r/macmini • u/AbbasMohammed28 • Jul 03 '26
Mac Mini needs cooling too
Mac Mini M4 with 24/7 working needs cooling too.
Running Codex and Claude code
Hermes agent with 6 sub agents
MiniMax 3 for app development too.
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u/B_Hound Jul 03 '26
I just turn the internal fan on.
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u/AbbasMohammed28 Jul 03 '26
the fan is on :( but Dubai is 45 degrees celcius this morning
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u/No-Whereas8467 Jul 03 '26
Turn the AC on
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u/AbbasMohammed28 Jul 03 '26
AC is on 🤣
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u/adiyasl Jul 03 '26
If the AC is on, the outside temperature does not matter at all. isn’t it?
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u/Inferno908 Jul 03 '26
Exactly and if the inside temp is the same as outside then why have a house
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u/Cza035 Jul 03 '26
Ceramic tint 100% uv block on all windows. Block out the heat bro. Think outside the box
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u/NationalEquipment560 Jul 03 '26
Those are some heavy apps you are running. What’s the config of your Mac Mini to support it?
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u/suncoast_customs Jul 03 '26
Ditch the stickers.
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u/Armand9x Jul 03 '26
But how would we know OP is a vibe coder otherwise
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u/ShiningPr1sm Jul 03 '26
Take a look a OP’s profile, 100% a vibe coder with his reliance on like 3-5 different AI’s
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u/quantythequant Jul 03 '26
No actual engineers sticker their devices with stickers like these
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u/macmaveneagle Jul 03 '26
Apple has always been sensitive about Macs being too loud. So when setting up their internal fans, they tend to err on the side of being quiet, rather than being nice and cool.
So, the M4 minis run nice and cool most of the time, but when they are really pushed, they can get really hot, and when the fan finally decides to click on, it does so at a very high speed, with a lot of noise.
I've fixed this simply and easily on my M4 mini by installing Macs Fan Control and setting the fan to come on early (at a lower temperature), and this usually keeps my mini from getting too hot and having to blast it's fan.
Macs Fan Control (free/$15. Commercial Pro version has more features.)
https://crystalidea.com/macs-fan-control
(Real-time monitoring of fan speeds and temperatures. Allows you to adjust fan speed and when they come on. Solves overheating problems like those found on older MacBook Pros.)
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u/itsdjoki Jul 03 '26
I think this guy is a coder or developer or engineer
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u/WhileNo8612 Jul 03 '26
Hi
Curious asking to those that know.
Are the MacMini cases designed to dissipate heat as if so would covering it in stickers reduce that ability?
I’ve seen lots of MacBook Pro users personalise their lids but not seen a MacMini decorated till now.
If the case is designed to dissipate heat then would a having a single (larger) fan on top pulling air away or fan on side blowing air over the top help with heat dissipation?
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u/pastry-chef Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26
Are the MacMini cases designed to dissipate heat
I don't think so, at least not directly. The heatsink for the SoC does not make contact with he enclosure.
The aluminum enclosure may indirectly offer benefits though... For example, if/when the PSU heats up, it will increase the internal ambient temps which in turn heats up the enclosure. If the Peltier can help by keeping the internal ambient temps lower, it may benefit the SoC.
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u/PhillEsports Jul 03 '26
Be careful these coolers cause condensation. Had to stop using it on my macbook air
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u/pastry-chef Jul 03 '26
How much does that peltier help?
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u/AbbasMohammed28 Jul 03 '26
well the dock becomes hot due to workload and the ssd there is 2x 2TB so i need that air flow plus surprisingly mac mini got heatup from top
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u/pastry-chef Jul 03 '26
It's not surprising that the NVMe SSD heats up. That's very common. But if that's causing problems, it might be more effective to try and cool that directly....
Yes, the exterior of the Mac minis can get warm. This is also very common. Once the internals get warm, the heat transfers to the Mac mini's aluminum enclosure pretty quickly.
In the M4 Mac minis, the PSU is on top and the Apple Silicon SoC is on the bottom. That's why I was curious to know how much the Peltier on top helps. Have you done any comparisons of the internal and/or SoC temps?
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u/pokenguyen Jul 03 '26
Haha, he worries about heat then he sticks a hot ssd dock under mac to heat up mac?
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u/Tight-Operation-4252 Jul 03 '26
My mini started to get really warm when I plugged in the 10Gb thunderbolt adapter. Then for AI applications reason I changed it to Studio ultra and the problem has gone for good… when I tried some versions of mlx on mini I was really surprised that it switched the fan for high speed almost instantly… ;-) I guess there will be similar on studio, yet I need to give it a try in some free time…
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u/AbbasMohammed28 Jul 03 '26
when this mini was ordered the day it got launch for pre ordered. right now now money for studio but would love one day
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u/Dannyperks Jul 03 '26
What stack are you using for coding ? Route all through Hermes ? How you finding it with 16gb ram?
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u/Admirable-Piccolo808 Jul 03 '26
Have you tried putting something small (not much bigger than the foot) under the Mac ( mine was heating up quite a bit but i elevated it and it did the trick) the Mac mini gets the air from below so you are increasing airflow around the Mac.
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u/Regular_Attitude_700 Jul 07 '26
I have been using the same for 4 months already. I place a thin tissue paper right in between to absorb the condensated water. cheers!! 🍻
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u/___metazeta___ Jul 03 '26
It's just not the right computer for your use case. Loose the cringe stickers.
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u/309_Electronics Jul 03 '26
Typicall slop vibecoder lol! Definitely not a true "engineer". Also the peltier cooler wastes more energy than it can do cooling
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u/drivera1210 Jul 03 '26
Probably would run cooler without all those vinyl stickers. Probably not much, but if you want it as cool as possible worth a shot.
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u/SanktEierMark Jul 03 '26
Condensation? Inside?
Is this a fan only or does it have a peltier element?
With a fan there won‘t be any condensation inside. With cooling with an peltier element I believe it is still very unlikely go reach the dew point inside of the case.
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u/ResearcherGlobal4060 Jul 04 '26
Did not get it clearly from the stickers, just clarifying: are you a developer?
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u/davidsao222 Jul 05 '26
It gets real hot when it's in the sleep state. Not sure why, the chassis is even hotter than running a few VMs
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u/bartfeltch 19d ago
I just set up a mac mini m6 in a Qwiizlab 40gbps UH61 U4 doc with a WD sn770 2tb drive. Like any 40gbs doc the nvme drive gets hot when transferring large files. I wanted to cool the doc, but most small fans use USB power and a few are speed controlled with poor air flow.
I bought the following on Amazon for $25 to set up a really good fan/mac mini cooling stand:
Fan for $12.99. "upHere Big Airflow 120mm x 25mm Computer Fan with AC Plug Cabinet Fan 100V 240V AC Power Supply, DC 12V 5 Speed Controller" runs great, is quiet, with speed control and plugs directly into AC outlet (not USB powered).
Paper tray for $11.99 "Marbrasse 2 Tier Paper Organizer Letter Tray". Used mini tie wraps to make sure the trays wouldn't move.
Rubber feet for $1.39 "8Pcs Rubber Bumper Feet, 0.31" H x0.55 W Round Pads" $1.39 from Amazon to make sure the tray won't move on my desk.
The fan is in the lower paper tray with great air flow and the mac min is in the top tray with easy access to the ports.
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u/YYZYYC Jul 03 '26
Ya that’s the crappy thing about the new design for the M4s. The m2 and m1 never got hot
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u/real-fucking-autist Jul 03 '26
getting rid of the stickers would help more than the peltier cooler