Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Easy to add RAM to Mac Mini?

D

diehldun

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
I am about to order a new 1.42 GHz Mac Mini for my parents! (a big step for them... they've been die-hard PC fans for years)

My only question is... is it easy to add Crucial RAM to the Mini AFTER buying it? Because from pictures, I don't see a "door" or something that pops out easily to add ram (like my PowerBook).

It's only less than $100 to do 512MB direct from Apple, but won't that take long for it to arrive? I was hopping to stop by the Apple Store, pick it up there, and then install RAM later.

Also, is 512MB of RAM enough? I know 256 is now the bare minimum on MacOs X, but is 1-GB too much? I have 1.5 on my PB, and i think it's overkill...

Thanks for the imput! (whew! I feel so glad that I've successfully converted my parents!) 🙂
 
Define "easy".

If you have experience opening machines and adding RAM... AND you can follow directions and not rush things or apply excess force, then it is relatively easy. If you have never opened a computer before, this would not the the best one to start with.

Search these forums for links to instructions -

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/113306/
 
If you're the type of person who accidentally pokes your eye when you were aiming for a nostril, then don't bother. You'll just scratch that baby up.

However, if you can follow instructions, then nah, its cool. Just follow one of the many extensive instructions on the net. 🙂
 
I say get the ram first, then take it to an apple store, buy a mini, and get someone at the store to fit it for you. If you go to the genius bar, I think they'll do it free of charge.
 
you'll need a putty knife, and some patience. As far as how much memory your parents require, it all depends on what they want to do. 1GB is not overkill on OS X. The more memory OS X has, the more it uses, and if they want this machine to last a long time, then 1GB will be great. You know as well as I do that even three years ago, having 1GB was almost unheard of. Having 512 was a huge amount, and people thought to themselves, "i wont need that much". People who just did word processing, and email were using 64 and 128MB of RAM. That's not enough to run the OS today. So I say, if you can afford it, get them the 1GB, and if you can't... it's not going to be that bad. It's all if you're willing to pay for it.
 
I put my 1 GB stick in myself. Swapping the RAM is terribly easy, the only tricky part is opening and closing the case. Like many poster have already said there are extensive instructions on the internet that are pretty easy to follow. I also agree, if you've never done hardware maintenance on a computer, I wouldn't start with this one.

If you do decide to go for a 1 GB and do not wish to install it yourself, I would still by 3rd party RAM and pay someone the $25-30 to install it. It still comes out about $100 cheaper then getting it direct from Apple. What will your folks be doing on the Mac mini? 512 MB may be enough for their needs, but if you're going to be upgrading the RAM you might as well go for 1 GB it'll give the machine a little more longevity. Besides if you get the 512 MB and then later you want 1 GB you'll have to get rid of the 512 MB stick.
 
Instructions chuoctions!

I just got a putty knife and jammed that baby in there, and just found the clips and bada bing bada boom I was done.

Its really easy, I dont know why people get so nervous about it.
 
Yes its easy! Then again i used to work as an Auto Body Technician, so i can pretty much take a car completely apart and re assemble it. So easy to me might not be easy to you. All you need is a putty knife and some elbow grease. 😀
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back