I just found this little riser that I 3D printed for my M4 Mini. Seems like a good idea to raise it a little from the desk surface to allow a little more air flow underneath. What do you all think?
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Raising the M4 Mini up a little to let it breath better?
- Thread starter ozziegn
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My fear with something like this would be the intake and exhaust mixing underneath, since normally they're separated by whatever surface the Mac mini is on.
Apple engineered the Mini to work without a riser sitting on a desk. I foretell worse cooling performance.
Yeah maybe, but also, it's an M4, not the higher power M4 Pro.
@ozziegn, do you do anything with your M4 that actually significantly ramps up the fan? Cuz if not, then why change things?
Are you experiencing fan noise with your mini? Other than that, I'm not sure if this will help or hinder your cooling performance. Maybe run benchmarks with it on the spacer and without to test if it even needs it?
That's a good point. A riser printed with a solid wall underneath, right where the intake and exhaust ports intersect, would take care of that.
I put my Studio on a riser (actually a Satechi multi-port thingie) just to keep it off my desktop, which for some reason my french maid refuses/forgets to dust on a timely basis...
Just add some "rubber feet / bumpers (the kind for cabinet kitchen doors). they come in all sizes,.
That’s not a bad idea , I did that with my router
As a bonus rubber feet might help this power button “problem” people are having if the finger can fit underneath with bumbers on
But I think I remember the old Mac mini people saying the bumpers melted or something , that was 10 years ago but I decided against it after reading a post here about it
Oh I remember now , the problem wasnt melting it was this
These things are so tiny I just mounted it under my desk with some of the heavier duty Command Strips. Doubt it needs help with airflow though based on the new design.
Shouldn’t be a problem as the centrifugal blower forces hot air out the back in one direction.
Main issue is the fan spends most of its time at 1,000 rpm. At that speed, the low clearance of the base already offers plenty of airflow.
I'm sure Apple considered the possibility of many users putting their Mini on its side. I doubt it absolutely needs the foot to be sitting on a surface. The riser probably doesn't hurt, but I'd be surprised if it helps much. Might help make it easier to reach the power button, though!
There was a video on YT in recent times where one of the design engineers of Dell laptops discussed the design of laptop fans and their intakes. A interesting point they discussed was how the height / clearance of the base of the laptop and the surface it was sitting on made a difference, and that this was factored into the design in order to optimise/better the air speed getting drawn in.
The point being or implied ( that I took from it ) was that having the fan open to clear air underneath the laptop wasn't necessarily the most effective, and that having a thin channel that the air flowed and drew along under the laptop accelerated the as it had to travel faster through the thinner gap. The faster flow air may then have a better cooling effect.
So when it comes to Mac mini ... perhaps there is similar method to the design ... that the gap is such to optimise the air speed to achieve a better cooling.
or it could just be designed to look good !
The point being or implied ( that I took from it ) was that having the fan open to clear air underneath the laptop wasn't necessarily the most effective, and that having a thin channel that the air flowed and drew along under the laptop accelerated the as it had to travel faster through the thinner gap. The faster flow air may then have a better cooling effect.
So when it comes to Mac mini ... perhaps there is similar method to the design ... that the gap is such to optimise the air speed to achieve a better cooling.
or it could just be designed to look good !
I never questioned the engineers' airflow design, but I certainly questioned my ability to never, ever knock over a beer on my desk, so I had a 1/4" cork drink coaster ready to accept the new mini before the box was even opened.
Cheap, stays put, and it's the right size.
Cheap, stays put, and it's the right size.
That also looks like it would help with reaching the power button without lifting the mac, no?
If someone wants to reach the power button without lifting the mini at all, then they'd probably need to stack two coasters. This mini will probably be running 24/7 for several years before I need to restart it (after having shut it down for cleaning/moving/cable management), just like the one it replaced.
Not to start another "WAR" but the reason that I don't leave my MAC M1 running all the time is power outages and power "bounces". (When the power Co keeps switching feeders.) (I don't have a UPS) Everyone has diferent needs and use their computers accordingly. Having my M1 sitting on its side fits my Desk and needs.
Apple also engineered a butterfly keyboard. Or screens that get permanent imprints of particles of dust when they are closed. Let's not forget that.
Wow, something so simple yet I never thought of. This gives me an idea to print something just like that on my 3D printer. Thanks......
Going by the Studio owners experience, my main concern is the dust.
Sadly, the pantyhose trick doesnt work with the mini.
Sadly, the pantyhose trick doesnt work with the mini.
I whipped up this little spacer using my 3D printer which will raise my Mini up by 5mm. I will see if it makes any difference in temperatures over the next few days. On a side note..... The speaker volume is a little louder now than without the spacer. I assume the raised height helps the sound get out a little better?
My operating temps before were 50C while running my day trading program, Discord app and Chrome / YouTube watching.....
My operating temps before were 50C while running my day trading program, Discord app and Chrome / YouTube watching.....
I see lots of good ideas about cooling the M4 Mini, and thought about the following rig to direct both the hot and cool air flow away from the mini in all directions: setting the Mini on top of an upside down small ceramic plate. This plate should be about from 6 to 7 inches wide, with a bottom (the saucer area of about 4 inches side to side).
So the Mini sits on the center of the upside down plate. In this case the Mini is elevated from the desk by about one-half inch, and the exhausted hot air moves not just down toward the desk, but away from the Mini. The cool air will rise both naturally plus be pulled up by the fan, but not mixed with the hot air being expelled. I plan to buy a M4 Mini in a few weeks, and setup a rig like this one above, but I will probably place three to five silicone and very small pads attached to the bottom of the Mini to prevent it from sliding off the plate. These silicone pads are used to prevent kitchen and other cabinet doors from hitting the cabinet, usually called "cabinet bumpers."
A final note: a glass or ceramic plate tends to not absorb heat as easily as wood and some other materials. So my idea is to aid the Mini's exhaust air further away from the area underneath. If you look at the exhaust/intake grill at the bottom of the Mini, you will notice that the fins direct the exhaust away from the Mini, not just straight down toward the desk. The upside-down small plate's walls already have an angle that could enhance the direction of the air flow of the Mini, much like extending the length of the airflow from the Mini farther away from it.
So the Mini sits on the center of the upside down plate. In this case the Mini is elevated from the desk by about one-half inch, and the exhausted hot air moves not just down toward the desk, but away from the Mini. The cool air will rise both naturally plus be pulled up by the fan, but not mixed with the hot air being expelled. I plan to buy a M4 Mini in a few weeks, and setup a rig like this one above, but I will probably place three to five silicone and very small pads attached to the bottom of the Mini to prevent it from sliding off the plate. These silicone pads are used to prevent kitchen and other cabinet doors from hitting the cabinet, usually called "cabinet bumpers."
A final note: a glass or ceramic plate tends to not absorb heat as easily as wood and some other materials. So my idea is to aid the Mini's exhaust air further away from the area underneath. If you look at the exhaust/intake grill at the bottom of the Mini, you will notice that the fins direct the exhaust away from the Mini, not just straight down toward the desk. The upside-down small plate's walls already have an angle that could enhance the direction of the air flow of the Mini, much like extending the length of the airflow from the Mini farther away from it.
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Interesting, although this would create a cavity between the plate and the desk. Depending on how much the Mini would be isolated from the plate this cavity could function as a musical body which could amplify any sound from the mini.