Maximizing your Mac mini
May 14, 2009 by
Filed under Hardware
Upgrading your mini is easy enough, but does it produce performance dividends?
Back in March when I reviewed the early-2009 version of the Mac mini, I concluded that if you’re going to be using the newest mini for more than the most basic tasks, you’ll want it configured more like the $799 model (2GB RAM, 320GB hard drive) than the $599 model (1GB RAM, 120GB hard drive). But I also noted that compared to the $599 model, the $799 model is a poor value. Shelling out the additional $200 for the $799 model gets you only those modest bumps in memory and storage—upgrades that, if you’re comfortable installing them yourself, would cost less than $100 with some frugal shopping.
The dilemma is that I was talking about a Mac mini, not a MacBook. Having taken apart previous Mac minis, I knew that many people wouldn’t feel comfortable performing such surgery themselves, so I also recommended an alternative: paying Apple $50 to bump the $599 mini’s RAM to 2GB, and then purchasing an external hard drive for additional storage (and, if you go the FireWire route, additional performance, as well).
But part of the beauty of the Mac mini is its compact size. Many people don’t want to expand the mini’s “footprint” by adding an external hard drive. So the two questions I heard most often from Macworld readers and anyone who follows me on Twitter were, “How difficult is it really to upgrade this Mac mini?” and “What about installing a faster internal hard drive?” So I decided it was once again time to get inside the Mac mini—specifically, Apple’s $599 entry-level model—and do some hands-on research.
For the upgrade components, I could have purchased a 320GB, 5,400-rpm hard drive for around $65 and a 1GB RAM chip for $20; these would have brought the $599 mini on par with the $799 model for just $684—a whopping $115 less. But I wanted to see what kind of performance increases I could get by upgrading, so I bumped the RAM up to 4GB and installed a drive, Western Digital’s 320GB Scorpio Black, that operates at 7,200-rpm and includes a 16MB cache. This do-it-yourself configuration costs only $747 at current retail prices—still less than Apple’s stock $799 model.
Entering without breaking
Apple’s policy on upgrading the Mac mini yourself has always been that as long as you don’t break anything in the process, your warranty is still valid. At the time of my review, I confirmed that this policy still applies. The bigger issue is that, as with earlier minis, getting inside the computer’s compact enclosure often feels as if you’re breaking it. But those of us who’ve successfully taken apart a mini can assure you that the little guy can take much more abuse than you think. (And once you’ve taken apart a mini without breaking it, you’re much more confident—and the process is much quicker—the next time.)
[Source: Macworld.com]
This website uses IntenseDebate comments, but they are not currently loaded because either your browser doesn't support JavaScript, or they didn't load fast enough.