Mini late 2012 fusion disks configuration and upgrade

[Wando64]

Hi all,
I've searched all over and I cannot find any information on this.
Can anybody tell me if the SSD of the fusion drive is in the top slot (easy to replace) or on the bottom one (the tough one)?

Also, does anyone know whether it is possible to replace the 128gb SSD with a 1Tb SSD and create a 2Tb fusion drive with the factory HDD?
In theory this should be possible, but has anyone done something similar?
Any reason why it might be a bad idea? (i.e. future Apple support of non Apple SSDs?)

Thanks

 

[DeltaMac]

You can see which slots are used... There's no way to predict which slots are used, but easy to find out.
About this Mac, then System Report. Click on "SATA/SATA Express", then select your drive. You will see the location listed under "Bay Name". One device will show Upper, and the other will show Lower. (And now you know )

I would suggest that replacing the small SSD with a 1TB will be better to use that as your primary boot drive (NO fusion drive). You will have all that storage, without the risk of losing one of the devices (because you would lose everything if just one drive happens to fail. Then, with a large SSD, you can keep the spinning hard drive as separate storage, rather than using it as a part of a fusion drive. Just my opinion.

 

[Wando64]

Thank you.
It turns out the upper bay is the HDD.
I am not brave enough to reach for the lower slot to change the SSD, but this opens the possibility of replacing the HDD with a 1Tb SSD.
I guess I could keep the OS on the 128gb SSD and everything else on the 1Tb one, plus an external HDD.

I am not a fan of multiple drives, that's why I was toying with the idea of a large Fusion with 1:1 ratio SSD/HDD

 

[treekram]

Thank you.
It turns out the upper bay is the HDD.
I am not brave enough to reach for the lower slot to change the SSD, but this opens the possibility of replacing the HDD with a 1Tb SSD.
I guess I could keep the OS on the 128gb SSD and everything else on the 1Tb one, plus an external HDD.

I am not a fan of multiple drives, that's why I was toying with the idea of a large Fusion with 1:1 ratio SSD/HDD

The upper bay is the one that requires taking out the logic board to change. You should be able to change the disk in the lower bay without removing the logic board (there are still risks, though). This presumes you're using the definition obtained from the steps in post #2.

 

[Wando64]

The upper bay is the one that requires taking out the logic board to change. You should be able to change the disk in the lower bay without removing the logic board (there are still risks, though). This presumes you're using the definition obtained from the steps in post #2.

I forgotten that when you open the mini it is upside down. Doh
Thanks.

 

[Ubele]

FWIW, I've successfully created Fusion drives in three Mac minis. One had the stock HDD in the bottom slot, and the other two had it in the top slot. I watched the upgrade videos on OWC until I was confident I could perform the upgrades, and I ordered the appropriate kits. The first upgrade was a nail-biter, but the other two were easy, since I'd already done the upgrade once. Removing the logic board wasn't any more difficult than some of the other steps. There were several times when a part wouldn't easily come out or go back in, which was a bit scary. The key was to gently keep jiggling the part and not force it. Eventually, it would come out or go back in. Also, I made sure to work very slowly, watching the OWC video on my iPad and pausing at each step.

 

[MBAir2010]

thanks of everyone positive input here, one of these day i might add those new fangled SSD in that 2012 mini in front of me.
OWC is great source for videos and mac stuff.