![]() ![]() If you’re getting a new Mac, installing iStat Menus and taking a set of baseline temperature readings after it has finished Spotlight and Photos indexing and is just sitting idle is a great idea. This app is not only useful for determining which app or daemon might be slowing down your Mac, but it has the ability to grab temperature readings from a number of sensors inside your Mac (see image at right). I have a favorite tool that I use to keep an eye on internal temperatures throughout my 27-inch Retina 5K iMac - iStat Menus. One telltale sign that you might need to get the dust out of your Mac is that the internal fan will frequently spin-up, even when the computer is not under a heavy CPU load. (Temperature and fan speed readings from iStat Menus) At this time, the only Macs that can really receive a good cleaning at home or office are the Mac Pro (both pre- and post-2013 models) and the Mac mini. iFixit, which tears down new models in order to determine repairability and components used in each Mac, gave the new MBP a 1 out of 10 score for repairability. Take one of the new 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar models, for example. Where many old Macs could be opened by loosening a few screws or opening a “hatch”, today’s designs aren’t meant to be user accessible. Today we’ll look at what Macs can be cleaned and how to clean them to prevent a dust buildup, and also talk about external cleaning that can and should be done.Īpple’s Mac designs are becoming more tightly sealed and less amenable to cleaning. Macs with internal fans for cooling have a tendency to pull in tiny dust particles which can then settle on internal components, eventually creating a “blanket” that can heat up those components and cause them to fail. But there are still members of the Mac family that can be defeated by a common foe - dust. As an Apple consumer for quite some time, when it comes to their outward case design, it is form over function.Our Macs are remarkably reliable and are evolving to be even more reliable as moving parts like fans and hard disk drives are replaced with passive cooling systems and solid state drives. It is unfortunate that you cannot easily clean the boards, however to add that kind of capability disrupts the sleek design. The risks greatly outweigh the advantages of dusting an iMac unless you are 100% certain, that your area will have enough dust to need cleaning. ![]() ![]() It will take 4 hands to safely disassemble the unit for cleaning, as well as a special torx head screwdriver bit. Search for disassembly of an iMac and you will find lots of walk through, however if you are still under warranty, take it to the Apple store. Static and the fact you only have 2 hands hinder in this process. Sadly, the only way is to disassemble the unit, which takes lots of precautions. As suggested, you can power down your iMac and shoot short bursts of canned air into the vents. To clean it, you wipe off the vents at the bottom, and the exhaust port on the back. To the average user, the iMac is not serviceable. This is also why I moved to the Pro line after losing my iMac to dust twice. Living in a dusty/dry area, dust in your home is unavoidable, unless you clean every time you open the door. This is one of the problems I ran into with the iMac line. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |