7200 RPM HDD in a Mac Mini?

[titangears]

I am thinking about replacing my Apple 5400 RPM hard disk drive with a pair of Western Digital 7200 RPM drives. The 7200 RPM drives will run hotter, and so I am curious if this will create a heat problem in a Mac Mini. The Mini is sealed up and probably doesn't get much ventilation, and I am concerned about the Mini overheating if I place one or two 7200 RPM drives in it. Thoughts?

 

[casperes1996]

I am thinking about replacing my Apple 5400 RPM hard disk drive with a pair of Western Digital 7200 RPM drives. The 7200 RPM drives will run hotter, and so I am curious if this will create a heat problem in a Mac Mini. The Mini is sealed up and probably doesn't get much ventilation, and I am concerned about the Mini overheating if I place one or two 7200 RPM drives in it. Thoughts?

I don't think that's gonna be an issue. I highly doubt the difference will be that big, and if I recall correctly Apple sold minis with 7200RPM drives themselves.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

What year Mac mini is it? The older ones have temperature diodes connected to the HDDs and use that temperature data to control fan speeds.

 

[titangears]

What year Mac mini is it? The older ones have temperature diodes connected to the HDDs and use that temperature data to control fan speeds.

Its a mid 2011 model. Specifically a Macmini5,2

 

[DeltaMac]

Typically, the server models of the mini came with dual 7200-RPM hard drives.
The case is not exactly a sealed box.
Anyway, there's some heat from dual hard drives, but not so much that the cooling fan can't handle it.
Make sure you don't block the exhaust vent on the back of the mini.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

Its a mid 2011 model. Specifically a Macmini5,2

Good deal, that was the first year they went away from the diodes. They were more trouble than they were worth. I agree with DeltaMac that I doubt the extra heat is an issue.

One thing you can also do is use "Macs Fan Control" to monitor your temperatures (the HDD will give a reading), and you can have the fan adjust accordingly. You can use it now to see what your 5400RPM drive operates at, and then compare vs the 7200RPM. To get an idea of the max temps, copy several GB of files to the drive and see what it warms up to.

 

[Partron22]

Nice big heat sink on the mini's bottom can seriously reduce heat problems.