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<blockquote data-quote="MikeFromMesa" data-source="post: 1797205" data-attributes="member: 305741"><p>There are a couple of things going on here, so it is a bit difficult to put a top budget unless the different choices are specified.</p><p></p><p>1) A larger external drive</p><p></p><p>In this case all that would be needed is a fast connection and a fast ssd. My current setup, a Samsung 500GB ssd in a usb 3 UASP compatible enclosure, works well enough but a larger ssd would be nice and I find that repeated speed tests with BlackMagic shows transfer speeds dropping noticeably over time from about 250MB/s to less than 100 MB/s. Budget for an updated version is probably around $200.</p><p></p><p>2) A larger internal drive or boot drive</p><p></p><p>I see two choices here. </p><p></p><p>First, I could actually upgrade the internal ssd in the Mini from 256GB to 512GB, but I do not know what kind of ssd is currently inside the Mini, nor what options I might have for an internal upgrade. That is, is the internal ssd a regular SATA type ssd? Or a PCIe card? And is the internal hardware capable of accepting either? And what are the speed consequences of each choice?</p><p></p><p>I assume the budget for this would be on the order of $500-$600, including the labor and new ssd.</p><p></p><p>Second, I could get the fastest external drive and use it as a boot drive, completely replacing the internal ssd. This would seem to require a Thunderbolt 2 enclosure along with PCIe cards, and the budget would be about $600-$700. I have looked at the prices and simple TB enclosures are expensive, but seem to cost in the $300-$400 range. SATA memory costs less than $200 but I do not know the cost of faster memory and I do not see the sense in putting a SATA disc with an access speed of 500MB/s in a TB2 enclosure capable of much higher speeds, so I do not know how much this would cost. Perhaps the cost would not fit within the budget.</p><p></p><p>3) A new Mini (or Pro)</p><p></p><p>The Mini specs are the same now as when I bought my Mini almost 3 years ago, but I would not want to replace this machine with its dual core i7 chip with another Mini with the same specs. I might do that if Apple upgraded the specs, but after 4 years (this is a Late 2014 model) I do not see that happening anytime soon.</p><p></p><p>The Pro would be a good update, and a lot faster, but the cost is in the $3000+ range and I can not justify such an expense for the work that I do with my Mini, which is mostly family photo editing, writing of relatively small home-use apps with Xcode and browsing.</p><p></p><p>I thought about using a MBP as a desktop computer hooked up to my current BenQ monitor, but I do not know how well that would work. Given my eye sensitivity I can not get one of the new iMacs. Given the limited choices for a new computer, and the costs, probably means that this is not a viable path and I al left with the first two choices.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="MikeFromMesa, post: 1797205, member: 305741"] There are a couple of things going on here, so it is a bit difficult to put a top budget unless the different choices are specified. 1) A larger external drive In this case all that would be needed is a fast connection and a fast ssd. My current setup, a Samsung 500GB ssd in a usb 3 UASP compatible enclosure, works well enough but a larger ssd would be nice and I find that repeated speed tests with BlackMagic shows transfer speeds dropping noticeably over time from about 250MB/s to less than 100 MB/s. Budget for an updated version is probably around $200. 2) A larger internal drive or boot drive I see two choices here. First, I could actually upgrade the internal ssd in the Mini from 256GB to 512GB, but I do not know what kind of ssd is currently inside the Mini, nor what options I might have for an internal upgrade. That is, is the internal ssd a regular SATA type ssd? Or a PCIe card? And is the internal hardware capable of accepting either? And what are the speed consequences of each choice? I assume the budget for this would be on the order of $500-$600, including the labor and new ssd. Second, I could get the fastest external drive and use it as a boot drive, completely replacing the internal ssd. This would seem to require a Thunderbolt 2 enclosure along with PCIe cards, and the budget would be about $600-$700. I have looked at the prices and simple TB enclosures are expensive, but seem to cost in the $300-$400 range. SATA memory costs less than $200 but I do not know the cost of faster memory and I do not see the sense in putting a SATA disc with an access speed of 500MB/s in a TB2 enclosure capable of much higher speeds, so I do not know how much this would cost. Perhaps the cost would not fit within the budget. 3) A new Mini (or Pro) The Mini specs are the same now as when I bought my Mini almost 3 years ago, but I would not want to replace this machine with its dual core i7 chip with another Mini with the same specs. I might do that if Apple upgraded the specs, but after 4 years (this is a Late 2014 model) I do not see that happening anytime soon. The Pro would be a good update, and a lot faster, but the cost is in the $3000+ range and I can not justify such an expense for the work that I do with my Mini, which is mostly family photo editing, writing of relatively small home-use apps with Xcode and browsing. I thought about using a MBP as a desktop computer hooked up to my current BenQ monitor, but I do not know how well that would work. Given my eye sensitivity I can not get one of the new iMacs. Given the limited choices for a new computer, and the costs, probably means that this is not a viable path and I al left with the first two choices. [/QUOTE]
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