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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac Desktops > iMac panel HOT to the touch

iMac panel HOT to the touch
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msbiz
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Aug 22, 2008, 06:45 PM
 
I'm not sure if my fan(s) are working because the top of the panel (screen/computer) is so hot! I could fry an egg on it! Is this normal? how can I tell if the fans are working? thanks!
     
ibook_steve
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Aug 22, 2008, 07:59 PM
 
Which iMac? Which OS? What are you running?

Steve
Celebrating 10 years and 4000 posts on MacNN!
     
mduell
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Aug 22, 2008, 10:31 PM
 
What does iStat say the temperatures are?
     
msbiz  (op)
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Aug 23, 2008, 12:07 AM
 
ibook Steve...First...congrats on that FIFTH star! To answer your question...I have iMac 2.4 ghz 20" with Leopard. I'm running OS X 10.5.4

mduell...I'm not familiar with iStat...is it on my computer? is it an app? where do I get it? how do I access it? thank you...
     
msbiz  (op)
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Aug 23, 2008, 12:09 AM
 
see forum for my answers please...thank you...this is all new to me so I'm not sure how this works. I've never used a forum before. I have an appt. at the Apple store on Monday, but I'm too antsy to wait that long...by the way...when the computer goes to sleep, the panel cools right down...almost cold to the touch. when I start working, it gets hotter and hotter...crazy? or normal? hummmmm....
     
ghporter
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Aug 23, 2008, 08:46 AM
 
iStat is a widget for your Dashboard. It's great, and it's free. Just to add to our information, are you talking about an aluminum iMac; a white, Intel-based iMac; or a G4 iMac? The expected temperatures are all a bit different for the three different types...

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
msbiz  (op)
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Aug 23, 2008, 09:35 AM
 
It's the Intel-Core 2 duo....I did get iStat and it showed 48° for the hard disk (at its hottest point) and 43°when I checked first thing this morning and it was "cool" after sleeping. The hottest temp is airport card at 58°. the fans show 1199 rpm for the CPU fan, 1249 for the HD fan and 1000 for the optic drive. I have NO idea if these #s are normal. I appreciate your help. Thanks!
     
ghporter
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Aug 23, 2008, 11:59 AM
 
If you're noticing this "too hot to touch" issue on the top of your monitor frame, that's because that's where the heat management system dumps ALL the heat. By default, iStat reports temperatures in Celcius, so your hard disk is quite warm, and the AirPort card is a bit hotter. For comparison, the CPU on my MBP shws 70˚C and the GPU heatsink shows 77˚C. Your numbers aren't really very hot at all. As for the fans, I can't really say if they're "running fast" (which could be due to the thermal management system running them faster for temperature reasons), or if that's just normal for your machine. My late 2007 aluminum iMac's fans (at home) run in the near vicinity of 1000 rpm.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
Simon
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Aug 23, 2008, 05:01 PM
 
Run Apple Hardware Test (boot with your install DVD, hold d). If your fans are broken it will tell you. If it says nothing (which I am guessing it will) consider that that panel is where the heat is transported to and that it's part of the thermal design. End of story. Stop worrying. Start Enjoying.
     
msbiz  (op)
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Aug 24, 2008, 01:15 AM
 
THANK YOU to all! iStat REALLY helped a lot as well in allaying my fears. I appreciate your advice and well wishes!
     
ghporter
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Aug 24, 2008, 09:38 AM
 
To add to those bits of advice, I just remembered to check what iStat said about my iMac's temps and such. After a fresh restart this morning, all my temps are in the 40˚-55˚C range, and my Main and hard drive fans are running at ~1200RPM, with the optical drive fan at ~1000RPM. Obviously things will get a bit warmer later, but not much. Your numbers are fine.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
forumhound
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Aug 25, 2008, 02:38 PM
 
msbiz, i have the same box as u sitting in front of me and my temps are a little higher, but the ambient temp in nepal right now is pretty high too. i would not worry about it, i think this is pretty normal. i'd only worry if there was an nvidea gpu inside...

Dead MBP 2.2 4gig / New Aluminum iMacs / "Old" iPhones / 1st Gen Ipod Shuffle
     
outaru
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Aug 25, 2008, 04:16 PM
 
i almost forgot bout iStat, i had it on my old G5.. my iMac gets too hot also..
     
macwall
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Aug 26, 2008, 01:42 AM
 
istat is pretty good but what's hilarious is however time i go to the genius bar to get something fixed they would waste my time by berating me for installing it. one guy even once told me it's bad to have istat installed because it WOULD STEAL CPU CYCLES. i just laughed at him and told him to replace my battery.
     
Simon
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Aug 26, 2008, 02:32 AM
 
Geniuses like to blame stuff on software. It makes their life easier. That said...

Believe it or not, iStat Pro was responsible for a lot of hard crashes (no wake from sleep) on MBPs. I deleted it a long time ago because of these issues. smcFanControl seems to be a much better tool since it not only tells me my temps, but also lets me regulate them if I want.
( Last edited by Simon; Aug 26, 2008 at 02:38 AM. )
     
outaru
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Aug 26, 2008, 03:26 AM
 
Originally Posted by Simon View Post
Geniuses like to blame stuff on software. It makes their life easier. That said...

Believe it or not, iStat Pro was responsible for a lot of hard crashes (no wake from sleep) on MBPs. I deleted it a long time ago because of these issues. smcFanControl seems to be a much better tool since it not only tells me my temps, but also lets me regulate them if I want.
i had same problems with istat when i was on g5 but it seems to work fine right now..
     
   
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