HT201918: Power consumption and thermal output information for iMac computers

Learn about Power consumption and thermal output information for iMac computers

Heli A

Level 1 (12 points)

Desktops

Q: iMacs power consumption

Why you putting a 310w Power supply when at full load can take up to 360W?? and who knows how much with full upgrade memory and i7.

They need at least 400W.

This is really bad and it reduces the overall performance.

Of course is the thermal loss too but who cares for that when we paying so much for a supposed high end machine...

I dont understand you dear Apple...

Also why not provide info about power consumption when is just only at wall plug?? Do you know that it is not zero?

And it plays from 0.7W TO 2W for an iMac 14.2 But and to other models is almost same...

Not to mention about temperature problems....

and i have 2 iMacs just only of your amazing operating system.

I prefer to get an answer from a certified Apple tech.

Thank you.

iMac (27-inch Mid 2010), Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Apr 30, 2016 5:58 AM

I have this question too

Solved

Level 1 (12 points)

Desktops

A:

yes..i'm very curious to find what is that.....i suspect something to charge motherboard battery....or for network....xmmm...

Posted on May 1, 2016 5:54 AM

Q: iMacs power consumption

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by dialabrain,

dialabrain Apr 30, 2016 6:01 AM in response to Heli A
Level 5 (6,763 points)

Mac App Store

Apr 30, 2016 6:01 AM in response to Heli A

This is a user to user forum. If you would like to send Apple your concerns…
http://www.apple.com/feedback/
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by Csound1,

Csound1 Apr 30, 2016 6:11 AM in response to Heli A
Level 9 (51,412 points)

Desktops

Apr 30, 2016 6:11 AM in response to Heli A

360 watts, where did you get that?

Something to read

Power consumption and thermal output information for iMac computers - Apple Support
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by dialabrain,

dialabrain Apr 30, 2016 6:23 AM in response to Heli A
Level 5 (6,763 points)

Mac App Store

Apr 30, 2016 6:23 AM in response to Heli A

Power consumption and thermal output information for iMac computers - Apple Support
http://www.antiquark.com/sliderule/sim/n909es/virtual-n909-es.html
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by Csound1,

Csound1 Apr 30, 2016 6:46 AM in response to Heli A
Level 9 (51,412 points)

Desktops

Apr 30, 2016 6:46 AM in response to Heli A

Provide an example of an iMac that uses more power than its supply provides, just one will do
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by Heli A,

Heli A May 1, 2016 2:53 AM in response to dialabrain
Level 1 (12 points)

Desktops

May 1, 2016 2:53 AM in response to dialabrain

Hello..i already did that before but i dont get any reply..
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by Heli A,

Heli A May 1, 2016 2:56 AM in response to Csound1
Level 1 (12 points)

Desktops

May 1, 2016 2:56 AM in response to Csound1

Hello i have already read that....my post is related to this....
below you will see Apple say add 50w at 35c ambient....
and also this is a reference....
Not all imac's identical....
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by Heli A,

Heli A May 1, 2016 3:08 AM in response to Csound1
Level 1 (12 points)

Desktops

May 1, 2016 3:08 AM in response to Csound1

Dear Csound for what app you using imac? to go to internet or make a 3min video?
There are some programs that can use CPU at 100% for over 30 mins...
My imac making an iray render with i7 at full load for over 30mins with the default cooling system simply was restarted after 10 mins because couldnt handle the temps of the GPU and CPU...At this situation the psu wattage was 290w.If that time you going to open a finder window it goes instantly to the peak point of power supply.
After custom cooling that i made my self i managed to drop down tems dramatically..and reduce the power wattage to 210w...
This i mean is that PSU under certain situations is not enough.
Maybe Apple didnt make imac's for such demanding applications but what else is at market after aluminium towers discontinued?
I cant give the results that i had before i fixed it....but now is ok...but again is close to the limits...
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by dialabrain,

dialabrain May 1, 2016 3:59 AM in response to Heli A
Level 5 (6,763 points)

Mac App Store

May 1, 2016 3:59 AM in response to Heli A

You should look at the Mac Pro based on your demands…
https://www.apple.com/mac-pro/performance/
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by Heli A,

Heli A May 1, 2016 4:08 AM in response to dialabrain
Level 1 (12 points)

Desktops

May 1, 2016 4:08 AM in response to dialabrain

Hi dear dialabrain i have already did that before i get this specific iMac model but Mac pro dont have Nvidia GPU.And also very hard to upgrade...
Iray is from Nvidia and cannot run many things with Amd or any other video card...
Also one friend of mine have that and i tested it with an Iray render...and ok...anyway.
i cant understand why Apple stopped using as an option Nvidia cards...
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by dialabrain,

dialabrain May 1, 2016 4:14 AM in response to Heli A
Level 5 (6,763 points)

Mac App Store

May 1, 2016 4:14 AM in response to Heli A

You need to buy the best tool for the job. Perhaps for your needs you need to look at alternatives to Apple PCs instead of trying to make them do what they weren't designed to do. That seems obvious to me.
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by Heli A,

Heli A May 1, 2016 5:00 AM in response to dialabrain
Level 1 (12 points)

Desktops

May 1, 2016 5:00 AM in response to dialabrain

You are right about that dear dialabrain but what you mean with "alternatives to Apple PCs" ?
When i want a computer with Apple operating system to do my job or hobby anyway... and i dont want to use Apple OS as hackindosh because is not legal
so the only option is this i made...
Apple does not have any mac machine anymore with Nvidia cards.
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by dialabrain,

dialabrain May 1, 2016 5:08 AM in response to Heli A
Level 5 (6,763 points)

Mac App Store

May 1, 2016 5:08 AM in response to Heli A

Heli A wrote:

Apple does not have any mac machine anymore with Nvidia cards.

True. Mine has an AMD Radeon R9 M395X 4096 MB.
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by Heli A,

Heli A May 1, 2016 5:16 AM in response to dialabrain
Level 1 (12 points)

Desktops

May 1, 2016 5:16 AM in response to dialabrain

Yes..and this is sad...Some applications that use only Nvidia cards and they made for Apple also..simply cannot run correctly...And i can't think my self using these applications at windows side anymore...
So lets hope....for Aluminium towers resurrection.. there is no other option now... Used are not reliable..cannot now from what they have been through over years...
But anyway to get to the subject ..it should be very easy for Apple to make iMac much better...they already expensive...why not put some extra wattage to psu and better cooling and option for Nvidia cards TitanX Class for a little extra cost?
It's like they saying to people ..ok we dont want to use anymore our machines..that's all we have...
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by Heli A,

Heli A May 1, 2016 5:22 AM in response to Heli A
Level 1 (12 points)

Desktops

May 1, 2016 5:22 AM in response to Heli A

And another very bad thing is that iMacs they dont have anymore extra sata connectors like mid 2010...Why? i cant understand that...Motherboard is completely empty....so much space. The only option to put an extra storage device is a ssd blade but you can buy a second imac with the money that cost.
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