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New Mac Mini Supports SDXC Specification for Memory Cards Up to 2 TB

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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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141333-mac_mini_sdxc.jpg


Gizmodo notes that the SD card slot on Apple's new Mac mini released last week appears to support SDXC cards, offering users the ability to mount cards based on the newest SD specification designed for capacities out to 2 TB while also maintaining backwards compatibility with SDHC and standard SD cards. While SDXC cards are only just coming out, typically pushing capacities only out to 64 GB, the Mac mini's support for the standard will likely pay dividends in the future as capacities continue to increase.

Support for the specification will presumably trickle down to Apple's other SD-capable machines during their next revisions.

Article Link: New Mac Mini Supports SDXC Specification for Memory Cards Up to 2 TB
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2010/06/18/new-mac-mini-supports-sdxc-specification-for-memory-cards-up-to-2-tb/
CWallace

CWallace

macrumors G5
Aug 17, 2007
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Spanky Deluxe said:
I wonder what the IO performance of the reader is and what a 64GB drive might manage.
Click to expand...

Be nice if the I/O was good enough to feed DVD/HD video. I'm thinking hard about a new Mini for my HTPC and since my media is on a 2TB FW800 drive - being able to store it on a card, instead, would be sweet. :D :cool:

(And yes, I am sure such a 2TB card, if and when it ships, would be significantly expensive).
 
Misplaced Mage

Misplaced Mage

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Jul 23, 2002
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Somewhere outside the spacetime continuum…
I figured this out last night poking around in System Profiler on the new Mac Mini display unit in the local Apple Store. There was a new, separate entry for "Card Reader" that I hadn't seen before. Lo and behold, there it was, "SDXC", supporting 2.5GT/s (that's 2.5Gbps before taking into account the all the data transfer protocol overhead).

Doing some more poking, I found in the Ethernet section the fact that the new Minis use a Broadcom BCM57765 controller—which just happens to also include the memory card reader controller, which supports SDXC.
 
baryon

baryon

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Oct 3, 2009
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Woah... I would partition a 2TB SHXC card and use 1TB for Time Machine and the other half for Final Cut Pro! On freaking 3 square centimeters!
 
flopticalcube

flopticalcube

macrumors G4
Sep 7, 2006
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Misplaced Mage said:
I figured this out last night poking around in System Profiler on the new Mac Mini display unit in the local Apple Store. There was a new, separate entry for "Card Reader" that I hadn't seen before. Lo and behold, there it was, "SDXC", supporting 2.5GT/s (that's 2.5Gbps before taking into account the all the data transfer protocol overhead).

Doing some more poking, I found in the Ethernet section the fact that the new Minis use a Broadcom BCM57765 controller—which just happens to also include the memory card reader controller, which supports SDXC.
Click to expand...
The ultimate transfer speed will depend on the card used. Some are a lot slower than others. Looks like the card reader was "free" with the ether controller. I can see this making sense on a laptop so you don't have to carry around an extra dongle but I would rather just have an extra USB on a desktop, especially since the damn thing is on the back.
 
S

snberk103

macrumors 603
Oct 22, 2007
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An Island in the Salish Sea
Is Apple thinking that SD cards are going to become the new "floppies"?

Many people who exchange files by 'sneaker net' use CDs, but don't need the capacity of a CD. Plus while rewriteable CDs exist, they are pricey and most people don't use them. Most files are exchanged a barely used CD that then gets shelved and collects dust.

Imagine if people started exchanging SD cards. Initially lower capacities only will be available, but soon CD equivalent SD cards will be available, and soon after that the 1 and 2 TB cards.

If Apple can create enough demand for cards, then economies of scale will bring prices down as they become a standard commodity.

As others have mentioned the bigger capacity ones would have all sorts of uses besides the exchange of files. Wow.

Hmm.
 
K

kevinkt

macrumors 6502
Mar 24, 2010
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Can someone tell me how can a small SD card be able to hold 2t. If this is the case why are most External HD so much bigger?
 
bytethese

bytethese

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Jun 20, 2007
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I went to a talk at a Computer Forensics Show a few months ago and the speaker talked about SDXC cards and how it's based on an MS standard. As far as I recall, the circuitry in the chip is different but the pinsouts are the same as SDHC. If so, any current Mac with an SD card slot should be able to be updated appropriately to read SDXC cards. Any thoughts on this?
 
Mr Skills

Mr Skills

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Nov 21, 2005
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Does the mac mini support sd card peripherals (modems etc.)? I believe the capability is included in the sdxc spec.
 
T

torero

macrumors member
Jul 9, 2005
33
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why not put the slot in the front then??? I use the cards all the time and have reader always plugged into my ACD... with an ugly, dangly cord.
 
Yvan256

Yvan256

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Jul 5, 2004
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Canada
Off-topic comment, but still related to external storage.

I received my Mac mini around noon, and I found something the previous (at least the GMA950 Core 2 Duo) model didn't support: USB flash storage works when connected to a side USB port of the aluminium Apple keyboard. My older Mac mini complains about lacking power via that USB port but the new one works just fine!
 
Jason Beck

Jason Beck

macrumors 68000
Oct 19, 2009
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Cedar City, Utah
Yvan256 said:
Off-topic comment, but still related to external storage.

I received my Mac mini around noon, and I found something the previous (at least the GMA950 Core 2 Duo) model didn't support: USB flash storage works when connected to a side USB port of the aluminium Apple keyboard. My older Mac mini complains about lacking power via that USB port but the new one works just fine!
Click to expand...

Oh wow, the corded ones have a usb jack? I only have the wireless one. Neat!
 
W

wizard

macrumors 68040
May 29, 2003
3,854
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This highlights what I've been really hating about Apple lately.

That is hiding specs from people that would really like to know. That is the people who read the spec sheets and have good reason to do so. Little things add up be it the RAM in an iPhone/iPad, what the SD slot is capable of or any of a number of other devices that are poorly speced on the machine. Is it that difficult to just be honest with your users? Further where is the advantage of not coming clean?

The info gleaned above would seem to indicate that the port can do 250 MB/s less overhead. That would mean that the SD card could become one excellent boot device if cards with that speed actually become available. That would mean one could raid the two drives in the server and keep the OS on the SD card. That ought too make for a nice file server.

The other thing would be the possibility of booting alternative OS'es in a reasonable fashion. Seems like a great way to run Linux.

Ugly is the reality that the tech has to now catch up with the standard. This could take awhile and I'm not sure we will ever see two terabyte SD cards.
 
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