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Bought new Mac mini, but a little slow: what upgrade?

M

Maccotto

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 6, 2012
301
26
Hi all
Finally i bought a mac mini (My first mac) for download tons of files .
I found it very slow when open any application ( If i click to Word icon, it dance 5 sec first to open :mad:).

I wanna ask to you if need change ram only o also hdd with ssd for avoid this problem?

The mini is the second model (17, 4gb ram and hd4000)

If i upgrade ram, can i install 1 only 8gb memory to arrive at 10gb (New + old ram) or mac system use dualchannel similar to pc and i need buy 2x4 or 2x8 gb ram ?
 
Go SSD, or if you are on budget, for a 7200 750Gb Scorpio Black (already a lot faster than the built in drive) for 70 bucks. If you want both, you need a cable and mounting set, available at OWC or Ebay, or if you want to pay double on iFixit with a much nicer set of screwdrivers.
And just fill it up with 2x8Gb. That does not cost a fortune, and you max it out right away.
As you download a lot, take the Scorpio. 750Gb in SSD is pretty expensive. And as you probably want to move the files around, over gigabit ethernet for example, you will benefit from a faster file drive as well (if you use the SSD just for boot, and keep your stuff on the current 5400rpm drive, you big downloads still suffer from the HD).
I use a Scorpio and a 256Gb SSD.
 
Maccotto said:
Hi all
Finally i bought a mac mini (My first mac) for download tons of files .
I found it very slow when open any application ( If i click to Word icon, it dance 5 sec first to open :mad:).

I wanna ask to you if need change ram only o also hdd with ssd for avoid this problem?

The mini is the second model (17, 4gb ram and hd4000)

If i upgrade ram, can i install 1 only 8gb memory to arrive at 10gb (New + old ram) or mac system use dualchannel similar to pc and i need buy 2x4 or 2x8 gb ram ?
Click to expand...

See this thread on you ram question:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1563522/
 
Thx , i will check it .

For moment i decided to left mac mini slow because i need only a machine for download.
When i will need more fast system , i will u0grade it .
 
I have a Mac Mini 2012 Core i7 2.6Ghz
I did not change the internal 5400rpm harddrive but I am planning to.

Anyway, it responds correctly and relatively quickly I expected a bit more lag but i guess its fine for me

the only thing I upgraded was the Ram, I bought 16Gb ram from OWC. They have the best service and customer support and their Rams are valued number one like corsair...

I recommend OWC Rams

Maccotto said:
Hi all
Finally i bought a mac mini (My first mac) for download tons of files .
I found it very slow when open any application ( If i click to Word icon, it dance 5 sec first to open :mad:).

I wanna ask to you if need change ram only o also hdd with ssd for avoid this problem?

The mini is the second model (17, 4gb ram and hd4000)

If i upgrade ram, can i install 1 only 8gb memory to arrive at 10gb (New + old ram) or mac system use dualchannel similar to pc and i need buy 2x4 or 2x8 gb ram ?
Click to expand...
 
How to make the Mini faster without spending a ton of money:

1. Bump the RAM up to 8gb. I recommend this site as THE BEST source for trouble-free RAM (no financial interest):
http://www.datamemorysystems.com/ap...6ghz-md388ll/a-cto-late-2012-memory-upgrades/

2. Get one of these gadgets (only $28 from amazon.com, again, NFI):
http://tinyurl.com/cu94cyj

3. Get an SSD of your choice to go into the USB3/SATA dock above.

4. Download CarbonCopyCloner for FREE from:
http://www.bombich.com/download.html

5. Put the SSD into the USB3/SATA dock, connect it to the Mini, initialize the SSD with Disk Utility, then use CCC to "clone" the contents of your internal HDD to the SSD.

6. Select the SSD in the startup disk preference pane and reboot.

Speed problems solved!
 
Fishrrman said:
How to make the Mini faster without spending a ton of money:

1. Bump the RAM up to 8gb. I recommend this site as THE BEST source for trouble-free RAM (no financial interest):
http://www.datamemorysystems.com/ap...6ghz-md388ll/a-cto-late-2012-memory-upgrades/

2. Get one of these gadgets (only $28 from amazon.com, again, NFI):
http://tinyurl.com/cu94cyj

3. Get an SSD of your choice to go into the USB3/SATA dock above.

4. Download CarbonCopyCloner for FREE from:
http://www.bombich.com/download.html

5. Put the SSD into the USB3/SATA dock, connect it to the Mini, initialize the SSD with Disk Utility, then use CCC to "clone" the contents of your internal HDD to the SSD.

6. Select the SSD in the startup disk preference pane and reboot.

Speed problems solved!
Click to expand...

that SATA USB 3.0 dock you posted was for a 3.5 inch drive. most ssd drives are 2.5 inch drives.
 
I can also only say this: Get an SSD!

I got a new Mac Mini base config a few days ago and instantly swapped the HDD for an Intel 335 180GB SSD. This Mini is a beast now, it boots in 10s! The moving circle won't even show, it's just the Apple Logo and boom :)

And don't worry about installing the OS (at least if you have an internet connection of say >6MBit), the Mini will boot with an empty drive and download the install files from Apples servers. Took about 2h with my 12MBit connection.
 
5400 Hdd on my MacMini with 16Gb of G-Skill ram and everything runs fine without the SSD update. Next MacMini will have the SSD but for now I have no real issues with speed and applications opening/closing
 
Maccotto said:
Hi all
Finally i bought a mac mini (My first mac) for download tons of files .
I found it very slow when open any application ( If i click to Word icon, it dance 5 sec first to open :mad:).

I wanna ask to you if need change ram only o also hdd with ssd for avoid this problem?

The mini is the second model (17, 4gb ram and hd4000)

If i upgrade ram, can i install 1 only 8gb memory to arrive at 10gb (New + old ram) or mac system use dualchannel similar to pc and i need buy 2x4 or 2x8 gb ram ?
Click to expand...
I am on my third, yes third mac mini (when apple store cannot fix it they give U a new one) Anyway, I had the same problem and there was NO answer except to erase the HD and re-install the 10.8.3 from the "cloud"then do a back up from my external HD. Sorry but that's it.
I have 8 gigs of Ram...go with as much as you can afford then spend
$50 more.
 
palmharbor said:
I am on my third, yes third mac mini (when apple store cannot fix it they give U a new one) Anyway, I had the same problem and there was NO answer except to erase the HD and re-install the 10.8.3 from the "cloud"then do a back up from my external HD. Sorry but that's it.
I have 8 gigs of Ram...go with as much as you can afford then spend
$50 more.
Click to expand...

I had/have various Apple products,never had an issue...So far so good
 
"that SATA USB 3.0 dock you posted was for a 3.5 inch drive. most ssd drives are 2.5 inch drives."

Those docks accept either 3.5" or 2.5" drives.

I've yet to see any USB/SATA dock that _did not_ accept a 2.5" drive as well as a 3.5" one.
 
3rd Rock said:
5400 Hdd on my MacMini with 16Gb of G-Skill ram and everything runs fine without the SSD update. Next MacMini will have the SSD but for now I have no real issues with speed and applications opening/closing
Click to expand...

Is necessary buy 16gb or with 8gb i will have speed? (can your test the speed if you use 2x8gb memory ram?)
I use for few things (web, office, starcraft and testing some program as Finalcut/imovie) and 120€ (16gb) vs 75€ (8GB) have some money's difference.
 
""*NOTE* 2012 Mac Mini and 2012 MacBook Pro with Retina Display are currently not recommended for use with this product, pending latest updates from Apple."
Just saying (writing)."

The web page is outdated and should be updated.

Those docks were originally produced with a Lucent chipset that gave some folks problems when connected to Macs with USB3.

The company has since updated the product, which now uses an ASMedia chipset, and the problems are resolved.

I've been using a plugable.com USB3/SATA "lay flat" dock for a few months now, with an Intel SSD powering a 2012 Mac Mini via the USB3 bus. It works flawlessly -- no dropouts, no sleep problems, HIGH speed. It works "as one would expect it to work".
 
on my 2012 mini with dual SSDs in it. Stock 256 with a 64 GB Bootcamp partition. 240 GB Mushkin drive as Data drive. 16GB Stock RAM (she made me buy the Apple upgrades) and the donkey is swift. So much in a tiny little package.

SSD's....I'm a believer
Max RAM....well why not, it's cheap!
 
Hey guys, today i tried 8gb dual channel rams from my sony vaio (dd3 1067).
Mac mini work great with them and take some speed (Startup is slow again, but i will move often my mini into stop ).

Now i think to really buy 8-16 gb ram to speed up my mini and only after i will buy the ssd:D.
 
Shattentor said:
I can also only say this: Get an SSD!

I got a new Mac Mini base config a few days ago and instantly swapped the HDD for an Intel 335 180GB SSD. This Mini is a beast now, it boots in 10s! The moving circle won't even show, it's just the Apple Logo and boom :)

And don't worry about installing the OS (at least if you have an internet connection of say >6MBit), the Mini will boot with an empty drive and download the install files from Apples servers. Took about 2h with my 12MBit connection.
Click to expand...

is it really that simple? Once the drive is in just boot the mac and it will reinstall the OS itself from the internet?

Is this drive suitable for the mini: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-Ser...&qid=1365781036&sr=8-1&keywords=840+pro+256gb

Also what do I do with the original mac mini HDD? Do I keep this in the mini as a secondary storage drive?
 
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viktormadarasz said:
I have a Mac Mini 2012 Core i7 2.6Ghz
I did not change the internal 5400rpm harddrive but I am planning to.

Anyway, it responds correctly and relatively quickly I expected a bit more lag but i guess its fine for me

the only thing I upgraded was the Ram, I bought 16Gb ram from OWC. They have the best service and customer support and their Rams are valued number one like corsair...

I recommend OWC Rams
Click to expand...
OWC is a ripoff, they rebadge the same OEM Parts from china, and pretend it's a premium product. Real scum if you ask me.

Go to newegg, compare specs, buy the cheapest reliable brand. Don't pay for someone else's vacation, as my Dad always says.
 
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