Chosen Solution
Can someone detail the airflow in this Mac Mini? I see the exhaust going over the heatpipe and out the slot in the back. But, where does the source come? I don’t see any vents in the bottom lid. Is it from the optical drive slot? MAJ
No, it is not thru the optical drive slot. The air intake is around the black base where it (almost) meets with the case. It is not actually sealed up. You can remove the base, slide a piece of paper so it’s inside and outside, close the cover and the paper slides right out.
Air intake is at the front of the Black Lid. If you turn your Mac Mini upside down and press along the edge of the circular lid you’ll fee it is firm all the way around except where the locked / unlocked dots are. That gap is where the air enters the unibody. It flows up through the WiFi antena’s swiss cheese holes over the logic board and then down to the blower fan’s air intake; cooling the board components before it cools the heatsink on it’s way out.
I would say yes - it sucks al the dust right through the optical drive slot ;-)
For 2011 models, see the patent description here http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-ap… about two thirds way down the page…
The optical drive is not completely open to the inside of the computer. The optical drive is a separate, closed unit as shown here -> Mac mini Model A1283 Optical Drive Replacement There may be a slight amount of air flow as the drive is not a sealed unit (hence the dust guard in the drive slot), but this would be very, very minimal.
