I'm interested in that stand. Can you post a link? Or tell me more about it?
I have a late 2012 Mini.
Thanks very much in advance,
Chris
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Mini getting scary hot
- Thread starter thestickman
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I'm interested in that stand. Can you post a link? Or tell me more about it?
I have a late 2012 Mini.
Thanks very much in advance,
Chris
I would be very hesitant to run with the cover off, or with modified openings. Apple's design engineers are very smart guys, and they know what the airflow is over the various components. They also know where to place their thermal sensors based on what that airflow is.
If you run with the cover off, or cut a hole in the cover to allow air to come in through a different path, you may very well reduce the temperature displayed from the sensors. However because the airflow is not routing the way Apple's engineers intended, it's quite possible that you are RAISING the temperature at other areas inside the case (because the airflow is no longer going across those areas).
I have no idea if this is an issue specifically with the Mac Mini but it certainly is on many computers. Law of unintended consequences.
If you run with the cover off, or cut a hole in the cover to allow air to come in through a different path, you may very well reduce the temperature displayed from the sensors. However because the airflow is not routing the way Apple's engineers intended, it's quite possible that you are RAISING the temperature at other areas inside the case (because the airflow is no longer going across those areas).
I have no idea if this is an issue specifically with the Mac Mini but it certainly is on many computers. Law of unintended consequences.
Just like people with PCs. They think taking the side off helps cool it, it doesn't. No air flow. Yes of course, put a fan on their but, the fans in the case were designed to make the air flow properly. Plus, my desk is way to small to add a box fan on it... (If I had a PC.
)
This might be one of those cases, where people only have opinions to present, but very few facts, as facts would necessitate hindsight.
One of the few reasons why I can accept that a Mini would be able to handle those kinds of temps is that the PSU is external (I'm thinking of the 1st gen TimeCapsule debacle).
That said, I honestly do not think that high temperatures benefit the longevity of any electric components.
OP, I would start worrying if and when it starts to seem clear that the chassis is not able to transfer the excess heat outside of the box. It would help if you could supply us with temperature readings from other sensors as well as an ambient temperature.
RGDS,
One of the few reasons why I can accept that a Mini would be able to handle those kinds of temps is that the PSU is external (I'm thinking of the 1st gen TimeCapsule debacle).
That said, I honestly do not think that high temperatures benefit the longevity of any electric components.
OP, I would start worrying if and when it starts to seem clear that the chassis is not able to transfer the excess heat outside of the box. It would help if you could supply us with temperature readings from other sensors as well as an ambient temperature.
RGDS,
http://www.newertech.com/products/nustandalloymacmini.php
It has little silicone patches on the feet which come off easily, but I just removed them all together. The aluminium edge is not sharp anyway.
An AirPort Extreme also fits in it.
I concur regarding excessive heat shortening the life of the mini in general!
Just opened up a huge (many tracks-many plugins) song in Studio One. Just loading it up sends the CPU to 150F.
Memory bank is at 117
Memory module is at 128
HD is at 85F
Ambient is 110F
Ambient 2 is 106F
power supply is at 106
All this while the song is loaded & while I type via chrome. Also, smc fan control is running at 2600 rpm.
So were these numbers shortly after starting up or taking the machine out of sleep? I mean, that if the HD sensor is correct, then the ambient temperature rises pretty quick.
Also, the ambient is basically what the machine uses to cool its internal components, implying that:
- in the long term, all components will have a heat >= ambient
- as ambient temp rises, cooling efficiency is lessened.
It's a long time since I had a mini to play with, but these ambient temps seem waay too high for any decent airflow through the machine ( thestickman, what's your room temps at?).
RGDS,
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Ouch. Scratch that for all Alu Mini's. I admit I had no idea Apple had moved the PSU into the chassis. IMNSHO, a dumb move.
RGDS,
That is an excellent point. I think the bottom line is that there simply needs to be a bigger thermal envelope for the mini. I HATE for my electronics to run hot. I say a very slightly bigger case with proportionately better airflow wold be a big help. Say like maybe a quarter inch taller or something like that. Could also help make it quieter.
Run Apple Hardware Test
Happened to my mbp. Went scary hot. Turns out the authorized repair guys i bought mine to forgot to put plug the fan in when they replaced the logic board.
In your case, it is important to diagnose what's wrong with the Mac. Is the machine's fan working? Best way to figure that out is the Apple Hardware Test. See Apple support doc.
if it fails, best to bring it to a genius, asap.
Happened to my mbp. Went scary hot. Turns out the authorized repair guys i bought mine to forgot to put plug the fan in when they replaced the logic board.
In your case, it is important to diagnose what's wrong with the Mac. Is the machine's fan working? Best way to figure that out is the Apple Hardware Test. See Apple support doc.
if it fails, best to bring it to a genius, asap.
I've run the test both times & the mini passed both times without issue.
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Have done that at least 5+ times. No change, sadly.
I agree 100%. I have an older Mini with external PSU and it runs flawlessly, albeit a bit slower than the newer ones. It also runs cool and quiet. Long live the external PSU!
And it even has a DVD drive!
Diz
I concur on the tuniq tx-4 and newertech side stand.
Using in this combination, my 2012 i7 2.6 runs at around 95-100 degrees Celsius tops, running Boinc - 8 threads.
Also, I have an external 120 mm fan that blows air on the front edge of the mini case (where the black cover has a space for sucking in the air for the fan) and believe it or not, it decreases the idle temp for the mini further by 5 degrees on average, less in high use.
Thermal paste itself made a significant difference, no more throttling happening.
Using in this combination, my 2012 i7 2.6 runs at around 95-100 degrees Celsius tops, running Boinc - 8 threads.
Also, I have an external 120 mm fan that blows air on the front edge of the mini case (where the black cover has a space for sucking in the air for the fan) and believe it or not, it decreases the idle temp for the mini further by 5 degrees on average, less in high use.
Thermal paste itself made a significant difference, no more throttling happening.