Advice Please: What To Do With Mac Mini mid2011???

[DevNull0]

One big thing that's changed since this thread was created is the ARM transition is officially happening. Maybe the best option now is to just invest in an ARM-based Mini. It's a lot simpler than installing a new hard drive or SSD, especially if you weren't planning on doing the work yourself. ARM-based Macs are the future, and will be supported much longer than Intel-based ones will. And finally, ARM-based Macs will almost certainly be cheaper than their Intel versions. We don't know pricing yet, but a new ARM Mini might not end up being that much more expensive then the parts (and effort) to rehab the 2011.

The 2011 mini is a fantastic design and it's really easy to change the HDD and RAM, so I don't see why you think it's simpler to spend $800 or so than $100 and 30 minutes.

Also, the 2011 with it's Sandy Bridge CPU will run windows 10 beautifully, that 2011 mini is an excellent windows computer.

I disagree that ARM-based macs are the future. They certainly aren't for me, losing windows support is a complete deal breaker for me. But time will tell what happens with the mac lineup 5 years from now. I have a 2017 MBP, I'm just trying to decide between a last model intel MBP when it shows up in the refurb store or pick up an Asus Zephyrus this year which will be my first non-mac laptop in nearly 25 years of mac ownership.

 

[BeautifulWoman_1984]

One big thing that's changed since this thread was created is the ARM transition is officially happening. Maybe the best option now is to just invest in an ARM-based Mini. It's a lot simpler than installing a new hard drive or SSD, especially if you weren't planning on doing the work yourself. ARM-based Macs are the future, and will be supported much longer than Intel-based ones will. And finally, ARM-based Macs will almost certainly be cheaper than their Intel versions. We don't know pricing yet, but a new ARM Mini might not end up being that much more expensive then the parts (and effort) to rehab the 2011.

Thank you for your reply Cuda_Switch!

It's good that you mentioned the ARM transition.

Are you sure the new ARM Mac Mini will be cheaper?

Does anyone know when the ARM Mac Mini will be released or are there only rumours for now?

 

[CUDA_Switch]

Thank you for your reply Cuda_Switch!

It's good that you mentioned the ARM transition.

Are you sure the new ARM Mac Mini will be cheaper?

Does anyone know when the ARM Mac Mini will be released or are there only rumours for now?

I think the expectation is that ARM-bard Macs would be cheaper than their Intel counterparts, because Apple can use their own chips they already have versus having to pay Intel for the parts and licensing. How much they’ll pass the savings on to customers is unknown. I haven’t been following the ARM transition closely, but I’d recommend taking a good look at the threads in the Apple Silicon section of the forum for a lot of good details and healthy speculation 😀

 

[Momonster]

Hi Guys!

I need some advice. I have a MacMini5 mid-2011 with 2GB VRAM and 500GB HDD. What is the best upgrade on this to make it work faster? Will an 8gb Ram suffice or should I get the 16gb that is being offered to me right now? I am not a computer person so please share any specs and brand. Thank you very much in advance.

 

[iAssimilated]

@Momonster You could definitely make that computer scream by replacing the HDD with a new SSD and by increasing the RAM to 16GB.

Samsung makes great SSDs, any size will work:

SAMSUNG 860 EVO Series 2.5" 500GB SATA III V-NAND 3-bit MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-76E500B/AM - Newegg.com

Buy SAMSUNG 860 EVO Series 2.5" 500GB SATA III V-NAND 3-bit MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-76E500B/AM with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

There may be cheaper places to find the RAM, but with OWC you are guaranteed it will work:

16GB Memory Upgrade for MacBook Pro, iMac, and Mac mini

Upgrade your pre-2013, non-retina MacBook Pro with up to 16GB of RAM. Memory is also compatible with 2011-2015 iMac and 2011-2012 Mac mini.

eshop.macsales.com

The guide to install the new SSD as well as the RAM (which is Steps 1 & 2 then replace the RAM):

Mac mini Mid 2011 Hard Drive Replacement

Use this guide to completely replace your mini's hard drive. Note that some of the connections in this Mac are more fragile to disconnect and more...

www.ifixit.com

How to make a bootable USB with macOS High Sierra:

How to Create a Bootable USB Installer for macOS High Sierra

The Mac App Store is the default way to upgrade or install macOS, but it doesn't work for everyone.

www.howtogeek.com

If you don't have a time machine backup of your machine (or any data backup), you will need an adapter like the following to get your data off the old HDD:

Sabrent USB 3.0 to SSD / 2.5-Inch SATA I/II/III Hard Drive Adapter (EC-SSHD) - Newegg.com

Buy Sabrent USB 3.0 to SSD / 2.5-Inch SATA I/II/III Hard Drive Adapter (EC-SSHD) with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

 

[eRondeau]

Hi Guys!

I need some advice. I have a MacMini5 mid-2011 with 2GB VRAM and 500GB HDD. What is the best upgrade on this to make it work faster? Will an 8gb Ram suffice or should I get the 16gb that is being offered to me right now? I am not a computer person so please share any specs and brand. Thank you very much in advance.

I upgrade old Mac's as a hobby. I think it's fun and nostalgic -- kind of like how our parents or grandparents might work to keep an old car from the 50's or 60's running for Sunday drives. While neither the old Mac or old Chevy may ever be a "daily driver" again, it's personally rewarding and hopefully brings back some happy memories when it was newer and we were younger.

I have the same Mac Mini that you do. Mine's been upgraded to 8GB RAM and a 500GB SSD running MacOS 10.13.6 High Sierra. I use it as a second computer with a 27" Apple LED Cinema Display, Magic Keyboard (1G) and Magic Trackpad (1G). Primarily used for Safari, Mail, Photos, and Music. By any reasonable standard it's fast enough, responsive, and well suited to its tasks. It is able to display every website I've ever tried with it (unfortunately there are some popular websites that El Capitan has stopped rendering). It's unable to run the latest versions of the iWork apps (Pages, Keynote, Numbers) or iMovie or Garageband. As for connectivity it's stuck with USB-2, Thunderbolt-1, and HDMI-1. It's ultimately a decade-old computer, albeit a very good one.

Realistically a decent SSD + 8GB RAM will cost around $150 all-in. I wouldn't recommend any more than 8GB of RAM in this machine, it simply won't benefit from it. I'd agree with other posters who recommend Samsung SSD's and OWC memory (although OWC has excellent SSD's as well, and they'll even send it with an external drive case to repurpose your old HDD once replaced).

I'd be remiss if I didn't point-out that the world of Mac Mini's was upended this week with the M1 Mac Mini announcement. If you deduct the $150 you'll spend upgrading your 2011 from the $700 price of the new Late-2020 M1 you're at $550 difference. So now the question becomes -- is brand-new worth $550 -- especially considering it's got USB-C, Thunderbolt-4, etc etc -- not to mention it's one of the fastest personal computers ever made? That's up to you of course, by my M1 MM is on the way.

 

[ElitistWhiner]

Hi Guys!

I need some advice. I have a MacMini5 mid-2011 with 2GB VRAM and 500GB HDD. What is the best upgrade on this to make it work faster? Will an 8gb Ram suffice or should I get the 16gb that is being offered to me right now? I am not a computer person so please share any specs and brand. Thank you very much in advance.

https://forums.macrumors.com/members/iassimilated.1128621/ response was the info you seek.

Why? I have the 2009 Mac mini. Mac OSX is NeXTSTEP based under the hood. As an ex-NeXT dev I can tell you that the OS wants all the memory you can afford. Darwin the kernel virtualizes the desktop. Every tab, every window is copied to RAM. With only 2Gig the CPU is thrashing your HDD swapping pages in&out to RAM.

I have 8Gb in the 2009 mini and its usable. IF the hardware could, It can’t, I would upgrade to 16Gb.SO RAM is your most efficient upgrade- more is better. Adding an SSD just for MacOS exclusively, ups your machine performance. The bandwidth of the CPU to disk is waiting most of its time while a HDD reads disk. SSD are flash, i.e. no mechanical bits to move or spin so its a bonus investment. BUT its RAM that reduces that traffic out to disk which makes the UI responsive.

Someone better versed in SSD will advise brand&size SSD. Personally, I’d keep my data on HDD and OS’en on SSD. I’ve only lost one HDD and it was a WDbarracuda in my server. Fujitsu drives have been rock solid in all my machines going on decades of experience.

That Mac mini/Cinema Display combo is entirely usable. You’ll throw $XXXX’s just to replace it. The only reason is IF you need to balance your toys in the sandbox with equal-equal features that the mini does not have that your other toys do.

 

[Momonster]

https://forums.macrumors.com/members/iassimilated.1128621/ response was the info you seek.

Why? I have the 2009 Mac mini. Mac OSX is NeXTSTEP based under the hood. As an ex-NeXT dev I can tell you that the OS wants all the memory you can afford. Darwin the kernel virtualizes the desktop. Every tab, every window is copied to RAM. With only 2Gig the CPU is thrashing your HDD swapping pages in&out to RAM.

I have 8Gb in the 2009 mini and its usable. IF the hardware could, It can’t, I would upgrade to 16Gb.SO RAM is your most efficient upgrade- more is better. Adding an SSD just for MacOS exclusively, ups your machine performance. The bandwidth of the CPU to disk is waiting most of its time while a HDD reads disk. SSD are flash, i.e. no mechanical bits to move or spin so its a bonus investment. BUT its RAM that reduces that traffic out to disk which makes the UI responsive.

Someone better versed in SSD will advise brand&size SSD. Personally, I’d keep my data on HDD and OS’en on SSD. I’ve only lost one HDD and it was a WDbarracuda in my server. Fujitsu drives have been rock solid in all my machines going on decades of experience.

That Mac mini/Cinema Display combo is entirely usable. You’ll throw $XXXX’s just to replace it. The only reason is IF you need to balance your toys in the sandbox with equal-equal features that the mini does not have that your other toys do.

Thank you very much for these insights. It is very much appreciated.

 

[Momonster]

I upgrade old Mac's as a hobby. I think it's fun and nostalgic -- kind of like how our parents or grandparents might work to keep an old car from the 50's or 60's running for Sunday drives. While neither the old Mac or old Chevy may ever be a "daily driver" again, it's personally rewarding and hopefully brings back some happy memories when it was newer and we were younger.

I have the same Mac Mini that you do. Mine's been upgraded to 8GB RAM and a 500GB SSD running MacOS 10.13.6 High Sierra. I use it as a second computer with a 27" Apple LED Cinema Display, Magic Keyboard (1G) and Magic Trackpad (1G). Primarily used for Safari, Mail, Photos, and Music. By any reasonable standard it's fast enough, responsive, and well suited to its tasks. It is able to display every website I've ever tried with it (unfortunately there are some popular websites that El Capitan has stopped rendering). It's unable to run the latest versions of the iWork apps (Pages, Keynote, Numbers) or iMovie or Garageband. As for connectivity it's stuck with USB-2, Thunderbolt-1, and HDMI-1. It's ultimately a decade-old computer, albeit a very good one.

Realistically a decent SSD + 8GB RAM will cost around $150 all-in. I wouldn't recommend any more than 8GB of RAM in this machine, it simply won't benefit from it. I'd agree with other posters who recommend Samsung SSD's and OWC memory (although OWC has excellent SSD's as well, and they'll even send it with an external drive case to repurpose your old HDD once replaced).

I'd be remiss if I didn't point-out that the world of Mac Mini's was upended this week with the M1 Mac Mini announcement. If you deduct the $150 you'll spend upgrading your 2011 from the $700 price of the new Late-2020 M1 you're at $550 difference. So now the question becomes -- is brand-new worth $550 -- especially considering it's got USB-C, Thunderbolt-4, etc etc -- not to mention it's one of the fastest personal computers ever made? That's up to you of course, by my M1 MM is on the way.

@eRondeau Thanks much! I love the way you presented the cost which is the same amount I have arrived at as well. If I can get the components cheaper i will try the 8gbRam first.

 

[IowaLynn]

With 8GB I was seeing 7GB used plus 3-4GB swap. The minute I went to 16 then it was using 10GB and no swap. Light use, web with 20 tabs, mail, one spreadsheet, an article, and had Photos open. Safari and Chrome can use a couple of gigs.

Same with Windows, used 7.5GB. RAM being used. Free memory is wasted memory. And processors have gotten much better. A used 2018 or later.

Just to be sure my backup was bootable I ran - no walked or crawled using the best hdd I had. Excruciating. A 7200 rpm drive not your 5400rpm commonly used, was slow and even 10K Raptor too. An external Samsung T7 SSD was fine though of course still much slower than the internal device now being used: 450MB vs 2200MB/sec.

Apply for monthly payments Apple card as an option spread over a year?

 

[MichaelLAX]

@Momonster ...

If you don't have a time machine backup of your machine (or any data backup), you will need an adapter like the following to get your data off the old HDD:

Sabrent USB 3.0 to SSD / 2.5-Inch SATA I/II/III Hard Drive Adapter (EC-SSHD) - Newegg.com

Buy Sabrent USB 3.0 to SSD / 2.5-Inch SATA I/II/III Hard Drive Adapter (EC-SSHD) with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

The 2011 MacMini does not have USB 3.0; only Thunderbolt 1 and USB 2.0. Does this adapter still work?

On a similar note: Are there any adapters that give the 2011 MacMini USB 3.x capability (other than the somewhat expensive Kanex

Thunderbolt to eSATA plus USB 3.0 Adapter?)​

I've just ordered a 3T MacStack from OWC for my 2011 MacMini (for Time Machine).plus future external USB 3.x drives and I would love to speed it up from my USB 2.0 connections.

 

[BeatCrazy]

The 2011 MacMini does not have USB 3.0; only Thunderbolt 1 and USB 2.0. Does this adapter still work?

On a similar note: Are there any adapters that give the 2011 MacMini USB 3.x capability (other than the somewhat expensive Kanex

Thunderbolt to eSATA plus USB 3.0 Adapter?)​

I've just ordered a 3T MacStack from OWC for my 2011 MacMini (for Time Machine).plus future external USB 3.x drives and I would love to speed it up from my USB 2.0 connections.

Yes, that adapter would still work. Of course it would only support USB 2.0 speeds.

Yes, you can add USB 3.0 to a 2011 mini via a Thunderbolt 2 dock. They go for about $100 used.

A quick warning about USB 3.0.. I have the 2011 mini, and for a long time I had a CalDigit TB2 dock so I could get USB 3.0. USB 3.0 is a very noisy protocol, and the interference can disrupt Bluetooth connected devices like your mouse/keyboard. So use caution unless you have plenty of space between these peripherals and USB 3.0 devices you want to attach.

 

[mdgm]

Yes, you can add USB 3.0 to a 2011 mini via a Thunderbolt 2 dock. They go for about $100 used.

Another option is to get a TB3 Dock, an Apple TB3 to TB2 adapter and an Apple TB cable. The TB3 Dock needs to have its own power supply as power is not sent via the bi-directional Apple TB3 to TB2 adapter. This could be a better option if you plan to get a Mac with TB3 or newer down the line for reusing the dock with that new machine.

 

[MichaelLAX]

The OWC MiniStack arrived and the first Time Machine backup took a few days. But now USB 2.0 speeds seem to be fine for subsequent backups, so I think I might go for mdgm 's solution or just wait for a future Mac.

The new M1 Mac mini's are Sure priced to sell. Makes it tempting to grab one, but I really don't have the software need to upgrade and I so love my current Mac mini 2011. My primary partition runs High Sierra, one has Mt Lion and another has Snow Leopard.

 

[mdgm]

I just got a TB3 dock for my 2011 Mini. I haven’t tested out the USB3 ports yet but the speeds I’m getting from a TB3 NVMe drive exceed what I’d expect from putting a 2.5” SATA SSD in the 2011 mini.

This is without trying any hacks to increase performance.

The dock requires at least Sierra and the NVMe drive requires at least High Sierra.

Mac Mini -> Apple TB(1/2) cable -> Apple TB2 to TB3 adapter -> TB3 dock -> TB3 NVMe (using TB3 cable that came attached to the NVMe enclosure).

In fact, I got two of the docks and two TB3 NVMe drives. Going to try the second dock and NVMe drive with a 2011 iMac.

With the dock I’ve got you need a 2017 Mac or newer to boot off the USB3 ports so that wasn’t an option.

 

[MichaelLAX]

Excellent! Which TB3 dock did you get?

I spoke to OWC about their $250 TB3 dock and exactly your procedure and they talked me out of it; saying the functionality would not be guaranteed.

He did note that once two USB 3.x drives were connected, performance would start to degrade, as the 2011 Mac Mini only puts out 10Mb/s in its Thunderbolt 1 port; but that's sure faster than USB 2!

 

[mdgm]

I got the OWC TB3 14 port dock. I haven’t tested trying to boot off the USB3 ports.

I have been able to boot Windows on a 2011 iMac even though the OWC TB3 Envoy Express specs indicate it cannot be used to boot Windows.

Windows 10 should also work with the 2011 Mini if you have the one with the discrete AMD Graphics card (whilst this card is known to fail unlike the Intel HD 3000 Graphics it is supported by Windows 10). An eGPU solution may also work to boot Windows 10 (that would be something interesting to test to see how well it works).

A trick with UEFI Windows 10 to reliably boot off the external SSD is to configure the EFI boot files to be on the internal drive even if the Windows volume is on the external SSD. You can read about my Win 10 install on a 2011 iMac here: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/booting-windows-10-from-tb3-nvme-drive-on-2011-imac.2276925/

Some of my Win 10 install steps may have been unnecessary but I was figuring out what to do, so made a few mistakes a long the way.

The Envoy Express isn’t particularly fast when it comes to TB3 drives but if the flash module fails it’s very easy to replace and it’s capable of performance faster than what TB1 can achieve anyway.

TB1 is 10Gb/s and USB3 is 5Gb/s, so yes if you had more than two USB3 drives performance would start to degrade or trying to boot off Thunderbolt and use USB3 drives at the same time may not perform very well.

I haven’t tested putting the computer to sleep. If that crashes after an extended sleep then a fix for hibernation or disabling hibernation would be needed.

 

[richmond62]

I have 3 powered hubs connected to my 2018 Mac Mini: when their power is turned off everything goes pear-shaped.

 

[gammamonk]

- Upgrade your MacMini with a fast 2,5" SSD and 2* 8 GB RAM
- Install Linux of your choice or even Windows 10
- Install VMware Fusion or Virtual Box or Parallels Desktop
- run newer macOS like Mojave as virtual guest

All of our Mac Mini 2011 are running with SSD and 16 GB RAM.

I was running Mojave and Catalina in VMware Fusion on my Macbook Pro 2011 with High Sierra

One of our Mac Mini Server 2011 is running VMware ESXi so we use a macOS guest remotely.
Its possible to add two 2,5" SSDs in a macMini Server 2011 and in every macMini 2011 with an additional adapter

Thomas

I realize your post is from a year ago or so now, but are you still running ESXi on your 2011 Mini? If so which version? I have a 2011 I run Window 10 Pro and Hyper-V but I need a more uptime oriented host OS for my VMs. A remote guest macOS sounds fun too.

 

[BeautifulWoman_1984]

I have 3 powered hubs connected to my 2018 Mac Mini: when their power is turned off everything goes pear-shaped.

Thank you for your reply Richmond, but I'm not sure what you're trying to say?

You say the USB hubs are powered so they have their own power source?

 

[tibas92013]

I have MM's 2012,2014 and 2018 and plan to use my MM 2012 as a movie machine.

 

[MichaelLAX]

One reminder on this thread: The 2011 Mac Mini can be made to run Snow Leopard in its native state for those who still have a need to run PowerPC software.

 

[BeautifulWoman_1984]

Sorry for my absence in this thread, but I've had a bunch of other problems I needed to deal with so I had to take my mind off the Mac Mini mid2011.

I think using an external enclosure with an SSD via the Firewire or USB 2 ports will be too slow.

I've decided to install an internal 2.5" HDD in the Mac Mini mid2011 and then once the internal 2.5" HDD is installed I'll choose which operating system to run between Windows 10/High Sierra/Linux.

I want to buy the 2.5" HDD now, but does anyone see any problems with my plan?

 

[Boyd01]

Internal hard drives were discussed earlier in this thread:

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...11.2228216/page-4?post=28663977#post-28663977