Mac mini (late 2011) SDD upgrade (brands and models)

[vebaev]

Dear all,
I have a Mac mini mid 2011 (sorry for the title it is mid 2011) and I want to upgrade the HDD with a ~120GB SDD. I have searched all day some brands and models SSD and I constantly find info that some models sdd do not work.... (for example I liked SanDisk X400 and have found info for a guy got it and it wouldn't boot with it).

So I will very much appreciate who have experience with working brands/models of SDD for the specific mini to share the info in the thread?

Thanks a lot!!

 

[macdragonfl]

I've had great luck with Crucial ssd's, no compatibility problems ever.

 

[F1_addict]

I put a Crucial mx300 in my mid 2011. Better than new. Wasn't that hard to do, a bit tedious, but I was able to do it myself.

 

[acer66]

Does the late 2012 mini have the same issues with ssd's if there are really any like the 2011?

Also, is that really worth it?

Thank you

 

[Boyd01]

The 2012 Mini has the advantage of USB 3.0 (IIRC, the 2011 only has slow USB 2.0). This makes external SSD's a nice option. Why risk damaging your computer by opening it up when you can get nice throughput with an external drive? I am using a 1TB Samsung T3 SSD on my 2012 quad server and am really happy with it. This machine is setup to boot from Mountain Lion on the original Apple internal SSD and Sierra on the external SSD. Am running powerful software like Final Cut Pro X, Compressor and Logic Pro X and it really flies.

Samsung has announced the T5 series of USB SSD's and they should be shipping soon. They are even faster, but it's not clear to me whether a machine like the 2012 Mini would perform any better with these new drives. But here is what I get with the external T3

For comparison, this is the original Apple internal SM256e SSD on the same Mini. It's faster, but not fast enough to justify tearing the Mini apart to install IMO.

 

[pdafan]

Dear all,
I have a Mac mini mid 2011 (sorry for the title it is mid 2011) and I want to upgrade the HDD with a ~120GB SDD. I have searched all day some brands and models SSD and I constantly find info that some models sdd do not work.... (for example I liked SanDisk X400 and have found info for a guy got it and it wouldn't boot with it).

So I will very much appreciate who have experience with working brands/models of SDD for the specific mini to share the info in the thread?

Thanks a lot!!

I have done the upgrade many times. A bit daunting for the 1st time. After that, it's really easy peasy.
Used many brands before. E.g. Samsung EVO, Crucial, Transcend, WD Blue.
I am surprised that there would be any brand not compatible. It should be able to take in any SATA3 SSDs in my opinion.

P.S. You need the right tools.

 

[opeter]

I had a Toshiba Q300 480GB in mine.