Mac Mini with 2TB, possible?

[zorga]

I’ve been scouring the forum as well as the net in general and can’t get a straight response if I can fit 2 1TB HD in the Mac Mini server (no DVD) chassis

I want to use it as a media server and almost never use a DVD player (although I plan to get the external Super Drive just in case for when I do or when I want to rip my library)

I was thinking of getting the Western Digital Blue Scorprio 1TB drives.

I know I’ve heard they are 12mm and not the standard 9mm and that it may be tight... but will it fit two of them?

Thanks a ton

 

[Hellhammer]

Doesn't work with the old Mini

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2348364

Not sure about the new one, I guess nobody has tried it yet.

 

[zorga]

yes, I was referring to the new one

 

[Hellhammer]

yes, I was referring to the new one

Well, the new one is even thinner (5.08cm vs 3.6cm) so that doesn't sound too good

 

[zorga]

Kittos

I just shot off an email to the guys at http://www.macminicolo.net since they probably know best and even have a tear down of the new server.

I have a feeling it’s going to be a no no

I can probably deal with “just” having 2 x 500GB and then wait, one day, when the 1TB drives will be 9mm

 

[Hellhammer]

Kittos

I just shot off an email to the guys at http://www.macminicolo.net since they probably know best and even have a tear down of the new server.

I have a feeling it’s going to be a no no

I can probably deal with “just” having 2 x 500GB and then wait, one day, when the 1TB drives will be 9mm

You can fit dual 750GB in it They are 9.5mm.

 

[zorga]

true, but all the effort doesn’t seem worth “just” 500GB more

 

[SmilesLots]

Does anybody make 2 TB drives in a 2.5 in form factor? I did not think they were available.

What I may eventually do is put an esata extender off the easiest to access drive, remove that drive, run the cable into a port multiplier, and thus get 5 esata connections for my 2010 server. All the external esata drives I have also have their own power supplies. Just a thought for now.

 

[Hellhammer]

Does anybody make 2 TB drives in a 2.5 in form factor? I did not think they were available.

1.5TB is the biggest that is currently available and it's 14mm so even higher.

 

[lcseds]

1.5TB is the biggest that is currently available and it's 14mm so even higher.

Not to mention they are mostly 5200 rpm in the upper capacities. High capacity, but slow. For now anyway.

 

[RedReplicant]

Not to mention they are mostly 5200 rpm in the upper capacities. High capacity, but slow. For now anyway.

Are they actually slow though? That kind of density wouldn't need a whole lot of RPM to match smaller drives.

 

[Hellhammer]

Not to mention they are mostly 5200 rpm in the upper capacities. High capacity, but slow. For now anyway.

Are they actually slow though? That kind of density wouldn't need a whole lot of RPM to match smaller drives.

They are very dense

Yeah, it should be faster than e.g. 500GB 5400rpm drive because that 1TB is made of three ~333GB platters while 500GB is made of two 250GB platters. When the drive is denser, it can read/write more data per round. 333GB is around 33% denser than 250GB so in theory, the 500GB drive has to spin 1.33 rounds to read/write the same data. 5400rpm is only ~4% more than 5200rpm so 1TB should be faster. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any good benchmarks

However, 750GB 5400rpm should be the fastest 5400rpm drive as it's made of two 375GB platters.

And only WD drives are 5200rpm, Toshiba and Samsung have 5400rpm 1TB HDs. Not to forget the new 750GB 7200rpm Seagate.

 

[stukdog]

Just in case someone comes looking later, here is the answer:

The two 1TB drives will not fit in the new unibody Mac minis.

In the older version of the Mac mini with Snow Leopard Server (the 2.53 GHz one), it will fit but it takes some modification.

The 1TB drive fits fine in the upper drive slot.

The lower slot doesn't work so well. In order to get it to fit, you have to cut away some of the black plastic tray. Also, when you do finally get it in, it is a VERY tight fit against the heat sink.

So possible, yes. But recommended, no. I'd stick with just replacing the top one if you want the 1.5TB.

Hope that helps someone.

 

[emptyCup]

I plan to get the external Super Drive just in case for when I do or when I want to rip my library)

Why not just get an external FireWire HD? Bigger, faster, cheaper.

 

[scstraus]

Possible but ugly

Hi all, I came here to let you know that I have crammed 2 of the 12.5mm tall WD Scorpio Blue 1TB 2.5 inch drives into the mac mini server 2009 edition.

I should warn you that they are not meant to fit. The biggest drive that will fit into the bottom bay I think is 10mm. The top drive bay *WILL* accommodate the 12.5mm drive height without problem, so a 1.75 TB mac mini is possible (750mb in bottom tray and 1tb in top tray). This is the way to go if you didn't already buy the drives and want to to RAID as I did.

However, I was so frustrated and pissed off to learn this after the pain in the ass of opening up my mac mini that I just kept bending the plastic until they fit. I don't recommend this to anyone, but if you are at the point where you just don't give a ****, you can force it to work. You may end up breaking the plastic bracket holding them in (I was surprised I didn't to be honest).

If you have a dremel and a steady hand, you might be able to remove enough plastic to make this actually fit. There is enough room inside the machine to make it work, it's just the shape of the plastic drive holder that is the problem. It would also be possible for someone to release a new drive holder that could hold 2x1tb drives properly, but no one has yet.

The good thing is that the SATA and power connectors don't give you any problems and the case goes back together pretty well with the 2 drives in there.



My 2tb mac mini server has been running for a month without any issues.

I am including pictures from my install below. I'm not sure what to tell you, other than I don't recommend this for anyone other than the most hearty and bold of mac mini modders.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27355784@N00/sets/72157625783068132/with/5338616971/

 

[weisjt]

you could just get a fast external hard drive one that would look good with the mac mini or even one you could hide behind monitor or tv..
on my blog i have a review of my iomega 2tb mini max external hd check it out


http://weisjttechhouse.blogspot.com/

 

[scstraus]

I didn't go with an external because my goal was to have both my boot drives and all my data replicated as RAID. I could have tried to route the SATA connectors out of the box, but I wasn't in the mood for that. So far, no problems.

 

[chris98vf]

Why not just get an external FireWire HD? Bigger, faster, cheaper.

I would go this way. I was a little apprehensive getting a FW 800 drive back when all I knew from PC's were E-SATA but I am impressed with the speed. It will easily stream video files and not give the slightest hiccup. If you go for an external DVD get the Asus external Blu-ray. It will work for a BR drive if you dual boot to windows and MAYBE just maybe one day Apple will support it

 

[davintosh]

Externalize it

I'm with the others; don't bother messing with the internal drive, just get a decent external that either matches the looks of the mini or can be hidden away from view. The externals can accomodate 3.5" drives, which tend to dissipate heat better and last longer than the 2.5" drives.

 

[scstraus]

External RAID boot?

I'm with the others; don't bother messing with the internal drive, just get a decent external that either matches the looks of the mini or can be hidden away from view. The externals can accommodate 3.5" drives, which tend to dissipate heat better and last longer than the 2.5" drives.

Based on this article:

http://www.tidbits.com/article/8405

And little else that tells me that it's possible to do, I'm not so sure I would be successful in creating an external RAID solution that I could boot from. Do you know differently?

 

[srexy]

Based on this article:

http://www.tidbits.com/article/8405

And little else that tells me that it's possible to do, I'm not so sure I would be successful in creating an external RAID solution that I could boot from. Do you know differently?

If all you're going to do with your internal drive is store applications then why bother raiding this? Just use Carbon Copy Cloner or something of its ilk for scheduled backups and be done with it. There's no need to boot off the FW drives - just use them for storage/backups.

Here's my setup currently:

Mac Mini w/500gb drive
OWC Mercury Elite dual enclosure with a 2tb and a 1.5tb drive. I store all of my media on the 1.5tb drive and use CCC to back up both the 1.5tb and the 500gb system drive to the 2tb drive on separate schedules.

I'm almost out of room on the media drive so I'm going to daisy chain in another OWC dual drive - this time w/ 4tb of space. I'll then turn the first of my enclosures into 3.5tb of media storage space and use the 4tb enclosure to back it up and my system drive. Pretty simple.

 

[scstraus]

If all you're going to do with your internal drive is store applications then why bother raiding this? Just use Carbon Copy Cloner or something of its ilk for scheduled backups and be done with it. There's no need to boot off the FW drives - just use them for storage/backups.

I already use time machine and sugarsync for backup purposes. The reason I added RAID was for a high availability and just a little extra piece of mind. I don't take any chances when it comes to my photo and music collection, as they are pretty much irreplacable, and I want them online all the time. I'm happy with my choice. It's been running 24x7 for 5 months now, no issues.