Help with installing PCIe SSD to my Mac mini Late 2014

[arinc229]

Hey guys,
I have recently bought a Mac mini, yet it did not had an SSD. So I began my search to learn on how to install a PCIe SSD and found out that I need to first install a PCIe SSD flex cable like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Odyson-Cable-Connector-Replacement-Unibody/dp/B077YX9RVX. My question is this, will I be able to install any PCIe SSD that I have bought with this cable or are there certain types of PCIe SSD that can only work with that specific cable ?
P.S
Is this PCIe SSD that I have found :https://www.hepsiburada.com/corsair...pcie-m-2-ssd-cssd-f480gbmp510-p-HBV00000HAICX compatible with the cable that I mentioned above ?

 

[Fishrrman]

"My question is this, will I be able to install any PCIe SSD that I have bought with this cable"

No.

"are there certain types of PCIe SSD that can only work with that specific cable?"

I believe you need a proprietary "Apple labeled" drive with a specific pin setup for the Mini. You might be able to find one used on ebay.

"Is this PCIe SSD that I have found :https://www.hepsiburada.com/corsair...pcie-m-2-ssd-cssd-f480gbmp510-p-HBV00000HAICX compatible with the cable that I mentioned above ?"

No.

 

[getrealbro]

You might give OWC a call and verify that their OWC Aura SSD Add-On Kits include everything you need to install an SSD in a 2014 Mini that currently only has an HDD.

OWC SSD Flash Storage Upgrade for Mac mini 2014

Upgrade your 2014 Mac mini flash storage up to 2.0TB with speeds up to 92x faster than the original drive. Kit includes all tools for DIY installation.

eshop.macsales.com

GetRealBro

 

[||\||]

The Ultimate Guide to Apple’s Proprietary SSDs

Apple Proprietary SSDs: Ultimate Guide to Specs & Upgrades | BeetsBlog

Apple’s SSDs are confusing. Are they M.2 drives? What connector do they use? AHCI or NVMe? What drive can I use to upgrade? We have answers. We’ll tell which SSDs work in which MacBook Pros, iMacs, Mac minis and more.

beetstech.com

 

[Fishrrman]

Thanks to the post above.
The adapter looks like the one you have.
There are links to the blade drive that works with them there, too.

 

[getrealbro]

For an alternative solution that uses a standard M.2 PCie NVMe SSD...

Using a Standard M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD in the 2014 Mini

I just wanted to add that based largely on the very helpful information in this thread, I had a very positive experience adding an NVMe SSD to my stock late 2014 Mac mini. The only parts I needed were: The "XT-XINTE PCI-E x4 x2 M.2 NGFF M-Key NVME AHCI SSD Converter Card Adapter" part mentioned...

forums.macrumors.com

GetRealBro

 

[Scorned]

I just put a Western Digital Black NVME 500gb drive in mine. Getting 775 read/write on BlackMagic.

you will also need this to adapt the apple pcie connector to nmve connector. https://amazon.com/gp/product/B07LGTMCCX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Starflyer]

I am assuming the blade from a 2013 Mac Pro will not work?

 

[Scorned]

The Apple should will work. I just assumed second party nvme.

 

[Stormageddon]

I am hoping my question is enough on topic to use this thread: I am considering Transcend Jetdrive for my Mac mini 2014 – do I understand correctly that Jetdrive can be installed via Thunderbolt externally and be used as boot drive with good speed?

 

[Boyd01]

Exactly which product are you looking at. Had a quick look on their site, and it appears that the "JetDrive" had a USB3 interface and not thunderbolt, while the StoreJet has both USB and Thunderbolt. No experience with either of these, but I have 4 different USB3 external SSD's ranging in size from 500gb to 4tb, and they are great. You can just clone your startup disk to the external SSD, select it in the control panel, re-boot and you should be up and running (on either USB or thunderbolt).

As for speed, here's a 1TB Samsung T3 USB SSD

and this is an Oyen Digital 4TB USB SSD

Thunderbolt is theoretically faster, but not sure about real-world performance. And not sure that you would notice the difference even if there is one. If you are currently using an original Apple hard drive on your mini, that only clocks at about 100MB/sec - possibly less. So whatever you choose, it will be remarkably faster.

Also, exactly which Mini do you have? If it's the base 1.4ghz model with only 4gb RAM, then you should consider an internal blade type drive for much better performance. With that small amount of memory, there is lots of data getting "swapped" to disk, so you want the fastest possible SSD. This is what an internal SSD can give you

 

[Stormageddon]

The one I might be interested would either 855 or 825 – https://www.transcend-info.com/Products/No-957
Now that I read from that site, the 825 (AHCI) probably would be all that 2014 Mac mini needs.

As to your question: I have 4GB of ram, so internal blade might be the way to go. What I am pondering here though is whether basically the same NVME/AHCI blade that I would painstakingly install inside the mini, would work just as fast via Thunderbolt enclosure?