PT GUI and iMac internal fans

[jamesleonard]

Hello.

When pro tools is *playing-in-a-session* and I have either the 'mix' or 'edit' window or 'midi editor' visible on screen or: If I have all three windows visible on screen - the fan on my computer starts going into overdrive - why?

The fans do not engage when these edit windows are not visible - and pro tools is running-through-a-sequence - only when the edit windows are visible and pro tools is playing.

This happens when pro tools is on a loop or running through an entire song and the GUI is constantly visible throughout. I can’t see how the *GUI* would make the fans behave this way - especially as the plugins don't (even when I have a very intensive plugin session). Is this normal? Also, what is this error called - does it have a name?

EDIT//: The point is I don't particularly want to hear the fans on a minimal intensive session when the GUI is visible. I have knocked up an example from the PT templates and the fans still 'kick-in-hard' - even on this simple session!

Thanks

* Pro Tools 2018.12.0
* Computer: 27-inch iMac (i7)_5K Retina display: (High Sierra OSX 10.13.6)
* Processor: 4.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.2GHz
* Memory: 32GB 1867MHz DDR3 SDRAM - four 8GB
* Storage: 1TB Flash Storage
* Graphics: AMD Radeon R9 M395X with 4GB video memory

External Hardware:
* 003 Workstation (Control Surface)
* Rhythm Performer TR-8S (usb connection)

[jeam25]

Hi to be honest i don't know what is heppening there :-/ but just a flash thinking here , do you have any other application running on background ? Check your settings and under account login verify if you have some app starting up with your OS .

[BScout]

The Radeon M395X is a mobile graphics chip. Which means when it gets taxed with a workload it needs active cooling. So the fans are kicking in when having to redraw/draw screen images. It doesn't matter what the session is, it matters that it has to be "drawn" at all and updates at 60 Hz.

You can download a variety of applets that will show you temperatures and fan speeds of the various parts of a Mac. I'm sure you'll see the fans cooling the graphics card are the ones that are going into high gear (as is the temperature)

Look up "Macs Fan Control" for an app that will show you temperature, fan speed, and allow you fan control. But don't try to throttle the fan speed too much because you will overheat your iMac.
Cooling has always been a problem for the iMac because it is just a computer built with laptop components.