Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

New 2014 Mac Mini Has Soldered RAM, Not User Replaceable

Double deal breaker. Not upgradeable, and underpowered...and I was waiting for this refresh.

Not buying one. I'm going to build my own and run linux.

Apple did this back in the 80s with the original mac. Nothing could be upgraded. I remember that this is what kept people away from the mac and drove them to PCs. This was a contributing factor to apple almost going under by 1997, when Jobs came back with his NeXT technology with business and saved them.

In a few years, they'll be all tablet and phones, and maybe a few laptops. Sad that I've probably bought my last apple computer after being loyal for so long.
 
Renzatic said:
Hardly. Upgrading the ram in the old Mac Mini didn't void the warranty, and took about 45 seconds to do. The whole machine was designed to be easily accessed, and you'd save...as I posted above...a ton doing it.

The new Mini is almost the exact same build. It's just...closed off for the simple sake of it.

So instead of going with the base, then buying some more later if you need it. You have to buy a new one, then sell the old machine off to recoup your money. Depending on when you do it, you'll probably end up spending more time, effort, and money doing that than just getting a new stick and popping it in.

Cuz seriously, upgrading ram is about as easy as changing batteries out of a remote.
Click to expand...

not when they are soldered in... my guess is if they weren't you would be paying the extra $100 for the mini same as it was before. Just isn't worth it is the point. Just order the top and be happy about it. Apple products have always retained their resale value better then most and a lot of that is for this very reason, that people know what they are getting and don't have to mess with it... just works.
 
coolfactor said:
"limited to 16GB of RAM"

This world is getting out of control. The problem with providing massive specs to solve performance problems is that the performance problems just get worse because developers are lazy, so more specs are needed, and it's an endless cycle. The pressure needs to be put onto software developers to create lean, mean software, not bloated messes like what Adobe puts out. Don't blame Apple here.. 16GB is a LOT of RAM to be working with. Contact your favourite software houses and demand that they ensure they are using RAM as efficiently as possible. Make noise in that arena.
Click to expand...

lol...one of the worst memory offenders on my machine is iPhoto...probably followed by iMovie...! I have 8GB and it plummets when I open either of those two with nothing else running. #
 
cycomiko said:
Base price

749

Topped out memory

+480

topped out HDD

+400

ya see where this is heading
Click to expand...


Apple has never been in the business of saving do-it-your-selfers money. It is about selling a complete solution that the majority will benefit from without having to toy around. I guarantee the most customers of the mini will never even consider upgrading the ram after their purchase. And in this case they saved the $100 in ram connectors that would have been provided for people like you to feel like they are getting something out of.
 
ClassicII said:
Straight from apple's store for any one still questioning this article.

Memory
1.4GHz Mac mini
4GB of 1600MHz LPDDR3 memory
Configurable to 8GB or 16GB, only at the Apple Online Store.
2.6GHz Mac mini and 2.8GHz Mac mini
8GB of 1600MHz LPDDR3 memory
Configurable to 16GB, only at the Apple Online Store.


What a joke btw. If they made it super small I could see the logic board ram. But same size and not upgradable? WHY!?!?!?!?
Click to expand...

That just means you can't get that configuration at, for example, best buy :rolleyes:
 
WilliamLondon said:
Either that or they're looking at doing something even more interesting with the ATV by combining it with some of the Mac Mini functionality, such as how it's used as an HTPC and perhaps something to allow it to connect to a NAS (or external storage) much easier, perhaps even something like an iTunes server type device but all connecting to the living room monitor.

And now I'll stop dreaming.
Click to expand...

All things considered, I'm sure Apple is planning on doing something interesting with the ATV and Mac Mini. All the parts are seemingly in place, and while the markets for both aren't the most lucrative around (at the moment), there's still money to be made.
 
rocknblogger said:
The source in the OP only says that it's "looking like" the RAM is soldered. That's a lot different than confirming. In fact he didn't confirm anything.
Click to expand...

He said that at the beginning, then added the confirmation at the end of the post. It's confirmed.
 
^^New 2014 Mac Mini Has Soldered RAM, Not User Replaceable^^

This is what it says for the Mini at the Apple store:

Upgrade your memory to enjoy greater performance for more intensive computing tasks or multitasking. Your Mac mini uses one of the fastest memory technologies available today — 1600MHz Low-Power Double Data Rate 3 (LPDDR3) synchronous dynamic random-access memory (SDRAM) — ensuring that the processor is constantly fed with data without wasting clock cycles.

This is what is says for the MacBook Air:
Every MacBook Air comes with 4GB of memory built into the system. If you feel you may need 8GB in the future, it is important to upgrade at the time of purchase, as RAM is not upgradeable in this model.

This is what is says for the 21" iMac:
Important note: Every 21.5-inch iMac comes with 8GB of memory built into the computer. If you think you may need 16GB of memory in the future, it is important to upgrade at the time of purchase, because memory cannot be upgraded later in this model.

This is what it says for the MacBook Pro:
Note that MacBook Pro with Retina display comes with 8GB of memory built into the computer. If you think you may need more memory in the future, it is important to upgrade at the time of purchase, because memory cannot be upgraded later in this model.

hmmmmm
 
Last edited:
groovyd said:
Apple has never been in the business of saving do-it-your-selfers money. It is about selling a complete solution that the majority of shareholders will benefit from without having to toy around. I guarantee the most customers of the mini will never even consider upgrading the ram after their purchase. And in this case they saved the $100 in ram connectors that would have been provided for people like you to feel like they are getting something out of.
Click to expand...

$100 saving? how about the 29$ dvi adapter that apple took away?
 
groovyd said:
Just order the top and be happy about it. Apple products have always retained their resale value better then most and a lot of that is for this very reason, that people know what they are getting and don't have to mess with it... just works.
Click to expand...

There's a difference between paying more for quality, and paying more just to pay more. It's not simply about what just works or not, it's also about the value of what you're getting. A topped out Mac Mini isn't worth the price you're paying for it, even when you consider its resale value.

Plus, plenty of people mess around with the Mini. I'd almost say it was a more popular item for the geeky tinkerers than it was your average consumer, who'd more likely buy an MBA or 21" iMac if they were going with a Mac. Taking away the ability to scale it to your needs removes its biggest selling point to that crowd.
 
groovyd said:
not when they are soldered in... my guess is if they weren't you would be paying the extra $100 for the mini same as it was before. Just isn't worth it is the point. Just order the top and be happy about it. Apple products have always retained their resale value better then most and a lot of that is for this very reason, that people know what they are getting and don't have to mess with it... just works.
Click to expand...

Not going to "be happy about it" when it costs the end user $250 more to up grade from 4 to 16GB of ram. Because that's what the price difference was 2 years ago. I'm sure 16gb of ram isn't more expensive now. Also, what if they don't want to upgrade now?
 
I'm not trying to hurt anyone's feelings but why do I have a feeling that this kind of move is going to be apple's problem in the future. Tech isn't getting any cheaper with them, and while it seems like this was a move to either make way for something in there, or to force users to buy new models instead of upgrade some parts in the future, most people will want something that will help them save and last them long in the future. :(
 
coolfactor said:
"limited to 16GB of RAM"

This world is getting out of control. The problem with providing massive specs to solve performance problems is that the performance problems just get worse because developers are lazy, so more specs are needed, and it's an endless cycle. The pressure needs to be put onto software developers to create lean, mean software, not bloated messes like what Adobe puts out. Don't blame Apple here.. 16GB is a LOT of RAM to be working with. Contact your favourite software houses and demand that they ensure they are using RAM as efficiently as possible. Make noise in that arena.
Click to expand...

Seriously, I downgraded from Photoshop CS6 to CS3 because CS3 was the same thing except with minimum specs matching an eMac (G4) instead of a 2011 iMac. Office also has that issue. OS X 10.9.0 was a total memory hog, but 10.9.5 seems fine. And another reason I don't use Chrome...
 
tkwolf said:
I'm not trying to hurt anyone's feelings but why do I have a feeling that this kind of move is going to be apple's problem in the future. Tech isn't getting any cheaper with them, and while it seems like this was a move to either make way for something in there, or to force users to buy new models instead of upgrade some parts in the future, most people will want something that will help them save and last them long in the future. :(
Click to expand...

Thats exactly what it is. 4 GB of ram isn't really enough for anyone at the moment ( Try using a 5400RPM drive and 4GB of ram with iMovie), and desktop computers should really be serviceable for at least 4-5 years. I'm sick to death of Apple ripping us off, with dodgy price cutting measures like this and keeping the iPad Mini 1 around.
 
groovyd said:
Apple has never been in the business of saving do-it-your-selfers money. It is about selling a complete solution that the majority will benefit from without having to toy around. I guarantee the most customers of the mini will never even consider upgrading the ram after their purchase. And in this case they saved the $100 in ram connectors that would have been provided for people like you to feel like they are getting something out of.
Click to expand...
Saved 100$ in ram connectors? the lower powered CPU has nothing to do with the price.

But dont worry what apple get out of their upgrade is no purchase.

But when I build a hackintosh and use their operating system, its all good value.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back