As posted by another user, the warm case means exactly the opposite. It is getting warm because the heat source is well connected to the case thermally. I suspect the PSU is the culprit, but cannot be sure. CPU temps seem well controlled but certainly not ambient. I think it all boils down to a small unit with a lot of electronics and it gets warm. Whether this causes premature failure is yet to be determined. It would be nice if Apple published typical case temperatures indicating design criteria.
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Just an observation about the heat the Mac mini generates while sleeping
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No temps but...
Mac mini power consumption and thermal output (BTU) information – Apple Support (MY)
Find out more about the power consumption and thermal output of Mac mini computers.
If we compare the power consumption and relevant thermal output versus earlier M series, plus consider the smaller case and the power board relocation (from side to top), it’s evident why the case can be warmer.
Yes, at 17 btu/hr, a 10C rise in case temp is not to be unexpected. So I think you have the answer here. Makes sense.No temps but...
Mac mini power consumption and thermal output (BTU) information – Apple Support (MY)
Find out more about the power consumption and thermal output of Mac mini computers.support.apple.com
If we compare the power consumption and relevant thermal output versus earlier M series, plus consider the smaller case and the power board relocation (from side to top), it’s evident why the case can be warmer.
Just a quick update. I found the major contributor to excessive warming issue when sleeping. What I could not understand is the fact that it been up to 54C while sleeping and finally, after several reboots it suddenly dropped to 34C.
Now suddenly it was really quite hot to the touch again, 54C, and it was then I discovered the process that was causing the issue. I have Malwarebytes installed and I assumed it paused real time malware event scanning when asleep, but it does not always do so. Turning off real time event detection, stopped a process called RTProtectionDaemon running and hey presto, the temperatures dropped back to 34C, 10C above ambient.
Now as to why it sometimes runs while asleep and sometimes does not remains a mystery. However, I had just made a 3 TB backup copy of my current photo files to the attached RAID disk system and I am wondering whether it was scanning the new copy on the attached drive. Not necessary but it may have thought it necessary. Anyway the issue seems to be resolved for the moment and I post this just in case it maybe of some help to other posters.
Now suddenly it was really quite hot to the touch again, 54C, and it was then I discovered the process that was causing the issue. I have Malwarebytes installed and I assumed it paused real time malware event scanning when asleep, but it does not always do so. Turning off real time event detection, stopped a process called RTProtectionDaemon running and hey presto, the temperatures dropped back to 34C, 10C above ambient.
Now as to why it sometimes runs while asleep and sometimes does not remains a mystery. However, I had just made a 3 TB backup copy of my current photo files to the attached RAID disk system and I am wondering whether it was scanning the new copy on the attached drive. Not necessary but it may have thought it necessary. Anyway the issue seems to be resolved for the moment and I post this just in case it maybe of some help to other posters.
I reboot stay logged out, set to sleep. Case is then warm. (No-Fans power supply only-Guess)=heat.
Login wake up fans kick in cools down. Every day.
Non-issue.
Login wake up fans kick in cools down. Every day.
Non-issue.
I don't put my studio to sleep - hell, I don't even see any settings to put it to sleep after x number of minutes inactivity. My temps are between 30 and 40c on idle, with the fans running at minimum speed (1,000rpm).
I would be more concerned about constantly sleeping the external HDD. The fan is what, $10? And it's not a necessity. The HDD, on the other hand, will wear far quicker with constant on-offs, versus just keeping it on 24/7. It's a mechanical device, and thus more susceptible to cycle stress.
Does the wooden stand cover any of the bottom air vents? Nonetheless I don't think you should worry about a slight change in sleep temps.
This is a Malwarebytes background program. Up to you whether or not you think you need it, but macOS does have its own built-in antimalware (Gatekeeper, Xprotect).
It is a Samsung 990 Pro 4TB SSD in a Trebleet enclosure, which includes a small continuously running fan. So I am not worried about mechanical failure. About to change to an OWC enclosure which has better heat sinking and no fan.
No, it has slots cut into the bottom. I carefully checked temperatures with and without the base. No difference. I only added the base after I needed better access to the power button.
Yes, this is what I indicated in my post and I changed the Malwarebytes configuration to stop real time event monitoring. I turned it back on after around 2 hours and the daemon started running again but was not consuming anywhere near the same resources. I think the large file movement, 3TB, caused the event monitoring to run and consume resources. Once I turned it off and on, it reduced CPU usage down to <5%. Now I know what it is doing I can be prepared for the temperature rise and not be concerned.
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