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Mac Mini 2014 - best way to remove lag?

Sai22

Sai22

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 30, 2020
41
6
Catalonia, Spain
I have a Mac Mini (2014) i5 8Gb 1Tb HDD. It was running ok, until I upgraded to Mojave. Is there anyway to backtrack on an OS upgrade? I assume there is not :(
I'm not too tech savvy, (although I have dismantled an old macbook and installed a hard drive where the DVD Rom drive was.) Looking into how to boost speed of the Mac Mini I have discovered that the RAM cannot be changed, but I can add something called PCIe fairly easily (ifixit).
Would 250gb ssd PCIe make a difference, ie speed it up/less spinning beach ball? Or should I upgrade the 1Tb HDD to an SSD? Or both?

Thanks for your attention
 
THe best way to upgrade your 2014 Mac Mini wold be to add a SSD by replacing the HDD. There are various reports saying you can/cannot add a PCIe SSD. Although they all have the connection for adding a PCIe card, my best understanding so far is that if your Mini did not ship with a fusion drive then you cannot add a PCIe card.

I may well be wrong and someone with a greater understanding of that side of things may chime in and clarify.
 
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G4DPII said:
THe best way to upgrade your 2014 Mac Mini wold be to add a SSD by replacing the HDD. There are various reports saying you can/cannot add a PCIe SSD. Although they all have the connection for adding a PCIe card, my best understanding so far is that if your Mini did not ship with a fusion drive then you cannot add a PCIe card.

I may well be wrong and someone with a greater understanding of that side of things may chime in and clarify.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that insight
 
Either add an SSD internally (PCI kind is best)
or
Plug in a USB3 EXTERNAL SSD, and set that up to be the boot drive.

You CAN "downgrade the OS" if you want.
You'll need a backup of your "previous OS", either time machine or, better yet, a "bootable clone" created with either CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper.

WITHOUT a backup, you can still downgrade, but it's going to be A LOT of work.

Even if you're "non-tech", here's some of the best Mac advice you're ever going to get:
NEVER do a major system "upgrade" unless you've created a bootable clone of your existing system first.
Having one makes it "child's play" to "get back, get back, get back to where you once belonged" if things go wrong...
 
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Fishrrman said:
Either add an SSD internally (PCI kind is best)
or
Plug in a USB3 EXTERNAL SSD, and set that up to be the boot drive.

You CAN "downgrade the OS" if you want.
You'll need a backup of your "previous OS", either time machine or, better yet, a "bootable clone" created with either CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper.

WITHOUT a backup, you can still downgrade, but it's going to be A LOT of work.

Even if you're "non-tech", here's some of the best Mac advice you're ever going to get:
NEVER do a major system "upgrade" unless you've created a bootable clone of your existing system first.
Having one makes it "child's play" to "get back, get back, get back to where you once belonged" if things go wrong...
Click to expand...
Nice. I don't have a bootable clone, but I do have Time Machine up to date. I'll go back and have a look. Thanks
 
You haven't given us the specifics of your computer, I have a 2014 2.8ghz i5/8gb Mini with a Fusion Drive. The Fusion drive is actually a 128gb SSD paired with a 1tb hard drive. I split the SSD from the Fusion drive, which is simple and only involves a few terminal commands. It runs Mojave very well.

So my first question is whether you actually have a Fusion drive, or just a hard drive (Apple sold both configurations)? If it's a Fusion Drive, then it's only a matter of software to separate the SSD. Otherwise, it looks like installing a PCie drive is actually quite simple (although I have not tried myself). OWC rates it as "straightforward". See this:

Upgrade/Install a PCIe SSD in a Mac mini (Late 2014)

OWC's step-by-step video of how to upgrade the PCIe SSD in the Apple Mac mini (Late 2014).
eshop.macsales.com eshop.macsales.com

The external SSD is also a nice - and even simpler - option. However, performance is not nearly as good. So it's up to you... Here's my internal SSD

mini2014-128ssd.png



I also have four different USB3 external SSD's (in sizes ranging from 500gb to 4tb), and they all clock just about the same.

oyen-4tb.png


As for downgrading from Mojave.... why not move to the SSD first and see what you think about performance? Like I said, my 2014 Mini is perfectly happy with Mojave. Caveat: mine is just a media server that runs iTunes 24/7, so it's possible that you'd have different results if you use a bunch of programs simultaneously.
 
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The best solution, as said above, is to add an SSD. The easiest option is to add an NVMe stick to the PCIe slot that is accesible by just removing the antena plate.

There are adaptors sold on eBay and a 250 or 500Gb NVMe M2 stick are now cheap. There is another long post here with further details and links to the parts, and a list of a couple of incompatible sticks.

The work is MUCH easier than adding a second Ssd to a MacBook
 
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Boyd01 said:
You haven't given us the specifics of your computer, I have a 2014 2.8ghz i5/8gb Mini with a Fusion Drive. The Fusion drive is actually a 128gb SSD paired with a 1tb hard drive. I split the SSD from the Fusion drive, which is simple and only involves a few terminal commands. It runs Mojave very well.

So my first question is whether you actually have a Fusion drive, or just a hard drive (Apple sold both configurations)? If it's a Fusion Drive, then it's only a matter of software to separate the SSD. Otherwise, it looks like installing a PCie drive is actually quite simple (although I have not tried myself). OWC rates it as "straightforward". See this:

Upgrade/Install a PCIe SSD in a Mac mini (Late 2014)

OWC's step-by-step video of how to upgrade the PCIe SSD in the Apple Mac mini (Late 2014).
eshop.macsales.com eshop.macsales.com

The external SSD is also a nice - and even simpler - option. However, performance is not nearly as good. So it's up to you... Here's my internal SSD

mini2014-128ssd.png



I also have four different USB3 external SSD's (in sizes ranging from 500gb to 4tb), and they all clock just about the same.

oyen-4tb.png


As for downgrading from Mojave.... why not move to the SSD first and see what you think about performance? Like I said, my 2014 Mini is perfectly happy with Mojave. Caveat: mine is just a media server that runs iTunes 24/7, so it's possible that you'd have different results if you use a bunch of programs simultaneously.
Click to expand...
Thanks for detailed reply. FWIW I had already started the restore process for my High Sierra Backup, but it was awful for several reasons and now I'm in the process of restoring the Back Up from yesterday.
As regards your initial comment, the MAc in question is a 2014 2.8ghz i5/8gb Mini with a 1Tb HDD, therefore no PCIe slot. As per the video you attached, it does look quick and simple. However, I will be ordering from ifixit EU store, which looks to offer the same products, but free shipping.
At first I will be running the NVMe alongside the original 1tb HDD, is this smooth or do I need to change some code in terminal? Eventually I will add a SATA SSD where the HDD is now.
 
I think you will find that kit is only compatible with 2011 and 2012 Mac Minis, as is mentioned on the right of the page you link to. That connector adds a second SATA SSD to one of those two previous models, not a NVMe stick.

So I would check carefully before purchasing.
 
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My Mini has the same CPU and RAM as yours. It starts up in about 15 seconds from the internal SSD and I don't get beachballs. But if you're using a lot of RAM-hungry apps at the same time, that could make a difference I suppose.
 
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AdamJohnG said:
I think you will find that kit is only compatible with 2011 and 2012 Mac Minis, as is mentioned on the right of the page you link to. That connector adds a second SATA SSD to one of those two previous models, not a NVMe stick.

So I would check carefully before purchasing.
Click to expand...
You are right. Thanks for pointing this out. Done a lot of research and found a product on Ali Express, really cheap. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/400...4.0&pvid=15a80348-721d-4f58-a93c-6356432a704e
I will post here once it has arrived and it is installed.
 
Boyd01 said:
My Mini has the same CPU and RAM as yours. It starts up in about 15 seconds from the internal SSD and I don't get beachballs. But if you're using a lot of RAM-hungry apps at the same time, that could make a difference I suppose.
Click to expand...
Sounds a bit different though. Yours is i7, mine is i5. You have SSD, mine is HDD. You have 16Gb RAM, I have 8Gb.
 
Sai22 said:
Sounds a bit different though. Yours is i7, mine is i5. You have SSD, mine is HDD. You have 16Gb RAM, I have 8Gb.
Click to expand...

Perhaps you missed my earlier post? ;)

"I have a 2014 2.8ghz i5/8gb Mini with a Fusion Drive. The Fusion drive is actually a 128gb SSD paired with a 1tb hard drive. I split the SSD from the Fusion drive"

It is the exact same Mini as yours, except there is an SSD in the slot... which is what you are proposing to add.
 
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Boyd01 said:
Perhaps you missed my earlier post? ;)

"I have a 2014 2.8ghz i5/8gb Mini with a Fusion Drive. The Fusion drive is actually a 128gb SSD paired with a 1tb hard drive. I split the SSD from the Fusion drive"

It is the exact same Mini as yours, except there is an SSD in the slot... which is what you are proposing to add.
Click to expand...
Ah, nice one. I'm looking forward to getting mine up and running.
 
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That is a slightly different route. May I ask how much you have paid?

The SSD is quite small, but should be good enough for operating system and main programs, then use the HDD for files and storage. If it is a standard NVMe M2 connector, you can always upgrade to a larger SSD.

Are you planning to 'Fusion Drive' it? Personally I would not.
 
AdamJohnG said:
That is a slightly different route. May I ask how much you have paid?

The SSD is quite small, but should be good enough for operating system and main programs, then use the HDD for files and storage. If it is a standard NVMe M2 connector, you can always upgrade to a larger SSD.

Are you planning to 'Fusion Drive' it? Personally I would not.
Click to expand...

I paid 43€, it had decent reviews. Yes, it is small capacity and I may upgrade it at a later date.

Well, I haven't really thought about the fusion. Why would you not recommend it?
 
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Sai22 said:
You are right. Thanks for pointing this out. Done a lot of research and found a product on Ali Express, really cheap. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/400...4.0&pvid=15a80348-721d-4f58-a93c-6356432a704e
I will post here once it has arrived and it is installed.
Click to expand...

There is a main thread you should follow here: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/using-a-standard-m-2-pcie-nvme-ssd-in-the-2014-mini.2118732/

You can definitely go with that adapter+SSD combo. I have the same Mac mini with you and I've purchased the same adapter from the same seller to use it with an XPG SSD drive. Mac mini 2014 i5/8GB + OEM Adapter + XPG SX8200 Pro 256GB (macOS Catalina): Result is great


03-jpg.902501
 
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I run a 256 pcie SSD (Apple OEM, pulled from my 2014 MBP) with my OS on it and a 1TB 850 Pro in the SATA slot that houses the home directory on my 2014 i7 16gb. No appreciable beach balls during normal usage.
 
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  • DiskSpeedTest.png
    DiskSpeedTest.png
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Wow - that's terrible! :eek:

Is your disk almost full? Perhaps it's just seriously fragmented? The original 1TB hard drive should run at about 100MB/sec when it's new. I'd be concerned there's a hardware problem. If that were my computer, I would make multiple backups right now and keep them up-to-date until you can install a SSD.

[edit] Just ran the test on my own 2014 2.8ghz i5/8gb Mini. This is what I get from the internal 1tb hard drive.


2014-mini-1tb-hd.png
 
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