2010 Mac Mini- 16gb ram and Snow Leopard

[mectojic]

So Everymac (that always trustworthy source) /s, claims that the Mac Mini Server 2010 won't accept 16gb ram in Snow Leopard; only in Lion, with an EFI update.

However, some people on these forums a few years ago reported successly running SL with the full 16.

Just wanted to check if anyone else has success/failure stories to share.

 

[mectojic]

Ok, I can confirm it works. 2.66Ghz C2D 2010 Mac Mini Server booting 10.6.8 with 16GB Ram. Running off an SSD, this is a very comfortable experience!

 

[B S Magnet]

Ok, I can confirm it works. 2.66Ghz C2D 2010 Mac Mini Server booting 10.6.8 with 16GB Ram. Running off an SSD, this is a very comfortable experience! View attachment 2090483

I’m periodically amazed by how much more RAM the 2010-era Penryn C2Ds at 2.66GHz can accommodate versus their 2008 C2D Penryn 2.6GHz counterpart in the MBP4,1 (at just 6GB). This is one of those moments.

 

[Amethyst1]

I’m periodically amazed by how much more RAM the 2010-era Penryn C2Ds at 2.66GHz can accommodate versus their 2008 C2D Penryn 2.6GHz counterpart in the MBP4,1 (at just 6GB). This is one of those moments.

That’s what a (much) better chipset gives you. Still, not putting i-series CPUs in most 2010 Macs was quite the letdown.

 

[mectojic]

That’s what a (much) better chipset gives you. Still, not putting i-series CPUs in most 2010 Macs was quite the letdown.

Agreed. However the nice benefit is actually that the 2010 mini is extremely low-power. If memory serves correctly it’s the lowest power consuming Mini except for the M1.

 

[Amethyst1]

Agreed. However the nice benefit is actually that the 2010 mini is extremely low-power. If memory serves correctly it’s the lowest power consuming Mini except for the M1.

Those 25W Core 2 Duos didn't go in there for nothing!

 

[B S Magnet]

That’s what a (much) better chipset gives you. Still, not putting i-series CPUs in most 2010 Macs was quite the letdown.

I mean, I understand how two-plus years of intra-generational refinements can make a major difference within a line of CPUs, but this one is always a stand-out.

 

[redheeler]

Ok, I can confirm it works. 2.66Ghz C2D 2010 Mac Mini Server booting 10.6.8 with 16GB Ram. Running off an SSD, this is a very comfortable experience! View attachment 2090483

Snow Leopard is a beautiful OS, I bet that thing screams with 16 GB and an SSD.

 

[Amethyst1]

Snow Leopard is a beautiful OS, I bet that thing screams with 16 GB and an SSD.

If you want to see Snow Leopard scream, you need to run it on a 2011 Sandy Bridge Mac. These run circles around Core 2 Duo Macs.

 

[B S Magnet]

If you want to see Snow Leopard scream, you need to run it on a 2011 Sandy Bridge Mac. These run circles around Core 2 Duo Macs.

I have never worked as quickly or as furiously on a computer as I have on a base Sandy Bridge MacBook Pro running 10.6.8.

There’s a story I could tell, but only in person, in which my productivity, during a burst-to-the-finish flurry, was only possible because I was running with that combo as an immovable, keystone deadline approached on a complex project I was wrapping up. Ever since, I’ve never experienced that level of responsiveness from a perfectly matched OS and chip architecture. Mind you, this was on a setup without the RAM maxed, and the /Users directory was reserved to its own HDD, separate from the SSD running the system.

I’ve long wondered how running 10.6.8 on a kitted-out MacPro5,1 might feel like. I reckon I’d be speechless for quite a long while.

 

[Amethyst1]

I’ve long wondered how running 10.6.8 on a kitted-out MacPro5,1 might feel like. I reckon I’d be speechless for quite a long while.

If that Mac Pro were booting 10.6.8 from a PCIe SSD you definitely would.