That's what I'm thinking. Perhaps I can bring it back in. Im running Beta Mojave and did the Disk Utility and nothing came up showing errors
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Can I modify my 2018 Mac mini?
- Thread starter dkupras
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That's what I'm thinking. Perhaps I can bring it back in. Im running Beta Mojave and did the Disk Utility and nothing came up showing errors
Just ran the test again on my 2014 1.4 ghz/4gb Mini with the stock 5400RPM internal hard drive. This is about that same that I saw on my base 2012 Mini with the same drive as well.
[doublepost=1533994670][/doublepost]I suspect your problem is the beta software, it is rarely optimized for performance until the final release.
[doublepost=1533994670][/doublepost]I suspect your problem is the beta software, it is rarely optimized for performance until the final release.
This is what Activity Monitor shows....
[doublepost=1533994796][/doublepost]
Excellent point! Thank you!
[doublepost=1533994796][/doublepost]
Excellent point! Thank you!
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Go to the ifixit site for instructions on how to open it up. You will need a few specialty tools like a security torx screwdriver which Ifixit sells on their site. I updated the 1tb hard drive in my mini With a 256GB SSD in about 10 minutes. Night and day difference. I got the 2.6 version with 8gb of ram. With the ssd its been a good machine. Graphics are kind of outdated. The highest reasonable resolution i can get from a 4k monitor is 2560x1440 at 60 hz. Keep in mind since you bought it new opening it up will void your warranty.
Your Mini should be fine (apart from the HDD) at least it isn't the 1.4 GHz! I recently bought a refurb Mini 2.6 GHz but with a 256 GB SSD. It is a great little machine and I am running dual 2560 x 1440 monitors. I know it is well overdue an upgrade, but it is our only choice if we want the lowest priced Mac. If it was me, and I was within the 14 day return, I would return it and get a model with SSD, even better a refurb unit so it shouldn't cost much more.
Should be dead simple. Go to System Preferences > Startup Disk, select it and restart.
Alternately, just restart your Mac while holding down the Option key and you should get a screen that lets you choose disks. If you don't see your partition, then it isn't properly setup.
OP:
If you bought a "new" Mini (actually, it's a 2014 design) with a platter-based hard drive inside, it's going to be .... slow.
There's no way to overcome this speed by re-installing software.
It's ALWAYS going to be slow.
The problem is the hard drive itself -- not fast enough for the Mac OS.
There are alternatives. Here they are:
- Return the Mini and re-order with an SSD inside. Then it will be... quite fast.
- Buy an EXTERNAL USB3 SSD, plug it in, and set it up to be the boot drive. This is actually a cheap and easy way to make the Mini much faster. It won't be quite as fast as if you had an Apple-installed SSD inside, but again... it will still be much faster.
- Open it up and install an SSD yourself. You DON'T want to do this -- it will void the warranty and you run the risk of breaking one of the small connections inside.
If you don't want to stick with the Mini "as it is", these are your options...
Final thought:
If you DO return the Mini and re-order, make sure the replacement also has 8gb of RAM (which is soldered in and cannot be changed).
If you bought a "new" Mini (actually, it's a 2014 design) with a platter-based hard drive inside, it's going to be .... slow.
There's no way to overcome this speed by re-installing software.
It's ALWAYS going to be slow.
The problem is the hard drive itself -- not fast enough for the Mac OS.
There are alternatives. Here they are:
- Return the Mini and re-order with an SSD inside. Then it will be... quite fast.
- Buy an EXTERNAL USB3 SSD, plug it in, and set it up to be the boot drive. This is actually a cheap and easy way to make the Mini much faster. It won't be quite as fast as if you had an Apple-installed SSD inside, but again... it will still be much faster.
- Open it up and install an SSD yourself. You DON'T want to do this -- it will void the warranty and you run the risk of breaking one of the small connections inside.
If you don't want to stick with the Mini "as it is", these are your options...
Final thought:
If you DO return the Mini and re-order, make sure the replacement also has 8gb of RAM (which is soldered in and cannot be changed).
Last edited:
Appreciate the in-depth responses here. If I buy the following: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsun...e-drive-alluring-blue/6026201.p?skuId=6026201
Would a Thunderbolt 2 connection work faster with this external SSD?
Would a Thunderbolt 2 connection work faster with this external SSD?
You need to read his posts again. The OP posted a screenshot of the disk speed test that showed (IIRC) 8MB/sec write and 35MB/sec read results. That’s ridiculous. I posted my own results from the 500gb 5400RPM drive in my base 2014 Mini and they showed 100 MB/sec read and write.
100 MB/sec is certainly slow, but it’s exponentially faster than the OP’s results. The OP also stated he was running the Mojave Beta software. So I have to disagree with you. Re-installing a non-beta version of MacOS may “overcome the speed” he is seeing. If it doesn’t, then there must be a hardware problem.
Ahh ok good to know....I was thinking about getting it, so than basically just run the following cords and expect somewhere close to their advertised 540MB/s
- Samsung T5 500GB External USB Type C Portable Solid State Drive
- USB Type-C to C cable
- USB Type-C to A cable
That is the new version of the drive(s) that I have, it should work very well for you IMO. I posted a screenshot of my speeds earlier, one would expect yours to be a little better. If you get one, let us know how it performs.
This is a USB device, thunderbolt is a completely different interface. There are thunderbolt external SSD’s, and I have not looked at them recently. When I checked a year ago, they weren’t any faster than the Samsung T3 but they were much more expensive. There are some big, very expensive specialized thunderbolt SSD’s for applications like video, but that would make no sense for your Mini.
You will use the USB C to USB A cable. The USB C to C cable is for newer machines that have this newer type of interface. I’d be surprised (and impressed) if you get 540MB/sec on your Mini. The benchmarks I saw showed a slight speed increase from the older T3, but not that much (which would be about a 25% increase).
Before screwing around too much, if you have installed a non-beta version of MacOS then I would try the speed test again on your internal hard drive. If it isn’t close to 100MB/sec then you may have a hardware problem.
I replaced my HD with an SSD in the latest Mac Mini available.
Harder than previous models (the HD/SSD is nearly the last component that needs to be removed), but it was pretty straight forward with the right tools (I bought a kit).
Works much better on High Sierra
No worries thanks guys!!!! Everybody has been truly helpful.
Good call on returning it! I was going to post that you should return it ASAP. Especially since you thought it was a 2018 model (very deceiving of Apple to still sell a 2014 model as current with no price drop). Possibly a new Mini coming out this year. Be sure to check the Buyer's Guide: https://buyersguide.macrumors.com/
haha yes it was my fault, ugh but live and learn. I will continue checking the Buyer's Guide. I really do like and admire the Mini. Yes the Mac Pro is awesome but for me there isn't really a need, I'd rather see us get a refresh of the Mini
