Looking for a proper 7200 rpm drive for my 2012?

[millertimer]

My local apple authorized shop tells me that I cannot buy the correct and approved hard drive to upgrade my A1347 mini. He specifically mentions a temp sensor. A new 1TB 7200 rpm drive, installed for about $375.

It is the i7 2.3 ghz quad core processor with 16gb of Crucial ram.

I know I can do the hard drive install myself. I am not trying to be a cheapskate but is there a proper hard drive that a 'civilian' can buy?

Oh, he also told me a SSD would get torn up or would be hard on the machine, I forgot which but he said it wasn't that much faster anyway.

Edited to add: A big reason for the macmini is its compactness and simplicity as we will use this while traveling in our truck camper where space is a limited. We'd put the monitor where the TV is. An external drive occasionally attached for a data backup would work but not attached full tiime.
Also, am trying to decide if I want to upgrade the macmini or move to a newer macbook.

 

[MacCheetah3]

Oh, he also told me a SSD would get torn up or would be hard on the machine, I forgot which but he said it wasn't that much faster anyway.

Not true. SATA SSDs are quite slow compared to PCIe NVMe drives, but still should be 2-3 faster on average than a 7,200RPM HDD.

As for the remaining questions, watch and read the info on these pages:

https://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/mac_mini2012_hd/Macmini6-1-nonserver/

OWC DIY Installation Kit for 2011-2012 Mac mini

The complete DIY upgrade kit to add a second drive into your Mac 2011-2012 Mac mini. Includes a mounting kit and all tools needed.

eshop.macsales.com

 

[Fishrrman]

Put an SSD into it.
You won't regret doing so.

 

[chrfr]

My local apple authorized shop tells me that I cannot buy the correct and approved hard drive to upgrade my A1347 mini. He specifically mentions a temp sensor. A new 1TB 7200 rpm drive, installed for about $375.

It is the i7 2.3 ghz quad core processor with 16gb of Crucial ram.

I know I can do the hard drive install myself. I am not trying to be a cheapskate but is there a proper hard drive that a 'civilian' can buy?

Oh, he also told me a SSD would get torn up or would be hard on the machine, I forgot which but he said it wasn't that much faster anyway.

An SSD will work fine in the 2012 Mini and does not require a specific temperature sensor. That sensor was only an issue on 2010 Minis. Don't waste your time buying a new hard disk; the performance improvement with an SSD will make your Mini feel like a new computer.

 

[Boyd01]

You could also just plug in an external SSD and boot from that, which has the advantage of being able to do it by yourself without opening it up or taking it to a repair center. I have a 2012 Mini similar to yours (mine is the 2.6ghz 2012 quad) and used a setup like this for several years. Worked really well with demanding software like Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro.

I used a 1TB Samsung T3 SSD, which is the previous version of the Samsung T5 and has similar performance. This is performance that I got, the T5 might be slightly faster

It's a bit slower than an internal SSD, however I never really noticed the difference. My 2012 Mini has an original Apple internal SSD and this is how it clocks. The only way I could tell the difference is that the external SSD took about 30 seconds to boot while the internal took 15 seconds.

Regardless, the external SSD will be a HUGE improvement over your internal hard drive and also much faster than a 7200 RPM hard drive. You will also be able to easily move it to a new machine when your 2012 Mini finally dies. A Samsung T5 would be a good choice (the T7 will not be any faster on an old machine like yours) but there are also other sources for external USB SSD's.

 

[millertimer]

My 2012 Mini has an original Apple internal SSD and this is how it clocks. The only way I could tell the difference is that the external SSD took about 30 seconds to boot while the internal took 15 seconds.

Why the change to an external if you already had an internal SSD? And thanks for the insight.

 

[el-John-o]

For $375 you could get a Samsung 870 Evo 4TB SSD!

I’m not sure your tech knows what they’re talking about. They may be confusing your model with the 2010 which I could understand, but no there is absolutely no way that a Mac Mini would damage an SSD or an SSD would damage a Mac mini. You’re not slapping a turbo onto a Civic, you’re putting a replacement SATA hard drive that happens to be much faster. (Note that read/write speeds aren’t the thing that’ll make an SSD feel much faster, it’s the random access times that are monumentally faster.)

 

[MarkC426]

As stated above, an SSD is your best option (people put ssd's into g4/g5 macs without issue).

I am not sure of compatibility, but a few cMP users have had issues with the 870 evo's (maybe a Samsung firmware problem), better sticking with an 860.

 

[Boyd01]

Why the change to an external if you already had an internal SSD? And thanks for the insight.

The internal SSD is only 256gb (largest that Apple offered in 2012), not enough room for all my stuff at the time. Also, I had the original OS (Mountain Lion) installed on the internal and wanted to leave it, for compatibility with some old, very expensive software. I have now retired that computer to duties as a file and time machine server on my network and have replaced it with a 2018 Mini, with Mountain Lion and Sierra virtual machines for my old software.

(people put ssd's into g4/g5 macs without issue).

I agree with the point about there not being compatibility issues, however it's important to note that the G4 and G5 were built to be easily upgraded, with hinged doors that popped open and lots of room inside (I had plenty of these in the past, still have a dead G4 up in the attic).

Personally, I think it's a bad idea to open up a 2012 Mini unless you really have to. This computer was designed for easy user-upgradeable RAM but not disks. It requires a lot of disassembly and there are fragile parts that can be damaged in the process, especially as they get older. There are plenty of posts in this forum from people who damaged their mini in this way. Now, there are probably more people who didn't have problems, but I just don't think it's a risk worth taking unless absolutely necessary. The external SSD is going to be just as fast from a user-perspective.

 

[el-John-o]

The internal SSD is only 256gb (largest that Apple offered in 2012), not enough room for all my stuff at the time. Also, I had the original OS (Mountain Lion) installed on the internal and wanted to leave it, for compatibility with some old, very expensive software. I have now retired that computer to duties as a file and time machine server on my network and have replaced it with a 2018 Mini, with Mountain Lion and Sierra virtual machines for my old software.



I agree with the point about there not being compatibility issues, however it's important to note that the G4 and G5 were built to be easily upgraded, with hinged doors that popped open and lots of room inside (I had plenty of these in the past, still have a dead G4 up in the attic).

Personally, I think it's a bad idea to open up a 2012 Mini unless you really have to. This computer was designed for easy user-upgradeable RAM but not disks. It requires a lot of disassembly and there are fragile parts that can be damaged in the process, especially as they get older. There are plenty of posts in this forum from people who damaged their mini in this way. Now, there are probably more people who didn't have problems, but I just don't think it's a risk worth taking unless absolutely necessary. The external SSD is going to be just as fast from a user-perspective.

Aren’t most of those situations where they weren’t using the appropriate tools?

Back when I bought my 2012, I ordered the ifixit kit and an SSD at the same time. I never even booted it with the original drive. I swapped it with a Samsung SSD (512GB at the time) immediately after taking it out of the box. I don’t recall it being especially tricky or challenging, if you have the motherboard removal tool the whole thing just slides out.

Either way, it sounds like OP’s drive has failed and needs to be replaced anyway. If OP isn’t comfortable (though he said he was), then he needs to find a different shop. Whoever told him an SSD is too powerful and will damage his Mac Mini needs to go back to school.

 

[millertimer]

The external SSD is going to be just as fast from a user-perspective.

I didn't say it earlier, and added this to my original post for new readers, but we will be traveling a lot with this in our truck camper and an external drive wouldn't be so easily accommodated. I'd buy a newer macmini or a same form factor windows if I absolutely had to. Great input!

 

[millertimer]

Don't waste your time buying a new hard disk; the performance improvement with an SSD will make your Mini feel like a new computer.

Do you have a recommendation? With no reason other sticking to a known brand, maybe a Crucial 1 TB or 2 TB drive? I presume I can add two drives and use one for data backup? https://www.crucial.com/ssd/mx500/ct1000mx500ssd1

 

[Kaida]

My local apple authorized shop tells me that I cannot buy the correct and approved hard drive to upgrade my A1347 mini. He specifically mentions a temp sensor. A new 1TB 7200 rpm drive, installed for about $375.

It is the i7 2.3 ghz quad core processor with 16gb of Crucial ram.

I know I can do the hard drive install myself. I am not trying to be a cheapskate but is there a proper hard drive that a 'civilian' can buy?

Oh, he also told me a SSD would get torn up or would be hard on the machine, I forgot which but he said it wasn't that much faster anyway.

Edited to add: A big reason for the macmini is its compactness and simplicity as we will use this while traveling in our truck camper where space is a limited. We'd put the monitor where the TV is. An external drive occasionally attached for a data backup would work but not attached full tiime.

rubbish... I think he is just trying to clear his stocks of 1tb 7200 rpm and trying to tell you that is your only choice.. go for a samsung evo 870 or a crucial mx500 and it will be much cheaper and alot faster and cheaper than whatever he is trying to sell you.

 

[Kaida]

Aren’t most of those situations where they weren’t using the appropriate tools?

Back when I bought my 2012, I ordered the ifixit kit and an SSD at the same time. I never even booted it with the original drive. I swapped it with a Samsung SSD (512GB at the time) immediately after taking it out of the box. I don’t recall it being especially tricky or challenging, if you have the motherboard removal tool the whole thing just slides out.

Either way, it sounds like OP’s drive has failed and needs to be replaced anyway. If OP isn’t comfortable (though he said he was), then he needs to find a different shop. Whoever told him an SSD is too powerful and will damage his Mac Mini needs to go back to school.

they are just trying to make more money selling old stuffs... ddr2 is pretty expensive now you know...

 

[motoitalia]

I put a 500GB SSD in my Mac mini (Late 2009) several years ago. Still going fine today.

 

[biffuz]

At first I thought someone bumped a thread form 6 years ago... but no, it's 2021. Heck, do they even manufacture 7200rpm 2,5" HDD nowadays?!?
Seriously, there's no reason to not replace a 2,5" SATA HDD with a SSD. As far as I know, only some early SATA 1 controllers (that's before 2005) have issues with the newest SSDs. You don't need any "Apple approved" SSD either.
And for $375?!? The guy was totally ignorant, or he was trying to scam you. Any self-respecting technician will have no problem at all doing the job, it's no different from a typical notebook repair job. Let's just say there are some technicians out there who see Apple owners as easy to scam, stupid rich people...

 

[el-John-o]

they are just trying to make more money selling old stuffs... ddr2 is pretty expensive now you know...

Yeah, sounds like it.

I'm running SSD's in 66MHz Pentium machines, and old PowerPC Macs! There's no such thing as a computer that won't work with an SSD or that will be 'damaged' by an SSD. If it'll boot with a hard drive, it'll boot with an SSD.