Apple's latest Mac Mini and Nintendo's 2006 Wii console are similar sizes, and that's enough to get a modder's mind working. Combining the power of Apple's small desktop and own silicon and the nostalgia of the adorable 16-year-old console, YouTuber Luke Miani showed exactly what can happen when you cross an Apple Mac Mini with a Nintendo Wii.

Miani noted that Apple's minute desktop and Nintendo's dated console have similar dimensions. The Mac Mini is 7.7×7.7×1.4 inches, and the Wii was (per PCWorld via Wayback Machine) 8.5×6×~2 inches. Miani sought to make the Mac Mini less "boring" by moving its internals into a Wii.

Although the devices are similar sizes, Miani had to shave down the top of the Wii's chassis so it could fit I/O ports where the Wii's controller connectors are. He also had to do some tweaking to ensure the trap doors there still shut.

Miani also needed a smaller fan than the Mac Mini comes with. He opted for a 12 V fan, which he said happened to be the same dimensions as the fan that originally came inside the Wii. As we've learned from systems like the MacBook Air, Apple's M1 chip can operate swimmingly without a fan. However, Miani noted temperatures (he didn't specify if he meant skin temperatures or otherwise) quickly hit 100° Celsius on his mod without a fan and would then throttle. The YouTuber said his mod scored 7,342 on the Cinebench R23 benchmark, compared to 6,158 without a fan, and 7,725 with the Mac Mini's original fan.

Advertisement

A new power solution was also required because the Mac Mini's 150 W power supply wouldn't fit. The Wii's power supply wasn't powerful enough to run the system without throttling under peak load. So, the DIYer eventually cut the end off the Wii charger and connected it to the charger for a Microsoft Surface. The power then travels through a buck converter and then the system's logic board.

The YouTuber praised his project as being "arguably pretty useful," due to the M1's reported proclivity for retro game emulation. Miani's video concluded with him using his Apple Wii to play Mario Kart Wii upscaled for his 4K TV, and Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker for Nintendo GameCube. Miani also said he used the Nintendo Mac Mini to play PlayStation 2 games successfully.

You can watch Miani's entire video below:

Go to discussion...