Cooling solution for the Mac mini?

[chscag]

Just assumed an older mini as his post said he was looking for a used model. The new minis are very capable and have come a long way, however the older ones are not designed for these tasks.

Hi John:

Great to hear from you again! I see you updated your Mac specs.... lot of goodies there.

Visit us more often.

Regards, Charlie

 

[JohnCL]

Hi John:

Great to hear from you again! I see you updated your Mac specs.... lot of goodies there.

Visit us more often.

Regards, Charlie

Charlie, thanks for reaching out. Great to be back!

Good discounts make the toys possible

I plan on hanging around, been a crazy couple of years with lots of good changes.

Take care..

 

[Randy B. Singer]

I would not recommend you manually tweak the fans since it will automatically do what it necessary to control the heat. If you are going to constantly run it at a higher rates for longer periods of times, you risk damaging it and will end up with worse issues.

My experience and personal conclusion is that Apple compromises in their fan settings, and part of that compromise is that they tend to set their Mac's fans (in just about all models) to be on the quiet side, rather than on the cool side. As a result, many mini's and iMac's run disturbingly hot much of the time. Since excess heat can lead to nasty problems in a personal computer, I often advise users to adjust their fans so that their Mac's run cooler.

I, and many of the folks I advise, have had excellent success with the following program, set to make the fans come on earlier and more aggressively in general. There have been no problems with fans wearing out prematurely, and the Macs in question seem to run better with no loss of reliability.:

smcFanControl (free)
https://www.eidac.de/?p=312

 

[pm-r]

My experience and personal conclusion is that Apple compromises in their fan settings, and part of that compromise is that they tend to set their Mac's fans (in just about all models) to be on the quiet side, rather than on the cool side

+1!!! I couldn't agree more, except that I now prefer and recommend Macs Fan Control.app that's also FREE but also has a 5 Star rating.
https://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/23049/smcfancontrol

Anyway, I would also suggest and recommend using any of the alternatives, even if they cost a bit and suit the users needs.

PS: I cannot remember why I gave up and stopped using smcFanControl, but Macs Fan Control suits us and works better for us and is used with all our Macs.





- Patrick
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[hughvane]

From a mid-2010 Mini owner - I raise the unit slightly on either a synthetic rubber pad, or on two narrow lengths of bamboo, because some high-demand apps like games get the fan very agitated, especially on a hot day. Air movement beneath the aluminium casing does help. As you're probably aware, the hottest part of the unit is along the rear upper edge, and above the audio outlet in particular. Someone else has likely said it already, but be sure to keep that vent slot at the back clear of obstruction. If all else fails, purchase a small desk fan and direct cooling air on to the Mini.