Using an external HD with a Mac Mini

[bladerunner616]

My i3 iMac is getting increasingly unreliable and I am thinking about getting a Mac Mini. I was thinking about getting one of these Mac Minis.

http://www.apple.com/shop/product/FGEM2LL/A/Refurbished-Mac-Mini-14GHz-Dual-core-Intel-Core-i5

However, I would like 1TB drive because I take lot of photos with my DSLR in RAW format.

Any suggestions on an affordable external drive?

Thanks.

 

[RootBeerMan]

Western Digital has a couple of really affordable lines with good quality. I've used them numerous times over the years and have had no issues with them. If you're near a Fry's Electronics store sign up for their daily ads and check them. I seem to recall they have a 5TB Seagate on sale at the moment for a good price.

 

[bladerunner616]

Western Digital has a couple of really affordable lines with good quality. I've used them numerous times over the years and have had no issues with them. If you're near a Fry's Electronics store sign up for their daily ads and check them. I seem to recall they have a 5TB Seagate on sale at the moment for a good price.

Thanks!

Can you dig up a link, please so I can see if I can mail order it?

 

[RootBeerMan]

Frys.com


Look under daily deals and there's a prominent sign up banner for getting further discounts.

 

[RootBeerMan]

Here's a look at tomorrows deals. Looks like they have an 8TB Seagate for $169, if you're signed up for their promo codes. You can use them in store or online.

http://images.frys.com/art/email/011417_sat174lkj/sat_web.html?tw

 

[Cordorb]

Mac mini (Late 2014) ?

Then you have 4 USB-3 ports

You will find you can easy boot other mac OS from an external drive and I use one just for TM backups on my 2012 mac mini

 

[MarvinHC]

I recommend the small Seagate ones like in the link below. Never had one die on me but what I like is that inside is a regular SATA drive, so in case the connectors break (which is the most common cause of failure on external drives) it is easy to swap it to a new case.

https://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Back...484374400&sr=8-8&keywords=seagate+backup+plus

 

[cosmos]

If you want a little redundancy, I am currently running one of these in a RAID 1 configuration:

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MED3FR0GB/

You can add your own drives, or pick one of the configs they sell. I have a pair of 3TB drives partitioned for all of my current needs. I still keep another drive enclosure in my safe in case of disaster.

 

[bladerunner616]

Thanks for the input, after doing the math I just decided to buy the 1TB computer instead of a 500GB computer.

I will still use a back up drive for security purposes.

 

[Richard8655]

Getting a Mini with internal 1TB is a good solution for your needs it sounds like. But do you really want the 1.4GHZ version? That base level has been reported to be slow and under-performing. For a little more, a refurbished 2.6GHZ I5 might provide more robustness for future needs. But then I don't know what that will be. Just a thought.

http://www.apple.com/shop/product/FGEN2LL/A/Refurbished-Mac-Mini-26GHz-Dual-core-Intel-Core-i5

 

[Sean869]

I use a 2tb Western Digital my book for Mac. I have had it for over two years now with no problems. Its usb3 so it very fast.

 

[JoeInMilwaukee]

My i3 iMac is getting increasingly unreliable and I am thinking about getting a Mac Mini. I was thinking about getting one of these Mac Minis.

http://www.apple.com/shop/product/FGEM2LL/A/Refurbished-Mac-Mini-14GHz-Dual-core-Intel-Core-i5

Keep in mind that RAM in the 2014 Mac minis is soldered in place and cannot be upgraded. So if you think you may need more than 4 GB of RAM in the future, you may want to wait until there's a refurbished one with 8 GB of RAM.