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Macintosh Plus Hole Case Cut for Heat?
Posted by: Admiral Ackbar on 2023-06-15 10:22:19
Being quiet and cool is a must. At the risk of sacrilege, does anyone think there would be appreciable benefit to cutting a 2 inch hole in the back of the case near the "dead air midpoint" and putting a grill over the hole (to keep cat paws out)? Looking at a video from
I think it could be done without harming operation, but am unsure if it would actually help.



I scribbled some yellow highlighter in the area of the back case:

1686849600504.png



Thanks!
Posted by: Crutch on 2023-06-15 10:51:55
What makes you think your Plus is too hot? I thought received wisdom was an unaccelerated Plus without extra gear (internal HD etc) stuffed in there doesn’t need additional cooling.
Posted by: zigzagjoe on 2023-06-15 10:51:58
As it is relying on natural convection, I don't think it'd make a tangible difference.

Given that any forced air flow would be better than natural air flow, you'd be better off adding a small fan to the existing vents on the top. I'd think a noctua or other low RPM fan (such that it is effectively inaudible) would keep it quiet but still give some improvement to cooling.
Posted by: Forrest on 2023-06-15 10:55:37
The Kensington System Saver was a popular cooling option for the Mac that didn’t require cutting holes in the case.
Posted by: LaPorta on 2023-06-15 11:35:19
I've run a Plus on a bookshelf with minimal clearance for years, and it still does just fine.
Posted by: ymk on 2023-06-15 12:18:43
I doubt it would help.

Are there specific components in that area you're worried about?
Posted by: Admiral Ackbar on 2023-06-15 15:01:24
Hi all. While I was a ][ user starting in 1980, I missed the classic/compact Mac era. So now I am coming around and reading All of The Things (TM) when it comes to the Mac Plus, and it seems like the need for a fan is 50-50 in what I have seen, with many saying that the air flow was never good and ~40 years later the components have been in use longer than Steve Jobs intended, so I was trying to err on the side of caution. Now, $ is not unlimited so if it's really not necessary I won't worry about it (Mac+ with 4mb RAM but no other internal mods).
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