New Mac Mini Teardown Provides Look Inside Apple's Smallest Mac Ever

[DavidSchaub]

The ****ing RAM is not ****ing soldered onto it. It is integrated in the ****ing CPU.

But unfortunately, the SSD is not user replaceable, which honestly is inexcusable at this point.

No, the RAM are just standard LPDDR5 chips connected to the package that the SoC die is also connected to.

Three distinct chips on the package:

At least the flash chips are repairable, if not really end-user replaceable. Given that the Mac would otherwise be bricked when the flash chips failed, this is a nice change.

 

[Velli]

No, the RAM are just standard LPDDR5 chips connected to the package that the SoC die is also connected to.

Three distinct chips on the package:

View attachment 2448928

At least the flash chips are repairable, if not really end-user replaceable. Given that the Mac would otherwise be bricked when the flash chips failed, this is a nice change.

Fair… Should have said “SoC”. Still, there is a performance benefit to it not being user replaceable, which there isn’t for the SSD.

In any case, it’s not “soldered”, but I guess that’s a technicality.

 

[joecomo]

The replaceable SSD makes me question my 8TB order …
(I‘ll keep an eye on that topic during the return period of my new Mac mini)

 

[svish]

Good to see the insides of the new mini. Happy to see the use of two 128GB chips for the 256GB version.

 

[Truben]

I have an M2 Mini, and I don't see any reason to change at this juncture. I really only use it to connect to my crazy large music collection, stored on my old Intel Mac Mini, with its terabyte HD, bought used for $300, and my 4 port Drobo which I got used for $200, already populated with 4x1TB HDs. The display is an original (DVI) Apple Cinema Display, which I got for free 10 years ago.

Sure, I also have an M2 MBP that I use for pontificating my profound observations on MacRumors and Facebook!

I don't see any reason either, especially if the trade-in is a scam. Of course, I will update, but not this year or the next. I heavily invested for durability. So, wake me up when the chip goes to the M7 Max.

 

[mielie]

The article points out the incredible thermal efficiency of Apple Silicon. I wonder if I am alone in wishing they would bring back the trash can Mac Pro. I always felt it was a beautiful design, just not practical considering the thermal requirements of the Intel processors of the day.

 

[asiga]

will dust be a problem? Seems like it might and anyone wanting to clean it out after 2-3 years of continuous use might be in for quite the challenge...

Same thoughts here. It seems Apple expects that a) the Mini will be turned on 24/7 and b) the user won’t clean the internals. Does this mean you are expected to buy a new one after 3-4 years? I make my Macs last more. I watched a Mac Studio teardown and it doesn’t look better in terms of cleaning the fans…

 

[Ta_whirimatea]

Yuck. Max’s videos are nasty. He seems always on the verge of busting out laughing, there’s a 15 second black and white preview before the video even starts and when it does, some noisome kid is constantly interrupting Max’s irrelevant commentary by screaming in the background. What an absolute fustercluck of a teardown.

Also he uses a steel craft knife to open the case so he’s definitely scratching it.

On the other hand Brandon Butch’s review is professional and grown up.

‘Fustercluck’ today’s new word! Makes me smile.

 

[Leon Ze Professional]

I saw it in the flesh for the first time in an Apple store today. It truly is a remarkable piece of engineering and simply impressive when you take a moment to appreciate the size, weight and power of this M4 device.

 

[MichaelDroste]

Amazing - I want to put the computer on a pedestal for cooling 3” circular pedestal work?

 

[theluggage]

In any case, it’s not “soldered”, but I guess that’s a technicality.

It is soldered - and people have upgraded the RAM on M-series chips - just not in a way that would be a practical option for the vast majority of users:

M1 Mac RAM and SSD Upgrades Found to Be Possible After Purchase

Technicians in China have reportedly succeeded in upgrading the memory and storage of the M1 chip, suggesting that Apple's integrated custom...

www.macrumors.com

Until recently, LPDDR (low-power) RAM had to be soldered close to the CPU (not necessarily on the SoC package) and was only sold in surface-mount chip form - there was no equivalent to the plug-in RAM modules used with regular DDR RAM. There is now a plug-in LPDDR system (LPCAMM) although I doubt that Apple will adopt it (There's clearly extra chippery on those modules to drive the interface, so I guess it would still be slightly less efficient than on-package RAM)! Still, I have a nice image in my head of "The New Apple M5 processor - with wiiings!" - it's also rather revealing about the actual cost of LPDDR5x memory in a retail product...

| CT32G75C2LP5XG | Crucial.com

Buy CT32G75C2LP5XG.

www.crucial.com

 

[Superhai]

Fair… Should have said “SoC”. Still, there is a performance benefit to it not being user replaceable, which there isn’t for the SSD.

In any case, it’s not “soldered”, but I guess that’s a technicality.

Also technically it is soldered, there is solder between memory and the substrate, the memory chips are flip-chipped.

 

[theluggage]

I wonder if I am alone in wishing they would bring back the trash can Mac Pro.

Probably, yes. Although the Mac Studio really is the spiritual successor to the Trashcan in all but shape.

I always felt it was a beautiful design, just not practical considering the thermal requirements of the Intel processors of the day.

Trouble is, the design was designed to meet the thermal requirements of the particular Xeon W processor and dual AMD GPUs it used. They just didn't pay much attention to the future upgrade path (CPUs and GPUs got bigger and hotter - who could have guessed? /s) - if you're going to tailor a design around a specific chipset then you can't expect that design to stay valid for 7 years...

The whole idea was clearly that the heat output would be fairly evenly spread between the CPU and both of the GPUs, so they were arranged in a triangle around a central "chimney" where they could cool partly by convection - which led itself to a cylindrical computer. It really was a form-follows-function design - Apple just called it wrong about the function! GPU-based computing was becoming important, but not necessarily in the way that would split the load evenly between a single CPU and two moderately-powered GPUs. The 3-way design couldn't cope with a single, ultra-powerful GPU.

Another problem was a frequent Apple failing with the pro range: they let the old Pro get thoroughly out of date before discontinuing it and replacing it with something that depended on massive workflow changes (the Mac Pro had actually been discontinued in Europe a year before the Trashcan came out because Apple couldn't be bothered to add a fan guard required by an EU safety directive that had been in the pipeline for years). I think that if they'd launched it as, basically, a Final Cut Pro "appliance" alongside an updated Classic Mac Pro it might have had a better reception.

 

[Velli]

Also technically it is soldered, there is solder between memory and the substrate, the memory chips are flip-chipped.

I accept that I knew less about this than I thought, and apparently so did the sources I took for granted. Thank you for the corrections.

 

[Dan From Canada]

No SD card reader and limited ports?
No thank you.
They had a sale until I didn't see an SD reader.

 

[GuilleA]

Yuck. Max’s videos are nasty. He seems always on the verge of busting out laughing, there’s a 15 second black and white preview before the video even starts and when it does, some noisome kid is constantly interrupting Max’s irrelevant commentary by screaming in the background. What an absolute fustercluck of a teardown.

Also he uses a steel craft knife to open the case so he’s definitely scratching it.

On the other hand Brandon Butch’s review is professional and grown up.

There’s something about how he talks, his voice, and editing that makes me want to crush my phone against the floor. I can’t seem to watch a full video of him.

 

[CharlesShaw]

No SD card reader and limited ports?
No thank you.
They had a sale until I didn't see an SD reader.

Which means the Studio will make more sense for those who regularly handle SD cards. Funny, if the Mini had an SD slot on the front, I would find it less appealing, not because of design, but because I know I would end up buying a camera so I'd have something to use the slot for, and I don't need a camera.

 

[Victor Mortimer]

The ****ing RAM is not ****ing soldered onto it. It is integrated in the ****ing CPU.

But unfortunately, the SSD is not user replaceable, which honestly is inexcusable at this point.

The ****ing RAM is ****ing soldered onto it. It is not integrated in the ****ing CPU.

And the SSD IS user replaceable as soon as 3rd party parts show up. I suspect there weren't enough Studios for OWC to build the parts. That will not be the case with the mini.

No, I'm not joking about the RAM. It's NOT integrated in any way, it's just soldered onto the same package as the CPU.
It's separate chips.

 

[turbineseaplane]

A really key problem to the "just use externals" way of getting around Apple extortion pricing on storage is...

iCloud

You can't have it on an external drive
(Gee, I wonder who has restricted that?)

 

[adamw]

Here is a guy upgrading the new M4 Mac mini SSD chips right after he received the new Mac mini, so we know it can be done. Or you can just get a high quality external Thunderbolt 3/4/5 SSD drive, install macOS on it, and make it your Startup Drive, like I just did to make my new M4 Mac mini a 4TB SSD model. The External Thunderbolt 3 SSD speed is even faster than the Apple internal 256GB SSD drive. I used the very capable SanDisk Professional 4TB PRO-G40 SSD, which also comes in 1TB and 2TB models.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Here is a guy upgrading the new M4 Mac mini SSD chips right after he received the new Mac mini, so we know it can be done:

That's not worth even thinking about

He's removing chips and soldering on new ones

That's basically computer re-construction and not feasible for 99% of users

 

[turbineseaplane]

A really intelligent post here

So Apple are charging $200 for an upgrade that costs them $50 (1TB) or really $28 (net after excluding 256 cost)

 

[asiga]

No SD card reader and limited ports?
No thank you.
They had a sale until I didn't see an SD reader.

Exactly. Even if I’m waiting for a Mac Studio with M4, I would order a high-end new Mini instead (M4 Pro, 64GB, 2TB) if it had SD card reader and USB-A ports. The lack of these ports makes me keep waiting for the M4 Studio.

 

[ducknalddon]

No SD card reader and limited ports?
No thank you.
They had a sale until I didn't see an SD reader.

That's been the case for a long time, my 2018 Mac mini doesn't have an SD reader.

 

[adamw]

Here is another person doing an in depth tear-down of the M4 Mac mini, who spends some time detailing the battery (for SMC settings?) in the center when you open the M4 Mac mini, which is a Panasonic BR1632A battery (see spec graphic sheet below of the battery). Wonder how long the battery will last before we need to replace it?