Given the considerable experience that you guys have, is this something that a person with no experience with computer builds should tackle, or not?
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Is RAM upgradeable in the Mac Mini?
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Given the considerable experience that you guys have, is this something that a person with no experience with computer builds should tackle, or not?
Opens Mac Mini, hears pre-recorded voice. The machine has detected it has been opened by an unauthorised person to circumvent Apple RAM tax. An electrical discharge has been released from the machines self destruct battery bricking this machine and all components. Please do not attempt to circumvent Apple tax in the future, have a nice day.
Quote from Macworld:
"You can easily open up the Mac mini on your own: The circular plastic cap at the bottom of the Mac mini pops off to unveil an aluminum hatch that’s kept in place with torx screws. But what you’ll find when you remove the hatch is that the memory is placed in a sort of a cage, and that you’ll need to remove the fan and other components to get access. It’s not a trivial task."
My 2012 Mini has done fine for me with 10gb of RAM (2+8).
However, I sense that at some point in the future, 8gb will not remain "quite enough", so with a 2018 Mini, I'll want 16gb.
BUT... There's only about $30 difference involved between buying the 8gb Mini and "adding it yourself" (which could turn out to be a hassle), or just buying 16gb "up front".
I'll reach into my pocket, pay Apple the additional $30, and take the 16gb version.
Thank you very much, sir.
"You can easily open up the Mac mini on your own: The circular plastic cap at the bottom of the Mac mini pops off to unveil an aluminum hatch that’s kept in place with torx screws. But what you’ll find when you remove the hatch is that the memory is placed in a sort of a cage, and that you’ll need to remove the fan and other components to get access. It’s not a trivial task."
My 2012 Mini has done fine for me with 10gb of RAM (2+8).
However, I sense that at some point in the future, 8gb will not remain "quite enough", so with a 2018 Mini, I'll want 16gb.
BUT... There's only about $30 difference involved between buying the 8gb Mini and "adding it yourself" (which could turn out to be a hassle), or just buying 16gb "up front".
I'll reach into my pocket, pay Apple the additional $30, and take the 16gb version.
Thank you very much, sir.
Well, I'm probably the wrong person to ask because I'll dive into anything, sometimes with reckless abandon, and fix stuff "for fun"
That being said, if you have a little fine dexterity, are the kind of person who can take their time, are willing to cross check online if there's _any_ question about something (ex: "How does this connector release?"), then I think you'd be OK.I guess what you have to consider the cost vs. concern, i.e., what if you do wreck something? Snap something off the main PCB even if that's very unlikely, and you're probably looking at a $500-700 repair bill vs. just paying the $600 for 32GB RAM up front, no worries.
The other factor: if this really does "void the warranty" (though I still think the jury it out on exactly what that means ...), you don't get that peace of mind for a year that there's no extra costs (or for __three__ years with AC+ for only $99).
I'll be honest: the warranty thing really bothers me, I like having my main work machine covered, there's an Apple store < 30 minutes away so it's convenient, I like that peace of mind, If I save about $300 only to have the main logic board fail, or the PCI storage crap out, and then have to OOP that repair cost, the savings are pretty much offset (if not upside down).
Yes, for only $30 you would just have apple do it. But most people talking about doing it themselves are talking about 32gb of ram and the price difference is $330.
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Just put the old ram back in and take it in for service. They won't know.Well, I'm probably the wrong person to ask because I'll dive into anything, sometimes with reckless abandon, and fix stuff "for fun"
I guess what you have to consider the cost vs. concern, i.e., what if you do wreck something? Snap something off the main PCB even if that's very unlikely, and you're probably looking at a $500-700 repair bill vs. just paying the $600 for 32GB RAM up front, no worries.
The other factor: if this really does "void the warranty" (though I still think the jury it out on exactly what that means ...), you don't get that peace of mind for a year that there's no extra costs (or for __three__ years with AC+ for only $99).
I'll be honest: the warranty thing really bothers me, I like having my main work machine covered, there's an Apple store < 30 minutes away so it's convenient, I like that peace of mind, If I save about $300 only to have the main logic board fail, or the PCI storage crap out, and then have to OOP that repair cost, the savings are pretty much offset (if not upside down).
I don't think that it makes any economic sense to install 16GB yourself, and it's even questionable at 64GB, not that anyone is talking about doing the latter.
It seems to me that this entire discussion is about whether you need/want 32GB, and if so whether it's worth it to you to install the RAM yourself in order to save $300+.
I also suspect that some of the participants in this discussion are dyed-in-the-wool computer tinkerers who want to do it for the sake of doing it/bragging rights
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Apple should have thrown us a bone on this one. Make the RAM easily accessible just like the 2012.
A tiny concession from a company with a kazillion dollars. But no. Pony up m##### f######!
A tiny concession from a company with a kazillion dollars. But no. Pony up m##### f######!
You forget people that you can sell 8Gb that you take out in order to install 16? That further increases the gap in prices.
Ah, people...people...I see what you did there:
Ah, people...people...I see what you did there:
I don't think that it makes any economic sense to install 16GB yourself, and it's even questionable at 64GB, not that anyone is talking about doing the latter.
It seems to me that this entire discussion is about whether you need/want 32GB, and if so whether it's worth it to you to install the RAM yourself in order to save $300+.
I also suspect that some of the participants in this discussion are dyed-in-the-wool computer tinkerers who want to do it for the sake of doing it/bragging rights
There is an economic sense in that, if the RAM can indeed be upgraded, one can spend the upgrade cost at a later stage. The cost of even a 16 GB upgrade is after all over 10% of the Mini’s value. Obviously this cannot be done with the smaller imac or any laptop, adding to high upfront cost. In my case, I opted to keep it at 8GB and go for SSD and CPU upgrades, which clearly need to be at factory.
OWC/Mac Sales is offering the grand sum of $30 for your 8GB of RAM. You get to spend the time, and pay the postage, sending it to them. Of course, if you're into selling stuff on Craigslist/e-Bay, you might get a few dollars more.
Myself, I'd keep the 8GB in case it needs to be re-installed for a visit to Apple.
I wasn't referring to the act of replacing the RAM modules as being alike, but disassembly is very similar aside from the T6 Security on the 2014. You still remove the bottom plastic disk, remove the fan, unplug some of the wifi/bluetooth units, in order to slide the logic board out. All that looks to be necessary on the 2018 to replace the memory.
Go to 7:55 in the video:
https://www.macworld.com/article/3318501/macs/799-mac-mini-review.html?jwsource=cl
Look here:
https://www.macworld.com/article/3318501/macs/799-mac-mini-review.html?jwsource=cl
Look here:
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Obviously, a basic no-name screwdriver will work fine for this. However, being into tools, I had a look at what's out there in terms of small Torx Security/Tamper-Proof screwdrivers.
PB Swiss and Bondhus make a one-piece driver in the size needed here (T6 aka TR6, T6s, etc.), but other obvious suspects that I looked at (Wera, Wiha) only offer bits, not one-piece, under T7. By contrast, PB Swiss only offers bits for T8 and above.
If I decide to go the roll-my-own-RAM route, there's a new PB Swiss driver on the horizon
PB Swiss and Bondhus make a one-piece driver in the size needed here (T6 aka TR6, T6s, etc.), but other obvious suspects that I looked at (Wera, Wiha) only offer bits, not one-piece, under T7. By contrast, PB Swiss only offers bits for T8 and above.
If I decide to go the roll-my-own-RAM route, there's a new PB Swiss driver on the horizon
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There seems to be 2 stances given by Apple, as I said previously and Macworld have said, doing it yourself voids the warranty and requires some disassembly. Now that we've seen the internals, the disassembly part is evidently true.
However, I am certain that the official stance now is that it won't void your warranty unless damage is caused but as AppleInsider have said, you will need to reinstall the original RAM before Apple is willing to work on the machine.
However, I am certain that the official stance now is that it won't void your warranty unless damage is caused but as AppleInsider have said, you will need to reinstall the original RAM before Apple is willing to work on the machine.
Of course, I thought of that (I actually didn't mention it by design ...), but there's still some possibility of tamper detection, either physical or through other means - I'm involved in aftermarket car tuning, and there's an amazing amount of scrutiny that occurs for warranty work after a catastrophic failure - from fastener breakaways, to cryptographic storage with flash counters ...
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Right, if they're OK with you going in/out, and wanting the original RAM to isolate that as a possible cause of the issue, I'm all in
I mean, that _is_ one of the diagnostic concerns, you show up with some janky operation and it's related to some budget RAM you purchased off Ebay.
What other purpose could that cage have other than to lock you out of simply popping the RAM out?Go to 7:55 in the video:
https://www.macworld.com/article/3318501/macs/799-mac-mini-review.html?jwsource=cl
Look here:
Paint me sceptical.
We are hours away from first step by step instructions, I hope.
We have seen how it looks opened, we will soon see how difficult is to replace the random-access-memory. :/
We have seen how it looks opened, we will soon see how difficult is to replace the random-access-memory. :/
I hope so too, given that I'd like to drop by Apple's 5th Avenue store at midnight, or first thing in the morning, to purchase one of these computers. On current information, it will be 16GB, not 8GB replaced by 32GB third party.
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... or at 3am, go in through the roof like Ethan Hunt in Mission Impossible, T6 in one hand, 32GB RAM in the other ...
RF and EMI shielding.
It's not a conspiracy for cripes sake.
The time period between when an Apple product is announced and when people get their hands on it is becoming silly time.
