Mac mini temp with no programs open

[mini5apple]

Hi

Up until recently my mac mini 2020 has performed above expectation regarding fan noise & temps

However some programs have started to lag and cause the fan to ramp up higher than normal

Also i dont usually shut down the mac only close all programs

its become warm to the touch after 9-10 hours overnight with no programs running

is this normal i remember it being cold when touching it the next day??

ive reset SMC & deleted a few programs since ive noticed it, its still present?


I also used the same usb socket the mac is powered from to charge some microphones that caused a high pitch feedback loop, could i have fried a mac component on the motherboard but it still runs?

is there anyway i could fix OS without updating to Big Sur?


Regards

 

[Honza1]

Hello,
not clear which Mini you are talking about. I have both Intel i5 Mini and M1.
Intel Mini i5 (new few weeks ago, but 2018 model as that is the current one) is always warm/hot. CPU temperature even at idle is 60+C and with any use it jumps to 80+C. Based on what I read on line that is normal - 20+W idle and typically 40+W when in use needs to cool somehow. Supposedly they are built for that.
My new M1 (few weeks old) is cold all the time, even when encoding video stream in Handbrake. It gets mildly warm after long time with all cpu running at max. It is, fully loaded, colder than i5 at idle.

 

[MacCheetah3]

@Honza1 is correct, the 2018 Mac mini runs warm no matter what. It’s also the highest power consuming Mac mini.

 

[mini5apple]

Its the 2020 i5 mac mini intel based

Its the os or a rogue program just waiting to update it to big sur

i've since started using windows 10 via bootcamp for obs streaming its better than osx

 

[Erehy Dobon]

My Mac mini 2018 i7 CPU idles around 45 °C, CPU proximity is 36 °C per the XRG utility. Fan is 1700 rpm which is the minimum speed.

Apple's overall thermal design philosophy for Macs in general is to run hot and use the upper range of the thermal design of the semiconductors, maximizing performance from their selected silicon.

The Mac mini 2018 is never cool to the touch.

 

[DeltaMac]

You may have bought your mini in 2020, but the intel mini is considered a 2018 model.
Only the M1 mini is known as a 2020 model.

You can also check in your activity monitor to see what else is using the CPU, and consuming energy.
You should also be able to determine what process is continuing to work, even when you think that all programs are closed. Some processes are simply used by the system, and ultimately not controlled by an app.

Why not sleep your mini when you are not using it?

I don't understand your statement about "using the same USB socket the mac is powered from". Your mini certainly provides power through USB ports, but that is not where the mini gets power.

Finally, yes, you can reinstall your macOS system without upgrading to Big Sur. The easy method is to boot to your recovery system, which will give you the choice to reinstall macOS.