Mac mini (late 2009) hard drive upgrade

[cablett_ndv]

I have a mac mini (late 2009). Does any one know what the biggest (maximum) hard drive that could be installed in this unit? Also, what about ram? Thanks!

 

[indychris]

Assuming it's the newer design aluminum body you can install up to 8GB RAM (2X4). As for the hard drive, it should accept any 2.5" SATA drive, which assuming you are upgrading to either increase speed or size, it would likely mean a 750GB 7200rpm or a 1TB 5400rpm.

I've installed two Scorpio Black 750GB in my Mini Server. Works great as my HTPC.

 

[cablett_ndv]

So then there is currently no limit? What ever fits should work then?

 

[indychris]

So then there is currently no limit? What ever fits should work then?

The only concern I would have is with the thickness of a 1TB sata drive. My Scorpio Black drives are 9.5mm thick, and I know some others are 12.5mm. I do remember reading somewhere that the 12.5 was too think, but I've also read where people have fit the 12.5mm in with just some minor mods.

I guess if I were you, I'd stick with a drive that's 9.5mm 2.5" sata. Anything in that offering should work fine for you.

 

[chscag]

As far as I know, the 12.5 MM thickness restriction only effects MacBooks and MBP machines where the HDD slot is limited in depth. There's more room in the Mini to place a thicker drive. The 12.5 MM 1 TB drive should be OK to use.

He can always double check by going to iFixit: The free repair manual and look at the instructions for swapping out a hard drive in the Mini.

 

[indychris]

As far as I know, the 12.5 MM thickness restriction only effects MacBooks and MBP machines where the HDD slot is limited in depth. There's more room in the Mini to place a thicker drive. The 12.5 MM 1 TB drive should be OK to use.

He can always double check by going to iFixit: The free repair manual and look at the instructions for swapping out a hard drive in the Mini.

You may well be right, but I know in my 2009 mini server, the lower bay is pretty tight. 3mm tight? Maybe not. I've not tried it.

 

[cablett_ndv]

Dammit! indychris was correct. 1tb hard drive is to thick in the lower left corner and won't slide in. Guess I will go with 750gb.

 

[chscag]

Yep, looks like Chris was right. The new Mini has more room - that's why I advised you to go to ifixit to make sure. Unless you change out the bracket you'll need to stick with the 9.5 MM drives.

 

[cablett_ndv]

How do i change the bracket?

 

[chscag]

The bracket kits are sold by some vendors on the net. OWC may have one. But look carefully at the kits because some of them will state they're for converting an optical drive while others are for the 3.5" drive which is too large.

 

[cablett_ndv]

But i want to keep the optical drive. Is there anything that allows you to keep the optical drive and still fit the 12.5mm hard drive?

 

[chscag]

Unfortunately, doing some more research shows that the only way you can fit that larger drive or an additional SSD would be to use the kit from OWC.

However, Western Digital will soon be coming out with a 9.5 MM drive that is 1 TB. They've announced it some time ago but I still haven't seen one on the market yet. For now, go ahead and install the 750 GB version. Later on you can always update again. When the 1 TB is available, you can use the 750 GB as an external HD for Time Machine backups.

 

[cablett_ndv]

Thanks for the help. Just finish installing the 750 gb drive and 8 gb ram. I guess if i ever do need the 1 tb then i'll look into other drives later. But for now i'll see how long this will last me.

 

[kabeyun]

Unfortunately, doing some more research shows that the only way you can fit that larger drive or an additional SSD would be to use the kit from OWC.

However, Western Digital will soon be coming out with a 9.5 MM drive that is 1 TB. They've announced it some time ago but I still haven't seen one on the market yet.

Just spotted it.
Newegg.com - Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD10TPVT 1TB 5200 RPM 8MB Cache 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Notebook Hard Drive -Bare Drive

 

[bobtomay]

Just spotted it.
Newegg.com - Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD10TPVT 1TB 5200 RPM 8MB Cache 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Notebook Hard Drive -Bare Drive

'Fraid not. That's still a 12.5 mm drive.

 

[kabeyun]

Absolutely right. 750GB is the largest 9.5mm volume until Samsung, WD, or Toshiba make good.

Sorry bout that.

 

[danhen]

Hows that upgrade + 1TB drive reccy's

How did that upgrade affect your performance? Hopefully it was noticable.

I also have a Mac Mini (late 2009 - A1283) and am contemplating an 8GB RAM + 1TB drive upgrade. Though, I'm concerned about the cost versus just getting a new mini.

I'm planning on these components:
2 X CORSAIR 4GB DDR3 1066 Memory for Apple Model CMSA4GX3M1A1066C7
Newegg.com - CORSAIR 4GB DDR3 1066 Memory for Apple Model CMSA4GX3M1A1066C7

Western Digital WD AV-25 WD10JUCT 1TB 5400 RPM 16MB Cache 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive (9.5mm height)
Newegg.com - Western Digital WD AV-25 WD10JUCT 1TB 5400 RPM 16MB Cache 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

I'm not happy about putting in a 5400RPM drive, since part of the reason to upgrade is that my current setup feels a bit IO bound with the HD. I was hoping a 7200 RPM drive will fix this, but the only one's I saw were 15mm height and much more expensive.

Also, is SATA3 (3Gb/s) the max for this system?

thx all,
Dan

 

[bobtomay]

Buy the kit to get matched pairs and save a couple of bucks - Crucial - Corsair

And personally, I'd get the WD Black even though it's only 750GB. It will be faster than that drive and $30 less money - plus it'll be in stock and you won't have to go hunt it down. If you are doing 24/7 video surveillance, using it as a DVR, doing multiple simultaneous video streams, the one you have linked to would probably be the better long term solution.

 

[danhen]

Thanks for the recommendations, 'bobtomay'. Good point of the pair kits! I'm going to take your advice on the 750GB over the 1TB, since I really would prefer a 7200RPM drive, though I was stuck on getting 1TB in there for some reason. ;-)

Considering this one (it is indeed $30 cheaper):
Western Digital Scorpio Black WD7500BPKT 750GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Notebook Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Newegg.com - Western Digital Scorpio Black WD7500BPKT 750GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Notebook Hard Drive -Bare Drive


Back to OP, did the upgrade provide noticable performance boost (let's say, faster application startup, or maybe quicker encoding of videos in iMovie or iDVD)? I'm not interested in cracking this open if I won't notice a boost. :/

Dan