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Mac Mini Cooling

eXan said:
wow if you're so paranoid, why get a Mac mini in the first place?

And about Intel vs PPC: With current software optimization Intels are roughly 2x as fast on the same clock speed and number of cores, while running A LOT cooler. I can't think of a certain advantage of PPC that would compensate for this.
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Paranoid? it's technical ...not emotional. Good price on a great little computer. Got a friend with a mini, and I look askance at it thinking about the heat inside..and that little vent on the back. "Let me crunch your video files" I tell her. I have another friend who is using Pro Tools on an iMac (Intel) She calls me up: 'My computer is giving me overheating warnings" me: "This is why I suggested getting a MacPro instead of the iMac, it's not meant for sustained heavy processing like that." But she liked the idea that the whole thing was in the screen....
Re PPC...assuming that the clock speed is comparable to current Intel speeds, and guessing that maybe someone is developing PPC multicore chips and looking at real world performance versus statistical testing, given those pretexts, are there any other variables that could make a compelling reason to have a PPC product line in addition. I read an argument somewhere that went something along the lines of: "if an Intel Mac goes 'dead', you will have a harder time restarting it than you would with a PPC mac because the PPC startup instruction software (or something) is in 'it's own chip' (which by allusion I take to mean is not the case with the Intels)" ..so I was wondering about the validity of this point of view, whether it is an actual fact-ish or does really point to some larger issue. I was paraphrasing the point, I would repeat the exact quote if I could find it again. Hopefully to hear from persons with real world experience with both types of computers, not just repeating test results. I am all for the Intel chips, would get one if it gets to a point where I need to replace the machines I'm using. But...if a PPC line was made, I probably would get one of those instead...so I don't have to get a whole lot of new software, older favorites..lots of it; bows to Rosetta regardless. Are there any valid 'issues' with Intel (beyond personal preferences) that using PPC CPU's would address?
 
laptop cooler

check out the laptop coolers that sit between your lap and the bottom of the laptop.
 
Mac mini cooling fan plans

Coolcatfish said:
Hello there,

firstly forgive me if this has been discussed before, I did use the search function to look for threads already made but couldn't find one...

Ok so on to the thread. I have been recently moving things around in my room and my Mini was one of them. Its currently in a ventalated area on a wooden surface. Its basically on 24/7 and I switched it off so I could see what it looked like in other places.

The underside of the mini was roasting hot. I then tried to find a cooler for the mini (something like these stands you can put laptops on with fans in) but I don't want it to be bigger than the mini itself.

I've also looked at standing it on something smaller so that all the vents are clear. This seems to have helped a bit, I've considered making my own stand for it and trying to get hold of an external 140mm to blow air at it.

Does anyone else know what I could do? Can I change the internal Fan? Is the HDD a but rubbish inside and thus create more heat?

Any info would be really helpful. Thanks.

Rob.
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Rob I use a mini as a movie on demand for my flat screen tv hanging above the fireplace. i looked for over a year for a cooling system and found nothing. So I went on EBay and ordered an empty mini case for $36. when it arrived, I removed the top apple plate exposing the open box. Then I mounted a 160 mm fan in it with its own power supply. I stacked the working mini on top of the fan cooling unit, and I haven't had a single over heating issue since. the total cost of this buildup was under $50. I am in the process of building another one for my new mini i just bought which will house a WD 500 gig HD running 10.5. the 340 Gig HD in my original mini has gotten full quicker than I Thought. if you are interested in my plan to build it, or want a pic of the finished product just let me know
Good luck Dan
 
Cooling.

I installed the temperature monitor application for my Mini after i became concerned about the temperature that it was running at. It was running at about 54 Celsius, but after i built the wooden stand i noticed that the temp was about 51.

I think by keeping the area behind the machine clear and leaving an air gap at the back of your desk, this definitely helps keep the machine cooler. I think that by putting the mini under the wooden stand, the air flow is increased as the hot air is not simply hanging around the machine - it is being sucked by convection to the back of the desk and dispersed through the opening.

moto_0082.jpg
 
ablashek said:
hi. I had a similar issues with two macs at my office, i simply placed four small aluminum tablets below the mac minis, this way air circulates below it, and the aluminum turns out to be a good conductor of heat.

But i feel that the mini has a serious design flaw in that its base is made of rubber. I understand the need for rubber so that the mini does not slide, but i think they over did it in the name of "style" lol

anyways, after adding aluminum tablets it works fine, there is no need to get expesive laptop stations with inbuilt fans.
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I use a similar method to keep my Mac Mini cool. However, I didn't have anything made of metal, so I used four big rubber feet at the four corners and it elevates the Mac Mini by about .75" and helps air circulate underneath it. Seems to work nicely.
 
pastrychef said:
I use a similar method to keep my Mac Mini cool. However, I didn't have anything made of metal, so I used four big rubber feet at the four corners and it elevates the Mac Mini by about .75" and helps air circulate underneath it. Seems to work nicely.
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It seems that a lot of people also don't realize that heat is the number one killer of electrical components.

After a few hours of working on Photoshop CS4 with Motion, the CPU really gets hot. After a bit longer I can see what looks and I guess can be described as video artifacts on the screen. Again, I'm sure because of the intense heat.

Now before you others chime and say "Get a better Mac, the one you've got wasn't designed for all that...". When you give me the money to get another one, I'll gladly upgrade. The economy has afforded me enough to get what I can get my hands on at the moment, so why not make the best of it.

I'm working on a "fan cradle" for it as we speak. Maybe even use a blue neon PC fan as well. :)

I wonder if cutting the top of the case and drawing the hot air out with a large Antec PC fan will do the job, or blow it in... Suggestions?
 
I have my mini in a cupboard with little ventilation running various downloads as well as serving this to other machines in the house and running HD content to my 47" screen without any of the issues you guys are suffering. The only difference if any is all my media is stored on external drives run through FireWire. I checked CPU temps during a film earlier and it was sitting at 54'c. My son was watching old topgear and my daughters were watching bolt. Both served from the mac over the network to there macs.
 
I put my mini on a targus chill mat with 4 aluminum disks that are .5" tall to elevate it. It keeps the CPU temp around 41 celcius and the second fan of the targus blows into my mybook studio so it's a perfect setup. I find it funny that the CPU idles hotter than my mac pro.

Forgot to add that my ambient temp is around 27 celcius
 
Minis Crammed in a Hot Box

Unfortunately the thread that I am writing in re; to is more than a year old. It's the only related one I could find. hmm.. anyone still interested in the Intel Mini?

I have two 'ethernetted' Intel Minis in close proximity, side by side (which in this application have been purchased specifically for SIZE, or lack thereof) I'm an on set video engineer and I solely use them to record and play back video. They are integrated in a case with some heavy duty fans in it, as well as what I designed to be decent airflow, but I need to stress that the case is still quite cramped.. with decent ventilation, but apparently not enough. My recording system is built around the case that I have, as all my In/Outs, etc.. are in there, as well as power supplies, Canopuses, monitor, ethernet switch etc... I also rebuilt the Minis upon purchase with 500G HDs and an extra G of RAM.

My problem is that, when in a rather hot environment, (say on location in the sun in Louisiana when it's 100) after 15 - 20 minutes with each machine recording video, the link between them is interrupted. (I keep them networked so that one acts as the "Master" machine whilst the other acts as a "Drone"). The "Drone" machine does not shut down... instead the connectivity between them is interrupted. I understand that this is because they are getting hotter than designed, but regardless I am still looking for a 'cheat' around this problem.

I'm well aware that the primary logical solution is to 'get a bigger boat', or perhaps reconfigure the orientation of the items in the case, but this is not possible for the application I am using them in. The organization of the Minis in the case is already optimized, and the whole point is that I can actually carry the case around with me, a whopping 37lbs actually, but doable.

Is there perhaps a sub platform setting in the Mini that I may alter to let them get a wee bit hotter than originally designed? IE; bump up the temp threshold/parameter? In the end, if they get damaged that's okay. I can handle the loss if need be. So, any ideas re; how to get into system specs and up the temp ante?

-ddscott57
 
Don't worry about it, as long as the computer isn't losing performance it should be fine. They're supposed to be roasting hot. Just like Car engines should be hot.

My school MB gets so hot it burns my lap through my pants, but thats a laptop, yours is a mini, so you don't have it on your lap.

My crappy cellphone gets REALLY hot, the battery and the part under the keypad, when I'm playing games for a while on it. A have to let it cool in between games:D
 
Machines loosing the connectivity between them could be caused by a number of reasons such as the link, the software, configuration. In most cases heat is not the cause of such issues. If they are side by side make sure your ethernet cable is not too short (under 30 cm, those 50 cm prefab patchcables will be fine). Also check your switch, if they get hot they might do something silly as well as when you push too much data then they can handle through them. Also check if both minis can keep up with each other.

Hardware can take heat quite well but unfortunately most people don't know this. When the hardware is constructed it goes through on oven baking everything at a high temperature for several seconds. Processors can take a max. of about 90 degrees Celsius (die temperature) before it gets risky. There have been many experiments with servers in a server room where they were operating at a higher temperature to save energy the AC uses (which is part of the idea to save energy, money and being a bit more environmentally friendly). In all those experiments there were no problems with the higher temperatures.

If you want to eliminate some more heat than discard the hdd and substitute it with a ssd. The ssd has no moving parts that can generate additional heat (doesn't mean it does not generate heat at all, chips can generate heat as well). Also make sure you don't block the Mac mini (no tight spaces) or put it near anything that generates heat (heating, putting it on top of an external disk like the ministack, etc.). If possible you can limit the software to not do as much. It makes things slower but it can keep things more stable (e.g. when the switch can't handle it). It also prevents the machine from "hanging" which could cause other problems. Sometimes the optimal setting is not using stuff 100%.
 
yes on its side seems to knock about 20 degrees off. even with folding home running and when it was 90 in the house I don't think my mini got above 180 degrees.
 
Poor Man's Solution

Here's what I've been doing for my macbook pro which only cost me $4.

I bought exactly 4 of those white rectangular erasers that you use in school (staedtler i think is there name) or go with the simple denser pink eraser and put all four on the corners under you macbook/mini. This not only raises the unit to allow for natural airflow underneath but it exposes the bottom more (more surface area to be cooled). So try that.
The only problem was, being rubber, the erasers dissipated the heat into the table I was putting the laptop on and so the glaze from the table warped because the erasers transfered the heat so well away from the corner spots. So if you could find some aluminum cubes and use that scenario, you will have an even better cooling system.
 
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