Mac Mini w/ SSD

AstralShane · Jan 25, 2013, 08:01 PM

I am looking to buy a Mac Mini and upgrading it's hard drive to a SSD. I don't plan on doing heavy gaming, video editing, etc. What I want to do:

* Play minimal games. (Minecraft, The Movies, etc)
* Minimal 3D work with Blender. (not looking to create the next Pixar film)
* Minimal movie editing. (Such as tutorials)

Will a Mini with a SSD (post upgrade) be able to do these things?

Thanks,
AstralShane.

Spink10 · Jan 25, 2013, 08:05 PM

Yes - which Mac Mini - lowest end is dual-core - the other two are both quad-core.

AstralShane · Jan 25, 2013, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spink10

Yes - which Mac Mini - lowest end is dual-core - the other two are both quad-core.

The $799 Quad Core is the one I'm looking at.

Spink10 · Jan 25, 2013, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AstralShane

The $799 Quad Core is the one I'm looking at.

Yeah that will be perfect.

AstralShane · Jan 25, 2013, 11:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spink10

Yeah that will be perfect.

Thanks.

I'm coming from a 2008 Intel iMac. (2.66GHz Dual Core, 2GB RAM, ATI Radeon 2600 HD Pro 256MB). Needless to say, I'm coming from old hardware.

However, I'm going to turn my iMac into a iTunes media server once I get my Mac Mini.

Drharrington · Jan 26, 2013, 10:16 AM

Had good results with crucial m4 512 gb and owc data doubler. Easy install.

----------

Then run it as a fusion drive. Runs great.

AstralShane · Jan 26, 2013, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drharrington

Had good results with crucial m4 512 gb and owc data doubler. Easy install.

----------

Then run it as a fusion drive. Runs great.

Thanks!

I have an external hard drive, so I'm not worried about space; and it's not like I'm storing TB's of data; All of my data takes up less than half of a 100GB Drop Box.

Fishrrman · Jan 27, 2013, 09:50 AM

"The $799 Quad Core is the one I'm looking at."

You might consider paying a little more and get the 2.6ghz CPU upgrade.

For a good reseller, consider "portableone.com" (California).

I bought the i7 2.6ghz there, $860, free shipping, no tax charged to my state. Fast service, too.

If you'd rather not open up the case and pull everything out for now, you could also get a "bare" SSD drive, and a USB3/SATA "docking station". Check out the performance I get using a Plugable dock (ASMedia controller chip):

Armeniandave · Jan 30, 2013, 12:36 PM

An SSD is an excellent way to increase performance in the mini.
Just put in a 256GB Samsung 840 Pro and it is screaming fast!
Kept the 1tb drive in also for storage and upgraded to 16GB ram.

This little mini can do anything I throw at it. Super happy camper!

gundam83 · Jan 30, 2013, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fishrrman

"The $799 Quad Core is the one I'm looking at."

You might consider paying a little more and get the 2.6ghz CPU upgrade.

For a good reseller, consider "portableone.com" (California).

I bought the i7 2.6ghz there, $860, free shipping, no tax charged to my state. Fast service, too.

If you'd rather not open up the case and pull everything out for now, you could also get a "bare" SSD drive, and a USB3/SATA "docking station". Check out the performance I get using a Plugable dock (ASMedia controller chip):

Which dock is that?

Giuly · 03:27 PM

If you have your storage externally, I'd rather install two 128GB SSDs instead of a single 256GB one and RAID0 them for 1100MB/s read and 800MB/s write speeds. Two 256GB SSDs in RAID0 would increase the write speed even further to 1060MB/s.

G-Mo · Jan 30, 2013, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Armeniandave

An SSD is an excellent way to increase performance in the mini.
Just put in a 256GB Samsung 840 Pro and it is screaming fast!
Kept the 1tb drive in also for storage and upgraded to 16GB ram.

This little mini can do anything I throw at it. Super happy camper!

Great upgrade... I have a base i5 with a 128GB Crucial m4 and a 750GB WD Scorpio Black (set as a Fusion Drive) and 16GB RAM... Very pleased with the results.

chiefsilverback · Jan 30, 2013, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by G-Mo

Great upgrade... I have a base i5 with a 128GB Crucial m4 and a 750GB WD Scorpio Black (set as a Fusion Drive) and 16GB RAM... Very pleased with the results.

What sort of performance are you seeing from this setup? I'm considering the same to replace a 2.4GHz C2D iMac.

RealEyes · Jan 30, 2013, 10:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by G-Mo

Great upgrade... I have a base i5 with a 128GB Crucial m4 and a 750GB WD Scorpio Black (set as a Fusion Drive) and 16GB RAM... Very pleased with the results.

How do you 'set as a fusion drive'? Can you do this with the software?

philipma1957 · Jan 30, 2013, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RealEyes

How do you 'set as a fusion drive'? Can you do this with the software?

This kills all info on the 2 internal drives have copies
yes just put in the ssd unformatted. and whatever for the hdd. 2 drives in the mini the ssd must have not been formatted.

then restart computer with command r for internet recovery once you are on the recovery page call up disk utility. wait i will post a photo. it will come up and tell you your fusion drive is broken repair it? click yes and the 2 internal drive will fuse. then go back to osx utilites and pick reinstall osx. your internal will have a new fresh install as a fusion

dinggus · Jan 30, 2013, 11:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drharrington

Had good results with crucial m4 512 gb and owc data doubler. Easy install.

----------

Then run it as a fusion drive. Runs great.

The owc data doubler is awesome!

My question is, if I have an iMac with 1TB of storage, what would I install on the SSD? Just the OS and apps? Then just have my 1TB used as storage?

Fishrrman · Jan 31, 2013, 10:51 AM

"Which dock is that?"

This is the one I'm using:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00APP6694?...SIN=B00APP6694
NOTE: This is a "lay flat" type dock, sized to hold a 3.5" drive. It's a little "oversized" with the 2.5" SSD drive in it, but I have an out-of-the-way place on my desk for it, and I like the idea that the drive isn't "standing up" as with other docks.

Plugable also offers this style dock:
http://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Docki...SIN=B003UI62AG
…. if you like the vertical orientation better. Speed should be comparable.

If you'd like a "full enclosure", this one looks good, and it has the same Asmedia 1053E controller as in the lay-flat dock above:
http://oyendigital.com/hard-drives/store/U32-M.html

Prices are all about the same.
It really comes down to which form factor you prefer...

Drharrington · Jan 31, 2013, 10:08 PM

Dinggus- that's the reason to format as a fusion drive -- you then you don't have to rack your brain trying to figure out what on SSD and what on HDD... OSX just does it -- and I have not seen but maybe a slight drop off on speeds... maybe slight -- not much -- like having a 1TB ssd... you would have the 1tb + whatever size on the SSD as one drive with all of it with SSD like speeds

----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by dinggus

The owc data doubler is awesome!

My question is, if I have an iMac with 1TB of storage, what would I install on the SSD? Just the OS and apps? Then just have my 1TB used as storage?

See my post.

dinggus · Jan 31, 2013, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drharrington

Dinggus- that's the reason to format as a fusion drive -- you then you don't have to rack your brain trying to figure out what on SSD and what on HDD... OSX just does it -- and I have not seen but maybe a slight drop off on speeds... maybe slight -- not much -- like having a 1TB ssd... you would have the 1tb + whatever size on the SSD as one drive with all of it with SSD like speeds

----------

See my post.

Okay so this fusion function makes a non-SSD drive "act" like an SSD?

Do only the 2012's have this Fusion function? I've never seen it when formatting my drives.

Drharrington · Feb 1, 2013, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dinggus

Okay so this fusion function makes a non-SSD drive "act" like an SSD?

Do only the 2012's have this Fusion function? I've never seen it when formatting my drives.

Google homemade fusion drive and there's a ton out there. It would appear it only shows up in OSX in disk utility if your 2012 or later, however, you can setup via terminal commands as its built into OSX. Many report this successfully.

G-Mo · Feb 1, 2013, 11:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drharrington

Google homemade fusion drive and there's a ton out there. It would appear it only shows up in OSX in disk utility if your 2012 or later, however, you can setup via terminal commands as its built into OSX. Many report this successfully.

There is no OS UI for this... If you don't order it from the factory, you need to use the terminal version of Disk Utility from 10.8.2 of a 2012 mini or iMac.

mentaluproar · 10:40 PM

How does bootcamp work with a fusion drive? What about fusing a 256 gig SSD instead of a 128 gig? does it use the full 256? Would it automatically fuse in a 2011 mac mini? I've been considering SSD for a while now.

donlab · Feb 2, 2013, 11:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by G-Mo

There is no OS UI for this... If you don't order it from the factory, you need to use the terminal version of Disk Utility from 10.8.2 of a 2012 mini or iMac.

1/2 right. If you boot to a 10.8.2 version of disk utility it will auto detect both drives and "fix" your fusion drive. Aka GUI version

G-Mo · Feb 2, 2013, 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mentaluproar

How does bootcamp work with a fusion drive? What about fusing a 256 gig SSD instead of a 128 gig? does it use the full 256? Would it automatically fuse in a 2011 mac mini? I've been considering SSD for a while now.

Can't comment on bootcamp, I use virtualization for my Windows needs... But you can use ANY size SSD in a Fusion Drive setup, OS X will use the whole thing.

----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by donlab

1/2 right. If you boot to a 10.8.2 version of disk utility it will auto detect both drives and "fix" your fusion drive. Aka GUI version

No, only if the drives have previously been fused... Will not do anything on a new install.

Jan 25, 2013, 08:01 PM	#1
AstralShane macrumors newbie Join Date: Jan 2013	Mac Mini w/ SSD I am looking to buy a Mac Mini and upgrading it's hard drive to a SSD. I don't plan on doing heavy gaming, video editing, etc. What I want to do: * Play minimal games. (Minecraft, The Movies, etc) * Minimal 3D work with Blender. (not looking to create the next Pixar film) * Minimal movie editing. (Such as tutorials) Will a Mini with a SSD (post upgrade) be able to do these things? Thanks, AstralShane.
	0

Jan 25, 2013, 08:05 PM	#2
Spink10 macrumors 68020 Join Date: Nov 2011	Yes - which Mac Mini - lowest end is dual-core - the other two are both quad-core. __________________ cMBP 2012 15" 2.7, 8GB, Samsung 830 256GB, 650M 1GB, Hi-Res AG / MBA 2011 11" 1.6, 4GB, 128GB SSD / iMac 2011 27" 2.7, 12GB, 1TB HD, 6770M 512MB / iPhone 5 16GB / iPad 4 16GB / Time Capsule 2TB
	0

Jan 27, 2013, 09:50 AM	#8
Fishrrman macrumors 68020 Join Date: Feb 2009	"The $799 Quad Core is the one I'm looking at." You might consider paying a little more and get the 2.6ghz CPU upgrade. For a good reseller, consider "portableone.com" (California). I bought the i7 2.6ghz there, $860, free shipping, no tax charged to my state. Fast service, too. If you'd rather not open up the case and pull everything out for now, you could also get a "bare" SSD drive, and a USB3/SATA "docking station". Check out the performance I get using a Plugable dock (ASMedia controller chip): Attached Thumbnails
	0

Jan 30, 2013, 12:36 PM	#9
Armeniandave macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: San Diego	An SSD is an excellent way to increase performance in the mini. Just put in a 256GB Samsung 840 Pro and it is screaming fast! Kept the 1tb drive in also for storage and upgraded to 16GB ram. This little mini can do anything I throw at it. Super happy camper! __________________ iPhone 5 32 GB, iPhone 4S 16GB, iPad 3 32 GB, Mac Mini i7
	0

Jan 30, 2013, 03:21 PM	#11
Giuly macrumors 68020 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: That depends whether you ask for timezone, state of mind or GPS coordinates.	If you have your storage externally, I'd rather install two 128GB SSDs instead of a single 256GB one and RAID0 them for 1100MB/s read and 800MB/s write speeds. Two 256GB SSDs in RAID0 would increase the write speed even further to 1060MB/s. Last edited by Giuly; Jan 30, 2013 at 03:27 PM.
	0

Jan 26, 2013, 10:16 AM	#6
Drharrington macrumors member Join Date: Jan 2012	Had good results with crucial m4 512 gb and owc data doubler. Easy install. ---------- Then run it as a fusion drive. Runs great.
	0

Jan 31, 2013, 10:51 AM	#17
Fishrrman macrumors 68020 Join Date: Feb 2009	"Which dock is that?" This is the one I'm using: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00APP6694?...SIN=B00APP6694 NOTE: This is a "lay flat" type dock, sized to hold a 3.5" drive. It's a little "oversized" with the 2.5" SSD drive in it, but I have an out-of-the-way place on my desk for it, and I like the idea that the drive isn't "standing up" as with other docks. Plugable also offers this style dock: http://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Docki...SIN=B003UI62AG …. if you like the vertical orientation better. Speed should be comparable. If you'd like a "full enclosure", this one looks good, and it has the same Asmedia 1053E controller as in the lay-flat dock above: http://oyendigital.com/hard-drives/store/U32-M.html Prices are all about the same. It really comes down to which form factor you prefer...
	0

Feb 2, 2013, 10:35 PM	#22
mentaluproar macrumors 6502a Join Date: May 2010 Location: Ohio, USA	How does bootcamp work with a fusion drive? What about fusing a 256 gig SSD instead of a 128 gig? does it use the full 256? Would it automatically fuse in a 2011 mac mini? I've been considering SSD for a while now. __________________ Powered by OSX 10.9 Ocelot Will someone please make a safari extension that gives us back the downvote button? Last edited by mentaluproar; Feb 2, 2013 at 10:40 PM.
	0

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