How is the fan noise on an iMac?

[ger19]

What should I expect for fan noise on an iMac? My current machine is a fanless Win machine because I really dislike fan noise. I want a Mac primarily to integrate with my iphone and ipad. I understand that the fan will run under load. My typical load will be very light - internet surfing, email and a small spreadsheet I use to track my finances. Is there any chance that the fan will rarely run? When it runs, how loud is it (understanding this is subjective).

 

[Saberon2014]

I have never heard a peep from an M1 iMac, it's dead silent.

 

[uller6]

I think I heard the fans on my M1 iMac once in ~2.5 years. The iMac is about as silent as a computer gets without eliminating the fan all together.

 

[kagharaht]

Do you guys know if the fan is always running? Even when Idle and no load? Or does it completely stop when idle and no load?

 

[MBAir2010]

there is software for fans called MACFANS that works from Mojave to Sonoma,
oh the Mac mini m1 does not make fan noise and stays under 100Fº

 

[OrenLindsey]

Do you guys know if the fan is always running? Even when Idle and no load? Or does it completely stop when idle and no load?

Fans stop on the MacBook Pros, so I would assume they do so on the iMac as well

 

[uller6]

Fans stop on the MacBook Pros, so I would assume they do so on the iMac as well

The fans are always running in my M1 8 core iMac.

 

[ger19]

Just got my iMac. Very light duty user. I've not heard the fans. If they're coming on, I can't tell. I do feel just a touch of a breeze coming out of the bottom so maybe they're on very slow given my use. It's so light though that it could just be convection. Sorry I don't have a better answer. I can say that I'm very happy with the lack of fan noise so far.

 

[IngerMan]

No noise on my M3, even when AAA game playing. I noticed after closing a game and back to the main screen the temps are in the high 60's C. Watching ESPN now and a few tabs open in Safari it is mid 40's C, 2500 to 2800 fan rpm.

when I used to game play on my 2018 mm with eGPU, it sounded like a small vacuum cleaner running on the MM and eGPU lol

 

[kagharaht]

No noise on my M3, even when AAA game playing. I noticed after closing a game and back to the main screen the temps are in the high 60's C. Watching ESPN now and a few tabs open in Safari it is mid 40's C, 2500 to 2800 fan rpm.

when I used to game play on my 2018 mm with eGPU, it sounded like a small vacuum cleaner running on the MM and eGPU lol

Oh cool. What app do you use to lead the fan speed? I'm curious.

 

[IngerMan]

I use istats menu from the app store to show the temps/rpm/mem/ ssd space/ CPU/GPU/ network/, I have had it for several years. They finally upgraded to 6.73 version for the M3.

I never have used an app to control the fan speed. I let the OS take care of that for me.

 

[kagharaht]

I use istats menu from the app store to show the temps/rpm/mem/ ssd space/ CPU/GPU/ network/, I have had it for several years. They finally upgraded to 6.73 version for the M3.

I never have used an app to control the fan speed. I let the OS take care of that for me.

Oh that one. Yeah that's way more stuff than I would ever need LOL. I was just curious if the fan turns off or goes to super slow speed when idle and not doing anything on the iMac.

 

[IngerMan]

it has a minimum fan speed but it's always on from what I can tell. If you search enough you can find out the details.

 

[ger19]

it has a minimum fan speed but it's always on from what I can tell. If you search enough you can find out the details.

I agree. Seems to always be a slight bit of airflow coming out of the bottom of the unit.

 

[kagharaht]

I can’t feel a thing. I have feathered pillows and couches so that feather stuff comes out. I put it underneath and no movement. It must spin incredibly low which is great since i can’t hear a thing unless i push the cpu. Ideal it’s super quiet and barely any airflow.