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Lugnutz

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 22, 2012
62
6
I have become real fond of the Mac OS that I want to rid myself of Windows. I have a MacBook Air and want a Mac desktop. I currently have a Dell Zino used as an HTPC, but again I hate Windows. I'm looking at the Mac Mini with i7 processor. I will upgrade it myself to 8 gigs of ram. I plan on connecting it to my TV like I do with my Dell. I want to use it for photo editing, video streaming, internet etc. I also have a Time Capsule which I use to store videos, pics, and music. I really don't need a lot of storage in my Mini. Is it possible to swap out the 500 gig HDD with a 128 gig SSD? On my PC I use less than 100 gigs since all my stuff is stored on separate drives.
 
Yes, of course you can put an SSD in it! The difference is pretty significant once you get it going. If you want to use the Mini to replace your Windows HTPC, I HIGHLY recommend you check out Plex for playing your media.
 
I have become real fond of the Mac OS that I want to rid myself of Windows. I have a MacBook Air and want a Mac desktop. I currently have a Dell Zino used as an HTPC, but again I hate Windows. I'm looking at the Mac Mini with i7 processor. I will upgrade it myself to 8 gigs of ram. I plan on connecting it to my TV like I do with my Dell. I want to use it for photo editing, video streaming, internet etc. I also have a Time Capsule which I use to store videos, pics, and music. I really don't need a lot of storage in my Mini. Is it possible to swap out the 500 gig HDD with a 128 gig SSD? On my PC I use less than 100 gigs since all my stuff is stored on separate drives.

First off, I recommend not buying the RAM from Apple; Crucial has a way better price and they practically use the same OEM for the parts.

Secondly, it is possible to swap out the drive for the SSD. I personally don't recommend you do it unless you're comfortable with such a repair. (While it's not "hard", it's not as easy as changing out the drive on a normal desktop, or like changing the drive on an unibody MacBook Pro.) The higher-end model gives you the option of a 256 GB SSD in place of (or even in addition to) an internal hard drive, and if you're lucky, that customized Mac mini sometimes appears on the refurbished Mac section of the Apple Online Store for a decent price.
 
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