The mac mini stylized with a lowercase mini is a desktop computer made by apple inc. Animaionic is a docking station for the mac mini that adds support for two gpus, four ssds and a sd card reader. If you ever need to expand your storage space or replace an older drive, then a new or preowned solidstate drive may be the right option for you. The lacie rugged pro is the fastest ssd weve tested lacies rugged drives have been popular with mac users for many years, thanks to their combination of high. How to upgradereplace the pcie ssd in a 2014 mac mini youtube. This guide has been found to be exceptionally cool by the ifixit staff. Mac pro compatible ssds the mac pro cylinder models use a custom pinout pcie ssd module. Animaionic supercharges your mac mini with two gpus and. Apple has reengineered the mac mini early 2020 with 8th generation intel core processors, giving it even more power for industrialgrade tasks, such as home automation, giant render farms, running a live concert sound engine, or testing your latest ios or ipados app. It is one of four desktop computers in the current macintosh lineup, serving as an alternative to the allinone imac, and sits below the performance range imac pro and mac pro the mac mini is apples only consumer desktop computer since 1998 to ship without a display, keyboard, or mouse. How to give your 2012 or 2014 mac mini a performance boost.
You can customize these machines all the way up to the highly popular 2014 mac mini with a 3. Storage upgrade details for each g3 and later apple mac. However, it always is best to buy from a trusted company with mac knowledge for the most troublefree experience. If you have a 2014 series mac mini, this is a must have. How to upgrade aluminum mac mini hard drives or ssds. Timetec hynix ic 16gb kit 2x8gb compatible for apple ddr3l 1600mhz. Due to a lorry running over my 2014 macbook air i now have a 256gb ssd pcie card spare. A solidstate drive is a type of mass storage device common in personal computers. Can an external ssd match the mac minis pricey inbuilt storage.
A short vide on full disassembly and reassembly of a mac mini 2014 for the purpose of upgrading the hard drive to a ssd drive. Thats over two years since the incredibly small and lovable machine got some love, and eons in the pc industry when it comes to updates. Find low everyday prices and buy online for delivery or instore pickup. This is a wireless ssd drive with an integrated battery, sd card reader and usb port. While youre inside your mac mini, use some canned air to. Edurable professional mac mini dual hard drive kit with screws washers logic wd blue 3d nand 500gb pc ssd sata iii 6 gbs, 2. I purchased the drive caddy with the extra pcie cable that plugs in the mb. In this video, we show you how to upgradereplace the pcie ssd in a late 2014 mac mini with a new one, such as the owc aura pro x2. The mac mini packs a lot of performance into a tiny chassis. Complete hard drive info, ssd size and height, which macs have storage that can be upgraded, and.
But for diy types, the new mac mini is a mixed bag offering both heartache and. There arent many aftermarket apple compatible ssd upgrade options. Mac mini features the apple t2 security chip secondgeneration custom mac silicon designed by apple to make mac mini even more secure. If your mac mini only has a hard drive, skip the steps about the pcie ssd and its connector. Mac mini fans recently rejoiced after apple updated the storied compact mac after two years without a major overhaul. Mac mini compatible ssds for intel cpu based mac minis, a 2. Handson with the mac mini 2020 edition, which is really just the 2018 model with more ssd storage in base configs. I just wanted to add that based largely on the very helpful information in this thread, i had a very positive experience adding an nvme ssd to my stock late 2014 mac mini. Ssd upgrade kits include all tools needed to safely upgrade your mac. About the sd and sdxc card slot on your mac apple support. Keep your aging mac mini alive with a few clever upgrades. Owc 500gb electra 6g ssd diy upgrade bundle for 2011, 2012 mac mini, includes apple mac mini desktop intel core i5 2.
Use this guide to replace the hard drive in your harddriveonly or fusion drive mac mini late 2014. Along with improved system and graphics performance, an allnew thermal architecture includes allflash. How to give your 2012 or 2014 mac mini a performance boost by replacing the hard drive with an ssd. While the 2010 mac mini limits you to firewire 800 or usb 2. However, for specific uses such as video editing or even server hosting, the small mac mini is an ideal alternative to the barebones pc. Your mac mini comes with 90 days of complimentary technical support and a oneyear limited warranty. Use this guide to completely replace your minis hard drive. Mac specs by capability mac storage upgrade compatibility guide. Upgrade your mac mini to up to 8x more capacity and 92x faster speeds than with the apple factory drive. Apple mac mini intel core i3 8gb memory 128gb solidstate. Here are some of the best ssds to upgrade your mac. There are many options in upgrading a mac mini, and. Owc 500gb electra 6g ss d diy upgrade bundle for 2011, 201 2 mac mini, includes crucial mx500 1tb 3d n and sata 2.
We provide detailed printed instructions when you order an ssd, just include your mac mini model in. Owc 480gb aura pro x2 ssd for macbook air mid 202017, and macbook pro crucial p1 500gb 3d nand nvme pcie m. Given the machines age, it might be tempting to think of the computer as outdated. Whatever your use of the mac mini, be it media server or desktop computer, the one upgrade that will make the biggest impact is a ssd. I do have a 2012 mac mini running a sata drive and was wondering if its possible to upgrade it. New mac mini restricts ram and storage upgrades, but hints. Replacing a mechanical hard drive with an ssd will transform the performance of the 2012 mac mini and your own experience with it. Select internal memory card reader and look for the speed entry. One small technical flaw and forgive me, i am an engineer. So while you can use the older x2 in the newer system you wont get the added performance of the newer x4 drive.
The t2 security chip consolidates several controllers into one, and includes a secure enclave coprocessor that provides the foundation for encrypted storage and secure boot capabilities. Depending on the size of your drive bay, you may need to use a spacer to make your ssd fit properly. The apple mac mini is a versatile machine noted for having a plethora of ports. The apple mac mini has a loyal fan group around the world. Using a business card again for support, slide the new ssd into place until the screws lock into place on the bracket inside the mac mini. Taking apart the new late 2014 mac mini to replace the hard drive. In theory, just about any hard drive or ssd that meets the minimum requirements should work in the mac mini. How to upgrade your mac mini with an ssd 2019 updated. Includes photos, sources of esata cards, parts, required mac drivers, notes on adapters, cards and more. Storage info details on speed, dimensions, and hard drive and ssd interface specifics for all g3 and later macs are organized below by category. Computers that use the pcie bus express their speed as gts. What type of pcie ssd goes in the late 2014 mac mini.
Pcie ssd on mini late 2014 mac mini late 2014 ifixit. How to upgrade the 2012 mac mini for use in 2020 imore. The older apple ssd is a pcie nvme 2 lane the newest models use a 4 lane version. Mac compatible ssd drive upgrades for apple macbook, imac and mac mini. Shop apple mac mini intel core i3 8gb memory 128gb solidstate drive space gray at best buy. There are fast flash memory cards that slot directly into the.
Crucial memory and ssd upgrades 100% compatibility guaranteed for apple free us delivery. The mac minis latest release was over 1,000 days ago. Second, it means you can plug in an external graphics card or egpu, which could be a pc graphics card in a suitable enclosure. Infophotos of mac mini esata card installs for 20062008 mac mini models using minipcie airport card slot. Mac compatible solidstate ssd drive recommendations. Mac mini late 2014 hard drive replacement ifixit repair. However, by virtue of its size and integration, it doesnt have the graphics power or storage flexibility of a larger workstation.
Owc 500gb electra 6g ssd diy upgrade bundle for 2011, 2012 mac mini, includes data doubler, 5piece installation toolkit. Turn the ssd over so its upside down and the screws from step 15 are facing the edge of the mac mini. The new mac minis major weakness is that it doesnt have a. I did a lot of research and this card was my answer to finding a way to add the evo 960 ssd drive to my pc in a. Some drive bays have a height of 7 mm, while others have a height of 9. Compare models and options for the office or home and shop online. Nand flash memory within crucial ssds allows you to boot up in seconds and load, save, and transfer files almost as soon as you click on them. David wants a new mac mini but doesnt want to pay apples eyewatering price. And then choose which apple keyboard and mouse you would like.