Woo-Hoo - Upgraded the Mac Mini to 2GB

mac-convert · Nov 21, 2006, 07:47 PM

Wow! I was in a CompUSA store last night and they had 1GB sticks of Centon memory on sale for $100US (actually $125 with a $25 rebate). They said they would install it in my mini for $30 and if it didn't work - no sale. I asked them if I took it home and installed it and if it didn't work, would they take it back. When I got a yes answer I gladly pulled out my card and got two sticks. Well, I put them in today and they work like a charm.

A few glitches putting it back together. Don't drop a black screw on a dark carpet where there is very little light. Also, remember where the long screw goes. There are three shorts, and one long. A short screw will not engage the threads in the long screw location regardless of how long you spin the screwdriver!

Also, on the rebate - it's one per household - so the keen lady at the register said she would ring them up separate and I could find a friend to mail in the second rebate. Oh - I already found the friend!!!

Anyway - now I have a screaming little system here now. Will put Dreamweaver and NeoOffice to the ultimate of tests over the next few days.

and two thumbs up!!!

pianoman · Nov 21, 2006, 08:05 PM

congratulations. i didn't know the mini had two slots; i thought it was just one. sounds like you've got yourself a powerful little machine!

tech4all · Nov 21, 2006, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pianoman

congratulations. i didn't know the mini had two slots; i thought it was just one. sounds like you've got yourself a powerful little machine!

The pre-Intels had 1 slot. While the new one's have 2 slots.

Eidorian · Nov 21, 2006, 10:54 PM

I got 3 of the 4 screws back into my Mac mini. It's the one in the front right in the hole. It fell out and I can't wiggle it back into it's screw hole.

But hey it works?

I'll need a magnetic #0 Phillips for it!

mac-convert · Nov 21, 2006, 11:05 PM

Yeah, that happened to me a few times (well, more than a few). I just turned it upside down, and tap-tap-tapped it a few times and it would spit the screw back out at me. That's where I lost in on the floor once.

The trick I ended up with was to turn the unit upside down, get the screw balanced on the screw stick, and gently slide it into the slot - voila! Another trick is to NOT tighten each screw as you get it installed. Run it down till it starts to get snug, then back it out a turn or so. That way you can wiggle the unit around a little to get all the screws started, and then go back and snug them down. Snug - not tighten!

The easiest part of my installation was prying the case off and putting it back on again. A friend had a filed down metal putty knife and a filed down plastic one. Worked like a charm. But I also watched him do it a while back when he upgraded his.

roland.g · Nov 21, 2006, 11:47 PM

My screw from the back corner, opposite power button fell between the usb ports and got wedged in there, took a lot of shaking and a long toothpick but eventually I got it out.

Get yourself a newertech Ministack v2 from OWC and plop one of your drives in it, it is a great add on to a Mini, gives you extra Firewire and USB ports.

Markleshark · Nov 22, 2006, 04:06 AM

Let me know how it runs, I have the same Mac and the same plans, so yeah, nice one.

mac-convert · Nov 22, 2006, 04:06 PM

Markleshark - do it - upgrade the memory. It's the best thing you can do for one of these sweet machines! If you elect to go with non-Apple memory, as I did, make sure you do some research at least on Google on the brands. I have seen where some of them are just a little to thick for the mini (the pins) and won't insert. And there are others that just have problems.Mine are the Centon, and so far so good. They have a web site - www.centon.com

So far I have re-tested Parallels, and I can now do what I could not with only 512MB. Before I could not even get a new VM past the stage of loading the ISO file. I even let it run overnight once and then gave it some more time - still couldn't finish. I loaded a test setup last night, and in 45 minutes or so I had it running - Linux, not Windows. I have a machine for that OS already. I have two USB drives, with ISO's on one and the virtual machines on the other, and performance is exceptional. But over the next few days, it will be a shake-out of neoOffice and learning Dreamweaver 8.

California · Nov 24, 2006, 11:20 AM

Upgrade the hd when you upgrade the memory on the mini. I just did this on my PPC mini. 100gb 7200rpm hard drive plus *sigh* only could max out the memory to 1gb. But love the mini.

roland.g · Nov 24, 2006, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by California

Upgrade the hd when you upgrade the memory on the mini. I just did this on my PPC mini. 100gb 7200rpm hard drive plus *sigh* only could max out the memory to 1gb. But love the mini.

I wouldn't bother with the HDD, they are too expensive for the lack of extra space. I just ordered a 500GB Seagate 7200.10 IDE from Newegg.com - Thanksgiving special, $149 down from $229. I will replace the 120 in my Ministack case. Those run $75 plus it is a nice hub. Or you could go with a cheaper case. Still a 500GB HDD with case for $224 isn't bad.

California · Nov 24, 2006, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roland.g

I wouldn't bother with the HDD, they are too expensive for the lack of extra space. I just ordered a 500GB Seagate 7200.10 IDE from Newegg.com - Thanksgiving special, $149 down from $229. I will replace the 120 in my Ministack case. Those run $75 plus it is a nice hub. Or you could go with a cheaper case. Still a 500GB HDD with case for $224 isn't bad.

Yes but I think you lose speed when you firewire an external drive. Right? Better if you are going to bother opening the case to get a fast hd in there, methinks. But I could be wrong. For my silent upgrade 1.5ghz PPC Mac Mini, speed and maxed out memory are a premium. Can't wait for the 200gb 10000 rpm laptop drives with hopefully 16mb caches!

backsidetailsli · Nov 24, 2006, 01:06 PM

congrats, im jealous

SkyBell · Dec 28, 2006, 11:11 PM

Lol, I was going to get 2 GB, but I finally said screw it, and went to the AS and bought a stock. 512 is a little slow, but I think 1GB would do nicely for me.

stumper · Dec 29, 2006, 11:53 AM

External FW is faster

http://www.barefeats.com/mini01c.html

mac-convert · Dec 29, 2006, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stumper

External FW is faster

http://www.barefeats.com/mini01c.html

I run two external drives on USB 2.0 and use one for data files and iTunes music primarily, and the second I use for backups and a quick storage area. The speed is more than satisfactory for me.

I really believe the best upgrade for a mac mini is to go straight to the 2GB memory upgrade. Since there are only two slots available, it never made sense to me to upgrade first to 1GB and then spend the money and time to upgrade again later. I am extremely happy with this setup.

Oh - I am not debating which is faster - just stating that I have found no issues with the USB drives. Speed becomes a relative thing when computers operate as fast as they do these days. Can I wait a few seconds, rather that getting results immediately? Certainly! The mini is a development platform, not a real-time system.

Nov 21, 2006, 07:47 PM	#1
mac-convert macrumors 6502a Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Are we there yet?	Woo-Hoo - Upgraded the Mac Mini to 2GB Wow! I was in a CompUSA store last night and they had 1GB sticks of Centon memory on sale for $100US (actually $125 with a $25 rebate). They said they would install it in my mini for $30 and if it didn't work - no sale. I asked them if I took it home and installed it and if it didn't work, would they take it back. When I got a yes answer I gladly pulled out my card and got two sticks. Well, I put them in today and they work like a charm. A few glitches putting it back together. Don't drop a black screw on a dark carpet where there is very little light. Also, remember where the long screw goes. There are three shorts, and one long. A short screw will not engage the threads in the long screw location regardless of how long you spin the screwdriver! Also, on the rebate - it's one per household - so the keen lady at the register said she would ring them up separate and I could find a friend to mail in the second rebate. Oh - I already found the friend!!! Anyway - now I have a screaming little system here now. Will put Dreamweaver and NeoOffice to the ultimate of tests over the next few days. and two thumbs up!!!
	0

Nov 21, 2006, 10:54 PM	#4
Eidorian macrumors Penryn Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Indiana	I got 3 of the 4 screws back into my Mac mini. It's the one in the front right in the hole. It fell out and I can't wiggle it back into it's screw hole. But hey it works? I'll need a magnetic #0 Phillips for it! __________________ Core i5 750 / 16 GB RAM / SSD / HD 7950 / Windows 8 MRoogle it!
	0

Nov 21, 2006, 11:47 PM	#6
roland.g macrumors 601 Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: One mile up and soaring	My screw from the back corner, opposite power button fell between the usb ports and got wedged in there, took a lot of shaking and a long toothpick but eventually I got it out. Get yourself a newertech Ministack v2 from OWC and plop one of your drives in it, it is a great add on to a Mini, gives you extra Firewire and USB ports. __________________ I know this because Tyler knows this. You are not a beautiful snowflake. You are the same decaying matter as everything else.
	0

Nov 22, 2006, 04:06 AM	#7
Markleshark macrumors 601 Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Carlisle, Up Norf!	Let me know how it runs, I have the same Mac and the same plans, so yeah, nice one. __________________ Lubo, Lubo, Lubo, Lubo!!
	0

Nov 24, 2006, 11:20 AM	#9
California macrumors 68040 Join Date: Aug 2004	Upgrade the hd when you upgrade the memory on the mini. I just did this on my PPC mini. 100gb 7200rpm hard drive plus sigh only could max out the memory to 1gb. But love the mini. __________________ 2.66ghz Mac Mini Server(operating w/Mini OS)16gb ram!!!/1.67ghz Powerbook G5 15" DLHR/512mb 1st gen Shuffle/iPhone 16gb/30" ACD
	0

Nov 21, 2006, 08:05 PM	#2
pianoman macrumors 68000 Join Date: May 2006 Location: Washington, D.C.	congratulations. i didn't know the mini had two slots; i thought it was just one. sounds like you've got yourself a powerful little machine!
	0

Nov 21, 2006, 11:05 PM	#5
mac-convert Thread Starter macrumors 6502a Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Are we there yet?	Yeah, that happened to me a few times (well, more than a few). I just turned it upside down, and tap-tap-tapped it a few times and it would spit the screw back out at me. That's where I lost in on the floor once. The trick I ended up with was to turn the unit upside down, get the screw balanced on the screw stick, and gently slide it into the slot - voila! Another trick is to NOT tighten each screw as you get it installed. Run it down till it starts to get snug, then back it out a turn or so. That way you can wiggle the unit around a little to get all the screws started, and then go back and snug them down. Snug - not tighten! The easiest part of my installation was prying the case off and putting it back on again. A friend had a filed down metal putty knife and a filed down plastic one. Worked like a charm. But I also watched him do it a while back when he upgraded his.
	0

Nov 22, 2006, 04:06 PM	#8
mac-convert Thread Starter macrumors 6502a Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Are we there yet?	Markleshark - do it - upgrade the memory. It's the best thing you can do for one of these sweet machines! If you elect to go with non-Apple memory, as I did, make sure you do some research at least on Google on the brands. I have seen where some of them are just a little to thick for the mini (the pins) and won't insert. And there are others that just have problems.Mine are the Centon, and so far so good. They have a web site - www.centon.com So far I have re-tested Parallels, and I can now do what I could not with only 512MB. Before I could not even get a new VM past the stage of loading the ISO file. I even let it run overnight once and then gave it some more time - still couldn't finish. I loaded a test setup last night, and in 45 minutes or so I had it running - Linux, not Windows. I have a machine for that OS already. I have two USB drives, with ISO's on one and the virtual machines on the other, and performance is exceptional. But over the next few days, it will be a shake-out of neoOffice and learning Dreamweaver 8.
	0

Nov 24, 2006, 01:06 PM	#12
backsidetailsli macrumors 65816 Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Toronto!	congrats, im jealous __________________ www.badratart.com
	0

Dec 28, 2006, 11:11 PM	#13
SkyBell macrumors 603 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Texas	Lol, I was going to get 2 GB, but I finally said screw it, and went to the AS and bought a stock. 512 is a little slow, but I think 1GB would do nicely for me. __________________ MR's PowerPC Fangirl eMac 1.42 GHz - 10.4.11 Pink iPod mini 2G 4 GB R.I.P Apple Computer, 1976-2007
	0

Dec 29, 2006, 11:53 AM	#14
stumper macrumors newbie Join Date: Dec 2006	External FW is faster http://www.barefeats.com/mini01c.html
	0

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