Mac mini server 2011 - remedy for the loud fan?

[antero]

Hi all,

I've been using 2011 Mac mini server for almost 3 years now and am thoroughly pleased except for one major thing: the CPU heat increases within seconds when watching e.g. Netflix or HD videos on Youtube. This is within 10-20 seconds followed by the fan speeding up to 5000+ rpm bringing awful noise that totally ruins the watching experience.

I've read numerous threads about similar issues. One remedy could be to reapply the thermal paste as instructed ie. in iFixit. However, I am more interested in upgrading the fan itself after reading this:

https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/18344414/


I was surprised that according to iFixit, the same fan can be used in both 2011 and 2012 models:

https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Mac/Intel-Mac-Mini-Mid-2011-Late-2012-Fan/IF171-007


Then again, this one shows that there are differences:

http://www.123macmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=211773#211773


And the other type of spare fan can be found from here:

http://www.amazon.com/Original-Apple-922-9557-610-9557-610-0056/dp/B00B85A5NI/ref=cm_cd_al_qh_dp_t

So are there in fact two different types of fans used in both 2011 and 2012 models:

Delta Electronics, Apple P/N 610-0164 https://d3nevzfk7ii3be.cloudfront.net/igi/aHAOFJ1VrbZJSpuY.huge

AVC, Apple P/N 610-0069 http://i01.i.aliimg.com/wsphoto/v0/...953-610-0164-For-Mac-Mini-A1347-2010-2011.jpg


If so, is one of these two quieter by its mechanical construction (bearings etc.) while keeping the CPU temperature down similarly as the other type (i.e. both achieve the same air volume flow)? Delta version name plate says "DC Brushless" whereas the AVC's says "Advanced hydraulic bearing".

Would appreciate to know if anyone has looked into this before.

 

[Gav2k]

Have you tried turning the mini on its side or raising it up an inch for better air flow firstly?

Secondly what cpu temps are you seeing when the machine is doing nothing?

Also from memory the delta fan is noisier by design.

 

[antero]

Have you tried turning the mini on its side or raising it up an inch for better air flow firstly?

Secondly what cpu temps are you seeing when the machine is doing nothing?

Also from memory the delta fan is noisier by design.

Thx for your reply!

Already purchased the NuStand but it doesn't seem to help crucially in this issue.

The idle temperature is between 45-50 degC. When I start to stream HD, it soon feels like a storm is rising.

As additional info, I have replaced the system HDD with an OCZ SDD drive. The storage HDD is still in so 2 hard drives in total.

Would you happen to remember any source discussing the fan manufacturers' differences?

 

[bennibeef]

The 2011 Server was the one with the quad core i7?

Well, I have a 2011 Macbook with quadcore i7 and its idle temperature like doing nothing just an open browser etc the temperature was also between 45-50 degrees C. But I cleaned it recently got out very much dust at the heatsink which was preventing airflow and reapplying thermal paste now idling is at 39. Didnt do this for the CPU but the gpu wasnt hoping of lower CPU temperatures.

But 45-50 isnt bad at all. Ivy bridge chips are running hot not very much you can do about it.

And watching HD video is a thing for itself. If the video player is using flash its like a heater in your room because flash sucks so much power.

I am using Click to Flash in Chrome to not load flash automatically and have to click the video to play it. Since most of the stuff is moving to HTML 5 video players which need not much CPU power I dont have to click that often. Youtube has an option to enable HTML 5 player for supported videos (which are most of the videos)

Netflix will use HTML 5 in Yosemite also, I think now they are using Silverlight and I'm not sure how bad that is like flash but HTML 5 will be way better

 

[Gav2k]

No source I had a delta fan in my server now I don't lol

Thermal paste does help. My temps are 10'c lower than yours with the same setup.

 

[antero]

Thanks to both.

Mine is quad-core i7. I did vacuum out the dust while trying to diagnose the problem.

Wonder if either one Delta or AVC fan of the MagLev 2 type referred to in one of my posted links?

 

[Gav2k]

Trust me the delta fan is noisy. I have one in a box and it was removed because it was noisy. The other fan is quieter. Honestly though I would replace the thermal paste and see if that helps.