According to MacMiniVault, the new Minis have a new fan design, which could mean quieter operation. It also looks quite a bit difference on their comparison picture. Look at http://www.macminivault.com/2012mini/
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2012 Mini has new fan design
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Hmm... looks like they used the picture of the old model to show what the Mini looks like without the bottom cover on their page ... That's a bit too lazy for one of the world's most valuable companies, isn't it?
Edit: The new fan clearly looks like it has a bigger opening and more "wings". Could be a good sign for cooler, quieter Minis.
Edit: The new fan clearly looks like it has a bigger opening and more "wings". Could be a good sign for cooler, quieter Minis.
no and yes. explanation is longer ,but think that it has less size to dissipate heat and less watts.
or 100 watts over 1 square mile who cares but 10 watts over 1 square inch you will feel the heat.
bottom line is we shall see what we shall see.
Up until last year's model, they were virtually silent at all times, regardless of what they were doing.
So how would you cool the processor?
I don't think Apple want to go down the fanless route again, not after the cooling disaster that was the cube.
I'm not saying it's possible, I'm saying it should be possible and pretty nice too!
The Intel chips used in the Mac Mini require active cooling. Many new ARM devices are using passive cooling because they don't require active cooling. Until there is a powerful enough chip that can be passively cooled in a small enclosure, the Mac Mini will have a fan.
I have a 2.4ghz core 2 duo mini. The first of the new design. I took it apart to install a new hard drive. When I put it back together after a couple of days I was amazed at how quiet it was. Opened the bottom up and the fan was not spinning. I forgot to connect it. I could not believe it.
The 2011 is very silent too. The only one that makes a lot of noise, is my 2006 G4 1.5Ghz. If the GPU on that one is activated, it sounds like a JET.
I'd be curious to know how much extra heat the GPU on the prior model generated. Now that they've gone completely with the integrated Intel 4000 graphics, would that mean a significant decrease in heat compared to the prior model with the optional Radeon GPU?
I often hear a buzz when I have my 2011 mini on, only recently realised it's actually my monitor. The mini is very quiet - the fan does kick in with a Lightroom and CS6 session though.
Love my old 2009 Mini
I'm still loving my late-2009 Mini--the one with the external power brick. It runs completely silent. I wish Apple would go back to this design. It never overheats, never makes a peep. It also has a CD drive, which Apple deleted in subsequent models.
I'm still loving my late-2009 Mini--the one with the external power brick. It runs completely silent. I wish Apple would go back to this design. It never overheats, never makes a peep. It also has a CD drive, which Apple deleted in subsequent models.
Technically, yes.
But it really depends on how Intel designed the chips that are used in the new mac minis.
For the DIY PC market, Ivy Bridge CPUs all have a heat spreader over the die. The problem is, this time around, BECAUSE the Ivy Bridge runs cooler and more efficient than it's predecessor, Intel decided to cheap out and use a cheaper thermal component between the CPU die and the heat spreader. Thus when PC enthusiasts decided to overlock the Ivy Bridges, they found the chips would run hotter.
I don't know about the Mac Mini 2012, someone would need to take the whole thing apart and unseat the heatpipes from the chipset to check. But my suspicions are that they dont have that heat spreader.
philipma1957 already answered, but just to re-confirm. Yes, the integrated HD4000 even though its on the CPU die will still generate less heat than the additional Radeon GPU.
Not only a new fan but also a cover between the logic board and the heatsink exhaust where the 2011 mini was collecting a lot of dust.
It confirms that the 2011 models are running too hot - if it was marginally then they would have left it alone for the Ivy bridge which is running (slightly?) cooler. It is also interesting that the discrete GPU in the mid model has been dropped.
I am waiting to see what the temperature under load will be for the different models and how noisy the mini is when the fan adjusts for the higher loads.
It confirms that the 2011 models are running too hot - if it was marginally then they would have left it alone for the Ivy bridge which is running (slightly?) cooler. It is also interesting that the discrete GPU in the mid model has been dropped.
I am waiting to see what the temperature under load will be for the different models and how noisy the mini is when the fan adjusts for the higher loads.
received my Mac mini Server 2012 half an hour ago.
the dual- and quad-core models have two different fans, it seems. the fan in the dual-core has more fins/blades, the one in the server has less fins/blades. at 800% CPU load it still gets pretty noisy as the 2011 model did. removing the bottom cover helps a lot: the fan within a minute slows down quite a bit.
regards,
michael
the dual- and quad-core models have two different fans, it seems. the fan in the dual-core has more fins/blades, the one in the server has less fins/blades. at 800% CPU load it still gets pretty noisy as the 2011 model did. removing the bottom cover helps a lot: the fan within a minute slows down quite a bit.
regards,
michael