Mini 2011 SSD upgrade

[Beachguy]

One of my Macs is an older Mini- a 2011, with 8GB of RAM, and the factory 500 GB spinning disk drive, possibly the slowest 5400rpm drive ever made. I am looking to upgrade the system drive (OS, and maybe a VM or two, with programs and data staying where they already are.)

First: Besides the raw SSD itself, what do I need to order and from where?
Second: I'm looking at these two drives. Yeas, they're cheap no-name drives, but criminy, this is an almost 7 year old Mini. It's mainly used to connect through a VPN to an RDP session. Will they work in a Mac Mini of that vintage?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0711K4RJ4/ref=sspa_dk_detail_3?psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075CZ68JW/ref=sspa_dk_detail_5?psc=1 (Although I may go for the Sandisk or PNY in the comparison itens.)

Oh- before you ask why I don't just get a larger SSD and replace the HDD? I'm married. I want to stay married.

 

[Beachguy]

By the way, if you have a different SSD to recommend, feel free to do so.

 

[MAlexB]

By the way, if you have a different SSD to recommend, feel free to do so.

Can't comment on a 2011 Mini but wrt SSD, I'd recommend Samsung hands-down; the 850 EVO is awesome, very fast (great for your internal SATA III), and reliable here.

 

[treekram]

The first link is to an mSATA drive which shouldn't be used in the Mini.

Installing a SSD in these Mini's are not trivial. You'll need a toolkit if you don't already have the necessary tools and you'll need to study the DIY guides. If you plan to keep the current HDD in the computer, you'd also need an extra cable.

 

[MAlexB]

Either https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac+Mini+Mid+2011+Hard+Drive+Replacement/6422 or https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Installing+Mac+Mini+Mid+2011+Dual+Hard+Drive+Kit/6634, perfectly doable, albeit the u-form tool helps a bit...

 

[Beachguy]

Thanks for the input. I didn't catch that one was mSATA, but I had dismissed it anyway as I found larger with a better price. I'm not afraid of diving into the machine to replace it. I've done a lot of disassembly/reassembly over the last 35 years.

I do need the HDD, though. I'm trying to do this on the cheap, given the age of the computer.

Alex- thanks for the links!!!

 

[MarkJames68]

I’ve had good results with the 850 EVO, SanDisk Ultra II and PNY drives. I wouldn’t bother with no name brands to save $10.

 

[Beachguy]

I picked up a SanDisk Ultra II 500 GB drive, and added it. Holy cow! What a MASSIVE difference it makes. I never knew this old, "obsolete" Mac Mini had the speed I've seen. It isn't blowing the doors out or anything, but the performance is VERY comfortable. That spinning disk was a HUGE bottleneck. It made an even bigger difference in the Mini than adding an SSD made in my 2012 i7 MBP! And a nice side effect is that I have another 500GB of offline storage as well!