Just bought a 2011 refurb mini - which SSD

dancook99 · 08:39 PM

Hello all,

I just bought a 2011 refurb mini 2.5 GHz i5 to complement my aTV 2 JB and Roku XD that will be hooked to an A/V Receiver via HDMI to run Handbrake and Plex.

Delivery is scheduled for next week and, in the meantime, I'd like to order an SSD to replace the original HD.

Posts regarding this are now outdated so, I was thinking about this one:

OCZ Technology 256GB Vertex 4 Series SATA 6.0 GB/s 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive (SSD) With Industry's Highest 120K IOPS And 5-Year Warranty - VTX4-25SAT3-256G

(edit) typo in the title: Just bought

Would you suggest something else?

goy091 · Mar 23, 2013, 04:11 AM

I have a Samsung 840 Pro 256 GB SSD. No complaints. Make sure if you get the Samsung you get the PRO version and not the regular 840.

Also have a Crucial M4 which seems pretty solid in another computer.

eyepea · Mar 23, 2013, 05:26 AM

I am running the OCZ Agility 3 240GB (the Vertex's cheaper cousin). It is good. Very fast, but certainly not the fastest. If I was going to replace my Agility 3 I would be getting the Vertex 4 for sure.

You will get some 'OCZ haters' though

Just wait...

Giuly · Mar 23, 2013, 05:56 AM

Samsung 840 Pro or OCZ Vector (the successor to the Vertex 4).

dancook99 · Mar 23, 2013, 09:58 AM

there is a multitude of models, sizes, speed, etc. which made me compare and look for pros, cons and prices. I finally went for a OCZ Vertex 3 240 GB refurb at newegg.

Thanks all for your input.

Giuly: I like your location

Aries326 · Mar 28, 2013, 05:06 AM

Will the MacMini run warmer or cooler with an SSD? I have a mid-2011 Server Edition with the QuadCore i7 2.0ghz processor.

mdgm · Mar 28, 2013, 05:24 AM

It should run cooler. SSDs don't spin, whereas hard drives have spinning components that give off heat.

Aries326 · Mar 28, 2013, 05:31 AM

That's what I thought. I read on some other website that a user claimed his Mini was actually hotter with 2 SSDs. It didn't make sense. Maybe it depends on what SSD. Definitely planning on getting an SSD for my mini. Most likely the Samsung 840 Pro that the other users have suggested.

vandrv · Mar 28, 2013, 07:26 AM

I'm in the same boat as the original poster. I just received an I7 refurb and have ordered an SSD to replace the hard drive. I ordered the Samsung 840 but not the pro version. Was this a bad choice? Should I return it and get the pro version? Is there that much of a difference? I am mainly going to use this computer to edit photographs in Lightroom 4 and Photoshop. I am replacing an Imac that is choking on files from the Nikon D800. Thanks for any advice.

blanka · Mar 28, 2013, 09:01 AM

@vandrv Yes, the 840 non Pro is not very fast in Writing. And you will need that as scratch disk for huge photo files. You are better off with a OZC Vertex, Samsung 830 or 840 Pro, as they get close to max SATA-III throughput in writing too.
But you can also consider using 4Gb of RAM as first scratch disk, and use the SSD as backup for that if it runs full.

mdgm · Mar 28, 2013, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aries326

That's what I thought. I read on some other website that a user claimed his Mini was actually hotter with 2 SSDs. It didn't make sense. Maybe it depends on what SSD. Definitely planning on getting an SSD for my mini. Most likely the Samsung 840 Pro that the other users have suggested.

I gues that depends on how fan control works. You can override the fan control to make the fan run faster and louder and cool the system more if you want to.

Fishrrman · Mar 28, 2013, 09:11 AM

"Will the MacMini run warmer or cooler with an SSD?"

I boot my Mini with an IBM 520 series drive, laying in a plugable.com "lay-flat" USB3/SATA docking station (which sits in an out-of-the-way area on my desk).

Sitting "in the open", the SSD barely gets warm to the touch, even after hours of use.
By "barely warm", I don't even mean "warm", per se -- rather, when you place a finger on it, you can feel that it's not "cold", but it's not really "warm", either….a

Mar 21, 2013, 08:36 PM	#1
dancook99 macrumors member Join Date: Aug 2011	Just bought a 2011 refurb mini - which SSD Hello all, I just bought a 2011 refurb mini 2.5 GHz i5 to complement my aTV 2 JB and Roku XD that will be hooked to an A/V Receiver via HDMI to run Handbrake and Plex. Delivery is scheduled for next week and, in the meantime, I'd like to order an SSD to replace the original HD. Posts regarding this are now outdated so, I was thinking about this one: OCZ Technology 256GB Vertex 4 Series SATA 6.0 GB/s 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive (SSD) With Industry's Highest 120K IOPS And 5-Year Warranty - VTX4-25SAT3-256G (edit) typo in the title: Just bought Would you suggest something else? Last edited by dancook99; Mar 21, 2013 at 08:39 PM. Reason: typo
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Mar 23, 2013, 04:11 AM	#2
goy091 macrumors newbie Join Date: Dec 2011	I have a Samsung 840 Pro 256 GB SSD. No complaints. Make sure if you get the Samsung you get the PRO version and not the regular 840. Also have a Crucial M4 which seems pretty solid in another computer. __________________ 11" 2011 MBA Core i7/4GB/256GB : 2011 Mac mini mid i5/16GB/256GB SSD : 27" Thunderbolt Display : iPad 2 16GB Wifi : iPhone 5 64GB : iPad mini 32GB
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Mar 28, 2013, 05:24 AM	#7
mdgm macrumors 6502a Join Date: Nov 2010	It should run cooler. SSDs don't spin, whereas hard drives have spinning components that give off heat. __________________ Laptop - 2012 rMBP 2.3Ghz, 16GB RAM 256GB SSD HTPCs - 2Ghz E09MM, 2.53Ghz L09MM, 2Ghz 11MMS
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Mar 23, 2013, 05:26 AM	#3
eyepea macrumors member Join Date: Jul 2012	I am running the OCZ Agility 3 240GB (the Vertex's cheaper cousin). It is good. Very fast, but certainly not the fastest. If I was going to replace my Agility 3 I would be getting the Vertex 4 for sure. You will get some 'OCZ haters' though Just wait...
	0

Mar 23, 2013, 05:56 AM	#4
Giuly macrumors 68030 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: That depends whether you ask for timezone, state of mind or GPS coordinates.	Samsung 840 Pro or OCZ Vector (the successor to the Vertex 4).
	0

Mar 23, 2013, 09:58 AM	#5
dancook99 Thread Starter macrumors member Join Date: Aug 2011	there is a multitude of models, sizes, speed, etc. which made me compare and look for pros, cons and prices. I finally went for a OCZ Vertex 3 240 GB refurb at newegg. Thanks all for your input. Giuly: I like your location
	0

Mar 28, 2013, 05:06 AM	#6
Aries326 macrumors 6502 Join Date: Dec 2007	Will the MacMini run warmer or cooler with an SSD? I have a mid-2011 Server Edition with the QuadCore i7 2.0ghz processor.
	0

Mar 28, 2013, 05:31 AM	#8
Aries326 macrumors 6502 Join Date: Dec 2007	That's what I thought. I read on some other website that a user claimed his Mini was actually hotter with 2 SSDs. It didn't make sense. Maybe it depends on what SSD. Definitely planning on getting an SSD for my mini. Most likely the Samsung 840 Pro that the other users have suggested.
	0

Mar 28, 2013, 07:26 AM	#9
vandrv macrumors regular Join Date: Jan 2008	I'm in the same boat as the original poster. I just received an I7 refurb and have ordered an SSD to replace the hard drive. I ordered the Samsung 840 but not the pro version. Was this a bad choice? Should I return it and get the pro version? Is there that much of a difference? I am mainly going to use this computer to edit photographs in Lightroom 4 and Photoshop. I am replacing an Imac that is choking on files from the Nikon D800. Thanks for any advice.
	0

Mar 28, 2013, 09:01 AM	#10
blanka macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jul 2012	@vandrv Yes, the 840 non Pro is not very fast in Writing. And you will need that as scratch disk for huge photo files. You are better off with a OZC Vertex, Samsung 830 or 840 Pro, as they get close to max SATA-III throughput in writing too. But you can also consider using 4Gb of RAM as first scratch disk, and use the SSD as backup for that if it runs full.
	0

Mar 28, 2013, 09:11 AM	#12
Fishrrman macrumors 68020 Join Date: Feb 2009	"Will the MacMini run warmer or cooler with an SSD?" I boot my Mini with an IBM 520 series drive, laying in a plugable.com "lay-flat" USB3/SATA docking station (which sits in an out-of-the-way area on my desk). Sitting "in the open", the SSD barely gets warm to the touch, even after hours of use. By "barely warm", I don't even mean "warm", per se -- rather, when you place a finger on it, you can feel that it's not "cold", but it's not really "warm", either….a
	0