- Joined
- Feb 15, 2012
- Messages
- 84
- Mac
- Mobile Phone
Hey all,
I built myself a replacement for my aging Mac Mini based on a Gigabyte GA-H61N-USB3 and an Intel Core i3 2105 (with a Scythe Kozuti low-profile CPU cooler), sitting in a Streacom F1C case. I also have a MacBook Pro IR receiver connected to the motherboard, which is working great.
All in all, I'm super happy with the build. The one problem is that the CPU runs a little hot – with the lid on the case, I get an idle temperature of about 40–45 °C. I know it's not extremely hot, but since the computer is used as an HTPC, it's important that it's as quiet as possible, and since the Kozuti cooler has quite a small fan, it makes a lot of noise when it speeds up (which happens at around those temperatures!) Thing is, if I take the lid off, I get an idle temperature of around 35 °C instead – much better, and of course the CPU cooler fan is much much quieter. Presumably this is because of a combination of bad air circulation and the fact that the case is so low (there's only about a centimeter to spare from the cooler to the lid when it's closed.)
I'd really rather not have to buy a new case, since looks are important to me, and I really like the look and the build quality of the F1C. I don't have a lot of knowledge about airflow and cooling in general, so I thought I'd ask here and see if anyone has any good ideas for how I can make things work.
I've attached some pictures of my current setup, and you can see the case in it's "virgin state" here: http://www.streacom.com/products/f1c-chassis/ (as you can see, I've skipped the brackets for optical/disk drives, and just let the SSD lay by itself.)
I've experimented with having a 40mm fan in the case (tried on both sides, blowing both in and out) but it didn't make much of a difference (maybe -2 °C.) I've also removed the back panel for the motherboard, but that also didn't have a big impact. I suppose the best thing would be to just cut a hole in the lid and put a filter in it, but I really don't have the tools or know-how for it, so I'd like to try other solutions first
Hope someone here can help me out. Let me know if there's any more info that would be good to have. Thanks!
I built myself a replacement for my aging Mac Mini based on a Gigabyte GA-H61N-USB3 and an Intel Core i3 2105 (with a Scythe Kozuti low-profile CPU cooler), sitting in a Streacom F1C case. I also have a MacBook Pro IR receiver connected to the motherboard, which is working great.
All in all, I'm super happy with the build. The one problem is that the CPU runs a little hot – with the lid on the case, I get an idle temperature of about 40–45 °C. I know it's not extremely hot, but since the computer is used as an HTPC, it's important that it's as quiet as possible, and since the Kozuti cooler has quite a small fan, it makes a lot of noise when it speeds up (which happens at around those temperatures!) Thing is, if I take the lid off, I get an idle temperature of around 35 °C instead – much better, and of course the CPU cooler fan is much much quieter. Presumably this is because of a combination of bad air circulation and the fact that the case is so low (there's only about a centimeter to spare from the cooler to the lid when it's closed.)
I'd really rather not have to buy a new case, since looks are important to me, and I really like the look and the build quality of the F1C. I don't have a lot of knowledge about airflow and cooling in general, so I thought I'd ask here and see if anyone has any good ideas for how I can make things work.
I've attached some pictures of my current setup, and you can see the case in it's "virgin state" here: http://www.streacom.com/products/f1c-chassis/ (as you can see, I've skipped the brackets for optical/disk drives, and just let the SSD lay by itself.)
I've experimented with having a 40mm fan in the case (tried on both sides, blowing both in and out) but it didn't make much of a difference (maybe -2 °C.) I've also removed the back panel for the motherboard, but that also didn't have a big impact. I suppose the best thing would be to just cut a hole in the lid and put a filter in it, but I really don't have the tools or know-how for it, so I'd like to try other solutions first
Hope someone here can help me out. Let me know if there's any more info that would be good to have. Thanks!