iMac safe operating temperatures and fan control

I have a mid-2010 27" iMac (model 11,3), 12 GB RAM, 500 GB OWC SSD, running OS 10.11.6.


My fan was running very loud and full blast constantly, even with little load. Problem started after I took out my old HDD and replaced my power supply. I cleaned out the dust from my fans and the inside of my iMac pretty well when I had it opened up.


I reset the SMC multiple times, that did nothing. Then I tried a variant reset SMC protocol that added pressing and holding the power button for 5 sec during the step when the power cord is unplugged before plugging it back in. That helped reduce the fan speed somewhat, but still too loud, probably in the 3000+ RPM range still.


Then installed and ran Macs Fan Control 1.4.9 (MFC) and it showed that my HDD fan was the culprit, running near full speed in the 5000+ RPM range under "Auto" control. ODD and CPU fans running near their minimums (<1000 RPM).


According to MFC my temps are:


Ambient: 26 C

CPU Core 1: 43.5 C

CPU Core 2: 43.0 C

CPU Heatsink: 40.5 C

GPU Diode: 54.0 C

GPU Heatsink: 50.9 C

GPU Proximity: 53.0 C

LCD Proximity: 52.2 C

Optical Drive: 44.4 C

PSU Primary: 56.4 C

Platform Controller Hub Die 59.0 C

OWC SSD: 40.0 C


If I set the HDD fan to Custom Control based on the sensor value of my OWC SSD with the "Temp that fan speed will start to increase from" = 38 C and "Max Temp" = 52 C, then the HDD fan speed (and noise) drops down to the mid 1000s range and it's very quiet.


While I'm glad the fan noise has dropped, I don't want to run the risk of causing damage due to overheating because I used incorrect settings for my fan control.


So, my questions are:


1. What are normal/safe operating temp ranges for the various parts/temp sensors?

2. Which temp sensor should I use to base my HDD fan control on? The MFC Custom fan control allows you to choose which sensor to base the control of the fan on. I have it currently set to the OWC SSD sensor (odd, because I thought the OWC SSD didn't have a temp sensor and that when I removed my old HDD I removed the HD temp sensor connector completely).

3. Which temp setting values should I use for "Temp that fan speed will start to increase from" and "Maximum temperature"? I currently have those set for 38 C and 52 C respectively and HDD fan has dropped to ~1500 RPM and noise is very quiet.


Thanks,

Michael

iMac 2.93 GHz i7, Mac OS X (10.6.5)

Posted on Jan 29, 2018 10:56 PM

Reply

Similar questions

2 replies

Jan 29, 2018 11:13 PM in response to michaeljoo

FYI, here is my EtreCheck report. There are a few things in red that there don't seem to be buttons for to fix.


EtreCheck version: 3.4.6 (460)

Report generated 2018-01-30 00:25:05

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime: 1:44

Performance: Excellent


Click the [Lookup] links for more information from Apple Support Communities.

Click the [Details] links for more information about that line.


Problem: Other problem

Description:

HDD fan running constantly near max.


Hardware Information:

iMac (27-inch, Mid 2010)

[Technical Specifications] - [User Guide] - [Warranty & Service]

iMac - model: iMac11,3

1 2.93 GHz Intel Core i7 (i7) CPU: 4-core

12 GB RAM Upgradeable - [Instructions]

BANK 0/DIMM0

2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

BANK 0/DIMM1

4 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM1

4 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

Handoff/Airdrop2: not supported

Wireless: en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n


Video Information:

ATI Radeon HD 5750 - VRAM: 1024 MB

iMac 2560 x 1440


Disk Information:

HL-DT-STDVDRW GA32N ()


OWC Mercury Electra 6G SSD disk0: (480.1 GB) (Solid State - TRIM: No)

(disk0s1) <not mounted> [EFI]: 210 MB

Macintosh SSD (disk0s2 - Journaled HFS+) / [Startup]: 479.24 GB (307.99 GB free)

(disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB


USB Information:

USB20Bus

hub_device

Logitech USB Receiver

Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

Apple Inc. Built-in iSight

USB20Bus

hub_device

Kingston USB3.0 Media Reader

Apple Card Reader

Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller


System Software:

OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 (15G31) - Time since boot: about 14 hours


Gatekeeper:

Mac App Store and identified developers


Kernel Extensions:

/Applications/LaCie Desktop Manager.app

[not loaded] com.LaCie.ScsiType00 (1.2.13 - SDK 10.5) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.jmicron.driver.jmPeripheralDevice (2.0.4) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.lacie.driver.LaCie_RemoteComms (1.0.1 - SDK 10.5) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.oxsemi.driver.OxsemiDeviceType00 (1.28.13 - SDK 10.5) [Lookup]


Startup Items:

Executor: Path: /Library/StartupItems/Executor

Startup items no longer function in OS X Yosemite or later


System Launch Agents:

[not loaded] 7 Apple tasks

[loaded] 161 Apple tasks

[running] 70 Apple tasks


System Launch Daemons:

[not loaded] 45 Apple tasks

[loaded] 154 Apple tasks

[running] 91 Apple tasks


Launch Agents:

[loaded] com.coupons.coupond.plist (? d6de63d4 88e927a2 - installed 2015-06-02) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.intego.backupassistant.agent.plist (? f2f62dfd 7efa3f62 - installed 2017-01-23) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.speedtools.smartagent.plist (? b1f50bc2 b0f1ad82 - installed 2017-01-18) [Lookup]

[running] jp.co.canon.ScanGearMF.appl.Canon-MF-Scan-Agent.plist (Canon Inc. - installed 2017-01-20) [Lookup]


Launch Daemons:

[failed] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2017-12-14) [Lookup]

[running] com.intego.BackupAssistant.daemon.plist (INTEGO - installed 2013-10-14) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist (? 6d8cb30e afb3bef0 - installed 2010-08-25) [Lookup]

[running] com.speedtools.scheduleagent.plist (Intech Development Corporation - installed 2017-01-21) [Lookup]

[loaded] jp.co.canon.MasterInstaller.plist (Canon Inc. - installed 2016-10-11) [Lookup]


User Launch Agents:

[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist (Google, Inc. - installed 2017-09-27) [Lookup]


User Login Items:

iTunesHelper Application (Apple, Inc. - installed 2018-01-27)

(/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunesHelper.app)


Internet Plug-ins:

JavaAppletPlugin: 15.0.1 (installed 2015-05-04) Check version

FlashPlayer-10.6: 28.0.0.137 (installed 2018-01-30) [Lookup]

QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (installed 2018-01-28)

AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: 11.0.10 (installed 2014-12-03) [Lookup]

CouponPrinter-FireFox_v2: 5.2.0 (installed 2017-01-20) [Lookup]

AdobePDFViewer: 11.0.10 (installed 2014-12-03) [Lookup]

Flash Player: 28.0.0.137 (installed 2018-01-30) [Lookup]

Default Browser: 601 (installed 2018-01-28)

SharePointBrowserPlugin: 14.7.7 (installed 2017-10-16) [Lookup]

iPhotoPhotocast: 7.0 (installed 2015-05-03)


User internet Plug-ins:

npBcsMcTcIO: Unknown (installed 2017-01-20) [Lookup]


3rd Party Preference Panes:

Flash Player (installed 2017-12-14) [Lookup]

FUSE for OS X (OSXFUSE) (installed 2013-11-12) [Lookup]


Time Machine:

Time Machine not configured!


Top Processes by CPU:

3% WindowServer

2% kernel_task

2% com.apple.WebKit.WebContent

1% Activity Monitor

1% com.apple.WebKit.Networking


Top Processes by Memory:

789 MB kernel_task

622 MB com.apple.WebKit.WebContent

480 MB softwareupdated

157 MB Finder

144 MB WindowServer


Top Processes by Energy Use:

4.90 WindowServer

1.56 com.apple.WebKit.WebContent

0.56 com.apple.WebKit.Networking

0.46 launchd


Virtual Memory Information:

8.42 GB Available RAM

4.57 GB Free RAM

3.58 GB Used RAM

3.85 GB Cached files

0 B Swap Used


Software installs (last 30 days):

Adobe Flash Player: (installed 2018-01-30)


Install information may not be complete.


Diagnostics Events (last 3 days for minor events):

2018-01-29 09:30:53 SMART Alert.app High CPU use [Open] [Details]


Files deleted by EtreCheck:

2018-01-30 00:16:05 - ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.apple.CSConfigDotMacCert-[redacted]@me.com-SharedSer vices.Agent.plist - Unknown

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iMac safe operating temperatures and fan control

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