DOES IT RUN HOT AND NOISY?
The 2012 iMac Core i7 Stress Testing
Originally posted Thursday, January 17th, 2013, by rob-ART morgan, mad scientist
added Geekbench Stress Test results at 12:30pm PDT.
Many readers have asked if the the 27-inch 'late 2012' iMac with Core i7 CPU and the 680MX GPU runs hot and if the fan goes crazy when under a load.
The short answer? No. And No.
Here are the maxium temperatures and fan speeds recorded by Hardware Monitor during various stress tests:
|
TEST
|
CPU temp
|
GPU temp
|
Fan RPMs
|
|
idle
|
99F
|
99F
|
1195
|
|
AE raytrace 3D
|
192F
|
183F
|
1211
|
|
AE CPU crunch
|
196F
|
117F
|
1206
|
|
Heaven Bench
|
196F
|
172F
|
1209
|
|
Dirt 2
|
187F
|
154F
|
1209
|
|
WoW
|
162F
|
169F
|
1208
|
|
X-Plane
|
180F
|
149F
|
1210
|
|
Team Fortress
|
156F
|
144F
|
1207
|
|
Portal 2
|
156F
|
136F
|
1208
|
|
Geekbench Stress
|
208F
|
127F
|
1389
|
|
"upper limit"
|
221F
|
????
|
2640
|
LEGEND of TABLE
AE raytrace 3D = 40 minute render of Ray Trace 3D project with Adobe After Effects CS6
AE CPU crunch = render of Total Training's sample project in After Effects CS6
Heaven Bench = Unigine's OpenGL Heaven Benchmark run at 2560x1440, best settings
Dirt 2 = Feral Interactive's Dirt 2 run at Ultra settings at 2560x1440.
WoW = Blizzard's World of Warcraft: Pandaria run at Ultra preset at 2560x1440.
X-Plane = X-Plane 10 take off and flight of F4 Phantom jet at best settings and 2560x1440.
Portal 2 = Steam's Portal 2 timedemo (run several times) at 2560x1440, best settings, 8x AA, and 16x Anisotropy.
Geekbench Stress = Ran the Geekbench Stress Test for one hour. Posted max readings.
"upper limit" = Maximum temperature recommended and maximum possible fan speed
WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM THE TESTS?
The iMac was never pushed to the limit. The fan RPMs were near idle speed at all times. We had to put our ear against the top of the iMac to hear it. It's clear the engineers at Apple did a great job at designing the 2012 iMac to run tough stuff without "sweating."
Thoughts? Questions? Got GTX 675MX? Contact
Also, you can follow him on Twitter @barefeats
WHERE TO BUY NEW APPLE PRODUCTS
Help us earn a commission by ordering your Apple products using this link:
WHERE TO BUY MEMORY UPGRADES FOR 2012 IMAC
Other World Computing has an upgrade kit for the 21.5" iMac. It requires disassembly but they provide the tools and the installation video. They also offer memory upgrade kits for the 27" iMac.
Check with Trans International for memory kits for most models of Mac.
MaxUpgrades has memory kits for various models of iMac.
WHERE TO BUY PHOTOSHOP OR OTHER ADOBE PRODUCTS
See all the Special Offers for Photoshop and other products from Adobe USA.
Live OUTSIDE the USA? Go to THIS LINK and pick your Country. Then pick the type of Adobe online store (Home, Business, or Education).
