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Mac Mini 2.66Ghz, SATA-150 or SATA-300?

petsk

petsk

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 13, 2009
482
453
I have ordered my first Mac, a Mini 2.66Ghz and I will put a Intel X25-M SSD in the machine to speed it up further. I hope I will be pleased with it :)

However, the question I encountered was whether the sata connection in the Mini is SATA-150 or SATA-300? Does anyone know?
 
foofan said:
you will void the warranty
Click to expand...
Unfortantly the Mini will be useless with the stock HDD, it's just way too slow for anything else but websurfing. I'm going to use it as a file-, web- and mysql-server and I will need all the extra power I can squeeze out of that small form factor. :p
 
it doesn't matter what kind of drive it is, Apple does not want people prying open the mini. If you do , you risk damaging something and they don't feel like being responsible for it.

I i were going to open it then the only thing i would put in is an SSD. That's the future. They are expensive, but maybe you can wait a while to save some cash
 
i put an intel 80 gb ssd in my 2009 mac mini. if you follow one of the video guides that are floating around, it's really pretty trivial. also, i've read in a few places that as long as you don't break anything while doing the upgrade, the warranty will still be honored.

as for performance...it's fantastic.
 
opening the case can void your warranty

I had a Mac Mini with busted logic board that needed to go in for repair. I had previously opened the case to upgrade the ram and hard drive. Being concerned about the privacy of my data, I opened the case once again, took out the hard drive, erased it and put it back in. When I went to the apple store the guy asked me the standard questions (what os version, account name and password etc.) I told him I had erased the disk. He said "how did you do that?" I told him I had opened the case, and he told me that my warranty was void. I told him I wasn't aware of that rule, and that I had done it very carefully, and he checked with his manager. They said they would make an exception that time, but if they found any physical damage they would have to charge me for the repair.

I've been dreaming of a Mac Mini with an SSD as well. I was thinking of taking both parts to an apple certified repair place and asking them to do the install. I would have to expect this would leave the warranty intact. (Though I am not sure)
 
Very happy with new Mini 2.56

I bought a new Mini -- 2.56 -- yesterday and replaced the 360 gb hard disk with a 500 gb one. It is not hard and if you're careful, you won't do any damage at all. I am very happy with the machine -- it is quite fast, completely quiet, small, and runs cool. I use it with an Apple monitor -- display port -- and the whole combination is very comfortable. I looked at the 27 inch iMac and was tempted -- but it's really enormous and pretty heavy. It wouldn't have fit well on my dining table, which is where I do most of my computing.
 
foofan said:
Apple does not want people prying open the mini.
Click to expand...
That is false. The ONLY way to upgrade the ram is to open the Mini so opening it to upgrade the drive is no different. All you need is a 4" putty knife. The metal type is easier for its thinness.

There aren't any "warranty void if removed" stickers on the optical or hard drive carriers.
 
Agreed, opening does not void your warranty. It is fairly easy to do if you take your time and watch the videos on YouTube and OWC.
 
foofan said:
you will void the warranty on this beautiful machine. Do yourself a favor and just use it the way it is
Click to expand...

This is ridiculous.

There are some weird, near trolls on the boards lately.

I say "near trolls" because their advice is so bad and wrong they sound like they have a beef with Apple itself.
 
Why replace HD rather than get external HD?

I just bought a 1TB iOmega eGO HD for $80 at Fry's. I realize that data transfer is at USB speed but that seems lto me like a better option than replacing the internal HD.

What applications will you notice the lower through put speed?:confused:
 
dave92029 said:
What applications will you notice the lower through put speed?:confused:
Click to expand...

Overall in every task given to the computer, except browsing the web maybe ;)

But I will be copying lots of files back and fort, packing and unpacking rar-archives and be hosting quite heavy websites and MySQL databases. Those are the main reasons why I need an SSD. An external 4TB drive in raid 0 will be attached with FW800 for filesharing and torrent downloading.

I would replace the HDD even if I were going to use it for normal computing too, but then I wouldn't even buy the Mini, the new iMac is a much much much better value for the same money. I bought the expensive Mini only becuase it's tiny. Throwing another 200 bucks SSD into it will make the Mini more worthy the expensive cost to me.
 
300D said:
That is false. The ONLY way to upgrade the ram is to open the Mini so opening it to upgrade the drive is no different. All you need is a 4" putty knife. The metal type is easier for its thinness.

There aren't any "warranty void if removed" stickers on the optical or hard drive carriers.
Click to expand...
His statement is true, yours is false. Opening the Mac mini is not meant to be done by the user and thus voids the warrant. Period. If you want to upgrade the ram or hdd you have to do that when ordering one. AASP's, APR's, etc. who are allowed to sell and repair those machines can and will do this for you without voiding the warranty (because they are allowed to do so apparently).

Putting "warranty void if removed" stickers all over the machine is not meant to tell the user he shouldn't be opening it, those stickers are only meant to tell whether the user did so or not. Telling you can't open it is done with things like EULA's and user manuals.

One of the warnings in the Mac mini users guide says the following:
WARNING: Do not attempt to open your Mac mini. If your Mac mini needs service, see “Learning More, Service, and Support” on page 41 for information about how to contact an Apple Authorized Service Provider or Apple for service. Your Mac mini doesn’t have any user-serviceable parts.
Click to expand...
Source: page 31, Mac mini (early 2009) users guide.

Further down in that same manual on page 41 it says the following:
Learning More, Service, and Support
Your Mac mini does not have any user-serviceable parts. If you need service, take your Mac mini to an Apple Authorized Service Provider or contact Apple for service. You can find more information about your Mac mini through online resources, onscreen help, System Profiler, or Apple Hardware Test.

If you want additional memory installed, contact an Apple Authorized Service Provider or an Apple Store retail location.
Click to expand...

And when we read further down on page 50 we get the following saying it may void your warranty:
Do Not Make Repairs Yourself
Your Mac mini doesn’t have any user-serviceable parts. Do not attempt to open your Mac mini. If your Mac mini needs service, consult the service and support information that came with your computer for instructions about how to contact an Apple Authorized Service Provider or Apple for service.
If you open your Mac mini or install items, you risk damaging your equipment, and such damage isn’t covered by the limited warranty on your Mac mini.
Click to expand...

Especially that last part speaks for itself. Doing it yourself is voiding the warrant, having it done by an AASP won't.

pcguru83 said:
Just to be clear, is SATA-300 new to the most recent Mac Mini revision? Or has it been around since the March 2009 update?
Click to expand...
It's part of the Nvidia 9400m used in the early and late 2009 Mac mini models as well as various other Macs. So yes, both the early and late 2009 Mac minis have SATA-300. The late 2009 Mac minis are the same as the early 2009 models with the only difference being the upgrades of the cpu, amount of mem and hdd (and the server model but that's a different story I guess).
 
foofan said:
it doesn't matter what kind of drive it is, Apple does not want people prying open the mini. If you do , you risk damaging something and they don't feel like being responsible for it.
Click to expand...

Only if you break something does it void the warranty. You can open a Mini and close it without worries.

dyn said:
His statement is true, yours is false. Opening the Mac mini is not meant to be done by the user and thus voids the warrant. Period.
Click to expand...

I replaced both the RAM and a hard drive in my Core Duo mini shortly after I bought it. The computer failed a few months later and I sent it to Apple - failed logic board. They replaced the board and sent it back - all under warranty. Nothing was ever said about the RAM or hard drive.
 
dyn said:
Especially that last part speaks for itself. Doing it yourself is voiding the warrant, having it done by an AASP won't.
Click to expand...

Actually that very clearly says that the warranty is voided if you break something while you're opening it, not that the very act of opening it/upgrading it will void it.
 
glhiii said:
I bought a new Mini -- 2.56 -- yesterday and replaced the 360 gb hard disk with a 500 gb one. It is not hard and if you're careful, you won't do any damage at all. I am very happy with the machine -- it is quite fast, completely quiet, small, and runs cool. I use it with an Apple monitor -- display port -- and the whole combination is very comfortable. I looked at the 27 inch iMac and was tempted -- but it's really enormous and pretty heavy. It wouldn't have fit well on my dining table, which is where I do most of my computing.
Click to expand...

you did this yourself? why? apple offers a 500gb for an extra $100. that includes installation. why not go that way?
 
foofan said:
you did this yourself? why? apple offers a 500gb for an extra $100. that includes installation. why not go that way?
Click to expand...

Because they use the Toshiba or Hitachi 500GB which aren't as fast as the WD5000BEVT......
 
dyn said:
Opening the Mac mini is not meant to be done by the user and thus voids the warrant. Period.
Click to expand...
I suggest you check your information before posting such blatantly false information.

you did this yourself? why? apple offers a 500gb for an extra $100. that includes installation. why not go that way?
Click to expand...
If you go through Apple, all that $100 gets you is an additional 140GB of free space.
For that same $100 and an hour of his time, he basically gets a "free" 360GB hard drive with it.
 
petsk said:
I have ordered my first Mac, a Mini 2.66Ghz and I will put a Intel X25-M SSD in the machine to speed it up further. I hope I will be pleased with it :)

However, the question I encountered was whether the sata connection in the Mini is SATA-150 or SATA-300? Does anyone know?
Click to expand...

While you're at it, looks like they can now handle 8gb RAM according to OWC.

As I just laid out for a 17 mbp, 8gb ram, a 256gb ssd, and 2 of the new mini's...I'll be waiting a bit to jack the RAM and get more SSD's for the new mini's...LOL!

I did move the stock RAM from the MPB into one of the mini's, no prob and seeing as you have to get to where the RAM is anyway....might as well address that, if you can.

One thing to watch putting it back together, the IR receiver is not too hard to knock off if you are not careful, so take your time. I managed to do that on one of my older mini's...sigh!

They make great little servers though!
 
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