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Mac mini (Late 2012) Distorted Graphics

surfnode

surfnode

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 27, 2013
147
51
United Kingdom
Hi,

I have a Mac mini (Late 2012) with graphics distortion problem.

2.3 GHz Intel Core i7
16GB Ram

As you can see in the video its quite messy. I've also noticed that the Mini is running quite hot (currently 70c)


This appears to happen most when Firefox is open, enabling hardware acceleration doesn't appear to make a lot of difference.
 
check if your fan is faulty. does it happen only when firefox is open? Is it coming on only after the mm is running at high temps?
 
I use smcfancontrol (https://www.eidac.de) - that will tell you what rate your fan is spinning at (also let you increase the speed).

Obviously, increasing your fan speed will have an effect on its life, but it could also get your mini down to an acceptable temperature. (mind you, I'd maybe consider running chrome if firefox is behaving that badly).
 
Web browsers can be cpu hogs because they drag in lots of javascript garbage which stresses the system.

Obviously the mini is overheating. There are quite a few posts on this blog and elsewhere about heating problems with the mini including your model.

I suggest installing some monitoring app that gives a more detailed readout of the temperatures on different parts of the system.
 
A bit of a warning about smcfancontrol (issues I've had at least on my mba). I had previously used smcfancontrol and was not able to set "auto" mode. After uninstalling the app, my fan would not spin up at all. The temperature would run upwards of 99 degrees (celsius) if any apps used CPU (ffmpeg encoding for example). SMC and NVRAM (or PRAM) reset failed to restore the fan settings. I've since switched to Macs Fan Control (http://www.crystalidea.com/products?source=fancontrol_mac) which is free and enables settings back to auto mode, and I've had no issues with it on any of my Macs.

Anyway, I do hope you resolve your graphics issues.

Disclaimer: I'm not stating that smcfancontrol is bad, it is just that I had a lot of issues regarding the use and subsequent uninstallation of it. YMMV. I am also not associated with Macs Fan Control - I just think that it is a good alternative to smcfancontrol.
 
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