Mac Mini

[dejamoi]

Hello! It's me again, Bob Sullivan. I'm buying a new Mac Mini (as you might know) and chose the middle option (please note: my selection is based upon the upgrade to the Mac Mini occuring some time this week.)

Here's my question: It is REALLY worth the money to upgrade to 1 GB of RAM? I'm Canadian and it would cost me about 230 bucks! Excuse me, but isn't that a little expensive? Would it be cheaper to buy the mac, open it, and install some other brand of RAM that I purchased for less? Thanks for your help!

Soon to be mac user,

Bob

[mad jew]

Yes, it's generally cheaper to buy and install the RAM yourself. For reasons only known by Steve Jobs himself, Apple charges exorbitant prices for RAM.

Congratulations on the new mini too BTW.

[dmw007]

Its sad, but Apple does charges ludicrous amounts of $$$ for their RAM.

Go third party, Crucial recommended, and enjoy the peppy performance of 1GB of RAM and a few extra bucks in your wallet.

[dejamoi]

Thanks alot, I get your drift. I think I will do that, but I'm just afraid that I'll break my Mini in the process of opening it up. Does anyone know a site that has DETAILED instructions as to how to do this? Thanks for your help!

Bob

[DaftUnion]

http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/edit...side/index.php

The picture instructions for installing memory into the Mac mini.

AND!

http://eshop.macsales.com/tech_cente.../mini/med.html

The video instructions on installing the RAM into the Mac mini.

Cheers

[DaftUnion]

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/mac-mini/

Or they can install the memory for you...however, it'd probably cost more this way than Apple RAM. Hope the video and picture guide helps. That's pretty much the best out there, so if you don't feel confident enough from these guides, I'd either get it installed by someone, or just *sigh* get the Apple memory.

[yenko]

Originally Posted by dejamoi

Hello! It's me again, Bob Sullivan. I'm buying a new Mac Mini (as you might know) and chose the middle option (please note: my selection is based upon the upgrade to the Mac Mini occuring some time this week.)

Here's my question: It is REALLY worth the money to upgrade to 1 GB of RAM? I'm Canadian and it would cost me about 230 bucks! Excuse me, but isn't that a little expensive? Would it be cheaper to buy the mac, open it, and install some other brand of RAM that I purchased for less? Thanks for your help!

Soon to be mac user,

Bob

You could try the machine out as it is with the 512 stick in there and find it to perform satisfactorily. If you do general web browsing, e-mail, word, occasional photo, you'll probably be OK. If you run a lot of open apps, several spreadsheets, iTunes in the background while performing photoshop actions, well, a G5 Dual is what you need. The point is that if you're an average user that doesn't place heavy demands on the system, I think you'll do fine as is from the factory.

If you want to update later and go for the 1Gig upgrade, you can buy RAM from any reputable dealer as long as it meets specs and has a no-hassle warranty, and install it yourself. You need to know that this upgrade is not for the faint-of-heart. You could easily ruin you iMac mini's case (or worse) if you're not carefull or don't consider yourself "handy".

[dejamoi]

I am DEFFINATELY going to buy another reutable company's RAM and then put it in the Mini; I'm only 15 but I'm very articulate for my age. I'm going to try it, and if it works out well, I'll update you ASAP! Thanks!

Bob

[chucknorris]

Originally Posted by mad jew

Yes, it's generally cheaper to buy and install the RAM yourself. For reasons only known by Steve Jobs himself, Apple charges exorbitant prices for RAM.

Congratulations on the new mini too BTW.

Other computer manufacturers are almost/just as bad. Check out Dell or HP or Sony.

[Palad1]

(oops wrong thread sorry)

[anonymous161]

Originally Posted by dejamoi

I'm only 15 but I'm very articulate for my age.
Bob

ar·tic·u·late (är-tky-lt)
adj.

1. Endowed with the power of speech.
2. Composed of distinct, meaningful syllables or words, as human speech.
3. Expressing oneself easily in clear and effective language: an articulate speaker.
4. Characterized by the use of clear, expressive language: an articulate essay.
5. Anatomy. Consisting of sections united by joints; jointed.

[Pondering relevance to topic at hand]
Obviously you consist of many jointed sections and this will aid you in opening the Mac mini.

Anyway, welcome to Macrumors!

[plinden]

I don't know about doing this for the Mac Mini - if you buy RAM from a reputable store that guarantees it will work, you're going to be spending > $150 for 1GB (on Crucial it's $170), whereas Apple is charging $175 for the 1GB upgrade.

I personally would pay for the Apple upgrade (and I would be comfortable installing the RAM) unless you're willing to risk a cheaper RAM stick not working and breaking the Mini while opening it, and having to deal with an extra 512MB RAM module.

You're not likely to get much for the 512MB RAM if you tried to sell it.

Other Apple RAM upgrades (e.g. for the PB) are definitely not worth it.

[wdlove]

Originally Posted by dejamoi

I am DEFFINATELY going to buy another reutable company's RAM and then put it in the Mini; I'm only 15 but I'm very articulate for my age. I'm going to try it, and if it works out well, I'll update you ASAP! Thanks!

Bob

Good luck with your purchases Bob. You should go with the Crucial RAM link above. They will walk you through the process of getting the correct RAM for your mini. Welcome and good luck with your purchase. AppleCare is a good idea also. Will look forward to your update.