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RAM upgrade for 2011 Mac Mini

B

BeatCrazy

macrumors 603
Original poster
Jul 20, 2011
5,252
4,722
Hi,

I'm considering the cheapest new Mini to run Logitech Squeezebox Server. That would be the sole purpose of this box, I may run iTunes on it, eventually.

With that information, is 2GB going to be enough? Squeezebox Server is not extremely RAM intensive (AFAIK), but I'm not sure how much of a hog Lion is.

Would this be a good upgrade option? http://www.amazon.com/Kingston-Modu...=UTF8&coliid=IL1FQUIAECHXT&colid=6BES1759T2F4

8GB would be overkill. I won't even be surfing on this machine.
 
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servers generally could use the larger amounts of RAM, 2GB is good for single users. I'm not sure much about what a Squeezebox Server is, but 8GB is what I needed for hard core virtual machining so I would recommend it.

You may want to invest in 1333Mhz RAM instead, that is what the new mac mini is capable of, and although it costs more, you will get to use the new mac mini's full potential, rather then limiting it with slower RAM, they upgraded the RAM speed because of the new faster processor.
 
Thanks for the reply.

Logitech's Squeezebox Server is not really a client based model like what you're used to. It is a software for streaming to music devices within your LAN. It doesn't need virtualization, etc. However, it is taxing the 1.2Ghz, non-floating point CPU w/512Mb of RAM that is on the Sheevaplug I run it on currently.

Good point about the 1333Mhz RAM. I can't seem to find a decent price on PC3-8500 1333Mhz RAM, does anyone know where I can get it for a reasonable price?
 
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Isn't 8 GB a no-brainer if you are going to upgrade? Price diff of $30 to a 4 GB kit.
 
If I generally use a Mac Mini for basic tasks (surfing, streaming video, music, photos etc), will I notice a difference between 2GB and 4GB?
 
RAM specifics

Does anyone know what the specs are for the best compatible RAM for the 2.7GHz i7 processor configuration?

This is my first time purchasing a MAC, and I would like to upgrade both the RAM and harddrive. On the RAM side of things, it looks like there are more options to consider when buying RAM than the other users have addressed.

Is the RAM PC3-10600, 10660, or 10666?

Thank you,
 
ralnar said:
Isn't 8 GB a no-brainer if you are going to upgrade? Price diff of $30 to a 4 GB kit.
Click to expand...

Well... see my comments below.

THF said:
If I generally use a Mac Mini for basic tasks (surfing, streaming video, music, photos etc), will I notice a difference between 2GB and 4GB?
Click to expand...

Good question, I'm wondering the same thing, now that I've looked at some Geekbench benchmarks.

I'm attaching a sample of memory performance from a 2GB machine vs someone who upgraded the same machine to 8GB. Not a big difference! I'm unsure how this would affect real-world performance for low-intensity task. Yeah, it's only $45-$80, but why waste it for (potentially) no gain?
 

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Sure, if you run with 2 GB and don't experience it as slow, no need to do anything. I will do that and see how it works. But if I upgrade I will max it out, just for future proofing and avoiding to get yet two more unusable memory sticks if I would need 8GB in the future. I will already be stuck with two 1GB sticks.
 
RollingRock1988 said:
Hi, I'm new and am looking at the mac mini as well. I read somewhere that it would only go up to 8 gb as well.

How are people looking into it and when will we know?
Click to expand...

Well the MacBook pro officially supports 8gb of ram but 16gb can be installed not exactly cheap but one day it will be.
 
Wow! Thanks for the tip. $45 to upgrade the new Mini to 8 gigs of RAM? At that price, it's crazy not to upgrade.
 
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