Can a computer be over-worked?

Mikuro

Mikuro

Crotchety UI Nitpicker
My last computer was an iMac DV+. It was one of the convection-cooled models. Since it had no fan, I never had any way of knowing when it was "under stress". I never really thought about things like CPU temperature at all.

My new Mac mini has a fan, though, so I know when it's stressing out. Any demanding task will send that bugger into overdrive in a matter of seconds, and it'll stay in overdrive until the job is done.

Now, I used to run some very intensive data analysis programs all night when I slept. The fact that I could do that without a fan keeping me up was nice, but that's not what I'm worried about right now.

I'm worried that my Mac mini isn't capable of supporting such demanding tasks. I mean, if the fan needs to go full blast after a few seconds of 100% CPU use, can my computer really withstand 8+ hours? Or is it just not designed for that kind of use?

What do you think? Am I going to toast my Mini if I put it under such stress? Or is it reasonable to expect the fan to keep things cool for that long a time? (Also, I wonder if the over-use was the cause of my iMac's failure...)
 
Mikuro said:
My last computer was an iMac DV+. It was one of the convection-cooled models. Since it had no fan, I never had any way of knowing when it was "under stress". I never really thought about things like CPU temperature at all.

My new Mac mini has a fan, though, so I know when it's stressing out. Any demanding task will send that bugger into overdrive in a matter of seconds, and it'll stay in overdrive until the job is done.

Now, I used to run some very intensive data analysis programs all night when I slept. The fact that I could do that without a fan keeping me up was nice, but that's not what I'm worried about right now.

I'm worried that my Mac mini isn't capable of supporting such demanding tasks. I mean, if the fan needs to go full blast after a few seconds of 100% CPU use, can my computer really withstand 8+ hours? Or is it just not designed for that kind of use?

What do you think? Am I going to toast my Mini if I put it under such stress? Or is it reasonable to expect the fan to keep things cool for that long a time? (Also, I wonder if the over-use was the cause of my iMac's failure...)
Click to expand...
You concerns are unfounded.
 
what troubles me is that you say the processor work at 100%.
that does not seem healthy. the only time my processor (see signature) work at 100% is when soething is wrong (like Finder got trapped in a bad cycle or something). what is it that you do to the poor thing? :)
 
true, even when i leave illustrator or something to render intensively, cpu caps out at a "safe" 90-odd % 100% usually means a bad program, something is crashing
 
Also upgrading your memory will help out..256 is not really enough for the OS itself.
If you can take it to 512M-1Gig you will be better off.
the macmini was not designed to be your work horse.. it is like the performa series apple came out w/ back in the 90's.. check email surf the web...
 
If you are doing data analysis, which normally involves loops, you will get 100% CPU usage. Easily. It doesn't matter how fast your CPU or how much RAM you have. It will max out CPU usage.

The only question, is whether such prolonged runs on performance will cause problems. In my opinion, the only thing that has a risk of failing is the fan :). I wouldn't worry too much about the other components unless you're already working in a hot climate. My Powerbook's fan is nearly constantly on when I'm working, running simulations and the like.
 
I can vouch for the 100% processor usage when doing certain tasks -- I program in C a lot, and routinely search 1,000,000-record DBF files... during this time, the processor is pegged at 100% usage (~95% of that going to the number crunching and ~5% to the system).

I would be a bit concerned about doing this on a Mac mini, though -- the hard drive is small and hot, and everything's packed into the case tightly. I would much prefer a better-cooled tower machine, but I would use the mini if it's all I had. It's not unusual to expect to be able to do this, though, as Apple directly marketed the mini toward programmers (not number-crunchers specifically, but programmers nonetheless).

If it did malfunction, it would definitely be covered under warranty.
 
It always sort of bugs me when I'm doing video encoding and a good 10+% of my CPU is going idle. I feel like I'm getting cheated, and the encoding ought to be going 10% faster! :) It's a conspiracy to sell faster computers!!! ;)

Like Viro said, what I'm doing is all loop-based. It takes about 45 minutes to process each file with my current settings. And I've got over a thousand files waiting to feed it. So I could have it running at 100% CPU for over a month straight (if I didn't need to use my computer for other things when I'm awake). Oh, what I wouldn't give for a cluster of Xserves....

It's a program I wrote myself, actually, so if anything were going wrong, I'd know. :)

Anyway, thanks for the replies. I feel safe pushing it to its limits now, especially after the mention of the warranty (better abuse it all I can before February 2006!). I still don't know how I'm going to sleep with that fan, though. Hrm.....
 
As you're running Tiger, there's temperature monitor docklets you might want to look into. Of course, that depends on there being recognized temperature sensors in useful locations...

I have a rather loud blue & white g3, and I've found that just taking a piece of corrugated cardboard and placing it in front of the computer (not in front of any air vents, just between the computer and my bed) made a noticeable difference to noise levels. With a mini, you could probably make an entire little cardboard 'house' for the thing easily enough. Just figure out where the airflow is, and be sure not to obstruct that, then angle the computer so the open side of the box faces away from you.
 
I disagree. Nothing is necessarily wrong with the computer. My PowerBook runs at 100% anytime I'm doing multi-track recording or playback in Garageband....

Also, multiple Apple Dashboard analog world-clocks add up quickly, and if you leave them up, they keep using your CPU....

If you're worried about your Mac Mini, make sure it's well-ventilated, so that air can get around every side of it, including the bottom. And, if you want.... put a small desk fan a little ways away to cool it off a little. I do it.
 
Heck, my pc runs United Devices 24/7 for years, no problems with that, I havent even had a fan fail yet. My 12 year old Powermac 6100 has been running as a webserver for years too...no problems there. I'd say you're safe, computers are designed to be used.
 
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