Mac Mini Upgrade Help

[Spinny99]

Hi, new to the forums. I'm thinking about purchasing a Mac Mini (Top model) for heavy graphic and video editing. I'm switching from a custom PC, so I've got a bit of left over money to put into upgrades. I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction for doing external raid 0, or any other performance upgrades I should consider, and from what I understand the CPU is not changeable.

Thanks in advance,
- Spinny99

 

[Joelburman]

You'll be needing the 2012 or 2014 version so you have Thunderbolt 2 ports. The 2012 version is also available in a quad core processor which sounds like something you'd be interested in.

As you probably now the 2014 version has the ram soldered onto the motherboard so if choosing that one make sure to get the appropriate amount of ram that you think you'll need.

 

[Spinny99]

You'll be needing the 2012 or 2014 version so you have Thunderbolt 2 ports. The 2012 version is also available in a quad core processor which sounds like something you'd be interested in.

As you probably now the 2014 version has the ram soldered onto the motherboard so if choosing that one make sure to get the appropriate amount of ram that you think you'll need.

Thanks for the help! I think I may go with the i7 Upgrade and RAM Upgrade, which pretty much maxes it out on Apples end. Lastly, speed. I think I will choose the internal 256GB SSD over the 1TB Fusion Drive, and then purchase an external SSD.

Does anyone know of a good method for having 3 or so SSDs? Like a rack or some sort of casing? Also, if I were to connect these SSD's through Thunderbolt how would I connect my 2 displays?

 

[paulrbeers]

Thanks for the help! I think I may go with the i7 Upgrade and RAM Upgrade, which pretty much maxes it out on Apples end. Lastly, speed. I think I will choose the internal 256GB SSD over the 1TB Fusion Drive, and then purchase an external SSD.

Does anyone know of a good method for having 3 or so SSDs? Like a rack or some sort of casing? Also, if I were to connect these SSD's through Thunderbolt how would I connect my 2 displays?

Check out OWC (macsales.com) to see what is out there. There are many thunderbolt enclosures.

As for connecting a monitor, just be sure whatever thunderbolt enclosure you buy has two thunderbolt connectors.

Mac Mini -> Thunderbolt enclosure -> monitor

That's all there is to it.

 

[Spinny99]

Check out OWC (macsales.com) to see what is out there. There are many thunderbolt enclosures.

As for connecting a monitor, just be sure whatever thunderbolt enclosure you buy has two thunderbolt connectors.

Mac Mini -> Thunderbolt enclosure -> monitor

That's all there is to it.

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/METB7DH4.0TH/

This should work perfectly. Has 4TB of SSD/HDD Hybrid in RAID, exactly what I wanted.

Also, I am slightly second guessing my decision, should I purchase a mac mini? After reading a little bit more, many folks say that it is underpowered for some 3D Graphics, and eventually it begins to slow way down (Like most macs I have had in the past). Is it powerful enough? I would go with the Mac Pro, but it's a bit pricey and I would greatly prefer buying a mini.

 

[Designer Dale]

Go to an Apple Store and look at a new Mac Pro in the flesh. You'd be shocked at how small it is for the power packed in it.

Dale

 

[Spinny99]

Go to an Apple Store and look at a new Mac Pro in the flesh. You'd be shocked at how small it is for the power packed in it.

Dale

I just don't think I'm ready to throw down 3000$ for a PC right now, and that is base...no upgrades. I haven't found a solution that is priced between the Mac Mini and Mac Pro that allows me to use my own screens, but I am open to any options. At the moment, I think I have no other choice but the mini, and hope that the upgrades help.

 

[Spinny99]

Is the 2014 Mac Mini capable of holding two SSD's (Like the 2011 one could)? I was thinking instead of the Thunderbolt Enclosure, I could put in (2) 512GB SSD's and RAID 0 them, and then have a single external HDD. Would this be possible?

Something like this, but 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l5dI0zLn-Y

 

[Designer Dale]

Is the 2014 Mac Mini capable of holding two SSD's (Like the 2011 one could)? I was thinking instead of the Thunderbolt Enclosure, I could put in (2) 512GB SSD's and RAID 0 them, and then have a single external HDD. Would this be possible?

Something like this, but 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l5dI0zLn-Y

Here is a link to a tear down of the 2014 Mini done by iFixit. It should answer a lot of questions regarding what goes on inside it and what can and can't be added. If I remember it gets a rather good (as Apple goes) repairability score.

https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Mac+Mini+Late+2014+Teardown/30410

See step 8 and 9 regarding adding an extra drive.

Dale

 

[Spinny99]

Here is a link to a tear down of the 2014 Mini done by iFixit. It should answer a lot of questions regarding what goes on inside it and what can and can't be added. If I remember it gets a rather good (as Apple goes) repairability score.

https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Mac+Mini+Late+2014+Teardown/30410

See step 8 and 9 regarding adding an extra drive.

Dale

After reading this and finishing my day at CES, I went over to the local Apple Store just to confirm. Apparently they weren't completely sure if it was possible, so he just recommend I use the external Thunderbolt Enclosure. I've decided that I will be purchasing a 2014 Mac Mini, 16GB of RAM, Upgraded CPU, with the 256GB Flash Storage. In addition, I will be purchasing the OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dual which has 4TB of Hybrid (Similar to Fusion I guess). Hopefully, I will run into zero issues with lag when designing.

Thanks for the help everyone!

 

[Designer Dale]

After reading this and finishing my day at CES, I went over to the local Apple Store just to confirm. Apparently they weren't completely sure if it was possible, so he just recommend I use the external Thunderbolt Enclosure. I've decided that I will be purchasing a 2014 Mac Mini, 16GB of RAM, Upgraded CPU, with the 256GB Flash Storage. In addition, I will be purchasing the OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dual which has 4TB of Hybrid (Similar to Fusion I guess). Hopefully, I will run into zero issues with lag when designing.

Thanks for the help everyone!

If I understand the teardown correctly, the 256 flash configuration will leave you with a free SATA connector in the Mini. The flash storage should be one of those stick things that mounts to the top of the SATA bay,

Good luck. When you have this set up and running let me know by PM how it works. I'm split between an iMac and Mini configured like yours for my next photo setup.

Dale