OK, I'll bite. Where did that bottom cover come from?I bought some small speakers spikes and initially didn't want to use the cover at all, then I found this perforated cover for mac mini...
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Mac Mini Custom bottom plate = Decreased Temps!!
- Thread starter Zackmd1
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https://world.taobao.com/item/18655730983.htm?fromSite=main&_u=n2atijomfc0b
30RMB=4.56USD
I have no relationship with the shop or seller..
30RMB=4.56USD
I have no relationship with the shop or seller..
Kaida. Looks like the Taobao page you posted is no longer valid. May I ask what size should I buy? I am waiting for my mac mini and can't measure it now.
Thanks a lot!
Thinking it's time to try the same with a rMBP from 2012, finally using it much less; guess now shall do 
wish me luck!
wish me luck!I think they are no longer selling them
that product is a exact match of the bottom plate of the mac mini, with 4 protruding feet to stand. If i see them again on TB, ill share it Very classy!!! I like that a lot and could imagine some really sleek bookshelf speakers next to it tooI bought some small speakers spikes and initially didn't want to use the cover at all, then I found this perforated cover for mac mini...
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As an FYI - I have a 2012 i7 with 1 Tb SSD and 16 Gb RAM as a HTPC - was having quite a bit of fan noise and dangerously high temperatures (100-102) under even moderate load. It's in an open cabinet (front and back).
Installing a fan control app and putting the Mini on speaker spikes really helped with the temps, which would only creep up to 100 under heavy loads such as such as transcoding, or converting music for Plex sync to mobile devices. I was happy with the results, and in doing a search for other options stumbled on this thread, saw what looked to be a good idea, and ordered your bottom plate from Shapeways.
Unfortunately I have to report that your bottom plate has seemed to have the opposite effect. First, the fan noise is much louder - it's now a very open bottom of course, which is probably to be expected but thought I'd point out how much louder the fan sounds. But secondly, although resting temperatures seem to be a few degrees lower, the temperatures under load are definitely quicker to spike - upon playing a simple movie in Plex Media Player on the mini, temperatures almost immediately spiked to 105 and the fan maxxed out. In fact, temps rise to 90+ pretty much immediately upon doing anything moderately processor-intensive - like opening iTunes for example.
I do see one comment by Miat above the original bottom plate directing airflow only through the front of the plate, to enhance a specific airflow path - not sure if the 360-degree intake on your plate means that the lack of a seal actually results in less optimal airflow. But that seems to be a possibility for my mini, at least. Sorry!
With the 2012 mini now already being 5-6 years old, the heat transfer paste could start to become a problem as well. It ages and could become less efficient in properly transferring heat from chip to cooler. Usually slightly higher temperatures (and thus fan rpm) over time are not noticed by an average user with standard loads.
Under heavy and continuous loads it could become noticeable, though.
Personally, I would really be worried about the temperatures reaching 100+ Celsius in any machine (even though the i7-3720QM CPU in the quad mini is technically specified up to 105C by Intel), but even more so in an inexpensive machine like the mini with - probably - less heat-resistant components inside.
The only remedy though (if it is indeed a problem of the heat transfer paste and not e.g. with the temp diode) would be to remove the cooler, clean the remaining paste from chip and cooler and apply new paste. While this is no rocket science, the mini is a bit delicate, so it depends on individual craftsman skills whether to do it or not.
Under heavy and continuous loads it could become noticeable, though.
Personally, I would really be worried about the temperatures reaching 100+ Celsius in any machine (even though the i7-3720QM CPU in the quad mini is technically specified up to 105C by Intel), but even more so in an inexpensive machine like the mini with - probably - less heat-resistant components inside.
The only remedy though (if it is indeed a problem of the heat transfer paste and not e.g. with the temp diode) would be to remove the cooler, clean the remaining paste from chip and cooler and apply new paste. While this is no rocket science, the mini is a bit delicate, so it depends on individual craftsman skills whether to do it or not.
Besides installing an SSD (my Xmas present to myself
), redoing the heat paste is the only other thing I am considering for my Mini.
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No plans yet but I am looking into it since I now have a 2018 to work with.
I have been enjoying this thread a lot - I admire tremendously all the DIY spirit.
One question - has anyone tried just getting a more spacious PC case (take your pick, there are so many options) and stripping a Mac Mini of it's shell such that it's innards could be creatively mounted within the PC case, enabling all sorts of additional air flows/cooling and expansion options? I bet this could be done very cheaply by the more skilled or experienced people here, including the hacintosh folks. That would be one way to extract all possible performance from the Mini's components, and it would just be a fun/cool thing to do. Hmm, maybe I should give it a try. ?
One question - has anyone tried just getting a more spacious PC case (take your pick, there are so many options) and stripping a Mac Mini of it's shell such that it's innards could be creatively mounted within the PC case, enabling all sorts of additional air flows/cooling and expansion options? I bet this could be done very cheaply by the more skilled or experienced people here, including the hacintosh folks. That would be one way to extract all possible performance from the Mini's components, and it would just be a fun/cool thing to do. Hmm, maybe I should give it a try. ?
Nope. The beauty of the mini draws from the power inside the comparatively (by today‘s standards) small housing. Hacking the innards designed for performance/power balance into whatever different housing makes little sense, as you could go for an old MacPro or directly the Hackintosh route to get significantly higher performance. There’s just too little to gain (in terms of performance) from ripping the mini‘s guts apart and create a Franken-mini in whatever form.
While I understand your point of view, I'd be delighted to see some creative enthusiasts tinker with the mini internals - a bit more space and a larger fan and heatsink (or water cooling system) would be great to see what it might unlock (or not).
I recall that I have seen eGPU TB solutions in which the eGPU case is large enough to house an intact 2012/2014 mini (can anyone help find this link?). Taking this one step further and stripping down the mini and replacing its heatsink and fan, seems a logical extension...
Yes, I get your point, but my idea was as a project for someone who likes to tinker and try out stuff for the fun of it, as it's definitely not a cost effective idea in terms of value for performance, more of a kind of proof of concept. Personally I'd love it if Apple offered a normal, headless Mac, just a nice simple box with better expansion and lots of air flow potential, so I'm thinking why not free the Mini internals from it's tight little box and let that air flow maximally.
Exactly. With internal TB3 connectivity, this would effectively become the mythical miniMacPro allowing you to insert a GPU and fast storage.
Hmmm.
Looks like there might be a use for my old Mac Pro 3,1 aluminum cheese grater case after all!
Looks like there might be a use for my old Mac Pro 3,1 aluminum cheese grater case after all!
Yeah man, do it! I'm too cash strapped at the moment to create a mid-sized tower out of a Mini. Maybe in the Spring...
Custom cooling base for the Mac Mini, a bit pricey though.
www.speed-designs.com
Review on this product:
SPEED Mini Cooling Base | SPEED Designs
The ultimate cooling solution for your Mac mini. Keep your Mac mini cool with your heaviest video editing and business demands.
www.speed-designs.com
Review on this product:
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The sharp design of the Speed Mac mini cooling base with the solid aluminum heat sink & fan seems to the best all around solution. I want to try it out! As a temporary solution I followed another post and removed the black cover and have a $30 Noctua 400mm fan blowing on the Mac mini which is functional.
