Mac mini G4 cooling solutions?

[Ninester]

I made a picture while doing some CPU-Benchmarks. Im gonna make some when doing more work on it, or while playing games.##

This could be useful if person(s) having temp issues could also have the means to post readings...so trivial on later machines, no?

[Roman78]

Just used an old early 2000 CaseMod display with 3 temperature sensors and connected those to the Mini. One directly into the CPU Cooler, 2nd one on the bottom plate near GPU and one near the fan intake (ambient temperature). In my quick test i noticed the CPU is not the hottest in normal operation. The bottom plate and the ambient temperature reached 40°C in a couple of minutes.

So the HDD, GPU and Chipset may be causing the heat. Maybe an SSD upgrade could reduce the temp a little. Removing the bottom rubber and install some bigger plate could also be an option, an ugly one indeed.

When i was modding my MacMini 1.1 i came with the idea to use the Alu frame as Cooler, but faild to get that done.

[Ninester]

Just used an old early 2000 CaseMod display with 3 temperature sensors and connected those to the Mini. One directly into the CPU Cooler, 2nd one on the bottom plate near GPU and one near the fan intake (ambient temperature). In my quick test i noticed the CPU is not the hottest in normal operation. The bottom plate and the ambient temperature reached 40°C in a couple of minutes.

So the HDD, GPU and Chipset may be causing the heat. Maybe an SSD upgrade could reduce the temp a little. Removing the bottom rubber and install some bigger plate could also be an option, an ugly one indeed.

When i was modding my MacMini 1.1 i came with the idea to use the Alu frame as Cooler, but faild to get that done.

Nice probe work, lol.  That poor mini might be a bit sore...I had thought of getting one similar for my gaming box but no heat issues with old i5 and GTX 970.

I have SSD in the Mini...they get warm when worked but nothing like my 3.5 spinners!

Thinking about what you found with bottom plate temps... I tried out this: Laptop Cooler -  https://www.amazon.com/Belkin-CoolSpot-USB-Powered-Cooling-F5L055btBLK/dp/B00GLBI2IY/ref=pd_rhf_dp_s_cr_simh_0_8?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00GLBI2IY&pd_rd_r=c7bd6d34-434a-4985-a9be-5e3b7598ec3a&pd_rd_w=A3LYb&pd_rd_wg=GMOzr&pf_rd_p=67aa5820-8762-4202-90ba-881bb99c913c&pf_rd_r=HRYPBYD0GQPPY2B8WAC3&psc=1&refRID=HRYPBYD0GQPPY2B8WAC3

Wow, bottom plate cool to touch with air inside vent at 44 C after 1 hour of Quake 2 demo repeating for an hour. Ambient at 33 C with fan running medium?  Fan speed based on sound of full on speed with last dead mini. I have errands so will let the demo continue to repeat to heat soak the mini..

No temp changes but now finding fan speed may be sensed off the bottom plate, not the CPU.  Turned off the laptop cooler fan, bottom plate heats up, vent temp drops 2 C, faster running fan? I cannot hear or feel any fan speed changes but curious just the same. The fan is three wire so will check out the old fan header when time permits.

[superchill]

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet, but is the fan oriented correctly? Had a similar issue happen to me when I did a SSD upgrade and it started shutting off from overheating because I didn't have the fan exaust pointing toward the back of the case when I reassembled the mini

[mailcty]

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet, but is the fan oriented correctly?

It turns out that putting the fan the wrong way was the problem on my end too. My Mac mini runs like a charm now. I can't believe I overlooked something so embarrassingly simple.

[IIO]

will an EVO 840 fit into the mini? or is that considered a thick one?

[mailcty]

will an EVO 840 fit into the mini? or is that considered a thick one?

As long as it's the mSATA version of any EVO SSD, it should be able to work fine with an mSATA-to-IDE adapter.

[IIO]

of course.

for a second i´ve lost that the G4 has only IDE. (i also have several core2duos)

my 44 pin to m2 case is definetly too thick btw. those adapters without case should fit better.

and m2 is too pricey for my application. or are there 128 gb ones which you can buy second hand?

sry for OT

[mrhappy]

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet, but is the fan oriented correctly?

It turns out that putting the fan the wrong way was the problem on my end too.

That's a good tip superchill and something to watch out for!

[mailcty]

are there 128 gb ones which you can buy second hand?

eBay has a bunch of secondhand mSATA SSDs from Samsung that have worked fine in my experience thus far. Although it seems more modern SSDs know how to work with systems without TRIM support, it's best to go with the 60-90% rule to be safe making partitions for older OSes like 9 and X (before the last version of Snow Leopard at least).

[soviet9922]

make a hole on the top and add a big 8" fan that will shure fix your issue.

[Rainier]

My newly acquired 1.42 has a mangled and torn plastic air-flow guide. It's thin sheet plastic, glued in place, and directs air down toward the exhaust vents.
Anyone have a complete, un-torn, not mangled version and, if so, might you trace it and scan/photograph and post for replication at my end?
My fan soon is at full RPM, not quite 747 volume; maybe a twin jet Lear, but it's loud. I'll try replacing the CPU paste as well, but the venting is clearly not focused and that probably adds to the problem.

[FdB]

Didn't want to do the dishes anyway...

Download following image files:

[mrhappy]

ah nice... a little 'FurryDaGomi"!

[IIO]

origami

[Rainier]

Origami indeed!
Thanks for the template! That's fantastic and I'll use my always clumsy unhandyman hands to fabricate my own. Grateful for your help. FDB.

As for the cooling. I cleaned the heat sink and applied fresh paste. No change. But I understand it sometimes takes a few hours running for things to settle in.
I'm wondering if my kludged heat guide, made of paper card stock, is warping as I assemble the mini's two halves and it winds up blocking more than directing the air.

Mouse: cured? no. Better? yes. I was in a computer recycling store in south Seattle last week (3 hours away so I don't get there very often) They had some Mac stuff, but no one button mice. I have two mice with cords, none are Apple, and I suspect that's part of the problem. so I'll keep after that. I did program a function key to shut down and another to restart, so when the mouse freezes I don't have to power off to regain control.

What I really want is a KVM that actually works. I've tried a cheap eBay off-brand with my Intel Mini on one side, the G4 Mini on the other. Keyboard (Apple aluminum 101 Key) and monitor (Samsung S27C230) sharing worked a treat. Mouse was a mess on the G4 side. Tried variations like plugging the mouse directly into the G4: frequent freezing.

My monitor has a DVI and a VGA input, so one machine now uses DVI the other VGA and each its own keyboard and mouse. My desk is a mess and changing monitor inputs involves accessing the monitor menu and a bunch of key pressing. Tedious but doable. I know introducing a new topic—KVM—is bad form... BUT: if anyone has experience with one that works melding old and new, I welcome input.

THANKS again, guys!

[xc68000]

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet, but is the fan oriented correctly?

It turns out that putting the fan the wrong way was the problem on my end too. My Mac mini runs like a charm now. I can't believe I overlooked something so embarrassingly simple.

Amazing, i've been troubleshooting my thermal shutdown issues for 3 days now, and this ended up being my problem too.