Official CustoMac Mini 2011 Guide and Notes (in progress)

[jateelover]

I think my temps are high. I sit at about 55-58 C at idle, and when using plex, or something similar, i can get up to 75-77. I have the exact build here, stock fan. This customac sits next to my TV and I find the fan very loud. It isn't always running at full speed, but it seems whenever I am doing anything, it runs at the next step down.

I used the stock fan, with the included thermal paste...I am looking at pico psu's, a case fan, and something to replace the intel jet engine...anyone put something silent in this case? Its a tight fit, but fanless or at least quiet would be awesome. Thanks.

 

[EastCoast]

Have you tried putting in graphics card?

Yes, but it was a very old one and I'm don't have a whole lot of confidence in it. That's an option that I'm going to consider later to see if I can salvage the board.

 

[santitf]

I think my temps are high. I sit at about 55-58 C at idle, and when using plex, or something similar, i can get up to 75-77. I have the exact build here, stock fan. This customac sits next to my TV and I find the fan very loud. It isn't always running at full speed, but it seems whenever I am doing anything, it runs at the next step down.

I used the stock fan, with the included thermal paste...I am looking at pico psu's, a case fan, and something to replace the intel jet engine...anyone put something silent in this case? Its a tight fit, but fanless or at least quiet would be awesome. Thanks.

I replace the stock thermal paste and use Artic Silver 5. But i have a Sugo05 case.
My idle temps:40 and ups to 60-65 at full.

 

[dabada]

hi guys, one question

I have a caviar green hd (2TB, 64mb cache, model: WD20EARS) which I'd like to use in this build. Searching the Web I found out it is a Sata II 3 Gb/s device.

I can't find here in italy the H67N motherboard, while I can find the H61N.
In the beginning of the post tonymac says that if you don't need any SATA6 port you can go for the H61N.. that's exactly my case right? SATA6 stands for SATA 6 gb/s? (which means SATA III if I correctly understood)
If yes, and if I use only the WD20EARS I have inside the build, I think I can go for the H61N without any problems!

please confirm.. thanks in advance bye

 

[Mate94]

hi guys, one question

I have a caviar green hd (2TB, 64mb cache, model: WD20EARS) which I'd like to use in this build. Searching the Web I found out it is a Sata II 3 Gb/s device.

I can't find here in italy the H67N motherboard, while I can find the H61N.
In the beginning of the post tonymac says that if you don't need any SATA6 port you can go for the H61N.. that's exactly my case right? SATA6 stands for SATA 6 gb/s? (which means SATA III if I correctly understood)
If yes, and if I use only the WD20EARS I have inside the build, I think I can go for the H61N without any problems!

please confirm.. thanks in advance bye

I don't want to recommend the H61N because of the issues. Look for another mobo.

 

[bc24]

I believe your thinking is correct. However, I think those drives (WD Green WD**EARS) are ones that have issues with booting due to sector size. Search the forums for "boot 0: error" and you should find what I'm talking about. Also, you'll need to partition it down so that your boot/main partition (where OSX is installed) is 1TB or less.

 

[jamirou]

Now my hack is ready! Well... almost ready. Still waiting wireless Mac keyboard. I installed XFX HD 6850 Black Edition GPU and it works blazing fast. With Intel HD 3000 i got like 11 FPS from CineBench and now it's 40 FPS.

I changed the computer info to iMac 12.2 and the lag that i had with dock is gone. Overall the new GPU made hack more powerful.

Flags for good buffer and to enable ports:

AtiConfig=Duckweed
AtiPorts=4

Thank you all! I really love all you guys.

 

[jateelover]

I think my temps are high. I sit at about 55-58 C at idle, and when using plex, or something similar, i can get up to 75-77. I have the exact build here, stock fan. This customac sits next to my TV and I find the fan very loud. It isn't always running at full speed, but it seems whenever I am doing anything, it runs at the next step down.

I used the stock fan, with the included thermal paste...I am looking at pico psu's, a case fan, and something to replace the intel jet engine...anyone put something silent in this case? Its a tight fit, but fanless or at least quiet would be awesome. Thanks.

I replace the stock thermal paste and use Artic Silver 5. But i have a Sugo05 case.
My idle temps:40 and ups to 60-65 at full.

Ya I might do that. I purchased a case fan off of amazon. Silent Sickleflo. I think your case has a built in fan, whereas the Apex does not, so hopefully this negates the difference.

I want to replace the box cooler with a different cooler/fan that is quieter and better. Any one else have suggestions?

If you are going to get the sickleflo fan, make sure to get the right one. One is louder..go to the link below

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0046U6DTC/ref=oh_o00_s00_i00_details

 

[dabada]

I believe your thinking is correct. However, I think those drives (WD Green WD**EARS) are ones that have issues with booting due to sector size. Search the forums for "boot 0: error" and you should find what I'm talking about. Also, you'll need to partition it down so that your boot/main partition (where OSX is installed) is 1TB or less.

thanks you and mate94 for the answers!

..you scared me a little


btw I know the boot 0: error .. I made a hack for a friend of mine and had the same problem.. I "fixed" it using a USB stick to boot the system all the times..


then reading the forum here I think I found the solution.. so that wouldn't be a very big problem I think.. I think it is possible to fix it with a workaround right?


but then Mate94 spoke of "issues" in general so I am a little sad.. I thought I had found my build at last after so much searching! (h67n why is so difficult to find you here in Italy? )

can you be a little more specific? what problems? very big problems?

I think I found out usb3.0 won't work on the h61n (fresco chip) but that wouldn't be such a big problem for me.. I don't have any usb3.0 devices.. are there other big problems?
if yes.. any suggestions about a good compatible miniITX mobo? couldn't find so much here..

searching the forum I realized hdmi audio out should work.. can't think right now of other important things that are not working.. please help me

thanks again for all your help bye!

 

[archkonst]

Halo. Updated BIOS to F7 (with @BIOS on Windows it was very quick and easy).
Divided my disk into 2 partitions. 1-Win7 (installed like in guides), 2-macos journaled for snowleopard->Lion. Tried to install Snow Leopard Retail with iBoot. Installation finished and after reboot had this kernel panic