Mac Mini-Intel DH61AG

[Gus]

I think if I took the HFX Borg FX CPU, kept the acrylic mount and the copper/aluminium block and got another block to sit on top of the original block, exactly as minihack did in his cube. For a while anyway, pictures are still there so you can see what I mean.

Then cut the bottom off the copper/aluminium block as required. Would be easier then trying to completely custom make one. Only issue would be how to remove the material. Hack saw and a heck of a lot of sanding and polishing?

Minihack's Cube

The other idea, is that until the board was placed into the case and bolted to the mini case, the heatsink would only sit upon the cpu, not be held down. I plan to do this by gluing some form of mount to the mini case, I have a mounting system that came with a 1U cooler, this and then probably putting bolts up through the motherboard.

Just need to wait for money...
Gus
PS just worked how to properly link things, much neater.

 

[minihack]

I think if I took the HFX Borg FX CPU, kept the acrylic mount and the copper/aluminium block and got another block to sit on top of the original block, exactly as minihack did in his cube. For a while anyway, pictures are still there so you can see what I mean.

Then cut the bottom off the copper/aluminium block as required. Would be easier then trying to completely custom make one. Only issue would be how to remove the material. Hack saw and a heck of a lot of sanding and polishing?

Minihack's Cube

The other idea, is that until the board was placed into the case and bolted to the mini case, the heatsink would only sit upon the cpu, not be held down. I plan to do this by gluing some form of mount to the mini case, I have a mounting system that came with a 1U cooler, this and then probably putting bolts up through the motherboard.

Just need to wait for money...
Gus
PS just worked how to properly link things, much neater.

Hi Gus,
How much room is there between the top of the CPU and the roof of the case? NO WAY would I advise trying to macine down the HFX Borg block - in fact, having bought one, there is no way I would buy another (does that make sense???). What I mean is this, their linkage is pretty basic and I can make a better one than they supply by doing a home made job. I guess what I am saying is let me know how much room is above the CPU and then it's an easy job to say which way you should go.

For instance, if the gap was, say 25mm then maybe a 10mm block stuck to the roof of the Mac Mini case (with thermal 2 part epoxy adhesive - I think Arctic make the stuff) might be good with you then raising the MOBO (and CPU area in particular) by 15mm would give you a clear space under the mobo to put your 2.5" drive.

Obviously though you must make sure that the size of block is enough so that when you raise the mobo to meet it you don't end up with the audio eSata port hitting the roof first. If they would hit, then you need a thicker block to make sure CPU contact happens first. If the calculations mean you end up with an unuseable space both above and below the mobo with no room to stick a drive then we need to think again. But the best solution would be to have just "one" block between CPU and case.

SO look at the space and then decide the best solution......

Always happy to chip in from my side if the comments are helpful - if not then just tell me to shut up. I won't take offence (!).

EDIT: Oops just looked at your pic.s - I am guessing about 20 mm between the CPU and the roof?

I also like your idea of a linkage on the roof. You could though still use the thermal epoxy for the copper block to go to the roof and then use your through MOBO screws to just pull the mobo up. Keeping the block attached to the roof would mean only one piece of Thermal interface material needing to be re-done every time you "drop" the mobo from the heatsink.

Definitely though use a strengthening backplate under the processor so it all pulls up evenly.

 

[Gus]

No no please keep them coming!
I need to get a cpu before i can take any proper measurements really. Think I will build some replica block and test fit to get an idea of what thickness of block to use. Wood, plastic anything I can find!

That is also an option. Gluing the block to the mini case permanently. Would mean I wouldn't have to worry about it once it is mounted once. But means I have to find a way to test fit and mark it through the motherboard. Before final installation. I think that this is again a better option. It is far simpler than ideas I had. And I can easily get aluminium from my old school. (The teacher loves me.)

When doing this, I would still have to push or (pull in my mind) the motherboard up to the block glued to the mini case, which as the 4 mounting holes are completely covered by the bottom of the mini case, would be done using the cpu mounting holes. The cooler mounts I've linked to would be ideal to be glued to the case and then another backplate under the cpu with its threads drilled out, and then I can just slide the bolts through and squeeze the cpu against the block.

As for ssd I am planning to buy a msata full length card. I've also purchased two different half height cards that have supported controllers. Hopefully they will natively work. So I am now cable free inside, apart from if I want(which I do) attempt and get bluetooth, IR and sleep light. Also some sort of power switch. But I can make custom length atx header cables as I have all the parts.

Gus

 

[minihack]

No no please keep them coming!
I need to get a cpu before i can take any proper measurements really. Think I will build some replica block and test fit to get an idea of what thickness of block to use. Wood, plastic anything I can find!

That is also an option. Gluing the block to the mini case permanently. Would mean I wouldn't have to worry about it once it is mounted once. But means I have to find a way to test fit and mark it through the motherboard. Before final installation. I think that this is again a better option. It is far simpler than ideas I had. And I can easily get aluminium from my old school. (The teacher loves me.)

When doing this, I would still have to push or (pull in my mind) the motherboard up to the block glued to the mini case, which as the 4 mounting holes are completely covered by the bottom of the mini case, would be done using the cpu mounting holes. The cooler mounts I've linked to would be ideal to be glued to the case and then another backplate under the cpu with its threads drilled out, and then I can just slide the bolts through and squeeze the cpu against the block.

As for ssd I am planning to buy a msata full length card. I've also purchased two different half height cards that have supported controllers. Hopefully they will natively work. So I am now cable free inside, apart from if I want(which I do) attempt and get bluetooth, IR and sleep light. Also some sort of power switch. But I can make custom length atx header cables as I have all the parts.

Gus

All sounds good to me Gus!

Obviously once all the gaps and stuff are worked out and you have the CPU snug against the block you'll also need to put some supports under the mobo and lock it into position to avoid straining the whole thing when you attach cables and stuff to the I/O, but I think the principles are good ones. As Apple have helpfully supplied a great chunk of heat dissipating material in the form of an aluminium case it makes sense to take advantage of it in your build.

 

[Gus]

Oh yeah, I meant to say, how high temps do you think a piece of plastic would need to deal with if I slide it underneath the board?

I think at the front of the case I could just let the board float. the cpu socket is close so I think it should be okay. Where as, at the rear I would add more "filler", maybe plastic or rubber to support the board under the I/O ports.

Gus

 

[minihack]

Oh yeah, I meant to say, how high temps do you think a piece of plastic would need to deal with if I slide it underneath the board?

I think at the front of the case I could just let the board float. the cpu socket is close so I think it should be okay. Where as, at the rear I would add more "filler", maybe plastic or rubber to support the board under the I/O ports.

Gus

Well, if your processor ever approached 100c it'd shutdown. Temp.s away from the processor will always be cooler than the processor itself.

Obviously I would say (!) acrylic/perspex is gonna be fine but there will be a whole load of materials that will work for you. Heck, if you like working in wood you could use that.

Personally, if the gap under the board was say 5mm (or whatever) I'd cut a mobo tray from a suitable thickness of acrylic with a circular hole in it to correspond with where the removable cover goes (is that plastic??) and slip it under the board - no need for standoffs probably with the type of lack of clearance there is in the case. If there are other things on the reverse of the mobo that need holes cutting out for them to let the board sit flat in the case then you can also include those in the design of tray.

 

[Gus]

Yeah, I can source acrylic easily. (Again school, most people are glad to get away I want to go back and keep using all the machine ect. haha)

I think it will be around 5mm and thats a good idea. There are some ICs on the under side. I should be able to get the cpu next month. So until then no real work will be happening.

Gus

 

[akhilv1]

Just a thought, instead of the copper block, wouldn't it be easier to use a liquid cooling system and have the radiator sticking through the space between the I/O ports? The space to attach a heatsink is limited so whynot try this?

 

[Gus]

Just a thought, instead of the copper block, wouldn't it be easier to use a liquid cooling system and have the radiator sticking through the space between the I/O ports? The space to attach a heatsink is limited so whynot try this?

If you used very small pipe OD and 90 degree bends straight from the cpu then maybe, but I would like this to like "original" so to speak. So the external pump, res, rad wouldn't do for me. But it could probably work if you were happy with all the external parts, would mean you could put a more powerful processor in there though. But it may not be worth it with just this intel board.

Gus

 

[minihack]

Just a thought, instead of the copper block, wouldn't it be easier to use a liquid cooling system and have the radiator sticking through the space between the I/O ports? The space to attach a heatsink is limited so whynot try this?

Seriously? A liquid cooling system and a Mac Mini case??? Probably a bit of mismatch there.