Two hard drives for Mac Mini, which ones?

[Mortis360]

I´m waiting for my Mac Mini to arrive, and I´m planning to put two hard drives in it. I would like 1,5 - 2TB hard drives, how thick can the drives be, and what would be compatible with two, and fit inside? 🙂

 

[CoolHotCold]

http://www.ifixit.com/Device/Mac_Mini_Late_2012


In theory any laptop 2.5" HDD/SSD will fit fine so long as it's 12.5" and lower in terms of height.

 

[opinio]

I´m waiting for my Mac Mini to arrive, and I´m planning to put two hard drives in it. I would like 1,5 - 2TB hard drives, how thick can the drives be, and what would be compatible with two, and fit inside? 🙂

2.5 inch 9.5mm thick max.

I assume you are talking about HDDs not SSDs as you are talking about large capacity.

The biggest 5400rpm 9.5mm thick 2.5" drive at 1.5TB is made by HGST.

http://www.hgst.com/hard-drives/mobile-drives/9.5mm-mobile-hard-drives/travelstar-5K1500

There is nothing similar or even bigger than this in a 9.5mm drive on the market.

The biggest and fastest 7200rpm 9.5mm thick 2.5" drive at 1TB is made by HGST.

http://www.hgst.com/hard-drives/mobile-drives/9.5mm-mobile-hard-drives/travelstar-7k1000

2TB 15mm will not fit unless you do modifications. 12.5 may fit but not screwed into the caddy. It is risky I think. Could damage the other drive or components with the squeeze. Also the sata ribbon when connected to the 12.5 is strained. Not wise.

 

[QWERTYMac7]

Try the Seagate 1 TB Hybrid Hard drive (I have a 750 GB in my MM):

http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Solid...1382534615&sr=8-1&keywords=segate+1+tb+hybrid

My Mac Mini has a 28 second start up time...

Good luck!

 

[blanka]

My Mac Mini has a 28 second start up time...

Good luck!

You will boot in less with a regular Scorpio Black too. No SSD part needed for that. I really love that drive: fast, silent, cheap. If you put in 2 you have 1.5TB. I have a Samsung 830 (now replaced by the 840 pro) with one WD drive for 1TB and booting in 10 seconds.

 

[Mortis360]

Thank you for the answers! Ive decided and ordered one 1,5TB hard drive from HGST (modelnumber: HTS541515A9E630), and gonna try that before I eventually order another one, or putting in an SSD. I´m mostly gonna use it for media storage, and mediacentre.

 

[opinio]

Try the Seagate 1 TB Hybrid Hard drive (I have a 750 GB in my MM):

http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Solid...1382534615&sr=8-1&keywords=segate+1+tb+hybrid

My Mac Mini has a 28 second start up time...

Good luck!

28 seconds is fast for you?

 

[wwohl]

Im assuming the hard drive in your mac mini is the 1TB.. Replacing that makes no sense. If you're planning to add a second drive and you don't want it to be an ssd, you're better off just getting an external drive.

1TB 2.5 in drive will cost you ~80. A 3TB external drive connected via USB 3.0 is $120.

Just not worth adding a second drive unless its an ssd. Just my opinion

B