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GsySaxMan

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 10, 2013
5
0
Hi All,

First post but an avid reader.

New 2012 Mini 1TB HDD.

Thinking about installing a couple of Crucial M4 SSDs, one for boot and apps and one for storage.

Just wondering if I needed a OWC kit to install one of the drives in the lower bay or whether I could just have that one loose and the one in the upper bay secured as normal.

Don't think heat and the proximity to the other drive would be an issue, but grateful for any thoughts on that somewhat "slapdash" approach.

Thanks.
 

philipma1957

macrumors 603
Apr 13, 2010
6,362
248
Howell, New Jersey
Hi All,

First post but an avid reader.

New 2012 Mini 1TB HDD.

Thinking about installing a couple of Crucial M4 SSDs, one for boot and apps and one for storage.

Just wondering if I needed a OWC kit to install one of the drives in the lower bay or whether I could just have that one loose and the one in the upper bay secured as normal.

Don't think heat and the proximity to the other drive would be an issue, but grateful for any thoughts on that somewhat "slapdash" approach.

Thanks.

having done it the correct way and the slapdash way. the correct way is a bit harder to do.


It is worth doing. but it is about 10 more steps and does increase risk of damage. read this to the bottom for an easy cheat.


http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/DIYIMM11D2/


this price is pretty good. I do advise buying this



http://www.amazon.com/Wiha-Metric-S...8&qid=1360497252&sr=8-1&keywords=wiha+2mm+hex


it is used on the three hex bolts that hold the black plate. owc did not include it in the kit. they say you can use the t8 torx that they did include. the bolts can be too tight for the torx t8 . so any 2mm hex will work .




http://guide-images.ifixit.net/igi/VSBK45eaYv4AVsjx.huge


upper left and upper right holding the grill are two of the three hex 2mm size



http://guide-images.ifixit.net/igi/dWMVZSWPuIjtQJc5.huge


the third 2mm hex is between the hands



this is the step 17 you can stop here and not fully do the job.

http://guide-images.ifixit.net/igi/fTgiLowRdkdLPeeB.huge


no grommets just drop the drive in. in fact the logic board does not have to come out this far.

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Installing+Mac+Mini+Late+2012+Dual+Hard+Drive+Kit/11713/3

you then do 18 skip 19-31 go to 32 then drop the ssd in the space that happens if you do just 18.


here is a good cheat

http://www.amazon.com/3M-Mounting-5...=1360498560&sr=8-3&keywords=double+sided+tape


a small piece of this will help the ssd stay still.

Just use it on the ssd and the mini.


not between the two ssd's .


so mini----- tape------ ssd------ ssd
 
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GsySaxMan

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 10, 2013
5
0
Thanks for your thoughts, especially philipma1957 very helpful.

I was really hoping to avoid having to pull out the MB and power supply treat it more as a swap of the single HDD for 2 x SSDs, but whether the chasis of the Mini allows you to manipulate a SSD into the lower bay without doing so I am not sure.

Just a bit wary of having to pull out all the HW and in the process cause a problem even if I do buy the OWC kit, which seems to make sense as COrocket states.

Cheers,
 

motrek

macrumors 68030
Sep 14, 2012
2,613
305
Thanks for your thoughts, especially philipma1957 very helpful.

I was really hoping to avoid having to pull out the MB and power supply treat it more as a swap of the single HDD for 2 x SSDs, but whether the chasis of the Mini allows you to manipulate a SSD into the lower bay without doing so I am not sure.

Just a bit wary of having to pull out all the HW and in the process cause a problem even if I do buy the OWC kit, which seems to make sense as COrocket states.

Cheers,

If you don't want to take apart your Mini, you can always attach an external drive via USB 3 and get more or less the same performance for all practical purposes. I have seen people get over 300-400 MB/s with particular SSDs and USB 3 enclosures. Personally I get 180 MB/s with an old SSD and a $15 enclosure, which is more than enough for me.
 

righteye

macrumors 6502
Aug 29, 2011
337
47
London
Or how about OWC Helios PCIe Expansion Chasis, this will give you faster than internal Apple SSD speeds and i do believe that shortly there will be a PCIE SSD with 2 esata ports built in to give in more connection flexibility.This is probably a more costly option but depending on your needs may well be worth it.
Most of this information comes Via Mac Performance (in my own words) on the diglloyd.com site, its subscription but its really worth it, i have learnt heaps from him and he also has other sites that cover Photography and lenses.
 

Giuly

macrumors 68040
First of all, you have a 2012 Mac Mini, which comes with SATA 6GBit/s support. So you might want to think about getting Samsung 840 Pros or OCZ Vectors instead of the m4s.
And if not, I'll still encourage you to pick the SanDisk Ultra Plus over the m4. The m4 is really slow at 4K random reads, the Ultra Plus on the other hand isn't, and it's some dollar less expensive, too.

Or you wait for the Crucial M500 and see how it performs, it will also be less expensive than the m4.

That said, it you follow iFixit's guide closely, you shouldn't be worried so much about damaging something. Just be very careful with the connectors on the logic board.

Also, I wouldn't set it up as two separate SSDs but as a RAID0, which gives you twice the speed of one SSDs and twice the capacity on a single volume. Here's a guide on how to do that.

Lastly, I do not approve phillipma1957's choice of screwdrivers, as the Wiha PicoFinish are way better than the regular ones. :D
You'll need a T6, a T8 and a 2mm hex screwdriver for the hard drive replacement. You could also skip the 2mm hex, as the T8 will work as well.
 
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