Which SSD for Mac Mini late 2009?

[Richard8655]

That is too bad regarding Kingston's lack of confidence. That is not to say that the proposed UV400 SSD will not work, but rather Kingston does not seem to want to pick up the responsibility for it in the MCP macs.

Yes, that is disppointing to hear from Kingston. Crucial does go out on a limb and states MX300 compatibility with these older Minis.

Mini 2009 and 2010 differs, also in the SATA controller, the first has MCP79, the other MCP89.
This is likely the reason, why my 2010 mini does not negotiate 3Gb/s

Good point. I had thought, though, UV400 compatibility would be the same with either MCP79 or MCP89. A little surprised one is different enough from the other in this case.

Also interesting to see in a previous post that Samsung 840 Pro runs at 3Gbps in a 2010 Mini. Really turning into a hit or miss crapshoot.

 

[mmadela]

Unfortunately the Samsung 840 is no longer available (at least near me)

 

[Richard8655]

Update for those considering upgrading their 2009 Mac Minis with the Kingston UV400 series SSD (solid state drive). Kingston just emailed me today with a correction to their earlier email where they stated the UV400 probably won't work with the MCP79 chipset. Now they're confirming it will. Below is their email message:

Hello Richard,

I have confirmed with our engineering staff that this drive does work in these systems at SATA II speeds. I will have this information posted in our internal database.

If you have any other questions or concerns, please feel free to reply to this e-mail with full email history. Thank you for using Kingston on-line technical support.


Regards,

Glenn Neumeister
Kingston Technology
Technical Support
7am to 4pm Monday - Friday PST

 

[mmadela]

I've attached a reply I received from Kingston, it states exactly opposite:

Dear Marek

thank you for your reply.

I can see that we actually don't have any Kingston Products listed as compatible with your Mac Mini:
https://www.kingston.com/en/memory/search?devicetype=2&mfr=APP&line=Mac mini&model=64063

Please try the PRAM/NVRAM and SMC Reset and ensure you have the latest Firmware update from Apple installed.

If that should not resolve the issue, i'm afraid there is nothing we can do as its a Problem of chipset unable to negotiate the correct Link speed with SATA III Devices and certain SSD Controllers.

And we would recommend to return the SSD back to your point of purchase and look for alternative solution.

We would also recommend to check with apple directly, if there can be assistance.

Best regards

Bala

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kingston Technology Europe Co LLP
European Technical Support
Email: eu_technical@kingston.eu

 

[Richard8655]

That's interesting. When did you receive that message from Kingston? I ask because my representative (Glenn) said he just talked to their engineering department (on 2/17/17) which confirmed it works at SATA II for the MCP79 chipset.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think your inquiry was about your mid-2010 Mini which has the MCP89 chipset. It might be that the Kingston UV400 isn't compatible at SATA II with that version. If that's not the case, we need to get Bala and Glenn talking to each other! I see Bala is in their European office and Glenn U.S.

As a note, I just talked to Crucial tech support and they said their M500 series will run at SATA II with 2009 Mac Mini. No SSD firmware upgrade needed. I didn't ask about mid-2010 Mac Mini, but I think there's a good chance it will work too.

 

[mmadela]

I received that message yesterday.
there was following sentence in the initial support response:
"The issue as described was known in relation with Sandforce based SSD being incompatible with the Nvidia Chipsets such as MCP79 or MCP89 in Macs. However the SUV400 uses a marvell SSD Controller, which should be better compatible with older Chipsets", I assume that this sentence was just a smalltalk.

 

[Richard8655]

I received that message yesterday.
there was following sentence in the initial support response:
"The issue as described was known in relation with Sandforce based SSD being incompatible with the Nvidia Chipsets such as MCP79 or MCP89 in Macs. However the SUV400 uses a marvell SSD Controller, which should be better compatible with older Chipsets", I assume that this sentence was just a smalltalk.

This latest message from them seems to indicate the UV400 is compatible with both MCP79 and MCP89 chipsets. The UV300 (Sandforce based) was not, for sure. But your results from your mid-2010 Mini with MCP89 chipset did not work with UV400. So maybe it's all small talk. Kingston just doesn't seem to know for sure what works with their SSDs.

I don't know if you can return the UV400, but I would say the Crucial M500 has a better chance of working with your Mini and MCP89.

 

[California]

I tried these tricks (leaving the Mini powered on boot screen or taking out RAM to reset firmware). No success.
[doublepost=1486807055][/doublepost]
Mini 2009 and 2010 differs, also in the SATA controller, the first has MCP79, the other MCP89.
This is likely the reason, why my 2010 mini does not negotiate 3Gb/s

The 2009 and 2010 are vastly different machines. Vastly.

You should probably find an appropriate thread for your 2010 mimi query or start a new one. Never heard of that problem on a 2010.

 

[Richard8655]

I wound up installing a Crucial M500 480gb in my early 2009. 3Gbps negotiated SATA II thankfully. This thing zips like my late 2012 quad. I could have just lived with the 2009, had I known how an SSD can dramatically improve performance on older Minis.

The only concern I had during install on the 2009, the Crucial SSD did not come with the 9.5mm adapter, so there was much extra play in the internal drive space. But the horizontal and vertical screws seemed to hold it firmly and adequately. I assume that's how most folks installed as well (without an adapter).

 

[California]

I wound up installing a Crucial M500 480gb in my early 2009. 3Gbps negotiated SATA II thankfully. This thing zips like my late 2012 quad. I could have just lived with the 2009, had I known how an SSD can dramatically improve performance on older Minis.

The only concern I had during install on the 2009, the Crucial SSD did not come with the 9.5mm adapter, so there was much extra play in the internal drive space. But the horizontal and vertical screws seemed to hold it firmly and adequately. I assume that's how most folks installed as well (without an adapter).

My Crucial came with an adapter, that's odd. Email them. I didn't put mine in, but kept it in case I need it for a laptop. It's a very sturdy little thing.

 

[Richard8655]

My Crucial came with an adapter, that's odd. Email them. I didn't put mine in, but kept it in case I need it for a laptop. It's a very sturdy little thing.

Good to hear that adapter isn't needed for the Mini. Never planning to own a laptop, so looks like have all that's needed. If yours also was an M500, looks like compatibility with this SSD is pretty solid for the 2009.

 

[Rocko99991]

Can anyone recommend a current model SSD that will work at Sata II speeds on the early 2009 mini?

 

[v1597psh]

Can anyone recommend a current model SSD that will work at Sata II speeds on the early 2009 mini?

Kingston V300 works fine in Mac mini 2009 and it's still being sold to date

 

[Rocko99991]

Kingston V300 works fine in Mac mini 2009 and it's still being sold to date

Thanks. What do you think of the PNY CS1311?

 

[dr.zeissler]

Crucial MX500 in 2009 MacMini => 1,5Gbit 95% 3Gbit 5% 10.6.8 Trim is ON
Crucial BX500 in 2010 MacMini => 1,5Gbit 45% 3Gbit 55% 10.6.8 Trim is ON

SSD's

Explore this photo album by Dr. Zeissler on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

What SSD's can I buy that always uses 3Gbit on MacMini 2009/2010 with Nivida-Chipset.
Crucial MX-Series on 2011 MacMini with Intel-Chipset seems to have always 6Gbit.

Suggestions?

 

[RedTomato]

Can anyone recommend a current model SSD that will work at Sata II speeds on the early 2009 mini?

Any SATA 2.5” SSD will be fine. All SATA III SSDs are backwards compactible with SATA II. Look for something with high random read/write speeds. Samsung 840, 850, 860 series are very well respected and you can get them used quite cheaply.
[automerge]1579767586[/automerge]

Crucial MX500 in 2009 MacMini => 1,5Gbit 95% 3Gbit 5% 10.6.8 Trim is ON
Crucial BX500 in 2010 MacMini => 1,5Gbit 45% 3Gbit 55% 10.6.8 Trim is ON

SSD's

Explore this photo album by Dr. Zeissler on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

What SSD's can I buy that always uses 3Gbit on MacMini 2009/2010 with Nivida-Chipset.
Crucial MX-Series on 2011 MacMini with Intel-Chipset seems to have always 6Gbit.

Suggestions?

Crucial MX500 in 2009 MacMini => 1,5Gbit 95% 3Gbit 5% 10.6.8 Trim is ON
Crucial BX500 in 2010 MacMini => 1,5Gbit 45% 3Gbit 55% 10.6.8 Trim is ON

SSD's

Explore this photo album by Dr. Zeissler on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

What SSD's can I buy that always uses 3Gbit on MacMini 2009/2010 with Nivida-Chipset.
Crucial MX-Series on 2011 MacMini with Intel-Chipset seems to have always 6Gbit.

Suggestions?

Link speed is a function of the logic board (motherboard) not the SSD. You’re using a 11-year old Mac, it’s not going to improve much.

Personally I wouldn’t bother working with a Core2Duo computer.

 

[dr.zeissler]

Thx, the normal HDD has 1,5Gbit and 3Gibt is the controller on the mainboard.
The controller on the SSD makes a handshake with controller of the mainboard.
There must be some SSD's that link the correct speed with the mainboard-controller.

So what SSD's do that on Nvidia MCP, thats the question.

The 2011 MacMIni intel-controller supports 6GBit and the crucial MX series supports this, EVERYTIME.

So what SSD's are known to have the full link-speed on Nvidia MCP everytime?

I am a retro-gamer and I have hundreds of old machines.

 

[ivnj]

I got a late 2009 of ebay for my dad for some specific apps for 40 bucks with shipping a while back. The HD was dead. I used an ifixit guide to replace it a with a spare crucial m500 250 gb I had laying around. Its blazing fast now. If yours boots to a question mark its at least getting power. Otherwise its dead.

 

[loby]

I got a late 2009 of ebay for my dad for some specific apps for 40 bucks with shipping a while back. The HD was dead. I used an ifixit guide to replace it a with a spare crucial m500 250 gb I had laying around. Its blazing fast now. If yours boots to a question mark its at least getting power. Otherwise its dead.

I still use a Mac mini 2009 for general stuff (Office, internet, watching videos etc.). It is amazingly still holding up and runs fast with an SSD in El Capitan, just enable trimforce to work with the SSD. Have a Crucial 100x in it I believe (its been sometime since I put it in). Still works well in 2021.

 

[ivnj]

I still use a Mac mini 2009 for general stuff (Office, internet, watching videos etc.). It is amazingly still holding up and runs fast with an SSD in El Capitan, just enable trimforce to work with the SSD. Have a Crucial 100x in it I believe (its been sometime since I put it in). Still works well in 2021.

I just checked and my mac mini M1 boots in 17 seconds. And our 2009 mini with upgraded ssd from spinner boots in24 seconds. Only 7 seconds not bad for 11 year old computer.