Upgrade memory?

U better swap disk for ssd or add ssd as second deive to make fussion drive... That will boost performance significantly.. As to the ram, it depends on your usage... Ordinary user does not need more than 4 gigs, but if u do more ram intensive tasks, u will know u need more ram

timboellis said:

Just ordered a new Mac mini

Refurbished Mac mini 2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5

Originally released October 2012
4GB memory

500GB hard drive

Thunderbolt port (up to 10 Gbps)
HDMI port supports multichannel audio output
Intel HD Graphics 4000


Is it worth upgrading the memory on this or leave as is and if i do, what slots are used / available and what memory to get?

Click to expand...

Check Ramseeker - Old school here - there is never enough Ram - Use as much as you can buy. Your model will have 2X2 and if you swap the old chips will likely be not worth selling.

I agree SSD makes a difference. I have the same model and the first thing I did was add a 256 SSD and max the ram. No Fusion here

timboellis said:

Just ordered a new Mac mini

Refurbished Mac mini 2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5

Originally released October 2012
4GB memory

500GB hard drive

Thunderbolt port (up to 10 Gbps)
HDMI port supports multichannel audio output
Intel HD Graphics 4000


Is it worth upgrading the memory on this or leave as is and if i do, what slots are used / available and what memory to get?

Click to expand...

Your Mac supports up to 16 GB of RAM. It accepts two 8 GB DDR3 DIMMs at 1600 MHz.

My advice, perhaps different from others'....

Try it first with the factory-installed 4gb of RAM, to see how it works for you.

If your needs aren't overly demanding, you may find it works just fine.

You can keep Activity Monitor open to the "Disk Activity" panel, and keep an eye on "page outs". If you're getting more than a few of these, then you might want to upgrade your RAM capacity.

I've had my late-2012 Mini since January of 2013, and it still has just 4gb installed. I find that in my day-to-day usage, that's "enough" for me. But again, my needs are probably different than yours, or that of others in the forum.

Regarding the SSD -- this is one upgrade from which you WILL notice an immediate and astounding improvement.

Be aware that although many will say it's a cinch to open up the Mini and do the installation, there have been numerous posts here from others who tried that, and..... broke something inside. Whether you wish to take the risk, is up to you.

Also be aware that you can achieve speeds that are the "near equal of" an internally-installed SSD by putting the SSD into either an external enclsoure (or USB3/SATA docking station) and running it as an "external booter" instead. I've done that since the get-go with my own Mini, and it runs just fine.

timboellis said:

Just ordered a new Mac mini

Refurbished Mac mini 2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5

Originally released October 2012
4GB memory

500GB hard drive

Thunderbolt port (up to 10 Gbps)
HDMI port supports multichannel audio output
Intel HD Graphics 4000


Is it worth upgrading the memory on this or leave as is and if i do, what slots are used / available and what memory to get?

Click to expand...

Trust me when I say you should save your pennies and get something like the CalDigit Thunderbolt Station along with some more RAM.

If your going to keep it for a few years go with 16gb

Yes, uograde to 8GB (or 10) if you are a "normal" user, even for email, web browsing etc you'll notice a difference vs 4. Note I say 10 as I recently found a single 8gb stick was cheaper than a 2 x 4 kit. Whilst matched pair memory is technically better 2 + 8 = 10 runs fine

As for other upgrades, eg SSD, these can wait till youve seen how the machine runs

The OP wrote above:
[[ Okay i have been using it for a day now and find it quite laggy not snappy as i expected so going for the 16gb upgrade. ]]

In my opinion, upgrading the RAM may do next-to-nothing to alleviate this situation.

Upgrading the DRIVE may make a world of difference in this regard...

timboellis said:

Okay i have been using it for a day now and find it quite laggy not snappy as i expected so going for the 16gb upgrade.

However was going to pop to PC world as this is the nearest shop i have but vs crucial site i notice the voltage is slightly different.

On Crucial is advises it is 1.3v however PC world ones are 1.5 does this matter?

There are the ones in question http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/components-upgrades/memory/laptop-memory-sodimm/integral-pc3-12800-ddr3-laptop-memory-8gb-sodimm-ram-19719736-pdt.html?sPageInfo=1_20&sSortInfo=price-asc

Type DDR3
Capacity 8 GB
Clock Frequency 1600 Mhz
Volt 1.5 V
Pinouts 204 pin
Module Type SODIMM

Click to expand...

Are you running the originally installed system? I have found doing a clean install on a new or refurb Mac can speed things up quite a bit.

timboellis said:

Well its a fresh install, however I really do not expect to reboot the computer several times a day to get it to respond or sit and watch a beach ball all day.

So have ordered the ram due to come Sat so will see how it performs, if no improvement i'll just give up on Mac and go back to windows.

I cant even run VM ware with 256m of ram.

So fingers crossed should be okay

Click to expand...

I have to say my gf's 2012 MBP with 4gb beachballs a lot (surprisingly to me)whereas my 2009 Mini with 8gb does so rarely. As I posted 8 or 10 will make a difference, if you have the budget then do 16. If you are on a budget I think 10gb RAM and a 128SSD keeping the 500gb drive in an enclosure is better than 16gb ram only.