[cmeisenzahl]

Getting ready to snag a new Mac Mini after the announcement tomorrow.

Assuming the new ones accept the same RAM and HDs and the existing ones ...

What kinds/sizes of RAM go in the Mini?

What kind of SSD specs will fit in the Mini?

Thanks very much in advance,
Chris

[P]

RAM: SO-DIMM DDR3 of whatever minimum speed Apple specifies.

SSD: A regular 2.5" SATA drive. Nothing special in the mini at this point (although that can of course change).

[cmeisenzahl]

Originally Posted by P 

RAM: SO-DIMM DDR3 of whatever minimum speed Apple specifies.
SSD: A regular 2.5" SATA drive. Nothing special in the mini at this point (although that can of course change).

Perfect, all set, thanks very much!

[WizOSX]

So, presumably, a Crucial m4, which is under $400 now for 512gb, should be a perfect choice (since it is SATAIII). Only problem is that some people seem to have had some unreliable ones recently.

[SierraDragon]

Personally I pay a small amount higher to get such drives from OWC with their bombproof support policies:

http://eshop.macsales.com/search/Crucial+SSD

Others just seek absolute lowest price which is one's own choice. Me, I prefer the buffer and tech support of a firm I have used for decades, especially with SSDs which have so many possible anomalies depending upon small differences among versions.

-Allen

[mduell]

OWC is a scam and a cancer on the Mac community, throwing a 20% markup on a COTS part.

[Waragainstsleep]

I really don't get your issue with them. Why is it ok for Apple to make 40-50% and OWC can't make 20%?

[SierraDragon]

Originally Posted by mduell 

OWC is a scam and a cancer on the Mac community...

Absolutely untrue. I have purchased dozens of things from them over decades with 100% satisfaction. Not just one purchase and not 99% satisfaction, 100%. They have provided sound advice, amazing return policy and great guidance for DIY installations long before such policies became more common with other vendors who more typically screwed buyers before they found out the internet zinged them for it.

I am happy to pay up to 20% markup for sound advice, amazing return policy and great guidance for DIY installations. Others are now emulating their biz model but I stick with vendors who served me well when others were not.

The same goes for B&H for photo gear.

-Allen

[mduell]

Apple's RAM/disk upgrades are also a scam and I recommend against them. For the base price, while high with great margin, Apple actually does engineering and orders manufacturing. OWC is just taking the same COTS part as everyone else and marking it up.

[SierraDragon]

Of course they do. But folks like me and 95% of others do not know which SSD, for instance, is one that works well with which box and OS version - or not. That value add is huge.

I think everyone agrees that Apple's RAM and drive upgrade pricing are ridiculous, the exception being some of the SSD upgrade deals. +$100 for an Apple SSD preinstalled in an early 2011 MBP was a great deal at the time, especially since there were many inappropriate SSD choices available.

[Waragainstsleep]

Actually that isn't entirely true. OWC has always tested its products with Macs to ensure they work. While certain peripherals have not traditionally had issues with Macs like HDDs, others have lacked drivers, had firmware incompatibilities and other issues. Slim optical drives, PCI/PCMCIA cards and probably now PCIE cards spring to mind. If you buy RAM that isn't advertised as being for Macs it is still entirely possible to end up with sticks that don't work properly, even though there is nothing wrong with them. Many other sellers would refuse to refund or replace these sorts of purchases because when you returned them they tested working with PCs.

OWC also engineers its own products nowadays. RAM, SSDs and external drive chassis that I know of off the top of my head.

So your 20% gets you their testing, engineering, advice and great customer service. Its really not so bad. Certainly no worse than Apple. I can understand why you might not need some of that from your retailers, I don't either but I certainly won't go around damaging their reputation with other people. Occasionally I still buy things I cannot reliably get elsewhere from them.

[dgngndngd]

That is just what is in the rumor mill. Would really be suprised to see the Mini updated before the iMacs. Not the usual path. But perhaps an iMac refresh will be announced as well. Need to wait and see what really is going to happen.

If a refresh is announced, it could be a while before it is available.

As a noteSpam link removedthe recently updated Macbook Pros use DDR3 1600 RAM where the previous versions and the current Minis use DDR3 1333. So, one would suspect that a new Mini or iMac would be using the faster RAM.