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2009 Mac Mini CPU heat question

T

tangelo

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 8, 2009
3
0
Hello there, first post so please be gentle. :)

I only have previous experience on PPC type macintosh so these "new" Intel ones are completely new to me.

The question is, is it normal for the 2.0GHz Core2Duo to run at 96 degrees Celcius on full usage? When I use the mini for normal stuff like surfing the web, e-mail or listening to some music, the CPU heat is at 55-70 degrees, but when doing something really demanding like compressing x264 the heat goes up to 80-96C

I know that people @ apple have taken this into consideration, but it's still a little bit alarming to have the temps at 96C when Intel only gives the processor operating temperatures till 100C. The mini is located at open, well ventilated area.

What kind of temps are you getting on full CPU usage with the 2009 mini, and should I be worried about the 96 degree temp?

Thank you all for any input
 
Does the fan spin up, or not?

Anyway, it should be cooler, since the Mac mini has a much better cooling system, than any of the Macbooks (because of the size of the case).

So, a Macbook (pro) can simply get high temperatures, but the mini, it should not, or at least not that hot.

The best cooling is of course in the Mac Pro.
 
System temps...

While that may seem high to you, for the amount of power used compressing the x264 stream, it isn't all that hot.

The system only has an issue if it shuts itself down. These systems will run very hot. If it does run hot & you find it shutting itself down (unlikely) then leave it to cool, and restart. Look into console logs and run a search for 'shutdown'.

An integer will be associated as a code. Take this code to AppleCare or A Mac Genius. They'll know what to do then.

F
 
I run folding@home on my mini 24/7 and it stays at around 80 Celsius. Make sure the intake vents on the underside are not blocked and there is clearance around the mini on all sides for good airflow.

Install a utility like iStat to monitor temps and fan speeds.

What is your ambient room temperature?
 
Wotan31 said:
Make sure the intake vents on the underside are not blocked and there is clearance around the mini on all sides for good airflow.
Click to expand...
This has been taken care of. There is room on all sides of the mini. But to be on the safe side, I'll add small rubberfoots or something to raise the mini a little bit from the desk surface.

What is your ambient room temperature?
Click to expand...

It's about 23-27 C

I'll install this fancontrol software that should help.

http://www.lobotomo.com/products/FanControl/
 
Just wanted to report that after installing that fan software, the temps have been keeping on 65-75C even on full CPU usage while compressing video.

I think the problem was that for some reason, the fan didn't raise it's speed enough during high CPU usage. But after tweaking it with Fan Control it's ok now.
 
too hot

96C is too hot for any processor to run at. That's very close to the maximum operating temp specified by the manufacturer. WHile the chip may operate at that temp, its lifespan will certainly be reduced if it is operated there on a continuous basis.
The mini has "mini"mal cooling for its internal components. I found that removing the internal DVD drive helps a lot with airflow over the cpu. This I discovered somewhat by accident when my drive failed and I decided to simply take it out. You might get further reductions in temp by lapping the mating surface of the cpu and northbridge heatsinks and using a better thermal compound such as IC Diamond or Gelid.
I replaced the cpu heatsink in my machine with a copper one and, with the DVD drive gone, the cpu temp never goes above 43C/110F when run at full load.
 
So if the temp is too hot and this guy installs some software for the fan control wouldnt you think that Apple is aware of this and made the neccesary changes?

There's also the company that host's web sites with racks and racks of mac mini's, keeping in mind that there in a AC controlled space, still Macminicolo.net and others.
 
I just got a (late) 2009 mini as well, and was also concerned about how hot it ran when doing heavy work (for me, it was some video encoding). I installed SMC Fan Control, set up a new fan speed setting in which I adjusted the fan speed slider to about 50% of its potentially fastest speed, and ran it like that while I was encoding. The CPU temp dropped from about 92 C to 57 C - not bad for a fan speed of only about 3000 RPM. I'll definitely keep this setting on whenever I'm doing any encoding work on the mini. Even at that fan speed, the machine is still surprisingly quiet so it's worth it.
 
michaelsviews said:
So if the temp is too hot and this guy installs some software for the fan control wouldnt you think that Apple is aware of this and made the neccesary changes?

There's also the company that host's web sites with racks and racks of mac mini's, keeping in mind that there in a AC controlled space, still Macminicolo.net and others.
Click to expand...

a hot or overheating processor is not unusual , it can have such simple causes like dried heat compound or to much of it between processor and heatsink or dust can be one too . you would wonder how fast a mini can collect dust have cleaned a mini from a mate couple weeks back when upgrading harddrive and ram ,it was only 7 month old but filled up like dustbag in a hoover
so setting the fan speed higher will not really solve the problem in these causes
 
Badger^2 said:
You guys need to stop ripping all the DVDs you get from netflix, redbox and your friends :cool:
Click to expand...

Who said that that's what we're doing? I for one am simply ripping my large DVD collection for use with my Apple TV, and don't like the assumption that I'm stealing when I'm not... :confused: Stealing movies is just one out of several reasons why someone might want to encode a DVD rip.
 
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