[blythe]

I'm planning on purchasing a new 3.06 GHz iMac, and was wondering if anyone knows if they are any louder than the other iMac models. I appreciate a quiet working environment, and I'm wondering if the additional power needed by the higher-end 3.06 GHz processor increases fan noise by any appreciable amount.

[imitchellg5]

If there is any difference, it will be very minor.

[ibook_steve]

Additional power doesn't directly increase fan noise. Fan noise increases when fans run faster, and fans must run faster when the operating temperature gets too high and the chips require cooling that the heat sink(s) can't completely dissipate. Heat sinks are custom made to get heat away from the chips as much as they can on their own without needing to run the fans at high speeds.

Therefore, unless Apple has done a bad job at redesigning the heat sinks, or you are running extremely processor intensive applications, fans should barely come on at all, at least not at a noticeable volume.

Steve

[Kenneth]

It's virtually silent. The hard drive is WD Caviar SE16 500 GB ( WD5000AAKS ) in my case.

[mduell]

Originally Posted by ibook_steve 

Additional power doesn't directly increase fan noise. Fan noise increases when fans run faster, and fans must run faster when the operating temperature gets too high and the chips require cooling that the heat sink(s) can't completely dissipate. Heat sinks are custom made to get heat away from the chips as much as they can on their own without needing to run the fans at high speeds.

Other way around. Temperature is just an output/indicator
When power output increases, you either need higher flow rates or higher temperature gradients to dissipate the heat. Assuming it's the same case/heatsink design, you should expect the higher TDP CPU to be hotter or louder when running at high load.

[blythe]

I bought the 3.06 yesterday, and I can confirm that it's very quiet with no appreciable difference in noise from the other models.

[nero]

I just bought an iMac 3.06, and I can also confirm that there is hardly any noise. I replaced a titanium powerbook that ran very hot and sounded like a vacuum cleaner -- even in a cold room. It drove me nuts. What a pleasure the iMac is to work with. As a graphics professional, I was worried about noise, glossy screen and uneven screen lighting. All my concerns turned out to be non-issues. These are great machines.