Upgrade question, keep old Apple OEM 128GB SSD in fusion setup or replace?

[gpspad]

I have an old 2012 mac mini I use as a server, it runs great, but I am running out of space using it as a Plex server and DVR.

It has a Fusion drive, which means it has a oem 128gb ssd and a 1tb hdd drive.

If I replace the 1tb hdd drive with a 4TB ssd, is it worth keeping the oem 128gb apple ssd?

Any special tricks I have to do when copying the drives before i install the 2TB drive?

I guess somehow I have to separate the ssd and the hdd drives somehow first.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Boyd01]

I use a 2014 Mini as an iTunes server (just runs iTunes/home sharing under Mojave). I split the fusion drive and use the 128gb SSD as the boot drive. It's basically empty, with only the standard MacOS install. I have about 1200 movies/tv shows and thousands of songs on an external 4tb USB 3.0 SSD. Works great. Personally, I like the idea of using an external disk for media, it's easier to replace or move if you have a problem or want to upgrade to a new computer.

I went through 2 failed external media hard drives over the years before moving to the SSD. I use Carbon copy to clone the media drive to another external hard drive every night, so it was very easy to move to another disk when the original failed.

 

[gpspad]

Thanks for the reply, the 4TB is more to use it as a DVR with Plex and a HD Homerun Prime. I rather have something compact, but I understand where your coming from.

I was just curious if there is any speed benefit to keep the OEM 128GB SSD when OSX would easily fit on the 4TB drive.

 

[Boyd01]

Personally I like the idea of keeping my media separate from the operating system, but we seem to have different philosophies. The internal SSD in the 2012 Mini tops out at around 500 MB/sec. From what I understand, larger capacity SSD's typically have better write performance, so you could compare the 4tb disk to the 128gb and see what you get. Doesn't seem like you would notice the difference, if any, however.

 

[Neodym]

As Boyd01 wrote, the internal SATA interface in the 2012 mini tops out at speeds around ~550MB/s. So no matter the theoretical speeds of a modern 4TB SSD - it will be bottlenecked inside a 2012 mini.

If you want/need more, the only option would be to connect an external SSD to the Thunderbolt port, allowing roughly twice the speed of the internal SATA port. Provided that the external Thunderbolt drive does not rely on an internal SATA interface itself …

 

[gpspad]

As Boyd01 wrote, the internal SATA interface in the 2012 mini tops out at speeds around ~550MB/s. So no matter the theoretical speeds of a modern 4TB SSD - it will be bottlenecked inside a 2012 mini.

If you want/need more, the only option would be to connect an external SSD to the Thunderbolt port, allowing roughly twice the speed of the internal SATA port. Provided that the external Thunderbolt drive does not rely on an internal SATA interface itself …

Thanks thats helpful. I guess it comes down to economics then and getting the best $/gb in an SSD thats about 550MB/s. For this project I care about compactness.

But if the thunderbolt ports are going to be faster than the internal sata, then in the future maybe a thunderbolt enclosure with multiple drives setup as a single drive using raid. Although non-data ssd's are probable more than I would want to spend for DVR storage.

 

[Boyd01]

Again, this is just me, but I would not put much money into upgrading a 2012 Mini and peripherals that are only compatible with it (thunderbolt 1). If you want fast disks, the internal SSD on the 2018 Mini is about 2700MB/sec and USB-C is around 900. Or if you want an upgradeable internal SSD, the 2014 Mini internal SSD is around 750MB/sec. But do you even need more than 500MB/sec for a media server?

 

[MacCheetah3]

I would go with your original plan, replace the HDD with an SSD (2 or 4TB you mentioned) using the Apple provided 128GB SSD as the boot drive (OS and apps) with media stored on the other.

How to split up a Fusion Drive

Whether you made your own Fusion Drive and want to go back, or want to split up one you got from Apple, we'll show you that it isn't a difficult or lengthy process.

www.macworld.com

Again, this is just me, but I would not put much money into upgrading a 2012 Mini and peripherals that are only compatible with it (thunderbolt 1).

Agreed.

 

[Fishrrman]

Agreed with Boyd1 and others above.
Don't put much money into a 2012 Mini.

If your only need is "more drive space", I'd get an external USB3 SSD and plug it in.
Just use it that way.

Or... if your eye is "on the future"... you might consider getting an "nvme" blade SSD, a USB3.1 gen2 enclosure, put that together, and use that as your external storage. It will have more speed "built in" for a future use, when that time comes.

 

[elbert]

4TB SATA SSD may cost more than the 2012 Mac mini?

 

[MacCheetah3]

4TB SATA SSD may cost more than the 2012 Mac mini?

True, although, a 4TB SSD in a newer system is not exactly cheap/affordable either.

EDIT: In other words, you will still pay that hefty cost (or close enough) if buying a newer system as well.

 

[dazey]

4TB SATA SSD may cost more than the 2012 Mac mini?

Certainly, but that isnt a reason not to do it. The 4TB SSD can always later be put in a chassis and used with a newer mini. An SATA ssd will always be limited by its sata port but as a storage drive thats ok for most people.

(and you are right, I paid 300€ for the i7 2012 mini and €400 per 4TB Ssd)

Just put 8TB inside a new-to-me 2012 (after pricing up the cost of a max capacity (2TB) M1 mini). The 2012 will keep me going for a good few years, after which I will reuse the drives. I am putting together a mini version of an existing server that has 2TB of SSDs and 16TB of spinning drives (all in a G4 MDD case)

 

[gpspad]

a 2012 Mini.

Thanks for all of the replies. I have done "brain surgery" on the 2012 mac mini's before. For this use I don't want a external drive hanging out of the machine and getting unplugged by accident, when I can just geta SATA SSD and install it inside the mac mini. It will give the 2012 mini a few more years of service as a DVR.

 

[MBAir2010]

Thanks for all of the replies. I have done "brain surgery" on the 2012 mac mini's before. For this use I don't want a external drive hanging out of the machine and getting unplugged by accident, when I can just geta SATA SSD and install it inside the mac mini. It will give the 2012 mini a few more years of service as a DVR.

I'm using mine (2012 mac mini) for professional purposes, if i am allowed to.
the computer is amazing and incredible fast with no let down or spinning balls
and hope to get over10 more years.

 

[djc6]

The 128GB SSD has a decade of writes on it at this point - I might consider just using the 4TB SSD for everything. Maybe run smartctl or DriveDx or something similar on it to see the status of the 128GB SSD. It may have led a hard life with all the copying back and forth Fusion does.

 

[gpspad]

The 128GB SSD has a decade of writes on it at this point - I might consider just using the 4TB SSD for everything. Maybe run smartctl or DriveDx or something similar on it to see the status of the 128GB SSD. It may have led a hard life with all the copying back and forth Fusion does.

Just an update, thank you, this was the way to go.

I made a CCC clone of the existing fusion drive onto the 4TB ssd drive. Installed it, with only one extra screw

Its running so much faster, the fusion drive must have had something wrong with it.

It was probably dumb to spend more on a 4TB ssd than what its worth, but I like the compact form factor. I have too many external USB drives now as it is.