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Kahnyl

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Feb 2, 2009
1,584
2
With that tight aluminum enclosure are the fans kicking in more?

Is it more or less noisy than the last model?
 

WilliamG

macrumors G3
Mar 29, 2008
9,922
3,800
Seattle
The built-in power supply likely generates additional heat which needs to be actively vented by fans.

I'd have have had an external power brick, then. In any case, I have a 2009 mini so when my 2010 arrives, I'll compare them and see...
 

Kebabselector

macrumors 68030
May 25, 2007
2,987
1,638
Birmingham, UK
Fan always runs on all minis. At all times.

He probably meant they didn't kick in above the usual speed. I did check a Mini in store today, using iStat noticed the fan runs at 1,800rpm, compared to my previous mini at 1,500rpm. The Mini was up for 4 hours, probably not much use - but it was quite cool. The shops Air-con might be a factor.
 

scenemissing

macrumors member
Jun 18, 2010
83
0
Checked one at the store today. As far as I could tell it was completely silent, even with my ear next to it. Of course, there was store music and customer chatter, so the test was flawed, but from what I could tell it was very quiet.
 

mmomega

macrumors demi-god
Dec 30, 2009
3,879
2,089
DFW, TX
What noise? What heat ?
Seriously though , mine is verrrrrrrry quiet
The fan IS always on, remove the access panel and turn it on, fan comes on instantly. Even with my ear 2-3" away from the fan itself you can barely hear it.
And mine stays right at ambient temp, but the house stays at 68-70 deg in North TX.
 

dh2005

macrumors 6502a
Jan 25, 2010
907
0
Well, if it's 1dB 'louder' than the 2009 Mini, then it's very quiet indeed.

My 2009 Mini, in the dead of night, in a silent room, makes a very subtle noise. By day, when anything else is generating any noise anywhere nearby, you won't hear it.

I'll add one caveat... when the 2009 Mini is being made to work harder, for instance during a very graphics-intensive moment, the fan kicks-up a notch and makes some degree of noise. But seriously - 99% of the time, I don't hear it.
 

thefaceless

macrumors member
Oct 20, 2009
45
0
England, UK
Fan usually hovers around 1800rpm on mine, never seen it go above 2000, and that was when I was using it a lot yesterday when it was a really hot day. Can't hear the fan at all.
 

pvmacguy

macrumors 65816
Sep 2, 2009
1,114
29
Jax
Just got mine and I'm super impressed with the cooling performance. Fan never rev's up and didn't ever get probably above 2k when doing a transfer from time machine either.
 

cherry su

macrumors 65816
Feb 28, 2008
1,217
1
It's very quiet. I'd say that when it's on full blast, it's quieter than my G4 on full blast.

Also of note is that the processor doesn't get as warm as some of the notebooks'. The temperature seems to top at 81*F when I ran two yes > /dev/null & processes while browsing the web.
 

bamf

macrumors 6502
Feb 14, 2008
413
0
I haven't even really heard mine yet. Better yet though, my wife doesn't hear it - so she's happy.
 

Osamede

macrumors 6502a
Oct 28, 2009
816
513
Well, if it's 1dB 'louder' than the 2009 Mini, then it's very quiet indeed.

My 2009 Mini, in the dead of night, in a silent room, makes a very subtle noise. By day, when anything else is generating any noise anywhere nearby, you won't hear it.

I'll add one caveat... when the 2009 Mini is being made to work harder, for instance during a very graphics-intensive moment, the fan kicks-up a notch and makes some degree of noise. But seriously - 99% of the time, I don't hear it.
You shouldnt have had to add the caveat. Apple gave the 14db number, then asterisked it saying it was a measurement at idle. But did not give the max number. Weasel move unfortunately, which probably wasnt necessary as there are few full fledged PCs that could compete on degree of quietness at full tilt.
 

dh2005

macrumors 6502a
Jan 25, 2010
907
0
You shouldnt have had to add the caveat. Apple gave the 14db number, then asterisked it saying it was a measurement at idle. But did not give the max number. Weasel move unfortunately, which probably wasnt necessary as there are few full fledged PCs that could compete on degree of quietness at full tilt.

Woah... sorry... can I clarify... are you accusing Apple of a "weasel move", or me?

Speaking for what I posted, I was simply trying to be accurate.
 

Osamede

macrumors 6502a
Oct 28, 2009
816
513
Woah... sorry... can I clarify... are you accusing Apple of a "weasel move", or me?

Speaking for what I posted, I was simply trying to be accurate.
Not you - apple - as they should have stated the full set of data in the first place. I didnt see the point of stating only min when they know folks would like to see both min and max. It is a bit chicken, as they would probably come out well on it anyway. A bit like companies saying their laptop is XYZ "thin", using a number taken from the smallest point in the unt and ignoring all else.
 

dh2005

macrumors 6502a
Jan 25, 2010
907
0
Right, gotcha. I thought you probably meant that, but when I read it at first it was slightly ambiguous to me.

Yeah, well, Apple are all about "the good news", aren't they? The bad news, well, they leave you to figure out for yourself... not that they're alone in that, as a technology supplier!
 

pvmacguy

macrumors 65816
Sep 2, 2009
1,114
29
Jax
Made a short little video on my iPhone of the fan speed from 2300 to 6000. You can barely hear it in the beginning but it comes to life at full speed. Sorry for the crappy quality but might give someone an idea.

YouTube video of fan speeds
 

QuantumLo0p

macrumors 6502a
Apr 28, 2006
992
30
U.S.A.
No noise and no heat, either!

My formerly trusty dual 2.7 LC G5 PowerMac gave up the ghost so I bought a Mini...

The new Mini is seriously quiet; I can only barely hear the fan when I put my ear right next to the enclosure. Words cannot describe what a joy this is compared to my old PowerMac. No more jet-air-liner-take-offs during startup or during heavy graphics usage. I love it!

Btw, it does not run hot either. When I heard there was no power brick I was over joyed and apprehensive at the same time. At the local Apple store I checked them out and they were room temperature. Mine has been on all night and I have the same result.
 

thefaceless

macrumors member
Oct 20, 2009
45
0
England, UK
looks like most people agree the new mac mini is quiet. but has anyone else noticed that the fan speed never changes from 1800 rpm (give or take a few rpm) regardless of how hot it gets inside?

Generally mine stays around 1800rpm but it has gone up past 2000rpm on its own when the temp was about 60 degrees plus yesterday. I haven't exactly been stressing it much though.
 
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