Modded my Mini bottom cover.. any downside??

[campuscop2003]

So I have my fan set at 2800 and my idle temps are around 125F to 130F and 150 to 160F working hard. I was bored this morning and popped the bottom cover off while the unit was running to see what a diff it would make. It went from 125F to 90F in about 60 seconds. So after the whole wow factor set in I drilled a bunch of tiny holes in the intake side of the cover to look like an air vent. I used the smallest drill bit I had to help with not getting too much dust in the machine. Give it kind of a "screen" effect. Since then the mini has been sitting around 104F which is much better than the 125 to 130F before. I can not set the fan back a tad too. I realize these things are built to resist the heat, but that dont mean it cant run nice and cool either.

My question is, is there any downside to what I did? Is there any reason I shouldn't have made the air vent?

 

[lilsoccakid74]

So I have my fan set at 2800 and my idle temps are around 125F to 130F and 150 to 160F working hard. I was bored this morning and popped the bottom cover off while the unit was running to see what a diff it would make. It went from 125F to 90F in about 60 seconds. So after the whole wow factor set in I drilled a bunch of tiny holes in the intake side of the cover to look like an air vent. I used the smallest drill bit I had to help with not getting too much dust in the machine. Give it kind of a "screen" effect. Since then the mini has been sitting around 104F which is much better than the 125 to 130F before. I can not set the fan back a tad too. I realize these things are built to resist the heat, but that dont mean it cant run nice and cool either.

My question is, is there any downside to what I did? Is there any reason I shouldn't have made the air vent?

Apple has a patent on the minis airflow design, but I did the same thing as you (no holes though, just off) and have seen major drops in temp. I now leave the bottom off, and use a laptop cooling fan to blow air up into the mini. I now can keep temps under 75*C while gaming, which is over 20* difference. Just make sure you keep the inside clean of any dust now!

 

[GGJstudios]

My question is, is there any downside to what I did? Is there any reason I shouldn't have made the air vent?

It may increase the likelihood of dust, and it really wasn't necessary, as your temps are well within the normal operating range.

 

[campuscop2003]

It may increase the likelihood of dust, and it really wasn't necessary, as your temps are well within the normal operating range.

That thing was dusty before the mod. Nothing a little compressed air cant cure. I know it wasn't necessary however the cooler it runs the better I feel.