bldg and air conditioner in our section was broke. Swelter city. Processors got to 66 once and high 50's to 62 C several times. I don't know what the limits are for these, but even that was not near the G5s, just cruising the web their at 44 C.

I've got the hum too. It is worse at lower brightness but is present even at highest brightness.

Now i've got to decide if it is worth being computer-less for a week or more to possibly get it fixed. It would be aggravating as **** to bring it in, wait for ten days, and get back a machine that hums even worse.