5 ms·

The RAM is user serviceable on the new Mini. The drive might be soldered this time but even the 2014 still allowed you to replace it so I am cautiously optimist

by dep_b 8y ago

The RAM is user serviceable on the new Mini. The drive might be soldered this time but even the 2014 still allowed you to replace it so I am cautiously optimistic that the iFixit teardown will reveal it to also be replaceable. Which makes the i7 Mac Mini with base specs quite attractive. If not you can use an external SSD since it's a desktop computer and doesn't move. An external 1TB Samsung for everything besides applications and OS isn't bad at all.

jimbokun 8y ago
Just over a year ago, I bought an iMac, specifically because it was the only model (besides the Pro) that I could upgrade the memory after I bought it (which I've done twice already, nice to have 32GB when you have 4 family members constantly logged in). If this Mini with up-gradable RAM had come out before then, I would have bought it instead.
sixothree 8y ago
Chances they use M.2 sata..... doubtful.
intopieces 8y ago
>An external 1TB Samsung for everything besides applications and OS isn't bad at all. Yep. 4x TB3 means I don't care at all about the internal storage. I'll take the 128GB internal drive for the OS and be on my way.
- rbanffy 8y ago
  I'd go with a bigger one, just in case. I'm pretty sure future releases of macOS with all its tooling will take more and more of that space and I'd expect the machine to be useful for 3-5 years (usually more, as per Mac tradition - my mini is 6 years old and the only thing I want to upgrade in it is the hard drive).
- stephenr 8y ago
  I believe the i7 upgrade is only available in the higher model, with the base 256GB SSD.
  - m_mueller 8y ago
    No you can go i7 with the 128GB model as well. I think the 256GB base model makes sense though, to have enough headroom for the OS and such.
- m_mueller 8y ago
  So, after further consideration I think the one to buy is the base i5 model with 256GB for 1099. Buy the RAM separately. It looks like it has 2 slots. With my local vendor 2x16GB DDR 2666Mhz comes out at 300 USD or so. I already have an external 1TB SSD, but otherwise a Samsung T5 is available for around 220 USD. That's a 1600ish USD system, which is somewhat reasonable for a mac with those specs IMO. Would be nice if Apple just gave you that for around 1800, but the 2300 they want is just unreasonable IMO.
  - intopieces 8y ago
    You sold me on this config. I want to be able to use this computer for a long time, and you hit the nail on the head.
js2 8y ago
I hope so. I just upgraded a 2015 11" MBA's 128GB SSD to a 1TB Samsung 970 EVO NVMe drive by using a $14 adapter (ST-NGFF2013-C)[0]. It works perfectly. [0] http://eshop.sintech.cn/ngff-m2-pcie-ssd-card-as-2013-2014-2015-macbook-ssd-p-1229.html http://eshop.sintech.cn/ngff-m2-pcie-ssd-card-as-2013-2014-2...
singularity2001 8y ago
> The RAM is user serviceable on the new Mini. The drive might be soldered sure / source? If so I will order one straight away (not $2000 for 64gb ;) > external 1TB how do internal NVME SSDs compare to external ones speed wise? Update: There are external Thunderbolt 3 NVMe SSD enclosures out there that can read and write in excess of 2000 MB/sec But they bring you back to the $1000 upgrade cost ? :(
- devonkim 8y ago
  External drives would be based upon Thunderbolt 3 using USB-C compatible physical connections, and those are basically PCI-e 3.0 x4 lanes with a little external sync overhead. Samsung’s T5 drive would go along very well with these new minis. Obviously a drive hanging off a machine is less attractive / practical for business purposes but this is the usual Apple price / market segmentation model at work. Going back to user replaceable RAM is a bit of a shock to me considering other changes that are user-hostile (the T2 chip comes to mind).
  - singularity2001 8y ago
    Thanks Any guess how much faster Apples SSDs would be than a T5 like this: ? https://www.amazon.de/Samsung-MU-PA1T0B-EU-Portable-Kabel/dp/B074M774TW/ref=sr_1_1 https://www.amazon.de/Samsung-MU-PA1T0B-EU-Portable-Kabel/dp...
    - thirdsun 8y ago
      I‘d expect an NVMe SSD to be about 5 times as fast as a traditional SSD like the T5, at least in theory. However as an owner of the T5 I can assure you it’s still very performant and ideal for large media storage. If peak performance is a real concern, you still have another option I just discovered: Samsung X5 - an external NVMe SSD: https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/product/portable/x5/ https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/product/p... This should be very close to internal PCI-based SSD performance and benchmarks seem to confirm this: https://9to5mac.com/2018/09/05/review-samsung-x5-thunderbolt-3-portable-ssd-video/ https://9to5mac.com/2018/09/05/review-samsung-x5-thunderbolt... So there‘s a storage upgrade path if you’re fine with external hardware. I‘m considering this solution myself.

by dep_b 8y ago

jimbokun 8y ago

Just over a year ago, I bought an iMac, specifically because it was the only model (besides the Pro) that I could upgrade the memory after I bought it (which I've done twice already, nice to have 32GB when you have 4 family members constantly logged in). If this Mini with up-gradable RAM had come out before then, I would have bought it instead.

sixothree 8y ago

Chances they use M.2 sata..... doubtful.

intopieces 8y ago

>An external 1TB Samsung for everything besides applications and OS isn't bad at all. Yep. 4x TB3 means I don't care at all about the internal storage. I'll take the 128GB internal drive for the OS and be on my way.

rbanffy 8y ago
I'd go with a bigger one, just in case. I'm pretty sure future releases of macOS with all its tooling will take more and more of that space and I'd expect the machine to be useful for 3-5 years (usually more, as per Mac tradition - my mini is 6 years old and the only thing I want to upgrade in it is the hard drive).
stephenr 8y ago
I believe the i7 upgrade is only available in the higher model, with the base 256GB SSD.
- m_mueller 8y ago
  No you can go i7 with the 128GB model as well. I think the 256GB base model makes sense though, to have enough headroom for the OS and such.
m_mueller 8y ago
So, after further consideration I think the one to buy is the base i5 model with 256GB for 1099. Buy the RAM separately. It looks like it has 2 slots. With my local vendor 2x16GB DDR 2666Mhz comes out at 300 USD or so. I already have an external 1TB SSD, but otherwise a Samsung T5 is available for around 220 USD. That's a 1600ish USD system, which is somewhat reasonable for a mac with those specs IMO. Would be nice if Apple just gave you that for around 1800, but the 2300 they want is just unreasonable IMO.
- intopieces 8y ago
  You sold me on this config. I want to be able to use this computer for a long time, and you hit the nail on the head.

js2 8y ago

I hope so. I just upgraded a 2015 11" MBA's 128GB SSD to a 1TB Samsung 970 EVO NVMe drive by using a $14 adapter (ST-NGFF2013-C)[0]. It works perfectly. [0] http://eshop.sintech.cn/ngff-m2-pcie-ssd-card-as-2013-2014-2015-macbook-ssd-p-1229.html http://eshop.sintech.cn/ngff-m2-pcie-ssd-card-as-2013-2014-2...

singularity2001 8y ago

> The RAM is user serviceable on the new Mini. The drive might be soldered sure / source? If so I will order one straight away (not $2000 for 64gb ;) > external 1TB how do internal NVME SSDs compare to external ones speed wise? Update: There are external Thunderbolt 3 NVMe SSD enclosures out there that can read and write in excess of 2000 MB/sec But they bring you back to the $1000 upgrade cost ? :(

devonkim 8y ago
External drives would be based upon Thunderbolt 3 using USB-C compatible physical connections, and those are basically PCI-e 3.0 x4 lanes with a little external sync overhead. Samsung’s T5 drive would go along very well with these new minis. Obviously a drive hanging off a machine is less attractive / practical for business purposes but this is the usual Apple price / market segmentation model at work. Going back to user replaceable RAM is a bit of a shock to me considering other changes that are user-hostile (the T2 chip comes to mind).
- singularity2001 8y ago
  Thanks Any guess how much faster Apples SSDs would be than a T5 like this: ? https://www.amazon.de/Samsung-MU-PA1T0B-EU-Portable-Kabel/dp/B074M774TW/ref=sr_1_1 https://www.amazon.de/Samsung-MU-PA1T0B-EU-Portable-Kabel/dp...
  - thirdsun 8y ago
    I‘d expect an NVMe SSD to be about 5 times as fast as a traditional SSD like the T5, at least in theory. However as an owner of the T5 I can assure you it’s still very performant and ideal for large media storage. If peak performance is a real concern, you still have another option I just discovered: Samsung X5 - an external NVMe SSD: https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/product/portable/x5/ https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/product/p... This should be very close to internal PCI-based SSD performance and benchmarks seem to confirm this: https://9to5mac.com/2018/09/05/review-samsung-x5-thunderbolt-3-portable-ssd-video/ https://9to5mac.com/2018/09/05/review-samsung-x5-thunderbolt... So there‘s a storage upgrade path if you’re fine with external hardware. I‘m considering this solution myself.