Mac Mini 2012 RAM upgrade

[Meister]

Is this 8gb stick compatibel with the 2012 Mini or am I maybe missing something?

Elixir M2S8G64CB8HB5N-DI 8GB (1600MHz, CL11, 1x 8GB) DDR3-RAM.

If I replace only one of my 2gb sticks, would a later replacement of the second 2gb stick have to have to have the same latency (CL). Does anyone have experiences in this regard?

Thank you for the answer?

 

[Fishrrman]

I can't answer the compatibility question, but I replaced the "upper 2gb DIMM" (the one that's closest to you when you open the Mini up) with an 8gb, for a total of 10gb of installed RAM. No discernible difference in performance. Runs fine.

I don't need more RAM so I'll probably leave it in this configuration for the life of the machine.

 

[Gjwilly]

If it doesn't cause other problems, mismatched RAM will always fallback to the lowest speed and the highest latency.
Better they be matched as much as possible.
When I Googled that part number I found a review on Amazon in Germany saying that that module was used in a 2012 Mac Mini.

 

[jimmason]

I have 10Gb in mine, no performance problems as far as I can tell, both sticks are 1600 DDR3

 

[waveboreale]

I can't answer the compatibility question, but I replaced the "upper 2gb DIMM" (the one that's closest to you when you open the Mini up) with an 8gb, for a total of 10gb of installed RAM. No discernible difference in performance. Runs fine.

I don't need more RAM so I'll probably leave it in this configuration for the life of the machine.

When you say no discernible difference in performance you mean when you run many tabs in Safari or open many programs, 10GB is as good as 4GB ?

Is it worth upgrading ?

 

[Fishrrman]

wave wrote above:
[[ When you say no discernible difference in performance you mean when you run many tabs in Safari or open many programs, 10GB is as good as 4GB ? ]]

I've never, ever used tabs in Safari, not since OS X was introduced.. I always right click and choose to "open in a new window". So I can't answer regarding tabs, but I can have numerous windows open without problems.

I can't really answer if it's "worth" upgrading. My Mini ran fine before I installed the additional RAM, and it runs fine afterwards. I notice no speed slowdowns that could be related to using two differently-sized DIMMs. All I can relate is what I see and perceive. Others might report differently.

I got a decent deal from newegg on the 8gb DIMM I bought, so to me going from 4gb to 10gb was "worth it". I tend to keep my Macs running a long time. The Mini I'm using now replaced a g4 that was 8 years old.

More RAM should result in less "page-outs", which could slow things down if you're using a platter-based drive. If you have an SSD, even with page-outs and page-ins, it probably won't be as noticeable.

 

[waveboreale]

Thanks for your honest answer Fishrrman.

I received my SSD on Saturday, waiting for the SATA kit to arrived and then I would make the decision about whether or not a RAM upgrade is useful.

 

[Bollockser]

Absolute Fastest RAM for 2012 Mac Mini?

Please recommend, Absolute Fastest RAM for 2012 Mac Mini? (16GB)