2009 Mac Mini SATA speed Puzzle

[Richard8655]

Before recently deciding to upgrade my early 2009 Mac Mini with an SSD, I noticed the original HD was only negotiating data transfer speed at 1.5Gbps even though this Mini is capable of 3Gbps.

How could the original equipment be running at SATA I level on a SATA II machine? Can the HD deteriorate over the years? Or latest El Capitan update? Or maybe it always was that way (I had never checked before).

 

[phairphan]

Before recently deciding to upgrade my early 2009 Mac Mini with an SSD, I noticed the original HD was only negotiating data transfer speed at 1.5Gbps even though this Mini is capable of 3Gbps.

How could the original equipment be running at SATA I level on a SATA II machine? Can the HD deteriorate over the years? Or latest El Capitan update? Or maybe it always was that way (I had never checked before).

I recall this being a well-known issue with the chipset on this machine. It's possible to negotiate at SATA II, but you will only get it with a very limited set of hardware. As for the original HD, it probably didn't matter if it negotiated at I or II. I don't believe a 2.5", 5400 RPM drive from 2009 could saturate a SATA I bus.

 

[Richard8655]

I recall this being a well-known issue with the chipset on this machine. It's possible to negotiate at SATA II, but you will only get it with a very limited set of hardware. As for the original HD, it probably didn't matter if it negotiated at I or II. I don't believe a 2.5", 5400 RPM drive from 2009 could saturate a SATA I bus.

Thanks. I think I read on this forum someone with a 2009 also complained about this issue. I hope my new SSD that's on its way will run at SATA II on this machine (after all these years).

 

[Maxx Power]

Also check the SATA specifications of your particular HDD. HDDs circa late 2000s had either firmware or jumper options to set them to SATA I speeds for compatibility. I have seen this option used many times. In the case of the Mac, I am not sure what it may have been used for, if it was indeed used.

 

[Richard8655]

Also check the SATA specifications of your particular HDD. HDDs circa late 2000s had either firmware or jumper options to set them to SATA I speeds for compatibility. I have seen this option used many times. In the case of the Mac, I am not sure what it may have been used for, if it was indeed used.

I read your comments on another thread and agree the Cricial M500 is probably the safest bet with MCP79 and 2009 Minis. I was going to try Kingston UV400 but not sure of guaranteed compatibility.