2011 Mini SSD thickness?

[ng7apoc]

Hi everyone,

The Crucial SSD I've had in my Mid-2011 Mac Mini since, well mid-2011 lol has given out and died on me so I'm back with the stock 5400rpm spinner. Oh how I'd forgotten how much of a difference an SSD makes.

I have a replacement SSD here ready to install but on opening its packaging have realised it didn't come with a 7mm to 9.5mm spacer in the box. Both the 5400rpm and previous SSD are 9.5mm so my one quick question is - Do I need to get a spacer or can I go right ahead and install it anyway?

 

[JustSoWicked1]

Should need the spacer. The mount screws are the ones that you unscrew from the silver mesh after you take the bottom cover. So the drive should mount just fine provided you transfer over all the hardware from the existing drive. The spacer area will be towards the top of the machine The spacer should only be needed if you're planning to throw in another drive under your SSD.

 

[Cordorb]

I used this when I upgraded my Mini 2011 and 2012 but I left in the hard drive.

https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ssd/owc

not sure which one you will need but they should be able to answer you question

 

[ng7apoc]

Thanks for the quick replies!

The spacer should only be needed if you're planning to throw in another drive under your SSD.

This bit is interesting, I will only have the one drive in there so it should be ok without the spacer you reckon?

My own fault really I knew I'd be replacing it with a 7mm SSD but didn't really check the fitting/space when I swapped out the old SSD for the stock HDD as I had mistakenly just presumed it would have a spacer in the box.

 

[JustSoWicked1]

Yeah I have an 850 Evo Pro in mine no spacer needed and its a 7mm height. May just need to lift the drive a bit with a flat head to get the mounting screws started.

 

[Kaida]

7mm or 9.5mm is both ok, doesn't need a spacer as it is held up pretty solidly by the screws. Flip the mini upside down when installing the lower bay ssd. it makes it alot easier to fit the 2 x torx 8 into the chassis

 

[ng7apoc]

Just want to say thanks again! Popped the new SSD in on Thursday night no hassle at all. It's a Samsung Evo 850 and its replaced a Crucial RealSSD M4. Good bit faster too, especially on write speed.

Only one downside - the age it took to restore files from backup drive. The 2011 Mini's lack of USB 3.0 is now by far my biggest issue with it. Now if only Apple see fit for an early 2017 Mini...

 

[JustSoWicked1]

Yeah be careful with the new minis, as of 2014 they soldiered the RAM on the board so if you want to save money for upgrading look into 2012 model. It has thunderbolt and usb 3.