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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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My Internet computer is on from around 8:00 AM to around 11:00 PM. Does anyone have any experience using a MINI computer for that period of time? I am concerned about overheating.
Thanx in advance.
Tips on how to fall asleep in a living room chair:
1- Be old
2- Sit in a chair
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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They certainly should, of course, be spec'd for continuous use and have the usual fan, throttling and over-temperature shutdown. They use high-efficiency CPUs like in laptops, too, so everyhing should be fine.
Now my caveat ... I bought one some years back as an urgency to get something (temporary fileserver, IIRC) up an running "right now". It was fine for a couple or so years then popped ... I didn't check to find out why. My office then did get very hot in the summer. Maybe I didn't check fans or something and a capacitor cooked? Whatever, I went back to my usual fanless ITX PC. That's now been good nearly a decade now, running 24/7. Not quite so tiny, but I have more confidence in them. Many ITXs are intended for industrial use.
Last edited by Gordon Scott; 03/08/25 01:35 PM.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11
BIAB2026 Audiophile, a bunch of other software.
Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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I agree with Gordon. As long as it's not some overclocked home brew job for gaming, you're fine.
Keep in mind that memory leaks are a giant game of Whack-A-Mole. Browser pages are often the worst offenders followed by plug-ins. Reboot daily to clear cached RAM and you'll be fine.
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Joined: Dec 2003
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Thanx Gordon and Mike. No I do not over clock CPUs as I rather have stability. I shut down every night but if I run into problems from memory leaks I reboot during the day.
Tips on how to fall asleep in a living room chair:
1- Be old
2- Sit in a chair
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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I've got an HP mini with an i5-9500 and no issues with overheating - it spins up the fans and throttles itself when it needs to. 6 years old and still going strong. I've also got three Mac Mini's which are slightly bigger, also no problems - the oldest one is 15 years old now, and another has a quad core i7 in it.
Like others said, as long as it's not some homebrew affair, you can assume the engineers knew what they were doing.
Which is another way of saying - don't look at my gaming computer as an example....
I work here
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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... as long as it's not some homebrew affair, you can assume the engineers knew what they were doing. Yes, though we do sometimes make mistakes and we can sometimes be pressured by Marketing or Finance to cut costs.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11
BIAB2026 Audiophile, a bunch of other software.
Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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I went back to my usual fanless ITX PC. That's now been good nearly a decade now, running 24/7. YAY, I love it when someone who knows what they're talking about isn't chasing the the cutting edge to get work done. My attitude to my three comps is similar, (a 15 year old PC laptop as a media server, a ten year old PC for recording and a newish PC for other tasks - new because the last one was killed by an electrical surge in a storm that traveled along the telephone land line & through the Modem which was also obliterated - it happened to LOTS of people in the area - couldn't buy a modem within 30km for weeks. Yes, I now have a surge protector for just that circumstance).
Cheers
rayc
"What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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I'm not sure what kind of mini you've got, but mine is on 24/7 and it's doing fine.
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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I went back to my usual fanless ITX PC. That's now been good nearly a decade now, running 24/7. YAY, I love it when someone who knows what they're talking about isn't chasing the the cutting edge to get work done. I never chase the cutting edge on PCs. It's only cutting edge for a few months at best. When I want performance, I usually go for something around the top third. For everything else it's usually for what will do the job well without consuming huge amounts of power ... just one of my very many little chips out of the global warming concerns.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11
BIAB2026 Audiophile, a bunch of other software.
Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts
.
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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YAY, I love it when someone who knows what they're talking about isn't chasing the the cutting edge to get work done.
My attitude to my three comps is similar, (a 15 year old PC laptop as a media server, a ten year old PC for recording and a newish PC for other tasks - new because the last one was killed by an electrical surge in a storm that traveled along the telephone land line & through the Modem which was also obliterated - it happened to LOTS of people in the area - couldn't buy a modem within 30km for weeks. Yes, I now have a surge protector for just that circumstance). Hi Ray, I really don't go for the latest technology. In the past I had my computers built but my friend, whom I worked with in his computer store, retired so I am looking for inexpensive Internet computers for my wife and myself. When I had them built they had the fastest CPU available at that time. That was 14 years ago. But neither can not be upgraded to Win 11. My Win 10 music computer is also 14 years old and running just fine so that will not be upgraded until necessary.
Tips on how to fall asleep in a living room chair:
1- Be old
2- Sit in a chair
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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YAY, I love it when someone who knows what they're talking about isn't chasing the the cutting edge to get work done. Precisely. That's why I went with an i5 in my mini computer instead of the much hotter but not that much faster i7 or i9 (lol).
I work here
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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One, (12 year old) Thinkpad laptop (Win 10) is running last 7 years plugged 24/7. It goes intentionally sleepy when not in use. Power management got pretty good. Wakes up 95% of time without any issues.
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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heres another take on best mini pc's for home studios... https://minipcreviewer.com/what-are-the-best-mini-pc-setups-for-home-studios/i didnt go for the most powerfull cpu...but my ry can go up to 4.2ghz.... and a usefull applet comes with it re various resource useage stats and temps etc. runs bb and rb like a champ. om
my songs....mixed for good earbuds...(fyi..my vocs on all songs..) https://soundcloud.com/alfsongs(90 songs created useing bb/rb) (lots of tips of mine in pg tips forum.)
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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PG Music Staff
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I haven't personally had any negative experiences with mini laptops and running them all day. So long as you keep the typical things in mind for taking good care of your computers and you always take a look at the specs to see if it'll do what you're looking for, no reason why it can't be left running for as long as you like. That's what the fans and such are for, and if you ever find there's a problem with it getting a bit hot cooling mats or always an option too. Just make sure—as I am sure you already know—make sure the vents are clear for proper aeration. A lot of laptops have the vents on the bottom so a bit of elevation is your friend.
Cheers,
Ember
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I haven't personally had any negative experiences with mini laptops and running them all day. That's good to hear. I have had problems with them, but my office sometimes gets very warm indeed. Generally no air-con here in the UK. I've had two mini-PCs and they both overheated and popped, but my ambient is often in the upper 30s Celsius ... around 100 Fahrenheit. I've not had a laptop fail. Maybe I was just unlucky (twice?) or maybe I was too early an adopter.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11
BIAB2026 Audiophile, a bunch of other software.
Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts
.
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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PG Music Staff
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I haven't personally had any negative experiences with mini laptops and running them all day. That's good to hear. I have had problems with them, but my office sometimes gets very warm indeed. Generally no air-con here in the UK. I've had two mini-PCs and they both overheated and popped, but my ambient is often in the upper 30s Celsius ... around 100 Fahrenheit. I've not had a laptop fail. Maybe I was just unlucky (twice?) or maybe I was too early an adopter. Woof, 100F! Yah, that's definitely pretty toasty. It's possible you were unlucky both times, but also tech is always improving so could be a number of factors for sure! I am sure some brands or models are simply made with sturdier stuff too.
Cheers,
Ember
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Woof, 100F! Yah, that's definitely pretty toasty. It's possible you were unlucky both times, but also tech is always improving so could be a number of factors for sure! I am sure some brands or models are simply made with sturdier stuff too. Indeed. I don't entirely blame the products for failing at that, though they probably should be built to stand 40C. But I've also designed stuff for environments where "they all have A/C, so it never gets above 25C", and understand how they can say "we'll get away with that". At this moment the room is around 27C and the various computers show around 50C core temperatures. It typically isn't the cores that fail, though, it's more often the electrolytic capacitors in the supply lines.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11
BIAB2026 Audiophile, a bunch of other software.
Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts
.
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Indeed. I don't entirely blame the products for failing at that, though they probably should be built to stand 40C. But I've also designed stuff for environments where "they all have A/C, so it never gets above 25C", and understand how they can say "we'll get away with that".
At this moment the room is around 27C and the various computers show around 50C core temperatures. It typically isn't the cores that fail, though, it's more often the electrolytic capacitors in the supply lines. Yeah, capacitor failure is always the most common component to go. I typically use caps rated for at least 100ºC whenever I build something, but when repairing I usually find that the original caps are rated for only 85º. Important to note that those are upper limits, not necessarily where they like to hang out 24/7. Has it been the computer itself dying on you, or the (likely external) power supply? I'd imagine the caps in the computer would last much longer than in the PSU given the lack of airflow inside your typical laptop-style power supply for most mini computers.
I work here
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Wow, it’s been 15 years since I’ve thought about a personal computer having a fan. Reckon that’s why I’m a fan 😀 of the cloistered Apple world I live in.
Bud
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