Mac mini getting hot

Hardware
1

I have a 2018 Mac mini and I’m pleased with it. But it does get very hot to touch when working. It gets less hot when I lift it up to allow ventilation underneath. My old Mac mini also used to get hot- what suggestions are there to keep it cooler please? Thanks

2

It’s designed for the case to to get hot and act like a heat sink. If the internal temps (which you can check with an app like Macs Fan Control) aren’t too high then don’t worry about it.

3 Likes
3

Having it on a hard surface is critical. May also be worth checking the CPU and GPU load in Activity Monitor if you don’t know why it’s running so hard.

1 Like
4

First suggestion is to raise the Mini up by placing it on one or two small ceramic tiles or a small trivet. Give it plenty of airspace for cooling. I would also run Activity Monitor to see what program is putting a load on the processor. What Programs are running when you notice this? Can you hear the fan running?

Everyone’s temperature tolerance is different, so what one person believes is hot… another may believe it is only warm. Find an app to check internal temperatures like iStat or Mac Fan Control.

6

Open it up and blow the dust out.

Also keep an eye on the HD, in my experience its a HD near its end of life when its running hot. Or has been overheated…

7

That’s a little tricky on the 2018; taking the foot off will let you get some air in there but going past that is rough for most people. Also, the 2018 is SSD-only, so no worries there.

4 Likes
8

I keep mine on a USB Laptop cooler.

9

I had that issue. Temps were getting fairly high very quickly. I bought a cooling base made by speed and its now around 105-115.

The only thing I am a little concerned about is that you take off the bottom base. A little worried about more dust getting there.

10

Thanks all. Lifting the mini up dropped the CPU temp from around 70C to 58-60 C so a big difference. A trivet sounds a good and cheap solution. I doubt if it’s clogged up with dust as it’s in a clean home office and on 6 months old. I’ll be adding more RAM at some stage so I’ll give it a good clean then. Thanks for your comments.

11

A follow up. I managed to find a Mac Mini Stand that holds the computer upright. I bought it off e bay. It has made a huge difference to the temperature readings and it is now running at 56C. This was the stand I got, but second hand so cheaper. https://www.amazon.co.uk/OWC-NWTNUSTALYMINI-Newertech-NuStand-Alloy/dp/B00D7IMRG2 Thanks for your comments

1 Like