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Apple Mac Mini (Late 2012) Very Hot

Miscellaneous said:
Hi RyanXM!

Sounds like you have a lot of experience related to the issue I am having. As I’ve mentioned, the Mac Mini is very clean internally, almost spotless to be honest.

However, the computer is almost 5 years old, I bought it brand new on eBay around a year and a half ago. It was still sealed by Apple and came with macOS 10.9 Mavericks.

So I’m wondering if the thermal paste should be reapplied? Seeing as the original paste is 5 years old? I would love to hear your thoughts on this if you have time.

My knowledge of computers is very limited and although I managed to upgrade the internal Mac Mini storage myself, I would not have been able to do so without guidance.

Thanks ✌️
Click to expand...

I do believe that a change of thermal paste will help tremendously. Having worked for Apple and tested many a thermal paste, the OEM paste meets a certain standard and is used because of the easy application for everyday technicians in the store. It is also cheaper in volume than most others.

The Thermal Grizzly Kyronaut helped a customers 2011 from having the fan spin even during browsing the internet. It would previously go to 3000rpm just when booting. It no longer has thermal related fan ramp.

A good thermal paste will quickly remove any heat from a random bump in processor activity and quickly return the processor to a better operating temperature. Kyronaut does just that.

Are you up to date on the OS? What version are you currently running?
 
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I'm currently running macOS Sierra 10.12.6 with all the latest updates installed.

I've been browsing the iFixit website and they have an illustrated step by step guide showing how to remove the heatsink on a 2011 Mac Mini but nothing specific to reapplying the thermal paste.

Cheers
 
I was under the impression that thermal paste mainly degrades from thermal impact, not from sheer aging itself. If that's indeed the case, the paste in the OP's mini is only ~1.5 years "old" and should still be fine. Technical surgery to reapply the paste would then be an unnecessary risk.

Despite all those tutorials floating around the net, it's still a complex task for unexperienced people and the mini's gut's are more fragile than those in many other computers (e.g. the cheesegrater MacPro's).
 
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I agree that the Mac Mini has some very delicate parts/connectors inside. I was able to replace the storage following the OWC instructional video on YouTube. I just took a lot of extra care and time when doing it. I am a complete novice but I found the video quite straightforward. However, it's not something I would look forward to doing again.
 
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Neodym said:
I was under the impression that thermal paste mainly degrades from thermal impact, not from sheer aging itself. If that's indeed the case, the paste in the OP's mini is only ~1.5 years "old" and should still be fine. Technical surgery to reapply the paste would then be an unnecessary risk.

Despite all those tutorials floating around the net, it's still a complex task for unexperienced people and the mini's gut's are more fragile than those in many other computers (e.g. the cheesegrater MacPro's).
Click to expand...

Consider that the OP has had the Mac mini for even a year and a half, the last refurb sold from Apple was over 3 years ago. I know this because I bought over $10,000 worth of them at the time. So even at 3 years and multiple heat cycles, the OP probably has thermal paste that needs to replaced. So given that the OP is having issues related to the Mac mini getting exceptionally hot, thermal paste is the only physical thing that I'd replace. As I suggested, a PRAM and SMC reset is in order. It is also suggested to replace the coin battery as it can cause weird issues with PRAM and SMC if the voltage is low.

The OE thermal paste that Apple uses, is poor at best. It is the first thing that I replace on most of my personal Macs as soon as they are back at home. The only exception is the iMac Pro that I'm typing this on.
[doublepost=1531229889][/doublepost]
Miscellaneous said:
I agree that the Mac Mini has some very delicate parts/connectors inside. I was able to replace the storage following the OWC instructional video on YouTube. I just took a lot of extra care and time when doing it. I am a complete novice but I found the video quite straightforward. However, it's not something I would look forward to doing again.
Click to expand...

I've had more than one Apple "Genius" break a part in a Mac mini that was in for service....this is nothing new.
 
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RyanXM said:
Consider that the OP has had the Mac mini for even a year and a half, the last refurb sold from Apple was over 3 years ago. I know this because I bought over $10,000 worth of them at the time. So even at 3 years and multiple heat cycles, the OP probably has thermal paste that needs to replaced. So given that the OP is having issues related to the Mac mini getting exceptionally hot, thermal paste is the only physical thing that I'd replace. As I suggested, a PRAM and SMC reset is in order. It is also suggested to replace the coin battery as it can cause weird issues with PRAM and SMC if the voltage is low.

The OE thermal paste that Apple uses, is poor at best. It is the first thing that I replace on most of my personal Macs as soon as they are back at home. The only exception is the iMac Pro that I'm typing this on.
[doublepost=1531229889][/doublepost]

I've had more than one Apple "Genius" break a part in a Mac mini that was in for service....this is nothing new.
Click to expand...

Hi RyanXM!

I have decided to give it a try, I have ordered the Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut thermal paste and Arctic Silver ArctiClean cleaning materials.

I would also like to replace the PRAM battery using the following guide...

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac+mini+Late+2012+PRAM+Battery+Replacement/11725

The guide suggests replacing the battery with a BR2032 but would I be fine using a CR2032 which are more readily available to me?

I think I'll be ok with taking apart the Mac Mini up until removing the speaker and heatsink do you have any tips or should I be good just following this guide...

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac+mini+Late+2012+Heat+Sink+Replacement/11717

Thanks
 
Hey Everyone!

In an attempt to solve my temperature issues with my Mac Mini I performed PRAM and SMC reset procedures. I followed the instructions for my specific Mac on the Apple website.

I then went ahead to disassemble the Mac Mini and followed the links posted earlier in this thread to replace the PRAM Battery and Thermal Paste.

I don’t know if it’s too early to tell but I haven’t seen any noticeable differences in temperature readings using Macs Fan Control. The readings are almost the same as prior to reapplying the thermal paste and the Mac Mini chassis is still getting very hot quite quickly.

I haven’t had any performance issues so I guess I will be ok to carry on as before.

Thanks
 
Miscellaneous said:
Hey Everyone!

In an attempt to solve my temperature issues with my Mac Mini I performed PRAM and SMC reset procedures. I followed the instructions for my specific Mac on the Apple website.

I then went ahead to disassemble the Mac Mini and followed the links posted earlier in this thread to replace the PRAM Battery and Thermal Paste.

I don’t know if it’s too early to tell but I haven’t seen any noticeable differences in temperature readings using Macs Fan Control. The readings are almost the same as prior to reapplying the thermal paste and the Mac Mini chassis is still getting very hot quite quickly.

I haven’t had any performance issues so I guess I will be ok to carry on as before.

Thanks
Click to expand...

And you've checked that the fan is spinning freely at idle without any issues?
 
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