I just watched the video of ram installation and that’s bs the amount of dissassembly that has to be done just to put a stick of ram in, and I’ve done a lot of laptop upgrades. Most concerning are those tiny ribbon connectors. I’m definitely waiting for an iMac now
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Guide to replacing RAM in a 2018 Mac Mini
- Thread starter thoang77
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I just watched the video of ram installation and that’s bs the amount of dissassembly that has to be done just to put a stick of ram in, and I’ve done a lot of laptop upgrades. Most concerning are those tiny ribbon connectors. I’m definitely waiting for an iMac now
Someone shall test RAM performance with and without that cage, to see if it is of any actual use.
Let’s put conspiracy aside, what if it serves to discharge yourself of any potential static electricity first, before touching the RAM. That happened yesterday when I touched the doorknob, damn did it hurt, I have this one sweater that collects static electricity like crazy.
Let’s put conspiracy aside, what if it serves to discharge yourself of any potential static electricity first, before touching the RAM. That happened yesterday when I touched the doorknob, damn did it hurt, I have this one sweater that collects static electricity like crazy.
The 32GB RAM is a $600 upgrade at Apple or around $300 after market.
So is this worth a potential $300 savings? Doesn’t look too hard (and $300 is $300) but I’d hate to screw something up on my $2000 machine (since I will upgrade onboard storage too) over $300....
Decisions decisions.
So is this worth a potential $300 savings? Doesn’t look too hard (and $300 is $300) but I’d hate to screw something up on my $2000 machine (since I will upgrade onboard storage too) over $300....
Decisions decisions.
Option 1
Get 8 now, upgrade to 32 now
Option 2
Get 8 now, upgrade to 32 next year
Option 3
Get 16 now, upgrade to 32 next year
Option 4
Get 16 now, upgrade to 64 in 2-4 years
Decide how soon you need how much and how much risk you can tolerate. 4 is a great value and very safe.
There's no ribbon connectors, they're just small gauge wires. It's not a ton of disassembly, but it's not none either. It's like a 10 minute procedure, which is far better than an impossible task. I'll take the compromise for a 1 time, maybe 2 time, project. It's not like you're going in and replacing RAM weekly.
Today the TR6 screw driver arrived and I did the upgrade to 32GB.
...
and the geebench increased from 23000 to 27000.
...
and the geebench increased from 23000 to 27000.I just
Maybe someone else had a similar problem? Or maybe it's just bad RAM? Thanks for any reactions, because I need to decide if I send them back.
Hi Thoang. I just finished the ram upgrade with your guide as help. Thanks very much for this. However I installed crucial ballistic sport memory (CAS 16 I Think) and although it's officially 2666 RAM, my Mac mini only registers it as 2400 mhz RAM. I noticed you used the same memory, so was wondering if you had the same outcome? Is this a consequence of lower CAS latencies?
Maybe someone else had a similar problem? Or maybe it's just bad RAM? Thanks for any reactions, because I need to decide if I send them back.
What's the exact model number of the RAM, and which CPU do you have in your Mini?
Don't be intimidated by the process. It goes super quick. From start to finish about 10 minutes.
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It's the i7 model mac mini. Crucial Ballistix sport model : bls2c16g4s26bfsd
http://uk.crucial.com/gbr/en/bls2c16g4s26bfsd
It's the i7 model mac mini. Crucial Ballistix sport model : bls2c16g4s26bfsd
http://uk.crucial.com/gbr/en/bls2c16g4s26bfsd
Yeah that's not compatible with the Mini according to Crucial.
I can't tell from their description whether it's single or dual rank, or its bit width. It could also have an XMP profile that is confusing the Mini.
This will definitely work:
http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/mac-mini-(2018)/CT13492047
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I took the same memory as I saw in the thread starter’s guide, so didn’t check further. Just thought crucial would be fine. oowever at 2400 mhz in geekbench it seems to perform fine (better latency and little lower bandwoth then other scores it seems). I wonder if other Ballistix sport upgraders have the same problem.
Honestly, I hadn't noticed until you mentioned it, but mine shows a 2400mhz clock too.
The weird part, is the memory part of the system info screen says I have two slots which take 2400 mhz modules. Curious to if the people who have their 2666 modules properly reported, if it says the same or not.
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Could you post a screenshot of the "Memory" section in your System Report?
I very much appreciate you making the guide, but may I suggest you change the RAM link to something we know works properly?
http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/mac-mini-(2018)/CT13492047
In general I'd suggest people stay away from overclocker's or "high performance RAM" unless they know the default XMP profile for the RAM is 2.66GHz. Even then, be ready to return it if it comes up 2.4GHz in an i5 or i7 Mini.
FYI CL16 RAM @ 2.4GHz is barely lower latency than CL19 RAM @ 2.66GHz (the Crucial RAM I linked) - by about 7%. Latency is mostly hidden by caching anyhow. However, that bandwidth reduction (about 10%) is going to hurt your iGPU performance a bit because it uses system RAM for the framebuffer.
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Corsair has a 32GB CL18 kit that works properly at 2.666GHz in the Mini:
https://www.corsair.com/us/en/Categories/Products/Memory/Vengeance®-Series-32GB-(2x16GB)-DDR4-SODIMM-2666MHz-CL18-Memory-Kit/p/CMSX32GX4M2A2666C18
as seen at (timestamps 11:50 & 18:15):
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Turns out that memory requires intel XMP to boost it to 2666. This is what happens when you make purchases before actually having the unit on hand and trying to get that tiny bit of extra speed out of it. Thanks for the notice. I've updated my link and might be swapping my memory out in the near future.
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Here is the Guide OWC Put out to install ram in the 2018 Mac Mini: https://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/mac-mini-2018-memory/
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Install RAM you supply? 0% chance they do it.
I think someone mentioned you'd pay full price for the upgrade if you took the machine to them asking for an upgrade. So the 32gb upgrade would be $600 (apple's price) + whatever the 8gb originally cost (~100) since they don't get to deduct the cost of the original 8gb as they would if you purchased it BTO.
Does anyone know which slot to put a 16gb module? Does it matter? I bought the single one so I had the option of going to 32gb later.
Anyone have an opinion if 32gb is ever needed to smoothly keep many apps open? I have a 38” ultra wide and usually have around 20 apps running at once...nothing too intensive but it’s not really usable on my 2018 MacBook Pro with 8gb ram.
Anyone have an opinion if 32gb is ever needed to smoothly keep many apps open? I have a 38” ultra wide and usually have around 20 apps running at once...nothing too intensive but it’s not really usable on my 2018 MacBook Pro with 8gb ram.