I just got a Late 2012 Mac Mini and want to upgrade to a SSD. What kind of SSD do I need? Thanks.
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Late 2012: What type of SSD?
- Thread starter legaleye3000
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If you don’t want to open the mini case, you could also use a SSD in a USB3 (make sure it supports UASP) or Thunderbolt housing and keep it external.
In general: MLC SSD’s are usually considered a bit more robust, but TLC is the mainstream today. Read and write speeds should meet or exceed 500MB/s. Stay clear from suspiciously inexpensive offers and stick to renown brands (such as e.g. Samsung as top dog or SanDisk or Crucial).
You can choose last-gen products from those when on sale - SATA-based SSD’s have already reached the speed limit, so last gen is not too much of a compromise (sometimes even the better choice, for having better-quality components from before cost-cutting was applied).
Make it a habit to do backups on a regular basis! If an SSD fails, it’s often much more difficult to recover data than with traditional spinners.
In general: MLC SSD’s are usually considered a bit more robust, but TLC is the mainstream today. Read and write speeds should meet or exceed 500MB/s. Stay clear from suspiciously inexpensive offers and stick to renown brands (such as e.g. Samsung as top dog or SanDisk or Crucial).
You can choose last-gen products from those when on sale - SATA-based SSD’s have already reached the speed limit, so last gen is not too much of a compromise (sometimes even the better choice, for having better-quality components from before cost-cutting was applied).
Make it a habit to do backups on a regular basis! If an SSD fails, it’s often much more difficult to recover data than with traditional spinners.
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FWIW, I have a 2012 quad Mini with the original Apple 256gb internal SSD. This is how it performs
But I mostly use it with an external USB 3.0 Samsung T3 SSD and this is what I get
This machine is used for video editing, and performs very well booting from the external SSD. Even though there is a perfomance difference, I really don't notice it in normal usage. The most obvious difference is that it takes about twice as long to boot from the external SSD.
But I mostly use it with an external USB 3.0 Samsung T3 SSD and this is what I get
This machine is used for video editing, and performs very well booting from the external SSD. Even though there is a perfomance difference, I really don't notice it in normal usage. The most obvious difference is that it takes about twice as long to boot from the external SSD.