2012 Mac Mini running hot

Question

2012 Mac Mini running hot

I bought a Apple Refurbished 2012 Mac Mini two weeks ago. The model is an I7 2.6GHz with 4GB RAM and a 256GB SSD (Model 6.2). I was going to increase the memory in the next two months to the maximum but I need to understand what the problem is first.

Today is the second day in that time that the Notifications have been flying in about several High temperate parameters being exceeded (Diuodes and all cores). I am running everything up to date software wise and with normal usage the temp is running at 90+ with a fan speed of 3000-5000 RPM (Temperatur Gauge 4.1 running in the background. The room temperature is around 16 degrees so not a hot environment.

I have booked it in for a Genius bar tomorrow but want some feedback from the community on normal temperatures I should be expecting.

Please can anybody tell me what temperature ranges I should expect for basic and heavy use on one of these machines.

Regards

Mark

Mac mini (Late 2012), OS X Mavericks (10.9.1), 4GB RAM, 2.6GHz I7, 256GB SSD

Posted on Dec 29, 2013 7:14 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Best reply

lllaass

Level 10

210,411 points

Dec 29, 2013 7:31 AM in response to Mark Williams1900

Are the ventilation openings clear and unobstructed?

Try resetting the SMC

Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)

Reply

Answer 2

Dec 29, 2013 9:49 AM in response to lllaass

Illaass

Yes the vents are clear and unobstructed.

I have reset the SMC on more than one occassion.

The software I have been running maxes out my 2011 Macbook Air (2.13GHz Core 2 Duo) at 72 degreees but my Mac Mini is in the 90's and warnings from Temperature Gauge 4.1 (used on both machines) are for 96 to 101 degree temperatures.

Reply

Answer 3

den.thed

Level 9

77,182 points

Dec 29, 2013 10:08 AM in response to Mark Williams1900

Hi Mark

Are you hearing the Fan at the elevated (3000 to 5000rpm) speeds?

I'm using > Macs Fan Control on my Mac Mini and I start hearing my fan at 2000rpm and up. Additionally it never needs to go much above 2400rpm to maintain a comfortable 60 C, even while it is under a heavy load.

Reply

Answer 4

lllaass

Level 10

210,411 points

Dec 29, 2013 10:13 AM in response to Mark Williams1900

My 2012 has has ambient 57C and CPU 90C

My 2009 has SSD 30C )losest temp listed)and CPU 84 C

Reply

Answer 5

Dec 29, 2013 10:26 AM in response to den.thed

Hi den.thed and Illaass

I can hear the fan as it is running between 3000 and 5000 RPM. I do not think Macs Fan Control could help unless I set the fan artificially high (4000rpm). As I write the average CPU temp has dropped to 88/89 and System temp to 78.

Thanks for your temperatures which are in the region I would have expected (in line with my Macbook Air operation).

Regards

Mark

Reply

Answer 6

den.thed

Level 9

77,182 points

Dec 29, 2013 10:53 AM in response to Mark Williams1900

Just wanted to make sure that the Fan was in fact working.

I'm not suggesting that you take it apart, but have to wonder if the Fan, the Cowling and Heatsink aren't missligned or blocked in someway and causing it to over heat.

To get a better idea of what I'm thinking, see > iFixit

Again, I'm not suggesting that you open it up and work on it.

You should call Apple Support or take it to your local Apple Store / AASP and let them sort out the problem.

Reply

Answer 7

Dec 29, 2013 9:26 PM in response to Mark Williams1900

Have you checked that you do not have a runaway process ?

Use the Activity Monitor to see if some process is stuck using 100% CPU..

See this post for launching the Utility.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4537676?answerId=20379601022#20379601022

Sort the processes by CPU.. It is possible that some offending program is misbehaving.

A single misbehaving process can cause your Mac to over heat!

Launch the Activity Monitor the next time you hear the fan kick in high.

See if there is an offending process. Take further action from there.

Reply

Answer 8

Dec 30, 2013 2:43 AM in response to Camino fan 2010

Hi All

Thanks for the replies, they are helping me build a better picture of what is happening.

So, with Activity monitor running, CPU loads are up to 55% and the processes I am running are only taking up a maximum of 5% CPU time. Whether there is misbehaving software or not I cannot see any of that.

I have run a System Diagnostics when the temperature was being flagged which is copied to my desktop. I will be going to get it checked at the 'Genius Bar' in my local Macca and will update everyone once I haver feedback from there.

I also think I will take out the Three Year Apple care on this Mac Mini next month in case the processor/slot is going to fail due to internal temperature fluctuations (creating bad connections/dry joints).

Thanks again

Mark

Reply

Answer 9

Dec 30, 2013 9:26 AM in response to Mark Williams1900

I had an issue with DraftSight once.. similar to these discussions..

QTKitServer

I think it became active after I installed some 3rd party software..

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2148759?answerId=10160531022#10160531022&messageID=10160531#10160531?messa geID=10160531

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4146723?tstart=0

I've seen certain 3rd party processes peg the CPU at 100%

and remain there until a reboot..

(or force quit).

That is what I mean by misbehaving..

but there could be shades of gray here..

Reply

Answer 10

Dec 30, 2013 9:40 AM in response to Camino fan 2010

Hi Camino fan 2010/All

Right, my Genius Bar appointment went well and running at up to 101 degrees (temperatures I have been seeing) can occur when running video stuff on the I7 quad core Mac Mini. This is where processor heavy operation occurs and is within tolerances of processor/system so the Apple Genius Bar employee said.

So I have increased the alarm settings in "Temperature Gauge 4.1" to 100 degrees to reduce the number of over temp notifications. The system has no alarms set for temperature logged so is currently operating normally.

Even so I will be monitoring things and taking out 3 year Apple care (just in case).

The I7 quad cores run hotter than the core 2 duo of my MacBook Air so I understand that my concern is currently not a problem.

Thanks again for your replies

Mark

Reply