How turn your Mac Mini into a heat tomb that looks like an unappetizing Walmart cake

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/06/19/how-turn-your-mac-mini-into-a.html

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Looking at the product page and then the ifixit teardown, it doesn’t actually cover the intake (underside) or the exhaust (rear) of the CPU fan, so the airflow isn’t impeded.

It does insulate the rest of the case, but the fan is still good so i’d guess it’d just run a bit louder and hotter.

Bad, but not end of the world with these relatively low power components…

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Why again is this a thing?

Am I missing the roving gangs of Mac Mini vandals who just can’t wait to deface pristine aluminum cases? I think we’ve fully entered into Plastic Couch era of technology ownership.

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I’m still waiting for a silicon cover for our Prius.

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So it’s a silicone cover (condom) that just makes it softer? Why? If you’re going to go that direction, it seems pointless unless you’re going to go all the way and make it look like an Existenz pod…

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I don’t get it. Is the product shot somehow inaccurate…?

I reckon the case makes sense if the unit is being tossed in a backpack and jostled around, though in that situation it would make much more sense to buy a proper cary-all with pockets for the cables.

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I’m having a hard time understanding why this thing exists. What is the stated purpose? Keeping it clean? Travel? There are numerous ways to do both without using this item and having the Mini overheat. I just don’t get it.

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I still will stay with thee;
And never from this heat tomb of dim night
Depart again: here, here will I remain
With worms that are thy chamber-maids; O, here
Will I set up my everlasting rest,

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yeah, the product shot makes the mac mini look like it’s encased in aerogel; the real thing looks like a slab of silicone.

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Amazon also recommends this leather Mac Mini case with feature descriptions that are… interesting.

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Frequency reduction?!

“You’d rather take your chances with me? Want me to slow down your power cycles for you?”

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The product shot clearly illustrates the well-known problem of mac mini farts. This reduces how often those farts happen, saving us from that all-too-common headache.

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CPU, GPU, or chipset thermal throttling. If it gets too warm, the chips will cut their operating frequency (and performance) to preserve themselves. Silicon chips have an interesting property, thermal runaway, where electric resistance drops when they get hot, which allows more current to flow, which releases more heat.

I’m still not sure what problem the product solves.

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Was going to make the same joke.

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Rather a stab in the dark, here, but perhaps the idea is to allow the owner to place their mug of coffee on the top, to help keep it warm, and make it easier to wipe clean the top of the Mini?
Mine sits under one corner of my Sony Bravia, the space below the screen is exactly the right depth to allow my Mini to sit there comfortably without actually touching the underside of the set, removing at one stroke any temptation to use it as a beer mat.

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2015-08-26-1440587656-1100360-1fRw07v3z4atC1cFqdWCqw

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Maybe a cheesemonger can tell us which obscure European dairy offering this most resembles.

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This one, obvs, it’s Apple

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It’s just a case. I didn’t know cases for Mac Minis were in demand, but apparently they are. This picture is just to show that it doesn’t block the fan.

I thought it was decompressing.

I’ll wait for the Otter Box.

Doesn’t it … already have a case?

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