with all the fans that can be found on the market, is there any that can replace the one inside the mac mini to get a quieter machine ?
thx
thx
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
is it possible to replace the mac mini FAN for more silence ?
- Thread starter macchiato2009
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I never heard the fans in the mac mini until I actually made them spin faster. What are you doing with your machine?
actually, now that i have a SSD, i'm looking for complete silence 
it is probably possible with all the fans currently available on the market, there should be at least one or two that could replace the original one ?
it is probably possible with all the fans currently available on the market, there should be at least one or two that could replace the original one ?
yep already at 1500 rpm
but still, i can probably do better
with all the tweaks and upgrades on a PC, i am sure that there is a spare part matching the fan of the mini somewhere
but still, i can probably do better
with all the tweaks and upgrades on a PC, i am sure that there is a spare part matching the fan of the mini somewhere
If your current fan is that loud perhaps a new stock fan, I had a new mini before that simply had a loud fan in it.
i'll check with an apple center if the noise is normal and if they can replace it quickly
otherwise, there is a script to set manually the fan speed
would it work if i set it to 1000 as the slowest speed ?
what is the hex value for 1000 ?
thx
otherwise, there is a script to set manually the fan speed
would it work if i set it to 1000 as the slowest speed ?
what is the hex value for 1000 ?
thx
I used to have a 1,8Mac mini, I upgrade it myself with a 2,33 and that baby made no sound at all, and I'm very obsessed with noises, your fan is probably broken or something
i just got this week
is it possible that my brand new machine has a defective fan ?
is the new mini supposed to be absolutely quiet ? (especially considering that the HD has been replaced by a SSD)
is it possible that my brand new machine has a defective fan ?
is the new mini supposed to be absolutely quiet ? (especially considering that the HD has been replaced by a SSD)
Hello.
Be careful about slowing that fan down. The Mini is meant to be QUIET not SILENT.
It is packed full of parts as you probably noticed when doing the SSD and a certain amount of airflow is needed. This necessitates some fan noise.
The fan is proprietary and only available from Apple. Some are quieter than others so you might want to try your luck with a replacement.
Obviously, you want to keep the air inlets around the base of the Mini clear, so no placing it on carpet without some sort of hard flat surface between the Mini and carpeting. Also, keeping it in a cooler room should help.
Orienting the Mini so the exhaust ports point away from you and not towards a hard surface that will reflect the sound may help too.
I'm nuts about noise too
Have Fun,
Keri
Be careful about slowing that fan down. The Mini is meant to be QUIET not SILENT.
It is packed full of parts as you probably noticed when doing the SSD and a certain amount of airflow is needed. This necessitates some fan noise.
The fan is proprietary and only available from Apple. Some are quieter than others so you might want to try your luck with a replacement.
Obviously, you want to keep the air inlets around the base of the Mini clear, so no placing it on carpet without some sort of hard flat surface between the Mini and carpeting. Also, keeping it in a cooler room should help.
Orienting the Mini so the exhaust ports point away from you and not towards a hard surface that will reflect the sound may help too.
I'm nuts about noise too
Have Fun,
Keri
Just remember, the mini users a blower, not a fan. And its specifically sized and tailored just for the Mini. In other words, I highly doubt you will be able to find another blower with the exact same dimensions with the screw holes in the exact same spots as the original, unless you get a replacement one from an Apple service center directly.
the fan in the mini is there for a reason , i can only guess, but i thought it was meant to cool the whole mini down efficiently , so i doubt you will find a more quiet fan that brings the same air flow , and forcing the fan to rotate slower will only bring more heat inside , and if you ever seen a mini from the inside , its pretty cramped there , which doesn't give air much room to flow naturally
the G4 cube was a much better design and totally silent if you replace the harddrive with a ssd , and much easier to upgrade too, as one click on the handle and you could access all internal parts
even the iMac g3 was convection cooled and you also can replace the harddrive with a ssd there and have total silence
(there are adapters for ssd available )
yes i am a fan of these old Mac's , back then apple was able to design silent computers ..sadly they lost this knowledge
the G4 cube was a much better design and totally silent if you replace the harddrive with a ssd , and much easier to upgrade too, as one click on the handle and you could access all internal parts
even the iMac g3 was convection cooled and you also can replace the harddrive with a ssd there and have total silence
(there are adapters for ssd available )
yes i am a fan of these old Mac's , back then apple was able to design silent computers ..sadly they lost this knowledge
My monitor (fanless) makes more noise than my Mini
Somehow my 26" monitor makes a buzzing noise that is louder than my Mac Mini. Unless the fan spins up I only hear the hard disk from time to time...
Maybe you can fit a bigger heat sink instead of the fan.
Somehow my 26" monitor makes a buzzing noise that is louder than my Mac Mini. Unless the fan spins up I only hear the hard disk from time to time...
Maybe you can fit a bigger heat sink instead of the fan.
actually, now that i have a SSD, i'm looking for complete silence
So, it was quiet before someone told you that it MAY be defective? As you upgraded to SSD yourself, you have already voided the warranty so Apple isn't going to fix or replace the Mini. It's very likely that you "broke" the fan while doing it (even small touch can bend it so it makes noise). Of course you can try but if I recall correctly, Mini has NO user-serviceable parts so opening the case means that warranty is voided, especially in this case as the fan is "defective".
Anyway, for complete silence, you should be looking at passive cooling but I doubt it can be used in Mini
you're probably right
maybe it's my fault
even if i was extremely cautious while changing the HD
opening the case left some scratches on the white plastic, so returning the mini to apple for a replacement during the 14-day return policy, will probably not be a good idea, what do you think ?
if i tell them on the phone that my mini was opened by a tech before i called them for a replacement, would it work ?
or, is there a chance that the noise disappear if i try to buy a spare part and replace it by myself ?
anyway there was no shock, i really did it carefully, so is it that fragile ????
They don't check it if you ask for a refund (just say it was a present for your son but he didn't like it) so yeah, you can do that but just take the SSD out and put the original HD in.
Even a smallest touch or shake can bend it and cause extra noise.
I think you're being paranoid though as you said it's quiet but you want it to be totally silent so... Can you take a video and upload it so we can hear how "loud" it is?
it's not actually quiet
i can clearly hear the fan spinning
and at this point, i cannot return it because i don't have the original HD anymore (my mistake - sold it when i bought the ssd)
i was thinking of getting a replacement and swapping HD / SDD between the new and the defective machine, but it might not be a good idea...
i'll try to make a video to show the noise
i was actually used to the silence of my previous MBP unibody (it was absolutely silent), i sometimes let it on in my room and i never heard it during my sleep, here with the mini, i can hear it
i was wondering if we can hear the fans of the imac or mac pro ? maybe, it's not silent at all and similar to the mac mini
i can clearly hear the fan spinning
and at this point, i cannot return it because i don't have the original HD anymore (my mistake - sold it when i bought the ssd)
i was thinking of getting a replacement and swapping HD / SDD between the new and the defective machine, but it might not be a good idea...
i'll try to make a video to show the noise
i was actually used to the silence of my previous MBP unibody (it was absolutely silent), i sometimes let it on in my room and i never heard it during my sleep, here with the mini, i can hear it
i was wondering if we can hear the fans of the imac or mac pro ? maybe, it's not silent at all and similar to the mac mini
i just did 2 quick videos
i tried with the iphone but the mic is not sensitive enough
the canon 7D is better, i guess i shouldn't have done the video so close to the machine, the sound would be less amplified
http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/5892/mvi0261.mp4
http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/4854/mvi0262.mp4
i tried with the iphone but the mic is not sensitive enough
the canon 7D is better, i guess i shouldn't have done the video so close to the machine, the sound would be less amplified
http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/5892/mvi0261.mp4
http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/4854/mvi0262.mp4
my camera cannot record the noise as it is in reality
i went to a store today to compare by myself and indeed, my mini is noisy
while a mini should be absolutely silent when idle
i'll call apple today for a replacement
hoping that the fact that i opened the case will not void the warranty
i went to a store today to compare by myself and indeed, my mini is noisy
while a mini should be absolutely silent when idle
i'll call apple today for a replacement
hoping that the fact that i opened the case will not void the warranty
Yeah your mini's fan is definitely bad. I have mine set to run at 2000rpm all day every day and I can't hear it at all, and I'm super sensitive to these sorts of things.