best hardware to pim new mac mini?

[drama8]

hi guys,
i want to buy a new mac mini server but i want to pimp it up by adding a new ssd drive and more ram. Money is no object and all i want to do is fit it with the best parts. What is the best ssd drive on the market for the mac mini? Can it take the new sata3 drives? whats the fastest ram i can get for the mini? Im going on holiday to the states and i might have time to pick up the mac mini for cheaper there, however i wont have time to shop for parts there. If i use an american mac mini with uk hardware will i have a problem? I would be greatful for all the help i can get. Ive been a windows user for years but when i saw lion i wanted to switch so bad. Enjoyed reading all you advice and thank you for any hel you can give me.

 

[kerplunknet]

‎

 

[Vermifuge]

Money is no object? Why didn't you get a Mac Pro then, out of curiosity?

A logical upgrade for the Mac mini, in my opinion, is to go with an Intel 320 series SSD and 8 GB of RAM.

If money is no object shouldn't he get the 16GB ram upgrade from OWC?

 

[indiekiduk]

Money is no object? Why didn't you get a Mac Pro then, out of curiosity?

A logical upgrade for the Mac mini, in my opinion, is to go with an Intel 320 series SSD and 8 GB of RAM.

I would get the new Crucial M4 SSD its much faster than the Intel 320 and the 256MB is $419.99. Here is a graph comparing the more recent SSDs:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums...0-vs-510-vs-320-vs-x25-M-vs-F120-vs-Falcon-II

 

[drama8]

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Guys thank you all for the reply. Keep them coming please. I should clarify that I wanted a mac mini because it's nice and compact and good for htc. As for ram can the mini take 16gb?? I don't want the pro or iMac just the best mini I can build.

 

[Tucom]

The Mini is SATA III compliant.

As for SSD, OWC makes the best Mac (or probably any platform) SSD's AFAIK hands down. Made in U.S.A (though Macs alone show that doesn't meant too much, but still props to OWC), and have been proven to be very reliable and have excellent speed over time, as well as great customer support that I've found and read about.


So for SSD: OWC

RAM: As much that can be stuffed in there. I'd still go with OWC on this one, too.



In fact, to make the most pimped out Mini: Get the Radeon graphcis card option, the SSD, RAM, but also *stripe* two SSD's in RAID0 if possible.

That would be one screaming machine

 

[japtor]

I would get the new Crucial M4 SSD its much faster than the Intel 320 and the 256MB is $419.99. Here is a graph comparing the more recent SSDs:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums...0-vs-510-vs-320-vs-x25-M-vs-F120-vs-Falcon-II

Keep real world performance in mind too.

I should clarify that I wanted a mac mini because it's nice and compact and good for htc.

I'm guessing you mean HTPC here and not the cell phone company. Is that going to be the main use? I'm guessing you already know most of these upgrades are massive overkill and just want to do it to max it out, but if you don't...well it's overkill.

*stripe* two SSD's in RAID0 if possible.

You'll boost the big numbers but supposedly introduce a little latency...not that I'd expect either to be noticeable in actual use.

Instead of 16GB you could just get another mini. Instead of having to choose between quad core and discrete graphics, get one of each and upgrade them to a modest 8GB each. Then $200 on each for SSDs, or just $400 on the one you'd plan to use more.

 

[drama8]

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Tucom love the way you think. I have to go for the server though as it will scream with quad core. I'm not really using it for games mainly htc and photo and video editors. Can the mini take 16gb ram?

 

[Tucom]

It appears it indeed can: http://eshop.macsales.com/memory/maxram


Honestly the far better option would be to forget the i7 Quad and go for the ATI GPU-based i5, which can run 4 logical threads (essentially a quad core and the i7 server an 8-core, but even a Core 2 Duo is far more than enough for HTPC), and the ATI video card will really help in that area, so an i5 with 16GB and the **ATI** GPU (as in, not the server model), and an SSD, and this machine will leave older Mac Pros in the dust, more or less

 

[drama8]

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Sorry japtor I did mean to say htpc. Tucon I was thinking about the mini and not the server before but did you see the benchmarks on the server? I really hate the fact the server is let down by a lack of a good graphics card. I want this computer to last the distance that's why I overkill. Was Thinking originally mac mini with i7 2.7 dual core. Then if you look at the price and the speed of the hard drive, you get a lot more on the server don't you think?

 

[japtor]

Well with the cost of 16GB and Ivy Bridge coming next year, the best thing to do with that particular extra money longevity wise would be to save it for (hopefully) next year's mini refresh.

As for the faster HDs in the server, they're still garbage compared to SSDs. They're good for massive storage but suck for speed comparatively.

 

[philipma1957]

okay 8gb sticks cost less then 435.00 each if you look around


best price I can find so far

http://cgi.ebay.com/Elpida-8GB-Sing...ultDomain_0&hash=item415b6f96ba#ht_1147wt_907

second best price

http://cgi.ebay.com/16GB-2x8GB-lapt...ltDomain_0&hash=item1c1ce35c41#ht_1048wt_1065


these should work in the new mini. the better priced seller has been around for a while.


as for ssd's. right now raid 0 for the server may not be that stable. you can find the 256gb samsung ssd's for around 350 on ebay


http://cgi.ebay.com/256GB-Samsung-N...ultDomain_0&hash=item4aad1497ed#ht_860wt_1065

so two samsung 256gb ssds and two 8gb ram sticks run you 1550 or so



2 owc top end ssds are 549 each total is 1098 the 16gb ram kit is 1419

total 2517


I would be the first to say the owc parts are a tiny bit faster.. the ssd's that is. (edit tiny bit faster is wrong) (faster is better use of words)

my gut feeling is the ram is exactly the same for quality and speed.

 

[drama8]

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Can I just say a big big thank you to everyone who helped me out. You lot have all been amazing and really made me feel welcome. I'm new to macs but really wanna change as I have an iPhone and an ipad and just love the look of lion. Thanks for helping me along even though sometimes I may have sounded like an idiot.