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

new MacUser seeking memory upgrade advice

F

Foxtrot45

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 16, 2012
6
0
Hi - a friend of mine recommended these forums as a good place to go for advice. I've bought my first Mac, a 2011 Mini, in August. It has 2 GB of memory which I would like to upgrade. Where would folks suggest I order RAM from, should I get 8 (2x4) or 16, and is there anything else I should know or take into account?

Installation seems straightforward, so once I decide where to order from and get my chips, I am not expecting any other problems.

Thanks,
F
 
basesloaded190

basesloaded190

macrumors 68030
Oct 16, 2007
2,693
5
Wisconsin
Check out Newegg. Depending on what you are using the computer for most people will say that 8 GB is enough, but RAM is super cheap and more RAM never hurt anyone.
 
S

shortcut3d

macrumors 65816
Aug 24, 2011
1,112
15
Wirelessly posted

I've had good results with both 2x4GB 1866MHz Kingston Hyper X PnP and 2x8GB 1600MHz Corsair Vengenance. If you go beyond 1333MHz make sure it's PnP or auto detect.
 
philipma1957

philipma1957

macrumors 603
Apr 13, 2010
6,367
251
Howell, New Jersey
Foxtrot45 said:
Hi - a friend of mine recommended these forums as a good place to go for advice. I've bought my first Mac, a 2011 Mini, in August. It has 2 GB of memory which I would like to upgrade. Where would folks suggest I order RAM from, should I get 8 (2x4) or 16, and is there anything else I should know or take into account?

Installation seems straightforward, so once I decide where to order from and get my chips, I am not expecting any other problems.

Thanks,
F
Click to expand...

monster killer sale


http://www.newegg.com/Special/ShellShocker.aspx?cm_sp=ShellShocker-_-20-231-533-_-05162012_2



these will work. this is the lowest price in the history of this item. this is a shell shocker sale good for about 4pm east coast time.
 
L

LorenK

macrumors 6502
Dec 26, 2007
391
153
Illinois
I bought my MacMini memory at New Egg and no issue. Installing the memory is a snap, literally, just be sure to handle the cards carefully, don't want to touch the contact points.

Good luck.
 
P

palmharbor

macrumors 6502
Jul 31, 2007
408
0
Burned

I got burned by Memory TEN....$22.98 for 4GB for new MacMini.
Only it did not work...Mac would not boot up....beep sound.
Had a hard time sending it back...had to contact them 4 times.
They sell cheap Chinese Crap. Great prices...but its C.C.
Bought from another firm and awaiting delivery, paid 30% more but its not Cheap Chinese Crap.
 
philipma1957

philipma1957

macrumors 603
Apr 13, 2010
6,367
251
Howell, New Jersey
Foxtrot45 said:
Will these work - they don't list Minis as one of the options?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233215
Click to expand...

yes they will work.

these will also work

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231342

I have put 100 of the gskill sticks above into 2011 mac minis. I run an upgrade business for macs. It is my first choice of ram for a 2011 mac mini user with needs like yourself. they are better then the ones you picked.

but the 6 or seven dollars more is because they read apple. the label is not worth it. I could go into a long and detailed explanation but I won't.

I will just say buy either one above but that I buy gskill for my upgrades.


you can look me up on ebay to see my feedback on mac mini sales. I have sold and upgraded a lot of mac minis. you can also see newegg users like the gskill
 
Last edited:
F

Foxtrot45

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 16, 2012
6
0
I bought the llowest speed processor 2011 MacMini, with 2GB RAM. The computer runs slower than I'd expect from a new desktop. I use the computer just for web browsing, word processing and the like. No games.

How much differece should I expect from 2 to 8 GB of RAM? 8 to 16? Can the mini safely use 16?

Thanks for all the replies so far.
 
theSeb

theSeb

macrumors 604
Aug 10, 2010
7,466
1,893
none
Foxtrot45 said:
I bought the llowest speed processor 2011 MacMini, with 2GB RAM. The computer runs slower than I'd expect from a new desktop. I use the computer just for web browsing, word processing and the like. No games.

How much differece should I expect from 2 to 8 GB of RAM? 8 to 16? Can the mini safely use 16?

Thanks for all the replies so far.
Click to expand...

There will be a huge difference in going from 2 GB to 8 GB, but I don't believe you need 16 GB since you don't seem to use any demanding applications. OSX likes memory to cache stuff so the whole system will run a lot better. I would recommend 8 GB for you, but the mini can safely use 16 GBs too.

The exact specifications, according to Apple, are:

Mac mini (Mid 2011) computers have two internal memory slots. These slots accept a standard PC3-10600 DDR3 204-pin SO-DIMMs (Small Outline DIMM) with the following specifications:

PC3-10600 DDR3
Unbuffered
Non-parity
204-pin module
1333 MHz

But, in reality, you can use 1600 MHz (I am using it in my mini right now) and you can even use some 1866 MHz. But, to be honest, this is not really necessary for you.

Just stick to memory like this and you'll be fine:

Specs: DDR3 PC3-10600 • CL=9 • Unbuffered • NON-ECC • DDR3-1333

For example:

http://www.crucial.com/store/partspecs.aspx?imodule=ct2kit51264bc1339&click=true


Here are Apple's instructions on how to upgrade

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4432

You can also find videos on the web.
 
F

Foxtrot45

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 16, 2012
6
0
Thanks - it looks like this is the same Crucial memory on Amazon's site? I can't quite tell, because Amazon doesnt include all of the same details, like "CL=9"
 
J

JAT

macrumors 603
Dec 31, 2001
6,473
124
Mpls, MN
I just bought that Crucial memory pak on Amazon. Working just fine so far. I also seldom do anything RAM intensive, but I do have 3-5 programs running constantly. Several annoying slow-downs have vanished with 8GB vs the 2GB I had.
 
M

Mak47

macrumors 6502a
Mar 27, 2011
751
32
Harrisburg, PA
The dirty little secret about RAM is that almost all of it is the same stuff. There aren't many companies that actually make it, but there are a lot of different labels that it gets sold under. Any brand that is reasonably well known, G Skill, Crucial, Corsair etc. should be fine. I've actually used Crucial RAM that is identical (stickers and all) to "Apple" RAM.

For what you're doing, 8GB should be plenty, but if spending a few bucks more isn't a problem for you, go to 16GB. The Mini can take it and you never know what you'll be doing a year from now. You can't really have too much RAM.

Newegg usually has good RAM prices, they've also had some decent promos on SSD's lately too. That would give you a speed boost as well.
 
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