And for my next trick... Upgrading the HDD

[Gledders]

Hi all,
My first post on this site and already I am on the want..

I'm looking to upgrade the HDD of my Mini, current specs below.
I would like to take it up to 1.5TB or 2TB. It is something that is in my sphere of capability so not so worried about the actual doing of it.

Can anyone recommend a HDD that would be suitable and would fit?

Thanks,
Gledders

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Intro Date: March 3, 2009 Disc Date: October 20, 2009
Order No: MB463LL/A* Model No: A1283 (EMC 2264)
Subfamily: Early 2009/NVIDIA Model ID: Macmini3,1
Std. RAM: 2 GB Std. VRAM: 128 MB, 256 MB*
Std. HD: 320 GB Std. Optical: 8X DL "SuperDrive"

 

[simsaladimbamba]

You can only use 2.5" S-ATA HDDs, the biggest is currently a 1TB or 1.5TB one. 2TB HDDs are usually desktop HDDs and are 3.5" in size.

 

[Gledders]

You can only use 2.5" S-ATA HDDs, the biggest is currently a 1TB or 1.5TB one. 2TB HDDs are usually desktop HDDs and are 3.5" in size.

That's a good start, thank you. Saves me banging my head against a wall looking for larger. I understand that the physical height of the drive is quite important too, any ideas?
Gledders

 

[simsaladimbamba]

That's a good start, thank you. Saves me banging my head against a wall looking for larger. I understand that the physical height of the drive is quite important too, any ideas?
Gledders

Seems 9.5mm is still the maximum height: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/mac-mini/

 

[mdgm]

If you don't want the optical drive, there is a special data doubler you can get for the 2009 Mac Mini which allows you to have two drives installed.

You could have a SSD for a boot drive and a high capacity mechanical hard disk to store your data, or a few mechanical hard disks for maximum storage.

OWC does have an install video and iFixit does have a good detailed guide on how to upgrade the hard drive in your Mac Mini. Well worth taking a look at those. The advice they give is very useful even for the experienced tech.

 

[tekkierich]

Seems 9.5mm is still the maximum height: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/mac-mini/

yes, as someone who has done about two dozen hard drive upgrades on the newest gen mac mini's 9.5 mm is the spec.

750GB is the highest you will be able to go. A 750GB 7200RPM drive should set you back $100 - $110