installing memory in mac mini

I read somewhere someone said that users couldn't install memory in the mac mini and I havn't had the privilage of seeing one in person and was wondering why this is? or will it just void the warranty if you open it up?

-matt

We'll have to wait till people get them in their hands before we'll really know. I bet they aren't that easy to get open(kind of like opening an iPod), but if you could get it open you would have no problem popping a new memory stick in. If apple tells you it isn't user serviceable, and you do it anyways, I am guessing that would void your warrany. I could be wrong though.

I talked to my Local Apple store, they said I could put the memory in no problem, if I feel comfortabel doing it....

ight, thanks just wanted to make sure i didnt have to pay apple's price for the memory

youll only void your warranty if you put it in wrong and break a pin off in the slot, or something of that nature.

opening it should be a breeze, but once inside:


it looks like there is only one DIMM(stick) for memory. so, you'll have to throw out your 256 and use a 1GB DIMM. and no, it doesnt have to be "Apple" memory (which is just plain ole SimpleTech memory). i however recommend Micron memory (guaranteed for life)

Get Memory Cheap from PriceWatch

What kind of memory is it? PC2700? 333MHZ? just the same kind of memory I use in my Windows computer?

Also, look at all those hooks, how in the world wihtout a special tool can you hold down all of those to get the top off?

http://www.apple.com/macmini/specs.html
PC2700/DDR333

Same as PC Memory.

I believe it takes a special tool only apple has to open the mini. and it does suck that it has only one ram slot.

Hi all, new member here (PC user). I have my eye on the mac mini, was wondering if I order one with 256 of ram., is that onboard? (meaning I have one spare slot ) or do I have to remove the 256 inorder to upgarde the ram myself?

also, can I use PC3200 (400mhz) ram on the mac instead of the PC2700.. i know it won't make a performance difference, its just that its hard to find PC2700 ram @ 1gig now.,.

thanks in advance for the replies..

01AWW18T said:

Hi all, new member here (PC user). I have my eye on the mac mini, was wondering if I order one with 256 of ram., is that onboard? (meaning I have one spare slot ) or do I have to remove the 256 inorder to upgarde the ram myself?

Click to expand...

see my post above :mac:

also, can I use PC3200 (400mhz) ram on the mac instead of the PC2700.. i know it won't make a performance difference, its just that its hard to find PC2700 ram @ 1gig now.,.

thanks in advance for the replies..

Click to expand...

yes, for they are both 184pinn DIMMs. but 400mhz memory is hard to find for cheap in a single DIMM. heres a sweet deal (micron = lifetime guarantee!)

01AWW18T said:

Hi all, new member here (PC user). I have my eye on the mac mini, was wondering if I order one with 256 of ram., is that onboard? (meaning I have one spare slot ) or do I have to remove the 256 inorder to upgarde the ram myself?

also, can I use PC3200 (400mhz) ram on the mac instead of the PC2700.. i know it won't make a performance difference, its just that its hard to find PC2700 ram @ 1gig now.,.

thanks in advance for the replies..

Click to expand...

yeah, you can throw in pc3200 in the mac mini, or 3500/3700/4200 for that matter. Performance won't change, because the ram will clock down, and it could be considered to be a serious waste in money. But yeah I would just go with a 1GB stick of 3200. A mac-compatible 1GB stick of 2700 is harder to find, is not any cheaper than 3200, and can sometimes be more.

I just bought the low-end model of the mac mini for my fiancé. I'm sticking a 60GB 7200RPM HD in it (which will be a huge performance enhancement to the stock 4200RPM 2.5'' drive), so I figured I'd be wasting money for the high-end model with the larger HD (that I'd be replacing anyway.) I can't imagine the additional proc MHz would make any serious real-world difference at all, the memory is the bottleneck - Just like it is in the powerbooks.

falltime said:

I can't imagine the additional proc MHz would make any serious real-world difference at all, the memory is the bottleneck - Just like it is in the powerbooks.

Click to expand...

correct. both have a 167 front-side BUS. and with a 1GB max memory, throughput is more important than clock speed

MacAddikt said:

see my post above :mac:



yes, for they are both 184pinn DIMMs. but 400mhz memory is hard to find for cheap in a single DIMM. heres a sweet deal (micron = lifetime guarantee!)

Click to expand...

Hmmm, if he can go from pc2700 333 to pc3200 400 how come when i installed 2 sticks of pc3200 433 ram in a Powermack G5 which had pc3200 400 ram in it it refused to use the 433 ram? and when i took the 400 out it would not boot at all with the 433 ram...

because its nonstandard i guess, im using a 3200 chip and a 2700 chip in my iBook atm (i got the 512 extra from crucial)

Here is a little writeup on it.. sounds like he's not very happy with it:

http://www.macobserver.com/editorial/2005/01/13.1.shtml

its all true though aint it. The guy is right and TBH apple could have and should have put 512 in there standard for the same price as it would have cost them almost nothing more to upgrade

James said:

Hmmm, if he can go from pc2700 333 to pc3200 400 how come when i installed 2 sticks of pc3200 433 ram in a Powermack G5 which had pc3200 400 ram in it it refused to use the 433 ram? and when i took the 400 out it would not boot at all with the 433 ram...

Click to expand...

there is no pc3200 433.

DDR400 = PC3200

400 is the speed of the ram - 200MHz x2 (DDR)
3200 is the bandwidth associated with the RAM speed. DDR400 provides 3.2 GB/s of bandwidth.

You may have meant PC-3500 which is DDR433, which should have still worked if you used compatible RAM. Keep in mind that Macs are very finicky about the type of memory used, and you should only buy RAM from the popular, higher-end manufactuers that are known to work well in Macs. I recommend Micron, Crucial, or Corsair memory.

Murlyn said:

Here is a little writeup on it.. sounds like he's not very happy with it:

http://www.macobserver.com/editorial/2005/01/13.1.shtml

Click to expand...

From the article posted:
A quick check at Pricewatch finds the average 40GB 5400-rpm hard drive (found in the $499 Mac mini) selling for about $65, while the 80GB 5400-rpm drive (found in the $599 Mac mini) is selling for around $120. Looking at 3.5-inch hard drives, $65 buys you a 160GB model these days, while $120 can get you 250GB. Am I missing something here?


Asking the same Mac mini product manager why they settled on using costly notebook drives in a desktop computer, I was told that the 2.5-inch drives met Apple's needs while allowing Mac mini's design to be as small as possible. But would anyone have been less impressed if the Mac mini were three, four, or even five inches high instead of two?

Click to expand...

Is he kidding? Five inches instead of two? Hes talking as if that isn't much of a difference.

Yes he is missing something. I'm guessing hes never seen a 2.5'' hard drive, or a 3.5'' hard drive for that matter. The difference is huge. Those measurements are used as a classifcation standard. They do not represent the weight, thickness or width of either the respective types.

The product manager was right, and if Apple had made the decision to put 3.5'' drives in there, the Mac mini would cease to be mini, hence defeating the entire purpose of the product in the first place. It would be 2-3 inches thicker, 1-2 inches wider, 3-4x heavier and much more delicate.

I guess Apple should start putting 3.5'' drives in their ibooks and Powerbooks... that'd be a great move. LOL