[kupan787]

What if you were to strip out the 2.5" drive and the optical drive, would then a low profile 3.5" desktop drive then fit within the Mac mini case? Low profile desktop drives are only 1" high (as opposed to a 2.5" drive being 0.75" and a standard 3.5" drive being 1.63"). Length wise, I think it would fit (there is a little head and tail room now for the 2.5" drive in the mini). The biggest thing would be width. A 3.5" drive is 4" where as a 2.5" drive has a width of 2.75". I think the fan might be in the way (it is hard to tell exactly, I am going off pictures).

Also, someone with more details, about how thick is the optical drive? It looks to stand as tall as half of the memory stick (maybe a little less than that).

Just throwing out some ideas...

[Krusty]

Originally posted by kupan787:

Just throwing out some ideas...

Yes, you should throw it right out.

If a 3.5" drive could fit in a mini, there is no doubt apple would have done this because 3.5s are soooo much cheaper and faster byte-for-byte. This limitation is why the mini isn't sitting on my desk right now

I may still get one further down the road .. iLife '05 + Tiger are going to cost me $210 anyway ... may as well throw in a spare computer for $290 more.

[kupan787]

Originally posted by Krusty:
Yes, you should throw it right out.

If a 3.5" drive could fit in a mini, there is no doubt apple would have done this because 3.5s are soooo much cheaper and faster byte-for-byte. This limitation is why the mini isn't sitting on my desk right now

I may still get one further down the road .. iLife '05 + Tiger are going to cost me $210 anyway ... may as well throw in a spare computer for $290 more.

Understand that I am talking about a 3.5" drive at the sacrifice of the optical drive. Apple wasn't about to ship a computer with no optical drive.

[tooki]

Still, no. There's not enough space, since the optical drive's volume is spread over a larger footprint. Even if you took out the optical drive, there's no contiguous space large enough for a 3.5" drive, and furthermore, the mini doesn't have a full-size ATA connector, and no standard power connectors at all.

tooki

[Zubir]

Originally posted by Krusty:
Yes, you should throw it right out.

If a 3.5" drive could fit in a mini, there is no doubt apple would have done this because 3.5s are soooo much cheaper and faster byte-for-byte. This limitation is why the mini isn't sitting on my desk right now

I may still get one further down the road .. iLife '05 + Tiger are going to cost me $210 anyway ... may as well throw in a spare computer for $290 more.

Firstly, 7200 RPM, 8 MB cache 2.5 drives are available. Hitachi has one that doesn't produce any more heat than a 4300 RPM drive. Otherworld Computing will put in a 7200 drive (at a charge, of course,) AND give you credit for the the old drive.

"Mac Mini Hard Drive Upgrade/Trade-In Service After getting the mail on their Mac Mini HD Upgrade performance tests (see previous post below), I asked OWC if they'd considered a Mac Mini Hard Drive Upgrade service for owners that didn't feel comfortable doing it themselves and didn't select a larger drive at BTO. (Or wanted a larger/faster drive than Apple offers as a BTO Option.) Larry of OWC replied:

" $99 including return freight. We will install memory and/or hard drive purchased from OWC.
We install memory & drive, test, install OS X. For an additional $49, can have old drive in an external Mercury Express 2.5" Enclosure or $69 for Mercury On-The-Go. Price includes installation into enclosure.
Or - Trade In... (credit on new drive)
Apple 40GB 4200RPM - $40.00
Apple 80GB 4200RPM - $70.00
We are on this.
Best Regards,
Lawrence R. O'Connor
Other World Computing "

Secondly, Apple could've easily made the Mini a size that could accommodate a 3.5 drive by adding 2 inches length-wise, and an inch or 2 to height. They just didn't want to. It wouldn't be as "cute." The Mini is a stripped down, slow, teaser Mac meant to urge switchers and first time users to take the big plunge (iMac, Powermac.) And there's nothing wrong with that. Some people will be completely satisfied with the performance, though I've got a sneaking suspicion that many of the graphical features of Tiger won't run, or will be dog slow on the Mini.

[mbryda]

Originally posted by Zubir:
Some people will be completely satisfied with the performance, though I've got a sneaking suspicion that many of the graphical features of Tiger won't run, or will be dog slow on the Mini.

I hope not or I'm screwed (iMac G4/800). But I doubt you will notice it given what has happened from Jaguar to Panther. The system got way more responsive all around.

[turtle777]

Originally posted by kupan787:
Just throwing out some ideas...

BOUNCED !

-t

[Eriamjh]

Some moron has installed a mini inside a PC case. He stripped out the 2.5" HD and installed not one, but two 250GB 2.5" drives. He routed cables to a different optical drive, etc. Sad, but true.




http://www.appletalk.com.au/articles...p?article=4433

The most interesting thing is that the IDE controller supports 48-bit large drives, something that surprises me. I guess it's because it is an eMac based mobo and the eMacs support 48-bit (same controller).

[The Godfather]

Originally posted by Eriamjh:
Some moron has installed a mini inside a PC case. He stripped out the 2.5" HD and installed not one, but two 250GB 2.5" drives. He routed cables to a different optical drive, etc. Sad, but true.

Awesome !!! Now he/she can sell the expensive HD and optical drive and more than pay for the PC parts.